Charging a Phone to 100% is Apparently Harmful & Shortens a Battery’s Lifespan


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Last Updated on 2020-12-05 , 6:02 pm

While phones are getting smarter with every year, its batteries are failing to keep up. I mean, nothing can beat Nokia 3310’s battery life.

But with that said, Nokia 3310 only runs one program at one time whereas smartphones tend to run multiple programs such as Tinder, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp—did I miss anything out?

Does charging your phone to 100% make any difference?

Well, not really.

Don’t charge your mobile phone to 100%

According to Battery University, lithium-ion batteries (which happens to be the standard battery in our smartphones) may get damaged if it is plugged in when it’s fully charged.

Chances of you unplugging your phone the moment it reaches 100% is little to none, so when it is plugged in at 100% for a period of time, trickle charge occurs.

Trickle charging is when your battery is at 100%, and it still receives a low rate of charge to keep it at 100%

This stresses the battery and it will lead to lithium plating, essentially “killing the battery” in the long run.

What is the best way to charge the phone then?

According to Tech Advisor, it is best to charge when the power drops below 50% and a few times throughout the day—a full recharge to 100% actually shortens the battery’s lifespan and causes the battery to overheat.

The ideal situation would be that you charge your phone from 40% to 80% in one sitting.

Like most things in life, batteries, too, have a lifespan, an average of 300-500 full cycles before it drops to 70% of its initial capacity.

So, one cycle is equivalent to a battery fully draining and Apple explained it in the simplest way possible: “you might use 75 per cent of your battery’s capacity one day, then recharge it fully overnight. If you use 25 per cent the next day, you will have discharged a total of 100 per cent, and the two days will add up to one charge cycle. It could take several days to complete a cycle.”

Capeesh?

Now that you know the 40-80 rule is the best way to ensure the preservation of your smartphone’s battery—is your phone at 40% now?

Featured Image: Alexey Kabanov / Shutterstock.com


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