How to properly charge the battery of the phone

How to properly charge your smartphone. busting myths

Many users are convinced that in order to charge your smartphone, you must wait until it is completely discharged, and you must always charge it to 100%, and nothing else. Today the online store Stylus will destroy the myths about charging modern smartphones with lithium-ion batteries, which behave very differently.

How to properly charge your new smartphone

You know what the main problem of all modern smartphones without exception? Short battery life. Chances are you’ve encountered it more than once. And now just imagine that your hands make your new phone work more than usual. To do this, all you need to know is how to charge your new smartphone correctly. And that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about in today’s Funduk technoblog.ua.

Before we start talking about how to charge your smartphone, let’s understand what kind of batteries are used in modern devices. Most often these are batteries of one of the four types:

The nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries. the lot of old smartphones and cell phones, in the new models they are practically not used. These batteries have a so-called “memory effect”, so you should think several times about whether to take such a device. Where better to choose a device based on more modern lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries. Firstly, they have no memory effect, so they are much less demanding to comply with the rules of charging Secondly, they have an increased capacity in an extremely compact size and weight, they give high power and are safe to use.

The only thing worth considering is that lithium batteries are sensitive to low temperatures, so you should not leave them under air conditioning, carry them in your hands or in the outside s of your jacket/backpack for a long time in the winter. prefer inside s or insulated cases/pouches.

As with all batteries, overheating is not very good for lithium batteries. So do not leave your device in direct sunlight or near heating elements.

So long as you follow this rule while using it, you’ll only need to charge it properly to get the best possible performance out of your device.

How to charge a new lithium battery correctly?

The secret of proper operation over the entire time of use lies in the first charge of your smartphone. Is it necessary to fully discharge your new smartphone before the charging process? Yes! The first thing to do after buying a mobile device is to fully discharge it, and then charge it to 100%. After that you should remove the unit from the charger. This way you calibrate your device to get the most out of its battery and the status indicator to get the most out of the displayed information.

It is definitely not a good idea to do this kind of discharging or charging on a daily basis. Lithium batteries don’t benefit from critical charge levels of zero or 100%, so try to avoid draining them completely. It is better to put the device on charging when there is 5-10% of charge or when the smartphone system gives a message about the need to connect the charger. Most of the mobile devices have such a feature now, including even the budget models.

In addition, you should make sure that your device does not overheat while charging, as it directly affects the reduction of battery capacity. You can see exactly how to do this in the chart below.

For the same reason you should not actively use various functions of your device or make calls while charging.

Leaving the device on the charger after it has filled 100% of the battery capacity will throw off its calibration each time, and it will have to be re-calibrated to display the correct information.

If you have been doing it wrong or if you accidentally forget to take the phone off the charger, do not be alarmed. you should recalibrate it through a charge-discharge cycle. By the way, such cycles should be repeated every two or three months to update the calibration, making the smartphone and its sensors to work with greater efficiency. For the rest of the time the experts recommend to keep the charge level at 40-70%.

One last piece of advice. If you go somewhere and want to leave your device turned on (but in complete idle mode, that is, in standby), it is worth to leave in its battery about 50% of the energy. In this case its performance will last much longer than with any other indicator.

All these rules apply not only to the use of a stationary power adapter, but also to the use of mobile batteries (paverbanks), as well as charging a mobile device from a USB port of a computer or laptop.

So now you know exactly how to charge your smartphone battery for the first time and how to do it during further use. So your device will be able to work longer than usual without wasting your nerves in a critical situation.

Rule Charge your smartphone at 20%

All smartphones have such a concept as a charging cycle. For example, the iPhone battery lasts for 500 full charging cycles (i.e. 3-4 years). One cycle is considered the total amount of battery charge from 100% to 0%. The cycle does not have to be continuous, it may consist of several intervals.

For example, you put the phone on charge when there was still 50% power left. The smartphone is charged to 100%. So you’ve spent half a cycle. And if it used to be thought that discharging the battery to zero would help save those very cycles, it’s clear now: it makes no sense.

Roskachestvo experts advise to charge your smartphone when the charge does not go below 20% and does not rise above 80%. This is the optimal situation for the battery.

How to charge your smartphone properly to prolong the life of its battery

There are many articles on the web about how to properly charge your smartphone. Often the advice in these articles contradicts each other. One thing’s for sure. If you use your smartphone, it is in “sleep mode”, put the smartphone on charge, even if you turned it off completely. at this time the battery slowly fails. So our main task is to make the battery (and, accordingly, and smartphone) lived and kept an acceptable capacity for as long as possible.

Each cycle of charging and discharging the battery, gradually (albeit very slowly) “kills” it, leading to a decrease in capacity, and eventually to battery failure.

A new smartphone battery, after about five hundred complete charge-discharge cycles, can lose up to 25% of its capacity relative to the initial one. Т.е. If the smartphone is used in the “half-charge” mode, in which you will need to charge it once a day, then after a year and a half you will notice the battery capacity has dropped and you will need to charge it more often. Then the process of loss of capacity is accelerated. Though not avalanche-like, but it accelerates. And approximately the next 25% of the capacity of the battery can lose after three hundred subsequent full charge and discharge cycles. And t.д.

Without going into the essence of the chemical and electrical processes that take place in the battery during charging, to influence the rate of “degradation” of the battery (and maintain acceptable parameters of its capacity longer) is possible if you charge it correctly!

Temperature

The ideal ambient temperature while charging your smartphone is about 20 degrees. But as nothing is perfect in life, it is desirable (or rather necessary) to charge your smartphone at an ambient temperature of not less than 10 degrees and not more than 40 degrees. Therefore, if you come indoors from the frost, you should not immediately put your smartphone on charge. Let it stay at room temperature for a while before you can charge it. But in the summertime you should avoid overheating and in no case leave your gadget under direct sunlight while charging.

