Smartphones are powerful supercomputers in a pocket-sized package. They give us unprecedented power to communicate, work, navigate, shop, and much more… until the battery runs out of its precious juice.
Conquer the dreaded death by battery woes, and the accompanying stress, by learning to make your phone’s battery last longer to keep you connected. Let's get into it and debunk three popular myths about charging your smartphone - including some helpful tips to get the max life out of every charge.
Myth: Avoid charging your phone overnight
It is totally fine to charge your battery overnight - it’s actually one of the few options to make sure you have a full battery to get you through a busy digital day.
While charging overnight isn't an issue today, this myth originated from the nickel-ion battery. Nickel-ion batteries suffer from an issue known as “memory charge”. Essentially, the batteries would "forget" about the part of the battery cell that didn’t get used.
We now benefit from lithium-ion batteries in our devices. Lithium-ion battery cells don’t suffer from memory loss and they use new technology for power management.
Hack: Most new phones, including newer iPhones, have fast or quick charge capable batteries, but they don't include quick-charge wall adapters. To make the very best use of your valuable time, pick up a smart, fast charging wall charger for home and the office, and also consider a fast charging power bank when on the go to cut your charging time in half or more.
Myth: Let your battery drain completely before charging
Simply put, don't do this. Lithium-ion batteries come with a preconfigured number of charge cycles - the number of times you can charge up to 100% and run down to 0%.
For instance, an iPhone's battery lifespan is around 500 charge cycles. However, that doesn’t mean you can only plug it in 500 times. It means you have roughly 500 opportunities to let the battery go from a full charge to no charge. If you let your battery hit zero charge every day, it will last roughly 500 days.
Hack: Charge your phone before it fully drains and also top it off through the day, this will stretch the time those 500 charges will last. A great rule to follow is ABC: Always Be Charging. Keep a charger nearby, whether at home or the office, in the car or even travelling, plug in your phone to help make its battery last.
Myth: Phone batteries will last forever
The battery is your smartphone’s weakest link. So, until higher performance battery technology comes along, we have to accept that they will need to be replaced. Lithium-ion batteries lose their capacity to hold a charge over time. So, if you still have plenty of cycles remaining, you may find you can only charge your phone to 70 percent of its total capacity. There are apps designed to check on battery health and wear - if you find your battery has degraded from extended use, you can replace the battery and give your phone a new lease on digital life.
Hack: By design, lithium-ion batteries don’t like their charge to be really high or really low. Most experts agree you should keep your phone battery between 30% and 80% most of the time. This is the sweet spot for promoting battery health and longevity.
In conclusion, it's pretty easy to maintain a healthy, juicy battery... you just need to take advantage of a few hacks here and there to keep your phone going strong.
Bonus Hack: Calibrate your battery. Let your phone die once in a while to check the health of the battery. If your phone dies with the power indicator showing a positive charge, your battery could need to be recalibrated. Simply drain your phone battery all the way down then charging it up again to fix the issue.