People believe in all sorts of rules for what you should do with your device in regards to battery life. Real rules do exist, but there are multiple rumored ones that are myth. You should ignore those and I’ll explain them here so that you can begin to separate the fact from fiction. Batteries have become easier to manage over the years and some beliefs on their care are simply outdated. Most lithium-ion batteries should last between four and five years, if you take proper care of them. Heat is certainly an issue to be wary of but there are a lot of misconceptions over what can cause heat problems with the battery in your smart-phone.
Myth #1 Charging your phone overnight will damage your battery
Your smart-phone is smarter than you think it is. It will stop charging when it is at capacity. If the phone is fully charged and still plugged in the battery is not even in use. You can’t overcharge it. Your phone isn’t going to explode or catch fire because you left it plugged in overnight. You can apparently make your battery last longer in the long run by keeping your phone charged between 40 percent and 80 percent but this by no means that plugging it in before you go to bed is a danger or harmful to your phone. Thankfully, there is nothing to worry about. Modern electronics stop charging. They don’t overcharge.
Myth #2 You must fully drain your battery before charging
Battery memory is a remnant from the past. NiMH and NiCd batteries had a “memory effect”. They had to be completely discharged to 0% before charging. People used to try and drain batteries completely. They would never charge them when they were near or over 50%. This simply does not apply to your smart-phone or laptop. Lithium-ion batteries are what we use today and dropping them to 0% is bad for battery life. Got 60% left? Go ahead and charge it. Frequent charges wont do damage to your battery. Several small charges is better than down to zero all the time. You really shouldn’t ever let it drop below 20% if you can avoid it.
Myth #3 Using your smart-phone while charging is dangerous
We have all heard and seen the exploding battery stories or been advised by a tech or user manual to avoid using a phone or other device like a laptop while charging. This has got to be one of the biggest battery myths of all time. It is fine to use your phone while charging. Just pay attention to a few things. Try to use your phone’s original charger. A third party charger is fine as long as it isn’t a poorly made knock off.
Heat can be a problem but it shouldn’t be on most mobile devices. Specific devices known for overheating and laptops can be an issue, but most smart phones should be fine. If it gets warm give it a break. If you aren’t in a a hot climate, experiencing heat problems already, or using a bad charger the likelihood that it could damage the battery or your phone is negligible. Charging a phone should not produce heat unless there is something wrong with the charger or the phone to begin with, and if that is the case it is going to cause problems even if you don’t use it. The other thing to remember is that your phone is in use even if you aren’t using it. There are apps that run in the background and sync data, the phones operating system is running, and other system activities are going on in the background. Most smart phones don’t even allow you to charge them when they are off. If you plug them in they turn on. Unless your phone is off and not plugged in it is always in use.
Myth #4 Turning your phone off is bad for your battery
There isn’t any truth to turning your phone off once and a while being bad for your battery. Turning your phone off once a day or even once a week can actually be good for the battery. Some devices can get by with a simple reboot from time time to restore battery function. Now if you leave your phone off for enough time the battery will drain because that is just how things work, but that is if you leave it off for an extended period of time. Even if your device runs perfectly it doesn’t hurt give it a break every now and then.
Myth #5 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Internet usage will drain your battery
In and of itself, these services don’t drain your battery. Just having them on wont actually drain your battery. You have to be actively using them for them to have any noticeable impact on power levels. They do pull a small amount of energy from your battery, but not enough to drain it even over an entire day. You will get better results from dimming your screen than you will from turning these services off.
As for internet usage, gaming or watching videos are the real culprits. Graphics engines for games demand a lot of energy. Checking your e-mail, using Facebook, using a web browser and other activities aren’t much of a drain. If you play games or watch videos a lot on your device you should dim the screen if you want to extend battery life.
