ARTICLES

No one wants to be at the most interesting level of Candy Crush, losing 5% battery life per minute, and then stranded somewhere, later on, unable to make an emergency phone call- because their battery’s dead.

These are the early warning signs of battery life deterioration, and in situations like this, it’s not surprising that we would wish for easily removable and replaceable batteries like the ones in our TV remote controls.

However, since this is not yet possible, the best chance most device users have at elongating their device battery lifespan is to take a shot at maintaining it properly.

Proper care and upkeep of device batteries is not rocket science, yet it has proven to be very much difficult for so many people. A couple months or years gone by and a lot of devices barely even make it past a day on a single charge. Which is why, in today’s world, having a phone over three years and counting seems almost impossible.

A modern phone battery’s (lithium-ion) lifespan has been calculated to reach 2 to 3 years, which is about 300 plus charge cycles, as estimated by most device manufacturers. After that, the battery capacity is expected to decline by roughly 20%. But most phones, however, still struggle to survive up to even just 2 years.

So, what are the major causes of battery life declination?

1. You’re stressing your device with overcharging.

Have you ever left your phone or laptop plugged overnight with the intention of wanting a full charge?

Well, if you have, you must’ve innocently thought this is one way of cheating the poor electricity distribution in your location, take Nigeria as example, and achieving your full charge goal before “NEPA carry light”.

However, overnight charging is highly not recommended for anyone. This is because there is a continuous trickle charging process going on after the battery is full, and while you’re deeply tucked away in dreamland, it is slowly causing damage and giving room for metallic lithium plating of your battery.

Most devices, from mobile phones to digital cameras and notebook computers, all run on lithium-ion based batteries. Such batteries can preserve three to four times the energy of a normal sized nickel-cadmium battery, according to one scientist, Dr. habil. Ralph Gilles.

And so, metallic lithium plating in such batteries will affect the stability of the device its working under, and in the long run, lead to major malfunctions.

2. You’re charging your device and using it at the same time.

Especially while playing a mobile game, or watching a movie on your laptop. This is what you could call a “parasitic charge”. Imagine having worms in your system. Even while trying to eat as much food as you can, it’s not enough because the worm keeps eating away at them on the inside.

Parasitic charging for devices is quite the same. It is what happens when your phone or laptop is on charge and is making use of twice more power than it’s being fed with. Every charge going into the device becomes dispelled while you’re using your phone. This not only disrupts the normal charging cycle of the device, but also allows it to deteriorate at an alarmingly fast rate.

This is even worse in moments when the device is already fully charged and you’re still plugged in, eventually leading to high voltage stress and heat on the battery.

3. You’re charging your phone in an excessively hot environment.

Environmental factors play a huge role in device battery charging. Temperature is one major thing to watch out for when charging your devices because their internal temperature is largely based on the temperature of the surrounding environment.

If your phone gets too hot, it can face problems like battery drainage, forced shutdowns, and even a complete meltdown where the Central Processing Unit (CPU) can be compromised.

There’s also the possibility that your phone might not reboot if it was forced to shut down due to overheating. Which is why you should avoid charging your phone in your car with the sunlight directly focused on it, or even just keeping your devices in hot spots.

A study found that most cars parked in the sun on a 95 degree day can reach temperatures of 116 degrees within just one hour. And so it is recommended that you shouldn’t even use your mobile devices in a 95 degree environment, not to talk of 113 degrees, as suggested by Apple and other brands.

When your phone battery becomes hot, due to the scorching temperature, overheating becomes possible. And when the charger itself is also hot, you could invite permanent damages on both the charger and the phone.

There is no permanent solution to battery life declination, or none that is known of yet, which sadly means that eventually, you’d have to part with your beloved device. However, you can strive to prolong its lifespan by:

1. Avoiding overcharging, especially overnight, and substitute partial charges into your charging routine. You don’t have to max a 100% at one charging session.

2. Keep in mind that heat is your device’s number one enemy. So suffocating your phone in heat inducing spots, for instance, under your pillow, in a tightly closed or stuffed drawer, or on the dashboard of your car, directly facing sunlight, is absolutely wrong and definitely not good for your battery.

3. Call of Duty Mobile can wait. Your battery can’t. If you must watch a movie, or play any game, do it on a full battery, or a reasonable amount of charge to avoid overloading your battery.

Laptop users are not exempt from any of these rules. Most device users believe the bigger the device, the larger its tolerance. However, this is but a myth. And in a world where myths like this can still supersede public awareness, we can only hope and pray that more users will be enlightened on proper device care.

