Phone batteries have a limited lifespan. Here are some rules to charge by:
- Don't let your battery drain to 0%. Cell phones have lithium-ion batteries and allowing them to drain to zero diminishes battery capacity.
- Do charge your phone to between 40% and 80% instead of 100%. The upper mid-range is the ideal level for a stable battery, as it will help you get the most out of its lifespan.
- Don't charge your phone overnight. Doing this keeps your phone battery in a high-stress, high-tension state. This wears down the chemistry and can cause your battery to lose its capacity with each charging cycle gradually. Plus, it's probably not necessary to charge your battery for that long anyway.
- Do unplug the phone once it’s reached a full charge. If you want to charge your battery to 100%, unplug it once it’s at full charge. Leaving your phone plugged in after it’s reached a full charge allows small amounts of power to seep into the battery to maintain that charge, which can stress and damage it over time.
photo credit: Getty Images