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Charging your smartphone is something you do once or several times a day. If it seems trivial, it remains extremely important for the life of your battery, and therefore your device. Here are 7 mistakes not to make when you recharge your phone to extend its battery life.
We often talk to you about battery life problems, myths, but too little about the precautions to take when it comes to charging your smartphone intelligently. This action is directly related to the habits of each user. However, there are mistakes not to be made. Here are some of them.
Mistakes not to make when charging your phone
Don’t wait until the battery is completely discharged
This obsession could be compared to an OCD: waiting for the battery to be completely discharged to recharge your smartphone. Well, it’s true that sometimes, with our smartphones losing 10% of autonomy with a 5-minute video, it’s hard not to find yourself stranded.
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But voluntarily waiting for the smartphone to turn itself off because of lack of battery is a mistake. Because according to a study, this practice has the effect of greatly reducing the life of the battery. Thus, from 1000 to 2500 cycles, the life span would drop to 300 to 500 cycles with a regular practice of total discharge.
This has to do with the way Lithium-Ion batteries are designed. It is best to avoid causing full charge/discharge cycles. So don’t wait until your smartphone shows 1% to plug it in: instead, charge it when it warns you that there is little battery life left, and avoid overcharging it!
Don’t charge it when the battery shows 50% autonomy
Don’t make us think you’ve never done it. It has happened to everyone. Often, for fear of not lasting the day, some users charge their smartphone while it still has 50% battery life. A practice that is completely understandable but should be avoided.
Indeed, as you may have noticed, a new smartphone when you turn it on for the first time will have a battery life of around 40%. This is due to the fact that at this level a battery works optimally. Beyond 40-50%, the cells degrade more easily.
Rather than recharging from 50 to 80% for example, it is better to wait until you reach 20-30% and then recharge. You will fall back to 40-50% and thus an optimal autonomy. And you can still hold a good moment. Until the end of the day with a little luck.
Don’t use just any charger
You often read that it is essential to use the charger provided with your smartphone to recharge it. This is not true. This is one of the many myths surrounding our smartphone batteries. Of course it is highly recommended but not mandatory. Using a third-party charger will not impact your battery. Under certain conditions. Because using just any charger is not recommended either.
smartphone chargers
So, with your smartphone, the charger provided indicates a certain amperage. If it is preferable to use this charger provided, you can still opt for another model but that scrupulously respects the amperage of the one provided. Otherwise, you risk damaging your battery, with longer recharges, a shorter life span or dangerous overheating.
Avoid charging from a pc
If using a third party charger is accepted, another practice is to be totally avoided: charging from a PC. As we explained above, amperage is extremely important in charging a smartphone.
unlimited autonomy smartphones 2016
However, the USB port of a PC can only support a recharge at 0.5 A. On average, a charger guarantees 1 A when charging. While the new USB 3.0 ports can reach 0.9 A, it is still not recommended to do so.
According to a study, regularly recharging your smartphone from a PC reduces the capacity of the original battery by 65% when subjected to a temperature of 40°C. However, when using a USB port, the temperature increases considerably. The charger on a mains socket, there is nothing like it.
Note that some computers are now equipped with a special USB port designed to send enough amperage to safely charge a smartphone. This port is often accompanied by a logo in the form of lightning. But beware: it is often linked to a software feature of your computer. So it is better to avoid it altogether.
Stop using the smartphone while it is charging
As we have just said, overheating leads to degradation of the battery and other components. Be careful, using your smartphone while it is charging will not destroy it, this is a myth. But it is still better to avoid.
Because, as you may have noticed, when you use your smartphone while it is charging, it tends to get hot. This is quite logical, the various components are subjected to a more or less significant effort while it is regaining energy.
The best thing is to let your companion rest. After all, he’s already working hard, right? So relax while recharging, watch a good movie, read a book, or do some sports. Your smartphone will be all the better for it. Using it won’t destroy it, but it’s still best to avoid it.
Important point, keep the device away from heat. Don’t charge it where the sun beats down like crazy. In general, it’s best to keep your smartphone away from heat and cold, extreme temperatures in short.
Avoid charging the smartphone up to 100%
This is a bit like waiting for your smartphone to discharge completely, but in the other direction. It is not really a serious mistake because the consequences will be almost non-existent. Charging your smartphone all night is therefore quite possible, and reaching 100% is not forbidden.
Nevertheless, if you have the possibility to avoid it, do it. Because generally speaking, up to 80% of the cells contained in the batteries are relatively “comfortable”. But for the remaining 20%, the path is more difficult and the cells degrade. Have you ever noticed that the last percentages take the longest to charge?
Android M autonomy
So it doesn’t matter if you let your smartphone charge up to 100%. You can let it charge a whole night, once the 100% is reached it will not charge anymore. The batteries are smart enough not to overheat. Explosions and fires due to so-called batteries are often the result of bad material: either a battery or a charger of very poor quality or even counterfeit. Of course, there are exceptions.
Avoid fast charging
Manufacturers have not found a way to make smartphones last longer so they have taken the problem in the other direction by offering fast charging. On paper, the deal looks good: you can recharge more than half your battery in just a few minutes. Ideal for the most mobile people who find a socket a bit hard to find. If all this seems very practical, it is very bad for the battery.
Indeed, fast charging is a bit like boosting cells. There comes a time when the life expectancy decreases. Ooh, drugs are bad! In any case, we have to say that if the batteries recharge slowly, it is because there is a reason. So pushing them to recharge for a few minutes is a bit like mistreating them. So avoid it.
Qualcomm Quick Charge in action
So here are our tips on how to best charge your smartphone. We have identified 7 mistakes that are commonly seen among users. Of course, you may have other tips to give. So you can express yourself, as always, in the comments. Are there any mistakes in this list that you were making?