How to Properly Charge a Phone Battery
While most of us live in fear of a fading phone battery when we’re out and about, we don’t worry too much about that battery’s eventual lifespan (probably between three and five years). But there are ways to keep our phone battery in tip-top shape for a long and fruitful life.
When should I charge my phone? The rule with Li-ion batteries is to keep them 50 percent or more most of the time. When it drops below 50 percent, top it up a little if you can. But don’t charge it all the way to 100 percent. Constantly doing a full recharge will shorten the battery’s lifespan.
So a good range to aim for when charging a Li-ion battery is from about 40 to 80 percent in one go. Try not to let the battery drop below 20 percent.
Should I charge to 100 percent? Experts recommend that you do a full zero to 100 percent battery recharge (a “charge cycle”) maybe once a month only. This recalibrates the battery – a bit like restarting your computer, or, for humans, going on holiday! The same goes for laptops, too.
Should I charge my phone overnight? Most modern smartphones are clever enough to stop charging when full, so there isn’t a great risk in leaving your phone charging overnight. But some experts recommend you remove the phone from a case if charging for a long time, as a case could lead to overheating – not good for Lithium-ion batteries.
Should I use fast charging? Many Android phones have a feature that allows for fast charging, often referred to as Qualcomm Quick Charge or, in Samsung’s case, Adaptive Fast Charging – there are others too.
These phones have special code usually located in a chip known as the Power Management IC (PMIC) that communicates with the charger you are using and requests that it send power at a higher voltage.
The iPhone 6 doesn’t feature fast charging, but its Qualcomm PMIC is smart enough to recognize when you use a higher-amp charger (like the one you get with the iPad), and that’s a good thing because fast charging will heat up that Li-ion battery and cause it increased wear and tear.
Can I use any phone charger? Where possible, use the charger that came with your phone, as it is sure to have the correct rating. Or make sure that a third-party charger is approved by your phone’s manufacturer. Cheap alternatives may harm your phone, and there have been several reported cases of cheap chargers actually catching on fire.