All batteries have an expiry date. Same is true for smartphones’ batteries. However, the way you use your smartphone also goes a long way in deciding the longevity of your device’s
battery.
battery.
As such, there are few phone charging habits you can implement in your daily life that can increase the lifespan of your battery. According to Jumia Travel, here are seven tips on how to charge your smartphone and make its battery last longer.
(1) Fast chargers are not always the best option
Using a fast charger might not be the best thing for your battery’s health. This process involves a higher voltage to be sent to the phone’s battery which results in a rapid rise in temperature. Your phone may even explode as a result of this.
(2) Charge your phone with its own charger
Always charge your phone with its own charger. Unlike laptops, smartphones use a universal charging interface. However, if the charger you use does not match the original, it will affect battery performance.
(3) Remove protective case while charging
You might have noticed while your phone is charging, it becomes slightly warm. So, make sure to remove the phone’s protective case while charging. This can act as a barrier and slow down the heat.
(4) Don’t use cheap chargers from unknown manufacturers
Avoid cheap chargers from unknown manufacturers. They do not include any safety advice to protect against overcharging. Know that adapter failure could permanently damage both your battery and phone.
(5) Never leave your phone to charge overnight
There are many people who leave their phone plugged in overnight for charging. You just need to stop this habit. Charging overnight affects battery longevity, and it also makes your smartphone overheat.
(6) Always charge up to 80 per cent
Eighty per cent charge is enough for a day, and it is good for your overall battery lifespan. Crossing the 80 per cent mark can make your battery to overheat, thereby affecting the battery’s life.
(7) Avoid charging the phone repeatedly
Smartphones should not be charged repeatedly. The rule of thumb should be not to charge until the phone’s battery is up to 20 per cent.
#Takeaway
Six smartphone battery myths you should stop believing
Batteries are one of the most integral parts of any smartphone. A clumsy battery can break down a smartphone like nothing else. But alas, the world of batteries is overflowing with myths, according to www.guidingtech.com.
I can leave the charger on forever
Well, practically yes, you can. If you don’t love your cell phone at all or you change your devices too often. But if you care for a longer life of your battery, then the best way to charge is not going over 80 or below 10.
Every battery comes with a fixed amount of cycles and these cycles tend to wear off the more you charge your phone.
In fact, charging your battery to 80 per cent on a regular basis is shown to increase its life by 200 per cent So, do make sure that you maintain the sweet spot of the battery — 10 per cent and 80 per cent, with an occasional zero per cent discharge to calibrate the battery life.
Closing apps will save battery
If you are one who swears by the mantra that closing apps will improve battery (and performance), then you are in for some news.
The fact is closing apps does more harm than good. Chances are that you might actually end up draining more battery juice in the process.
Closing an app suddenly might result in losing data. Also if the phone needs to restart the app again, that will require more CPU resources and hence, more battery.
Letting the battery drain to zero per cent every day
This again is a tale from the ancient days of Nickel Cadmium batteries of the 80-90s. Nickel cadmium batteries had the memory effect, which essentially gave rise to this myth.
After these batteries were recharged for a couple of times, they would forget their full capacity and eventually weren’t able to hold the charge. The discharging was done to reset the ‘memory’.
The Lithium-ion batteries used nowadays have a smarter way of power management. It counts a cycle when you have used 100 per cent of the battery in multiple uses. For instance, if you used 40 per cent today, and 20 per cent on two consecutive days, then only it would call for one cycle.
4G drains the battery faster
It’s true that radio signal consumes lesser resource than cellular data. However, that should never be the cause of your battery life going for a dive. If you have a good quality SIM from a reliable operator, then it shouldn’t be the cause of a meltdown.
A 5000 mAh power bank will yield two full charges
Often, it’s assumed that a 5000 mAh power bank will be able to yield two full charges for your 2500 mAh battery. How did we arrive at the conclusion? Simple, just dividing the capacity by the full power.
But that’s not how simple as it seems. The catch is the voltage at which it charges. The power rating of a power bank is calculated at 3.7 volts whereas the phone charges at 5 volts.
Only when a step-down in the voltage is made that the right number of charge cycles can be determined. So, the next time you are on a lookout for a power bank, do make sure to do the math.
Charging through a laptop may damage the battery
Again a misconception, charging a phone through a laptop will only yield a slower charge and nothing more. This won’t harm the battery in any way.