Does your Android or iPhone’s battery seem to hold less of a charge over time? Like all rechargeable batteries, Li-ion batteries (which are in most phones) become less effective as they age. Even though these batteries aren’t made to last forever, having a healthy battery and charging habits can extend the life of your battery. We’ll show you easy ways to maximize your smartphone battery’s lifespan by changing your charging habits.
1.Don’t wait until the battery is empty to recharge.
Charge your phone throughout the day. Your phone’s batteryhas a fixed amount of charging cycles (the number of times you charge the battery from 0% to 100%). For example, if your battery has a lifespan of 400 charging cycles, letting the battery drain every day means your battery will only last 400 days.[1] If you top off the battery before it drains completely, it reduces the number of overall charging cycles, which makes your battery last longer.Keeping a battery at full charge or always draining it to 0 can damage it and reduce its capacity. Try to keep your battery midway charged when you can and only charge to 100% when you need the extra time.
2.Avoid extreme temperatures.Exposure to very high or low temperatures drains the battery quickly.
Batteries are made to work best at room temperature, which is about 68 °F (20 °C).[2] Your battery, especially when fully charged, will drain much faster in extreme temperatures. This can cause damage to the battery over time.[3]Avoid using your phone at all if the temperature is below freezing 32 °F (0 °C).If you live in a very cold region and spend a lot of time outdoors, invest in an insulated phone case.Only charge your battery at temperatures between 41 °F (5 °C) and 95 °F (35 °C).If the phone or charger feels hot to the touch during a charging session, unplug the phone from the charger as soon as possible to avoiddamaging the battery.
3.Don’t always charge your battery to 100%.
When you’re always charging to 100%, the frequent high voltage can cause stress to the battery. Fully charging your battery won’t destroy it, you can add some time to the battery’s lifespan by only charging to 80% when possible.
4.Only use ultra-fast charging when necessary.
Fast charging is convenient, but don’t use it every time you charge your phone. Fast charging puts more stress on the battery than necessary, so battery performance can suffer over time.[4] Opt for a standard “slow” charge more often than not to preserve battery longevity.
5.Use your phone sparingly while it’s charging.
To avoid parasitic load, don’t play games or stream videos while charging your phone. Parasitic load is what happens while a battery is being drained during charging.[5] Parasitic load adds higher voltage stress to the battery, increases heat, and can cause parts of the battery to continually cycle and deteriorate faster than the rest of the cell. While you can take calls or browse the web during a charging session, avoid heavy tasks.
6.Use power-saving modes to increase time between charges.
When your battery is slow, turn on your phone’s low-power or battery-saving mode. Both Androids and iPhones have special battery-conservation modes that turn off background apps, decrease processing power, dim the screen, and disable other services that can drain your battery quickly.To turn on your iPhone’s Low Power Mode, open the Control Center and tap the battery icon.If you have a Samsung Galaxy, open Settings and go to Battery and device care > Battery > Power saving. Tap the switch to turn on Power Saving Mode.[6]For other Androids, go to Settings > Battery > BatterySaver and tap Turn on now.