How to maximize phone battery lifespan

How to maximize phone battery lifespan

Now that you bought a replacement battery for your phone, you must be determined to make the maximum use of the battery before needing any replacement. This blog post will deal with increasing the lifespan of mobile phone batteries. battery lifespan is the duration that a rechargeable battery can be used before it needs replacement. Lifespan of a battery can be several months or few years.

At the current rate of producing new smartphones, you may hardly need to replace a battery. It’s more likely that before the battery needs replacement, you will upgrade to a newer model! But still if you love the phone you have and don’t plan to sell it for an upgrade, or you are a phone enthusiast like me who keep all the phones that you use and boast that all of them are in pristine working condition, you are sure to find this very helpful!

First thing to do is know your battery type. You can look at the battery or look up phone specifications on the user manual for the battery type. Most common battery types are

Lithium ion battery

Li-ion     Lithium Ion

Li-Poly   Lithium Polymer (More precisely Lithium Ion Polymer)

NiMH    Nickel Metal Hydride

NiCd      Nickel Cadmium

Almost all new phones are powered by Lithium polymer batteries. Some new non-smart phones have Lithium ion batteries. Nickel metal hydride and Nickel Cadmium battery powered phones are a thing of the past.

The following tips are for all types of batteries

1.       Use only batteries and chargers built for your phone

Each type of battery charges in different ways. For example, the basic process to charge a Lithium polymer battery is a constant current until each cell reaches 4.2 V. The charger must then switch to a constant voltage mode, and the charging current will gradually reduce while the charger holds the cell voltage at 4.2 V. In contrast a Nickel cadmium battery is charged by a steady current.

But there is no harm in replacing the battery with another battery of the same type and same voltage but higher mili-ampere hour rating (mAh). This will definitely increase battery life.

2.       Use only genuine batteries and chargers from your phone manufacturer

You may damage your phone or battery or both and even make warranty void if you do otherwise! If you have a spare battery and want to charge it without the phone, always use a charger built to charge that type of batteries.

3.       Fully charge the battery for the first time.

Usually phone batteries come half charged. So insert the new battery, switch on the phone and immediately charge fully.

4.       Store the battery right

When you want to store the battery for a long time, charge it 60% - 80% and store in a cool dry place away from sun, dirt and dust. Don’t keep them un-used for a long time. Take them for a ‘spin around the block’ once in a while.

5.       Never abuse your battery.

Clean the copper contacts of the battery with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab. Never put the battery in water or fire. Don’t short circuit, use with incompatible devices, puncture or bend batteries.

6.       Never try to squeeze out all the juice from the battery

Usually the phone will beep and switch off when battery is too low. It might even say ‘Battery empty’. But there is little juice left in it to keep the clock ticking so that you will not have to reset time once you charge it.

If your phone switched off due to low battery, never ever try to switch it on without charging. Repeatedly trying to squeeze out all the juice is the quickest way to destroy a battery!

This applies to all rechargeable batteries, even for laptop, ipod and camera.   

Now I’m going to bust the biggest urban myths on battery life span. Many believe that draining the battery completely and charging fully helps to improve battery lifespan.

•   For phones using a Lithium ion or Lithium polymer battery

You can use your phone while it is charging. You can charge the battery at any time and for any duration. You can interrupt the charging without damaging the battery. In fact, it’s better for Lithium polymer batteries to have a ‘shallow’ charge and discharge!

But, it’s important to drain the battery fully and charge it fully once in a few months to recalibrate the battery. Recalibration occurs automatically once battery is low and the phone automatically switches off. Recalibration will not increase the battery life or battery lifespan, but it makes the onscreen battery percentage accurate.

Nickel metal hydride battery

•  For phones using a Nickel Cadmium or Nickel metal hydride battery

The urban myth is somewhat true for the early mobile phones. The Nickel Cadmium and Nickel metal hydroxide batteries that were used to power these old phones has a ’memory effect’. This is responsible for significant decline in battery capacity when repeatedly charged and discharged to the same state of charge. Although this has been observed in satellites, this has not been observed in mobile phones. You can find more information in Wikipedia.

These tips have been experimented by me and have some valid scientific basis. I have managed to keep some phones that are about a decade old in good working condition by following these tips. If you want to share your tips, comment below!