No one wants to be at the most interesting level of Candy Crush, losing 5% battery life per minute, and then stranded somewhere, later on, unable to make an emergency phone call- because their battery’s dead.

These are the early warning signs of battery life deterioration, and in situations like this, it’s not surprising that we would wish for easily removable and replaceable batteries like the ones in our TV remote controls.

However, since this is not yet possible, the best chance most device users have at elongating their device battery lifespan is to take a shot at maintaining it properly.

Proper care and upkeep of device batteries is not rocket science, yet it has proven to be very much difficult for so many people. A couple months or years gone by and a lot of devices barely even make it past a day on a single charge. Which is why, in today’s world, having a phone over three years and counting seems almost impossible.

A modern phone battery’s (lithium-ion) lifespan has been calculated to reach 2 to 3 years, which is about 300 plus charge cycles, as estimated by most device manufacturers. After that, the battery capacity is expected to decline by roughly 20%. But most phones, however, still struggle to survive up to even just 2 years.

So, what are the major causes of battery life declination?

1. You’re stressing your device with overcharging.

Have you ever left your phone or laptop plugged overnight with the intention of wanting a full charge?

Well, if you have, you must’ve innocently thought this is one way of cheating the poor electricity distribution in your location, take Nigeria as example, and achieving your full charge goal before “NEPA carry light”.

However, overnight charging is highly not recommended for anyone. This is because there is a continuous trickle charging process going on after the battery is full, and while you’re deeply tucked away in dreamland, it is slowly causing damage and giving room for metallic lithium plating of your battery.

Most devices, from mobile phones to digital cameras and notebook computers, all run on lithium-ion based batteries. Such batteries can preserve three to four times the energy of a normal sized nickel-cadmium battery, according to one scientist, Dr. habil. Ralph Gilles.

And so, metallic lithium plating in such batteries will affect the stability of the device its working under, and in the long run, lead to major malfunctions.

2. You’re charging your device and using it at the same time.

Especially while playing a mobile game, or watching a movie on your laptop. This is what you could call a “parasitic charge”. Imagine having worms in your system. Even while trying to eat as much food as you can, it’s not enough because the worm keeps eating away at them on the inside.

Parasitic charging for devices is quite the same. It is what happens when your phone or laptop is on charge and is making use of twice more power than it’s being fed with. Every charge going into the device becomes dispelled while you’re using your phone. This not only disrupts the normal charging cycle of the device, but also allows it to deteriorate at an alarmingly fast rate.

This is even worse in moments when the device is already fully charged and you’re still plugged in, eventually leading to high voltage stress and heat on the battery.

3. You’re charging your phone in an excessively hot environment.

Environmental factors play a huge role in device battery charging. Temperature is one major thing to watch out for when charging your devices because their internal temperature is largely based on the temperature of the surrounding environment.

If your phone gets too hot, it can face problems like battery drainage, forced shutdowns, and even a complete meltdown where the Central Processing Unit (CPU) can be compromised.

There’s also the possibility that your phone might not reboot if it was forced to shut down due to overheating. Which is why you should avoid charging your phone in your car with the sunlight directly focused on it, or even just keeping your devices in hot spots.

A study found that most cars parked in the sun on a 95 degree day can reach temperatures of 116 degrees within just one hour. And so it is recommended that you shouldn’t even use your mobile devices in a 95 degree environment, not to talk of 113 degrees, as suggested by Apple and other brands.

When your phone battery becomes hot, due to the scorching temperature, overheating becomes possible. And when the charger itself is also hot, you could invite permanent damages on both the charger and the phone.

There is no permanent solution to battery life declination, or none that is known of yet, which sadly means that eventually, you’d have to part with your beloved device. However, you can strive to prolong its lifespan by:

1. Avoiding overcharging, especially overnight, and substitute partial charges into your charging routine. You don’t have to max a 100% at one charging session.

2. Keep in mind that heat is your device’s number one enemy. So suffocating your phone in heat inducing spots, for instance, under your pillow, in a tightly closed or stuffed drawer, or on the dashboard of your car, directly facing sunlight, is absolutely wrong and definitely not good for your battery.

3. Call of Duty Mobile can wait. Your battery can’t. If you must watch a movie, or play any game, do it on a full battery, or a reasonable amount of charge to avoid overloading your battery.

Laptop users are not exempt from any of these rules. Most device users believe the bigger the device, the larger its tolerance. However, this is but a myth. And in a world where myths like this can still supersede public awareness, we can only hope and pray that more users will be enlightened on proper device care.

A weak battery could mean the end of your user experience, and so taking necessary precautions to maximize your device’s battery life and longevity should occupy top priority space in your mind.