How To Get The Most From Your Smartphone Battery

Most of us use our smartphones so much that they will use up all of their juice by the end of the day. Likely you will plug your smartphone in at night and then forget about it and fall asleep, knowing that you will wake up to a fully charged gadget.

Is it really the safest and best way to charge up your device? Is it damaging the battery or does it shorten the lifespan of the battery?

This is quick guide on what is the best way to recharge your smartphone and get the best from your battery.

‘Should you leave your phone plugged into the charger overnight?’

Shane Broesky, co-founder of Farbe Technik, a company that manufactures charging accessories says, “Leaving your phone plugged in overnight is okay to do, it will not drastically harm your device…Your phone is very smart, once it is fully charged it knows when to stop the current from coming in to protect your phone from overcharging.”

However, eventually the battery is going to degrade if you choose to charge your device this way. Broesky continues, ‘Lithium-ion batteries can react poorly if your phone experiences elevated temperatures, leading to a damaging effect…If you have a case on your device that does not allow for heat to escape, this heat will increase the temperature of the battery and will cause cell oxidation, which will shrink the capacity and shorten the lifespan.”

You should also ensure that you remove the phone from its case overnight, if you are going to leave your phone plugged in and charging.

‘What’s the optimum way to charge your phone?’

According to Broesky, “The sweet spot for Lithium-ion batteries is to keep them charged between 50 and 80 percent. This allows for the charged ions to continue to work and protect the life of your battery…Charging your device in short spurts throughout the day will give these ions just enough energy to keep them going.”

So, rather than one overnight charge is much healthier for your battery to top up a few times during the day. It may not be convenient, but it is the optimal way to charge your smartphone if you want to get the longest life possible from your battery.

‘What should I avoid?’

Broesky explains, “The major threat to your battery is charge cycles…A charge cycle is where your battery goes from empty or near-empty to full and every phone battery has a limited number of charge cycles before the end of its life.”

He continues: ‘Try to avoid going from 0 to 100 percent whenever possible, this will start to break down your battery and give your device a shorter lifespan.’

Your device’s battery may have a high number of charge cycles until the limit is reached, but eventually the battery is going to degrade and noticeably so. When this happens, you will find that it will only last for a very short period of time.

Getting the most form your smartphone’s battery:

• Always use official chargers and cables from reputable brands and retailers.
• Do not allow your smartphone get too hot and remove the case when charging it overnight.
• For the longest battery life possible, aim to keep your battery percentage between 50% and 80%.
• Avoid allowing your smartphone’s battery to completely discharge.
• Do not charge your smartphone from 0% up to 100% too often.

[Image via fotonetstore]

SOURCE: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/expert-advice-on-how-to-avoid-destroying-your-phones-battery