Many cellphones appear to have built-in or planned obsolescence. This is when the device will only last for a certain time until it will need replaced. However, taking proper care of our electronic devices will be the best way to make them last as long as possible. One of the most important factors in the durability of your cellphone is its battery. How we charge it can affect its battery life, as too can the amount of time we turn it on or off. For this reason, knowing how to charge it properly is imperative.
At oneHOWTO, we ask is it bad to charge your cellphone overnight? Not only do we look at whether this is a problem for your phone, we understand how this can affect wider energy usage. This advice is for iPhone, Android phones and any other type of smartphone.
What happens if I charge my cellphone overnight?
To determine whether it is bad to charge your mobile phone overnight, we need to consider how smartphones and their batteries work. We also need to pay attention to the charger we use, whether using a cable charger or a wireless phone charger. With quality cellphone chargers, they use microchips to prevent the cell from using more power than is needed, i.e. they stop charging when they reach 100%.
The issues with charging cellphones overnight is that we do not remove them when they are full. Instead, many people will plug their phone in to charge when they go to sleep and won't unplug them until they awake. Most people will sleep for much longer than the time required to charge their phone.
Low-quality cellphone chargers may not have the ability to automatically turn themselves off. In these cases, the phone will continue charging throughout the night until you unplug the cable. Since the phone is on, it will continue to use power and drain the battery, so the charge will continue to charge it.
This is bad for two main reasons. The first is that the battery will raise its temperature as it continues to charge. Over time, this will decrease its battery life, making it much less efficient. On a practical level you will need to recharge the phone more often and it becomes increasingly common for the phone to shut down due to low battery. This is one of the reasons why your phone is overheating so quickly.
Secondly, using more power is bad for the environment. By using more electricity than you need, we put more strain on the world's energy resources. While our individual impact on the world may be relatively small, millions of people across the world charging their phones overnight will have a seriously detrimental impact on climate change.
Similarly, if we have to replace our phone more often, this causes harm by adding more electronic devices to the world. When this happens, we add to the problem of mining for metals to use in the devices and by contributing waste with the obsolete devices. The latter is often made from materials which cannot be recycled.
To learn more about ensuring your cellphone battery lasts for as long as possible, take a look at our article on how to save mobile battery life.
When should you charge your cellphone?
Most of the latest generation mobiles contain lithium batteries capable of withstanding different types of charge. As a general rule, it is advisable to have it charged at least 50%. Keeping the phone in charge at between 40% and 80% battery is one of the best ways to extend its useful life.
Taking this premise into account, it is not bad to charge your mobile a lot if you keep it at these battery levels. Above all, do not charge it fully too much. You can occasionally charge it to 100% battery, but doing so regularly has a negative impact on the durability of the phone.
It is especially important to avoid your mobile battery dropping below 20%. If you wonder when you should charge your cell phone, the moment it decreases to 20% will be ideal to plug the phone into the charger.
Regarding the type of chargers that can be used to charge your mobile, the best option will always be the manufacturer's charger. You will have no doubt that it is best suitable to the characteristics of the phone and, therefore, your mobile is charged most effectively. Although it can be more expensive to purchase new chargers from the same manufacturer, it will be cheaper in the long-run if it helps the device last longer.
Many people who charge their phone overnight keep them beside their bed. Some may even place them under the pillow or very close to them. Take a look at our related article to know whether it is wrong to sleep next to your cellphone.
Tips for charging your cellphone to make it last longer
After solving all the doubts about whether it is bad to charge your mobile overnight, we at oneHOWTO provide some recommendations to extend the life of your phone's battery, both when charging and while the mobile is in use:
- Do not turn off your mobile phone except when strictly necessary.
- Avoid using the phone while it is charging. This way the battery will charge faster.
- Always opt for chargers approved by the mobile manufacturer, especially the one provided when the phone was purchased.
- Do not charge it 8 hours after the last charge unless necessary.
- Do not fully charge the device in a single sitting.
- Try not to let the battery drop below 5%. As far as possible, you should always charge it when the battery life reaches 20%.
- Avoid charging the mobile when it has enough battery, i.e. more than 50%.
- If you do charge the cellphone fully, disconnect the mobile once the battery is 100% charged.
Now we know what to do when charging our cellphone, we can look to other ways we can improve our phone's usage. Our article on how to protect your mobile phone from water provides at least one.
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