Why you shouldn't charge your phone all night

What is the most rational way to charge your smartphone?

You might want to charge it while you sleep so that it reaches 100% on a regular basis, but that will damage the battery and shorten its life.

Learn how to extend the life of your phone's battery and why you shouldn't charge it all night.

Battery life is determined by the number of charge cycles

If you buy a smartphone, you want to use it for as long as possible.

However, if you tamper with the device without permission, the warranty will be invalidated.

It's becoming more and more important to get the most out of your battery, as most people find it cumbersome to replace the battery that is built into your phone by default.

Rechargeable batteries will gradually decrease in capacity over the years (even if they are not used). If you use it normally, the capacity should decrease in about a year.

After using it for two years, it's almost impossible to keep the battery running all day on a single charge.

Smartphone manufacturers identify the average lifespan of their smartphones through a "battery charge cycle."

"Charging cycle" is to charge the battery from 0% to 100% and then discharge it to 0%.

The "expected number of charge cycles" is the number of charge cycles the battery will experience before the battery capacity begins to decrease significantly.

Lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries are used in most rechargeable devices.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in some form, such as smartphones, steam humidifiers, laptops, tesla, and even chainsaws.

The most popular lithium-ion battery is the 18650.

It can go through 300-500 full charge cycles before the capacity is reduced to about 75%.

When the capacity is reduced to 75%, obvious glitches begin to occur.

Reasons why lithium-ion batteries deteriorate

Smartphones and tablets use a variation of lithium-ion batteries called lithium-ion polymers (Li-Poly).

Lithium polymer batteries are characterized by their high safety, small size, and fast charging speed, but the same rules apply to battery life as other lithium-ion batteries.

If you regularly charge 80% or more and discharge to 20% or less, the battery will deteriorate fastest. The charge that the device works best is 50%.

If you want to extend battery life, avoid extremes. Every time you charge up to 100%, it counts as one charge cycle.

If you charge and discharge between 20 and 80%, you can complete a full charge cycle more than 1000 times before the battery capacity drops significantly. This is equivalent to 3 years of charging every day.

Why is that so? It's because of how lithium-ion batteries work.

Lithium-ion batteries are made up of a lithium cobalt oxide layer and a graphite layer, and emit energy as lithium ions move from the graphite layer to the lithium cobalt oxide layer.

When the battery is charged, its ions return to the graphite layer.

Therefore, an extreme increase in lithium ions in either layer will damage the battery.

Overfilling one layer with lithium increases internal resistance and impairs cell integrity.

Correct handling of smartphone battery

So how do you handle your smartphone's battery?

You may already have a bad charging habit, such as plugging in a charging plug while you sleep at night.

Fortunately, such bad habits can be improved in less time and effort.

Why you shouldn't charge all night

Unplug your smartphone at bedtime and wake up before charging.

Charge your phone as a routine when you wake up in the morning, or when you're at work or watching TV at night.

It may take up to an hour to charge your device, but if you leave the charging plug plugged into your device while you sleep, it will stay connected to the charger for much longer.

The smartphone battery cannot be overcharged. Smartphone makers are taking precautions to prevent overcharging.

However, if you charge to 100%, "trickle charge" will be added.

That means it adds enough energy to supplement what the device uses by default. If you charge it to 100% and leave it plugged in, it will consume energy when you don't need it and overuse the battery.

This means that 80% charging is encouraged, but leaving the charging plug plugged into the device all night will definitely exceed 80%.

Prolonged charging can cause the battery to heat up, which will cause the battery to deteriorate naturally.

Also, it is dangerous if you sleep with your smartphone under your pillow and the battery gets extremely hot.

So never sleep with your device under your pillow. Without air flow, not only can the battery be damaged, but it also increases the risk of fire.

In any case, don't expose your phone to any extreme situation.

Placing it in a place colder than 0 ° C or hotter than 70 ° C will accelerate the deterioration of the lithium-ion battery.

Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to put your smartphone on its side to sunbathe or leave it in the car on extremely hot or cold days.

Can I use the app while charging my smartphone?

Don't put a heavy load on your device while charging.

In reality, many people have done it, but doing so often can lead to irreparable damage.

This is equivalent to overclocking your PC's CPU.

Consider the negative effects of running many apps at the same time. Your smartphone will get hot and will not work properly. This is also added to "trickle charge".

You may want to watch YouTube videos or play your favorite games with the charging plug plugged in to reach the next level, but it's not worth the negative impact on the battery.

Of course, this depends on how long you intend to use your smartphone.

Some people just want to renew their contract and usually change devices every two to three years.

If you use the app regularly while charging, your phone will slow down significantly in the second year after you buy it.

If you want to use your smartphone for a long time, please do not use the app while charging.

It's okay to check your messages and emails, but don't take a lot of energy at all.

How to stop charging at 80%?

Smartphone makers have little intention of letting users use the full capacity of the battery.

It is foolish to eliminate the lithium ions in one layer extremely. Still, when you charge to the maximum amount you can charge, the display will show 100%.

How can I prevent my device from charging beyond the recommended 80%? There is one absolutely reliable method.

It's about watching your device carefully.

Are you surprised, "Well, is there only such a primitive method?" Of course, you can also use the software to change your charging habits.

For Android phones, Accu Battery can be set to give you tips on how to improve your battery and set an alarm to indicate your capacity percentage.

For iOS, there aren't many options, but FruitJuice can at least extend the life of your Mac.

Some laptops have a BIOS setting that allows you to adjust the maximum charge rate of the battery.

For example, Lenovo can easily be done on Windows with software called Lenovo Energy Management.

If you install this software and select "Optimize Battery Life", your laptop's battery will stop charging at 80%.

How to avoid wasting battery

In addition to paying attention to the device temperature and charge rate, you can further extend battery life by reducing the frequency of charging.

The fewer times you charge, the fewer charge cycles and the longer the life of your device.

The best effect is to reduce the time it takes for the screen to time out and lower the brightness setting.

In addition, most smartphones and some laptops have a "battery saver" option.

Device usability is rarely compromised, including iOS screen time.

This allows you to set how many minutes you haven't used your device before the screen goes dark, and you can also limit apps, so you can promote better battery habits.

Incredibly, connecting to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi doesn't consume much battery power.

However, disabling GPS and mobile data can significantly reduce battery consumption on most devices.

Environment suitable for storing smartphone batteries

Even if you don't intend to use your device for a long time, you should take good care of your battery.

When storing the battery, avoid extreme environments and store it in a cool place. Batteries prefer a slightly colder environment than a hot one. If that is not possible, place it in the same environment as the surrounding room temperature.

Also, do not fully charge your smartphone before storing it somewhere. 50% is optimal, but it is okay to discharge in the range of 40-60%.

Continuing to upgrade your smartphone device will have a huge impact on your environment. Prolonged use of the same device can contribute to the global environment.

How to extend battery life

So how can you extend the life of your smartphone's battery? Here's a list of things you can do easily.

1. Do not fully charge, keep at 20-80%.
2. Avoid charging while sleeping to shorten the time when charging is 100%. When it reaches 100%, the battery deteriorates the fastest.
3. Keep your device at room temperature and avoid extremely hot or cold environments.
4. Turn off unnecessary services to reduce battery drain. With a battery saver, a single charge will extend the battery life.

In the short term, you may not notice much difference.

However, I'd be happy if I could use my smartphone all day with one charge even one year later.

Source: YouTube, App Store

Original Article: Why Charging Your Phone Overnight Is Bad by MakeUseOf