Our smartphone’s battery is one of our most prized possessions. Its good health depends on us using our phones correctly. Besides tips to improve its battery life, it’s good to know best practices for making its lifespan longer.
Based on our battery usage, our cell phones wear out more and more, making them mere shadows of what they once were.
Want your cell phone battery to stay healthier for longer? Then follow the expert tips we’ve compiled here, which apply to any current cell phone (Android, iOS, Windows Phone/Mobile).
1. Keep up a good charge level
They say the ideal for lithium ion batteries (the most common today) is keeping them at a 50% charge or higher for most of the time. If it goes below that percentage, try to charge it, even for a little bit (you can always bring along a portable charger, or leave a charging cable at work). In any case, aim for it to never go lower than 20%.
Now, although it’s recommend that the battery goes as low as possible until 50%, try not to keep it charged at 100% all the time, for this also reduces battery life a lot.
2. Fully charge your phone once a month
This rule has an exception: experts recommend fully charging your battery from 0% to 100% once a month. This makes your battery recalibrate, the equivalent of “restarting” for PCs.
3. Watch out for the heat… but also the cold!
Do everything you can to avoid the heat + smartphone combo, especially when you’re charging it. So, don’t even think about charging your cell phone in your car if it’s directly in the sunlight. Also it’s a bad idea to charge it beside a heat-generating source, such as behind the TV or next to the oven.
Careful, your smartphone doesn’t like cold either, so don’t directly expose it to low temperatures. It sounds crazy, but until recently many people believed that it was a good idea to put your cell phone in the fridge to cool it down.
4. Use the right charger
We don’t recommend using just any charger for your cell phone. Always try to use the original charger and, if it stops working or you don’t have it on you, buy one that has at least a basic warranty.
Many chargers sold on Amazon, eBay or Aliexpress don’t meet this warranty requirement and, although they will charge up your smartphone, they’ll wear it down more. So, with chargers, it’s better to spend a little more and buy one from a reliable brand (no worries if it’s not the same brand as your cell phone).
5. Keep in mind that unused batteries also wear out
Do you have a cell phone that you don’t use that’s turned off? Even if you charged it before you turned it off, keep in mind that batteries continue to wear out after a while. So, if you plan to use it again, make sure you charge it first.
This also applies to power-banks or external batteries: if you’re going on a trip and you’re taking one along, be sure to have it charged beforehand.
If you liked this article, you can learn much more about your smartphone battery with “ 7 unreal myths about your cell phone battery that you still believe are true.” Click here to read it.
