Our smartphones are our pride and joy and life without them can be especially tough. Like when, for example, the battery dies.

Photo: Jon Fingas
Photo: Jon Fingas

It’s always handy to know a few tips in regards to charging our phones to make sure our batteries are nice and healthy, and remain full for as long as possible, without having to drag a charger around.

Tech Insider states “It turns out that the batteries in our smartphones are much happier if you charge them occasionally throughout the day instead of plugging them in for a big charging session when they’re empty.”

So, think of it this way, we all like a well earned nap during the day if we’re feeling a little sleepy, so ‘recharging our batteries’, so to speak, helps give us that little boost to get us through the rest of the day. Same here with smartphones.

However, I must stress that we shouldn’t let our phones charge overnight. I used to charge my iPhone religiously every single night and the battery soon became short lived. So, in this case, we shouldn’t completely mimic human sleeping patterns. Instead, when the phone needs a quick pick-me-up, give it a short burst of energy, not even necessarily to 100%.

As Tech Insider also mentions, “Once your smartphone has reached 100% charge, it gets ‘trickle charges’ to keep it at 100% while plugged in. It keeps the battery in a high-stress, high-tension state, which wears down the chemistry within.”

Evidently, over-charging for long periods is physically damaging to our phones. Like when we sleep for a ridiculously long time and leave our phones charging as we do so.

So, the main lessons we can learn about charging our smartphones are as follows:

  1. Only charge your phone occasionally throughout the day rather than extended charging sessions for long periods
  2. Do not let your phone stay plugged in at 100% for long periods of time
  3. Don’t let your phone overheat – be wary of what case you’re using and if it acts as an insulator of heat

Happy charging!