When Should I Charge My Smartphone?

When Should I Charge My Smartphone?

Perhaps next to the screen, a phone's battery experiences the most wear and tear. Like a screen, we need to do what we can to protect it. Unlike a screen, we can't put it in a case or add a protective layer. Adopting the best practices for charging your phone will be the best way to prolong its life.

At oneHOWTO, we explain everything you need to know about the best phone charging practices by asking when should I charge my smartphone? By knowing when to plug it in and when to take it off charge, we can ensure we use our phone much longer.

When to charge a mobile battery

Many people doubt when they are supposed to charge their cellphone. Often this is because of misleading information on the Internet. Some people say you should charge it fully every time, others say you should go little by little. The best practice for charging your phone is to charge it before it gets to below 20% and stop charging when it reaches 80%.

The reason why we should keep our phone in charge between 20 and 80% is because of the stress the phone undergoes when above or below these limits. When a phone is below 20%, the phone will start to change its operating system to prepare for a potential powering-off. If this happens occasionally, it is no problem, but if you do it all the time, it will start to reduce its life expectancy.

When we charge our phone to over 80%, we also put the device under stress. This is because once it reaches 100%, it will keep charging again every time it loses a little power. The battery will wear down much more quickly if this happens. Essentially, you shouldn't drain the phone's battery completely, nor should you charge it fully. Doing either every once in a while is fine, but it's best not to make a habit of it.

A common reason why people charge their phone too much is they put it on to charge at nighttime. This is bad practice, something we explain in our article on is it bad to charge phone overnight.

Is it bad to charge the mobile when it has battery life?

Bearing in mind that the optimal charging range for mobiles is between 20 and 80%, it is especially important that you charge yours at different intervals. Make sure the battery varies between these values.

So, you don't have to worry about charging your cell phone two or three times a day. The important thing is that you do it within these levels. As soon as it gets close to 20%, use the charger to connect it to power. Of course, this isn't always the case when we are out and about. This is a good reason why caring a backup phone charging battery is a good idea.

To understand the benefits of charging a mobile at times, it is necessary that you know how the battery cycles work. These are only completed when you load it to the maximum, i.e. 100%. If you charge the mobile in the values from 20 to 80%, the charging cycle is not completed. Instead, it remains proportional.

Whether charging home or at work in an office, it is recommended that you use the charger from the original smartphone manufacturer. This is because it will be the most efficient and shouldn't cause any undue duress to the batter. Make small charges throughout the day to ensure you keep the phone between the values indicated above.

Calibrate the mobile battery

Although you must keep the phone with a charge that ranges between 20 and 80%, there are occasions when it is good to charge the mobile to 100%. In fact, it is necessary that you do so if you detect that it turns off when 15% of battery or similar is still remaining.

Why does your mobile turn off if it has battery left? It is probably not displaying the actual percentage of charge on the screen. The phone system performs a number of operations and the battery is calculated based on its results, but over time it may malfunction. To re-calibrate it, you must make a full charge up to 100%.

If your battery usually discharges quickly and you spend a lot of time away from home, you may be interested in reading this other article on how to charge your mobile without a charger.

What is the correct way to charge a smartphone?

Finally, now we have explain the best practices for smartphone charging, we can reveal some other tips to help prolong your phone's battery life. These recommendations help you to extend the battery life of your smartphone, but we are aware you won't be able to do them in every occasion:

  • Do not charge for too long: avoid leaving it charging overnight so that internal battery wear does not occur. Leaving it on charge for too long will cause continuous trickle charges, constantly pushing the battery back to 100% and possibly even overheating.
  • Short charges: charge the mobile in values that oscillate between 20 and 80%, preventing it from falling or exceeding these figures.
  • Avoid full charge: this causes long-term wear of the mobile due to the accumulated voltage of the battery. Opt for these types of charges only to calibrate the battery in a timely manner.
  • Take care of the temperature of the mobile the latest generation phones are very sensitive to high temperatures. Do not expose it to the sun or leave it in hot places. Also, if the temperature rises while charging, remove the cover to cool it down.

If the reason why you have to keep charging your phone is because you use it too much, help is at hand. Take a look at our article on how to stop looking at your smartphone so much. Using the phone less is another way to help make the battery last longer.

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