Many of us are in the habit of charging our phones overnight. However, experts suggest that charging your phone during the day instead may actually be better for your phone’s battery life. According to Android manufacturers like Huawei, leaving your phone connected to the charger for extended periods or overnight can have a detrimental effect on the battery. They recommend keeping your battery level between 30% and 70% for optimal battery longevity. While you may need to charge your phone more frequently, it can help extend the overall lifespan of your battery.
The Science Behind It
To understand why charging during the day is preferable, let’s take a look at how lithium-ion batteries, the power source of smartphones, work. These batteries function by moving charge carriers between electrodes. Over time, this process puts strain on the electrodes and causes wear and tear. Kevin Purdy from iFixIt offers a simple analogy using a sponge: it’s easy to fill a dry sponge, but forcing a nearly saturated sponge to absorb more liquid requires pressure and can leave liquid pooled on the surface. This pooling is the solid electrolytic interface (S.E.I.) buildup on a battery, which reduces its overall capacity. Allowing the battery to run down to 0% can also reduce stress on the electrodes and prolong the battery’s life.
Safety Concerns
Charging your phone at night can also pose safety risks. You may have noticed that your phone gets warm while charging, and if it gets too hot, it can become a fire hazard. Charging your phone under a pillow or on bedding can cause thermal runaway in the battery, where it self-heats and keeps generating heat. To avoid this risk, it is important to charge your phone on a work surface or wooden side table that can dissipate heat effectively.
Best Practices for Battery Life
To extend the overall lifespan of your battery, consider implementing these practices:
- Avoid charging your phone for extended periods after it reaches full charge.
- Take advantage of battery optimization features available on your phone. For example, iPhones with iOS13 and beyond have the “Optimized Battery Charging” option, which learns your charging habits and stops charging past 80%.
- Optimize your everyday battery life by making small adjustments such as closing background programs, reducing screen brightness, disabling live backgrounds, setting a faster screen timeout, and disconnecting from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when not in use.
- Remove unnecessary widgets from your home screen to reduce battery usage.
Remember, while it’s important to ensure the longevity of your battery, it’s equally important to have a phone that lasts throughout the day without needing frequent charges.
Sources:
- “True or false: You shouldn’t charge your phone overnight.” USA Today. Kim Komando. March 14, 2021.
- “Why You Shouldn’t Charge Your Phone Overnight.” IFLS. May 2023.
- “11 tips to extend your Samsung Galaxy battery life.” Samsung.
