People take for granted the technology that manufacturers manage to cram into today’s average smartphone.
If you need to get somewhere but have no car of your own, download a ride-sharing app. If you’re hungry but have no food in your fridge, use a food delivery app. If you feel sad and want to see what your friends, scroll through their social media feeds. All these wonders are the tap of a finger away with a charged smartphone. However, it’s that penultimate word that can transform a wonder of technology into a plastic brick.
If your phone is charged, you can do so many things with it. If not, well time to scrounge for your charging cable. But a lot of people don’t know that their poor charging habits are keeping Apple Genius Bars in Provo and Samsung phone repair stores in Layton busy. You see, charging your phone the wrong way can damage it, reducing its battery life.
Here are some ways you might be accidentally destroying your phone battery.
Keeping it Charged for Extended Periods
This one of the most common ways to reduce battery life. You might have used your phone before you went to sleep, checking out funny YouTube clips and then plugging it to charge for the night. Your cell phone’s lithium-ion batteries usually need only two to three hours of charging to get to 100 percent. If you leave your phone plugged in all night, you risk damaging it through overheating.
Smartphones have built-in safeguards to ensure that the battery doesn’t overcharge. However, the constant electrical charge going into the phone raises its temperature. By slowly heating up the phone, the charger is slowly degrading the lithium-ion battery, which needs to stay in a specific temperature range to perform at optimal capacity. Above this range and the battery starts suffering some damage.
Not Minding the Temperature
The best temperature for your phone’s lithium-ion battery is between 62 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. The human body normally gives off approximately 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit in body heat. Rudimentary arithmetic immediately tells you that keeping your phone next to your thigh in the confines of your jeans will put it well beyond its optimal temperature.
Another tight space that might overheat your smartphone battery is the plastic phone case that’s supposed to protect it. The charging process of a smartphone inevitably raises its temperature, and keeping it in its casing while that happens can trap the heat. Slip your cell phone out of its case when you charge to allow the heat to disperse.
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Waiting for the Battery to Completely Drain Before Charging
According to experts, this is an unwise move. Lithium-ion batteries are supposed to operate efficiently between 30 to 80 percent charged and draining them completely can make it less efficient. This is because lithium-ion batteries naturally become less efficient every time they’re charged. However, if you drain the battery before charging it, this could speed up the process of degradation.
Modern society has made the smartphone indispensable in some parts of the world. Without one, people operate at a distinct disadvantage, and so it’s only natural that you would want to keep your device topped up at all times. Being more careful about how you charge your phone can allow you to enjoy its technological wonders for a much longer time.