7 Myths About Smartphone Batteries

dead non-removable battery

The battery technology in our mobile devices have improved tremendously over the years. From Nickel-cadmium, Nickel–metal hydride battery (NiMH), Lithium-ion, and Lithium Polymer. In the early days of smartphones, battery technologies weren’t so great, so smartphone users would form all sorts of tricks to make sure their smartphone batteries last longer.

Even though battery technology has improved, and these old tricks wouldn’t work (not that they ever worked), a lot of smartphone users still believe in them fill date.

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Related: What To Do If Your Smartphone Non-removable Battery Dies

Drain battery completely before charging

Smartphone Battery myths

Trust me, you don’t need to drain your battery completely before charging it. Every lithium-ion battery comes with a stable amount of charge cycles. This is the number of times you can charge up to 100 percent and run down to 0 percent.  An iPhone has a lifespan of about 400 to 500 charge cycles.

This, however, doesn’t mean you can only plug it in 500 times but it means that you have 500 chances to let it go from a full charge to no charge at all. So, if you let your battery drain completely every day, it will only last 500 days.

If you charge it before it drains and top it off throughout the day, you will extend the time those 500 charges will last. There is one reason to let your battery drain completely. If it “dies” when the battery icon is showing a positive charge, it means the battery needs to be readjusted. Draining it all the way down then charging it up again should fix the issue.

Use Only Official Brand Charger for Your Phone

I think this myth originated from manufacturers themselves. If you buy a smartphone, you will find instructions from the manufacturer in the manual telling you to only buy chargers. This is just a marketing strategy that has worked for so long.

Using a third-party charger would have no negative effect on your phone, I can guarantee. But make sure you get yours from a reputable third-party charger manufacturer as some cables and adapters might not give you the same fast charge as the original would.

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Be careful though. Stay clear off the super-cheap chargers; they mostly aren’t up to standard and would not give you a good result.

Fully charge your new phone before using it

The truth is that your phone already has some power, and skipping that first charge won’t affect its life long-term. And the only reason some manufacturers recommend charging it first is to make a good first impression.

When you get that new phone and it reaches your hand, the testing and the examining of the phone will have drained up to half of the battery. Most times, these recommendations are to make users feel like they are getting the quality of the device they were promised. You don’t need to charge your new phone fully before you use it.

However, always make sure to do away with apps you do not need, because, even though we say apps do not drain battery life, there are certain apps, if not programmed properly, could still have a negative effect on your phone battery.

Read: Tecno Pouvoir 3: An affordable smartphone with 4 days battery life

Battery will last forever if you charge it properly

This is obviously not true. Batteries do not last forever and so they need to be replaced. Lithium-ion batteries lose their capacity to hold a charge as they age, so even if you still have plenty of life cycles left, you may only be able to charge your phone to 60 percent of its capacity.

When necessary, you need to consider replacing the battery to give the phone a longer life. Experts agree that keeping your phone’s battery between 30 and 80 percent most of the time promotes its longevity.

Completely Discharge Your Battery Before Charging it Again

So, you can believe this if your smartphone comes with a Nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride battery. But if you use a lithium-ion powered smartphone – which most smartphones use, I think you should ignore the myth. Back when phones use either the Nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride battery, it was advisable to wait until your battery is fully drained before you recharge it. This is because old nickel-centric batteries would forget what their full capacity was if you don’t let them drain before charging.

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Read: 5 little known phone battery maintenance tips you should know

Heat won’t have any effect on your phone battery

We should understand that heat is actually more of a problem to your phone’s battery than overcharging your phone. If you leave your phone in a brightly lit spot like on a window side or outside the house, then you are going to discover that the battery will drain quicker.

The ideal operation temperature of smartphones according to their manufacturers’ environmental guidelines should be around 32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. In Celsius that’s between 0-35 degrees. Heat really affects the battery so don’t be deceived.

Read more: How to save your battery using power-saving mode

Conclusion

The sure thing that drains battery life on your phone is your display screen. If you do not really need to use your phone, always keep the screen off to ensure that that your phone is powered for as long as it should.

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