Know Your Battery
Before we talk about how to keep your battery healthy and extend its lifespan, it's important to know the type of battery being used.
Most phone companies use lithium-ion batteries; Apple, Samsung, Google, Huawei, etc. are no exception. You can easily confirm through the manufacturer's websites, they are typically listed under the specifications for the phone. Compared with older generations of battery technology, lithium-ion batteries charge faster, last longer, and have a higher power density for more battery life in a lighter package. Rechargeable lithium-ion technology currently provides the best technology for your device. Learn more about lithium-ion batteries.
Keeping Your Battery Healthy
The vast majority of manufacturers only offer a one-year warranty. OEM quality batteries usually can be expensive to change. Considering the cost of repairs, your battery needs to be treated better. Below are the tips for how to keep your battery healthy and extend its lifespan.
1. Avoid extreme temperatures
The acceptable temperature range for lithium-ion batteries is typically: −20 °C to +60 °C. Extreme temperatures outside of this temperature range will lead to performance degradation and irreversible damage, such as lithium plating and thermal runaway.
Temperature effect and thermal impact in lithium-ion batteries: A review - Science Direct
Maximizing Battery Life and Lifespan - Apple.com
2. Don’t charge your device overnight
Most smartphones, laptops, accessories, and AA or AAA chargers are smart enough to momentarily stop charging once the device is fully charged. This is to ensure your device will not be overcharged. The reason why we don't recommend leaving the battery charged overnight is because li-on battery capacity diminishes after a certain amount of recharging charging cycle. By keeping your phone charged overnight, you’re increasing the amount of time your device spends with the charger, thereby degrading its capacity much sooner.
True or false? Battery myths that need to die - Cnet.com
Why You Shouldn't Charge Your Mobile Phone Overnight - Time.com
3. Store it half-charged when you store it long-term
If you want to store your device long-term, two key factors will affect the overall health of your battery: the environmental temperature and the percentage of charge on the battery when it’s powered down for storage. Therefore, we recommend the following: Do not fully charge or fully discharge your device’s battery — charge it to around 50%. If you store a device when its battery is fully discharged, the battery could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding a charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period, the battery may lose some capacity, leading to shorter battery life. Power down the device to avoid additional battery use. Place your device in a cool, moisture-free environment that’s less than 32° C (90° F). If you plan to store your device for longer than six months, charge it to 50% every six months. Depending on how long you store your device, it may be in a low-battery state when you remove it from long-term storage. After it’s removed from storage, it may require 20 minutes of charging with the original adapter before you can use it.
Maximizing Battery Life and Lifespan - Apple.com
4. Update to the latest software
Always make sure your device is using the latest version of iOS. If you use iOS 5 or later, see if you need an update. Go to: Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, you can plug your device into a power source and update wirelessly or plug it into your computer and update with the latest version of iTunes.
5. Optimize your settings
There are two simple ways to preserve battery life — no matter how you use your device: adjust your screen brightness and use Wi‑Fi. Dim the screen or turn on Auto-Brightness to extend battery life. To dim, open the Control Center and drag the Brightness slider to the bottom. Auto-Brightness adjusts your screen to lighting conditions automatically. To activate it, go to: Settings > Accessibility. Tap Display & Text Size, then turn on Auto-Brightness. When you use your device to access data, a Wi‑Fi connection uses less power than a cellular network — so keep Wi‑Fi on at all times. To turn on Wi‑Fi, go to Settings > Wi‑Fi to access a Wi‑Fi network.
6. Enable Low Power Mode
Introduced with iOS 9, Low Power Mode is an easy way to extend the battery life of your iPhone when it starts to get low. Your iPhone lets you know when your battery level goes down to 20%, and again at 10%, and lets you turn on Low Power Mode with one tap. Or you can enable it by going to: Settings > Battery. Low Power Mode reduces display brightness, optimizes device performance, and minimizes system animations. Apps including Mail will not download content in the background and features like AirDrop, iCloud sync, and Continuity will be disabled. You can still use key functions like making and receiving phone calls, emails, and messages, accessing the Internet, and more. And when your phone charges up again, Low Power Mode automatically switches off. Media playback performance will degrade somewhat, so keep this in mind when you're watching videos or listening to music.
7. View Battery Usage information
With iOS, you can easily manage your device’s battery life, because you can see the proportion of your battery used by each app (unless the device is charging). To view your usage, go to: Settings > Battery.
8. Plug in and power on your computer to charge your device
Ensure your computer is plugged in and powered on when you’re using it to charge your iOS device via USB. If your device is connected to a computer that’s turned off or is in sleep or standby mode, your device’s battery may drain. Note that iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS cannot be charged with a FireWire power adapter or FireWire-based car charger.
Phone battery myths
Myth #1: You should charge a phone for eight hours when it’s brand new
It turns out that this advice used to be quite true and reliable. In the past, most batteries were made from nickel compounds. These batteries, in a physical sense, worked very differently from modern lithium batteries. Because of the older technology, manufacturers recommend that you charge the battery to full before you use the phone for the first time.
Charging New Phone Before Using: How Long? - techwithtech.com
True or false? Battery myths that need to die - Cnet.com
Myth #2: It’s terrible to let your phone die
You should not to make it a daily habit, but if you want your battery to stretch its legs a bit now and again, it’s okay to let it run a “full charge cycle,” or to let it die completely and then charge back up to 100% again. This helps the computers that control the battery, to remember where its high and low points are and will give you a more accurate reading of your charge.
Smartphone battery myths that need to die
Myth #3: Smartphone batteries are made to last forever
The lithium-ion batteries in most smartphones today are expected to maintain at least 80% of their original capacity for around 300 to 500 full charge cycles. That’s a pretty wide range. For most people, the average is about two years before it shows significant signs of wear and tear.
Conclusion & Warranty
After reading this article, you are now fully equipped to take proper care of your smartphone battery! A reminder, not taking good care of your battery may result in voiding its warranty.