Tip #1: Avoid extreme temperature in general, especially while charging
As we’ve said earlier, extreme temperatures are the biggest enemies of mobile phone batteries. To keep your battery in tip-top shape for longer, you should avoid exposing it to extreme heat or cold.
The most common situation when a phone gets too heated is when you leave it in the sun for too long in summer, for example, on a beach towel, on the dash of the car, simply anywhere that is directly under the scorching sunlight. If your phone is also charging in any of these situations, it will only be worse. Try your best to keep it in the shade or at least covered with a bright material that will absorb less heat from the sun.
There is a myth circulating on the internet that keeping your phone in the freezer will somehow improve battery health. In truth, charging your phone in freezing temperatures multiple times will cause permanent damage to the battery. Also, the charger must keep up with the accelerated discharging caused by extreme cold, leading to a slow charge. You might have noticed that when using your phone outside on freezing winter days, the battery goes down quickly.
How to keep your battery cool while charging your phone:
- Remove your phone from the case. Cases can cause heating problems because the phone is less exposed to air, and this will slow down the process of cooling.
- Avoid charging your phone in an environment with poor ventilation. Be sure to charge your phone in a place that is cool and dry.
- Avoid using your phone for a long time while charging. The heat generated by the screen and other components will add up to the charging heat and potentially damage your battery. You can also reduce the number of apps running in the background and screen brightness or turn off location services.
- Turn on Airplane mode. This will prevent battery overheating and also make your phone charge faster. Airplane mode saves battery by automatically turning off cellular data. Also, your phone also charges faster on low power mode.
Tip #2: The phone charging sweet spot is between 20% and 80%
It feels natural to get a full charge every time you get the chance, in order to be able to make the most of your phone before the next charge. Also, we don’t recommended letting your phone die before charging again as we used to do with the acid batteries of the old days. This will actually damage a modern lithium ion battery.
So at what percentage should you charge your phone? The best practice for preserving phone battery health is to plug it in at around 20% and charge it up to 80-90%. This is especially important if you use fast charging, as charging from 0% will cause a lot of heat, and from 80% up, fast charging becomes less efficient.
However, there’s no risk of overcharging the battery. Phones these days are supposed to have built-in features meant to preserve battery health, such as turning off the phone before it actually drops down to 0%, interrupting charging when the battery is almost full, and more commonly alerting the user when the phone is too hot and subsequently turning it off.
Tip #3: Charge your phone battery halfway before storage
If you plan on not using your phone for a long time, it’s best to charge it halfway. Apple recommends turning on your phone every six months and charging it to 50% to preserve the battery. Also, be sure to store your mobile phone batteries in a cool, dry place to prevent damage.
Tip #4: Avoid cheap chargers, use fast charging in moderation
Knock-off chargers are unsafe, both for the phone and its user. Because components are not properly insulated, there’s a high risk of short circuit and catching fire, especially in humid environments such as bathrooms. Low-quality cables are also not recommended for use.
Also, if you want to hold onto your phone for several years, you should use fast charging in moderation. The convenience of getting your phone to 100% in half an hour does come with a trade-off. As the chemical reaction is sped up, it generates more heat which, over time, will shorten the lifespan of the battery.
However, while slow charging will not cause so much heat, it will take longer to charge your phone, and it still won’t halt the inevitable process of battery degradation. It comes down to convenience versus battery lifespan. Wondering how long does a phone battery last?. It depends on your usage and charging habits, but if you’re planning to upgrade your phone every two years, you don’t need to worry about fast charging damaging your battery.
Tip #5: Unplug your phone after charging
When you charge your phone overnight, what happens is that the battery will fall down to 99% and start charging again. This is called trickle charging, and it will happen pretty often throughout the night. The problem with trickle charging is that it generates heat, and if the room is hot or you have objects placed on top of your phone, that heat can damage the battery.
While we won’t urge you to give up the convenience of charging overnight, we advise you to make sure that your phone is exposed to air, preferably in a well-ventilated room, taken outside its case.
There’s also the option of getting your hands on a smart charger that will turn off when the battery reaches a certain percentage of charge. Also, if you happen to wake up during the night, you can simply unplug your phone.
We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about how to charge your phone to save the battery. Applying the knowledge that you’ve learned here will help you maximize battery life and allow you to enjoy using your phone longer!