Is It Safe to Leave Your Phone at a Gear Check UPDATED

It'due south an result that has plagued humanity since the dawn of the mobile phone. We rely on our phones then much that they rarely get through a mean solar day with whatsoever power left. Many of us plug them in at night and autumn asleep, content in the knowledge that nosotros'll wake up to a fully charged device.

But is it really rubber to leave our phones plugged into the charger once they're fully charged? Is it dissentious the battery — or shortening its lifespan? How tin can we ensure that our smartphone batteries last as long as possible? There are lots of myths and questionable ideas on this topic. You'll find the internet brimful with opinions masquerading every bit facts. What's the truth? Nosotros've spoken to some experts and got some answers for you.

How does a smartphone battery work?

Smartphones rely on lithium-ion batteries. Battery cells have 2 electrodes, one electrode is graphite and the other is lithium cobalt oxide, and there'south a liquid electrolyte in betwixt which allows the lithium ions to movement between the electrodes. When you charge they go from positive (lithium cobalt oxide) to negative (graphite), and when you discharge they move in the contrary direction.

Batteries are typically rated in cycles, for example, the iPhone battery is supposed to retain fourscore% of its original chapters after 500 complete cycles. A charge cycle is simply defined as using up 100% of your battery's capacity, though non necessarily in ane go from 100 to zero; it could exist that yous utilize 60% one twenty-four hour period, then accuse your phone up overnight, and then use another xl% the next 24-hour interval to complete a cycle.

You lot tin can minimize degradation by treating your battery right.

Degradation occurs over time, and somewhen, batteries will fail to hold a charge, but how quickly a battery degrades depends on several factors. Yous can minimize degradation by treating your battery right.

What impacts a battery's lifespan?

"The lifetime is very much dependent on the resistance or impedance growth within the bombardment," Yang Shao-Horn, W. K. Keck Professor of Energy at Massachusetts Found of Engineering, told Digital Trends. "Keeping the battery fully charged essentially increases the rate of some of the parasitic reactions, which translates to potentially loftier impedance and greater impedance growth over fourth dimension."

The aforementioned is truthful of fully discharging your battery. Essentially, information technology speeds up the reactions inside, which makes it degrade faster. Simply fully charging or discharging your bombardment is far from the just matter to consider.

"There are and so many other factors influencing the wheel life," Shao-Horn said. "If you lot increase the temperature, for example, y'all also increase the parasitic reaction rates."

As well much heat is a major problem considering overheating can crusade the liquid electrolyte to break down and speed upward deposition. Another factor that could potentially take a negative impact on bombardment lifespan is the speed of charging. There are a lot of unlike fast-charging standards now, but in that location may exist a cost for the convenience of fast charging.

"Generally speaking, if nosotros increase charging speed and go faster and faster with charging it volition reduce the lifetime of batteries," Shao-Horn said.

Though, she said this is probable more of an result for electrical vehicles and hybrids, which require far more power than phones.

Should y'all leave your phone plugged into the charger overnight?

Your smartphone is capable of recognizing when information technology'south fully charged and stopping the incoming current, just as information technology turns itself off when the lower limit is reached.

"You won't be able to overcharge or over-discharge a cell," Daniel Abraham, senior scientist at the Argonne Laboratory, told Digital Trends for a previous article nigh the touch of wireless charging on battery health.

This idea of fully charging or discharging your smartphone bombardment is complicated past the fact that manufacturers set the cut off points. They decide what fully charged or empty ways and they carefully control how far you tin can charge or drain your battery.

While leaving your phone plugged in overnight is unlikely to exercise any major harm to your battery, because information technology will terminate charging at a sure level; the battery volition first to belch again and when it drops beneath a specific threshold set up by the manufacturer information technology will accuse back up. You are also prolonging the time that the battery is fully charged, which is potentially speeding up its degradation. How big an affect that has is very hard to quantify and information technology will differ from phone to phone because manufacturers handle ability management differently and employ different hardware.

"The quality of the materials used makes a large difference to how long the battery lasts," Abraham said. "You may cease upwards getting what y'all pay for."

Major manufacturers similar Apple tree and Samsung offering various tips to extend the life of your bombardment, but neither addresses whether you should or shouldn't leave your telephone plugged in and charging overnight. Nosotros have reached out to Apple tree and Samsung with this question, but accept not yet heard dorsum.

What's the optimum way to charge your phone?

Charging your phone equally little as possible is going to event in the longest battery lifespan, so learning how to squeeze the virtually from your smartphone battery is important.

The general consensus is that y'all should aim to go along your smartphone battery between 20% and 80%, so a couple of tops upwardly throughout the day are probable better for battery longevity than overnight charging. It may likewise be prudent to employ fast charging sparingly. A couple of good wireless chargers at home and work could be the ideal solution.

What to avoid

Yous should try to keep your smartphone cool whenever possible, then never leave it on the dashboard in a hot car. Apple suggests removing your iPhone case during charging to lessen the gamble of overheating. Samsung says it's best not to e'er permit your battery go under xx%, warning that "completely discharging the battery on your device may reduce its life."

Information technology's besides a bad idea to use your phone while it's charging because information technology will increase the rut generated. If yous are going to charge overnight, and so consider switching your phone off before plugging it in to reduce the stress on the bombardment.

Use quality accessories

At that place's one other gene to consider when charging your smartphone and it concerns the quality of the accessories you use. Information technology's ever best to use the charger and cable that shipped with your smartphone. Failing that, you lot tin can buy some other official charger and cable.

Sometimes the official chargers and cables are expensive. But y'all can find reputable alternatives, just be certain to wait for safe accessories that are fully tested and certified by the likes of Apple tree and Samsung, and compliant with legislation. If you are going to buy a charger from a third-political party, information technology'south best to stick to large brand names.

It'south besides important to ensure that the charger and cable you buy has the correct rating. Cross-check the amp or watt rating with your phone'south specifications. The real risks are found at the cheap cease of the market. Inexpensive counterfeits are not built with safety in mind and can be very dangerous. They often don't meet safety standards.

Takeaways

While it's not ideal if y'all desire your battery to terminal as long every bit possible, you tin leave your phone plugged into the charger overnight without as well much risk, provided information technology's not a counterfeit charger, and y'all don't permit your phone overheat. For best results with your smartphone charging, here'south what to remember:

Always use official chargers and cables, or certified alternatives from reputable brands and retailers.
Don't allow your telephone go too hot. Remove the case when charging overnight.
For the longest bombardment life possible, try to keep your battery betwixt 20% and 80%.
Avoid letting your phone bombardment completely discharge.
If you lot tin't turn your phone off while information technology charges, consider flight mode, or at the very least don't play a graphically-demanding game while information technology'due south plugged in.
Merely employ fast charging when it's really needed.

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Is It Safe to Leave Your Phone at a Gear Check UPDATED