Full discharge

Don’t let the battery fully discharge to 0%. If the battery is fully discharged, then when you start charging, even though the controller limits the voltage applied to it, it is still possible drastic increase in battery temperature, which can lead to battery failure, combustion or rupture of the case.

“Tactics” of charging

Here too there is no consensus among experts, but the best tactic is considered “20-80. This means that it is recommended to discharge your smartphone to no more than 20%, put it on a charge and charge up to 80%. Seemingly not a problem, but two nuances emerge. The first. whether 60% of the charge will be enough for the whole day. Second. how to track when the smartphone will be discharged to 20% and charged to 80%. In the first case, it all depends on how intensively exploited the smartphone. In the second case, special applications for Android can help, which will “inform” you when the battery reaches a certain percentage of charge.

There is a popular alternative charging tactic, “50-70. Т.е. Do not let the battery charge below 50% and charge the battery not more than 70%. It is believed that this tactic can prolong the life of the battery by twice, or even more. True you will have to recharge your smartphone several times a day, so this tactic is suitable only for those who have all day long a socket or a docking station near them and are ready for several times a day to recharge your gadget. And in this case, there is no way to do without applications that track the battery level.

Charger

You can charge your smartphone only with the “native” charger that came with the smartphone. Using it “native” charging (which by output current and voltage is designed specifically for your smartphone), you certainly will not reduce the service life of the battery smartphone, if not prolong it. If the “native” charger has failed, you need to find another charger with similar parameters of output current and voltage, indicated on the body of the “native” charger.

Do not use the smartphone while it is being charged.

If you use your smartphone during the charging process (watching movies, surfing the Internet, etc.), the battery will get overcharged.д.), you are slowly “killing” the battery. Т.е. During the charging process the battery is discharging at the same time. Such “rocking” negatively affects the service life of the smartphone battery.

It is not difficult to follow these simple rules of correct smartphone charging. But compliance with these rules will allow you to preserve the capacity and performance of the built-in battery and, accordingly, to extend the life of your smartphone without the need for premature battery replacement.

How to speed up smartphone charging

Most modern phones and tablets support the Quick Charge feature, which translates to “fast charging”. Your battery charger used to deliver 0.5-1A, but now it has increased to 2 Amps or more. So it is important to use the original power supply for charging.

It is not recommended to buy charging adapters with accelerated charging for smartphones that do not support Quick Charge. You can damage your phone battery with these actions. You can find out if this feature is supported by the product’s manual or product specs.

How do you know your battery’s capabilities?

The app stores have a cool free program called Battery Life that can show you the total number of charge cycles on your gadget, how worn out your battery is, and tell you which apps are responsible for the most energy consumption.

Xiaomi often equips smartphones with low-maintenance capacitive batteries. If you notice any malfunctions, it is recommended to perform the calibration described above.

In case this method does not help, then study the instructions/user manual. It always indicates how long it takes to recharge your particular device. As in the case with any other brand it is best to use the “native” charger that came with the device.

How the battery works?

The battery of your smartphone consists of two layers separated by a liquid electrolyte which lets only particles with a positive charge through.

The first layer, the anode, is the lithium ions in the graphite cells. The second layer, the cathode, contains the cobalt oxide. Energy is stored and given off by a chemical reaction of electron exchange between atoms. The lithium tends to move from the graphite cells to the cobalt layer, giving off electrons which move to the cathode layer and power the components of the device. That’s how the battery is discharged.

During charging, an electric current is applied to the battery terminals with a voltage greater than the battery voltage. The lithium electrons change direction and move back to the cathode layer.

With the increasing number of charge-discharge cycles some electrons can get “stuck” in the electrolyte layer, and the cobalt oxide in the cathode gets oxidized, which leads to battery bloating and loss of capacity.

Temperature range

Battery performance is affected by temperature. It is important that it is optimal. Extreme heat or cold causes the battery to burn out and can easily disable even a new phone. Therefore, device manufacturers strongly advise buyers not to expose phones to direct sunlight and not to use them in the cold. The same goes for the battery powering procedure: if you come back from a cold or hot summer walk, you can’t charge the battery.

In the first case it is necessary to warm up the battery to room temperature, in the second. to put it in a cool place/shade and let it cool down.

Frequency

Another rule of thumb for proper operation of the device and extending battery life is to charge the battery in batches. Charge your phone in the car on the way to work, then at lunchtime and then at home. If you recharge and discharge your modern lithium-ion battery in cycles, it will last 3 times longer. Charge your device to 80% and discharge to 40%.

Why not fully, you might ask? Modern batteries, unlike the old ones, do not have a history memory option, so a full charge cycle from 0 to 100% will not affect them in any way. A lithium battery will only last about 500 full charge cycles and then its performance will be significantly reduced.

“Exercise your battery

Once a month you can fully discharge your phone and then charge it to 100% to get the battery level reading right. Otherwise, the battery indicator will eventually begin to show an inaccurate result. Performing the procedure is also useful for a new mobile device.

How to charge a new phone

To charge a new phone properly for the first time, you need to perform a full charging cycle (from 0% to 100%), keeping your smartphone on charge for at least 6 hours. The new battery needs to fill up with energy so that the battery percentage indicator value corresponds to a full charge. Charge and discharge your Smartphone completely only the first 2 times, and use the 40-80 rule the rest of the time.

Note: Usually, new devices have a charge level of 30 to 50%. This is the manufacturer’s charge from the factory to preserve the phone’s battery capacity during long-term storage.

If you follow these simple rules, your phone will last a long time and maintain a high battery capacity. Don’t forget to properly operate not only your new device, but also your old one.