‘A total recharge’ fails to charge the phone, and it corrodes the battery

Phone.Photo: Hafslund

You’ve probably heard advice to let the mobile phone run completely out of charge, and that ‘charging’ it for 10 minutes here and there destroys the battery.

 

Well, the puzzling news is that it’s actually quite the opposite, and there are good reasons why you shouldn’t charge your mobile through the night. What is true of traditional batteries doesn’t necessarily apply to lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries used in modern mobile telephones.

By following a few simple charging tips, you can extend the total battery life, and increase the chances that your phone stays charged for a little longer each time it’s charged.

 

Tips to keep your mobile battery lasting longer

Don’t empty the battery every time. The most common battery type in 1990’s (NiCd) mobiles was affected by what became known as the ‘memory effect’, wherein the card said that the battery had run out from the point where it was usually charged.

In order to take advantage of its entire capacity, it had to be recharged frequently to reset it.

This was fixed quite quickly, but users were advised to let the battery run completely dead. Unfortunately, with Li-ion, you reduce the battery life by fully emptying and fully re-charging it frequently.

Keep the battery level between approximately 40-80%. It can still be sensible to give it a full charge cycle once in a while.

But usually you should try to charge it a little, and often, and keep the battery about half full. That’s where the li-ion batteries ‘thrive best’ and wear out the least.

Disconnect the charger when the battery is full. It’s not true that the batteries are ‘left behind’. Phones today are ‘smart’ enough to stop receiving power when the battery is full.

Nevertheless, the small ‘drip’ of voltage will keep the battery at 100% for as long as the charger is plugged in, and it keeps the battery ‘tense’. Battery University makes a useful comparison; removing the charger is akin to relaxing your muscles after training (via Business Insider magazine).

Don’t leave it charging over-night. This advice follows keeping the battery at 40-60% and removing the charger when you’ve charged it to approximately 80%.

But there is also another reason to avoid charging the mobile throughout the night. There is actually a real danger of the phone overheating and causing a fire. This is especially true with cheap duplicate chargers, where there have been some frightening cases of poisonous smoke, and fires.

When all is said and done, it’s better for the battery when the mobile phone is partially charged, to between 60% and 80%, than
to recharge it completely.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today