Is Putting Your Phone on Charge Overnight Bad for the Battery?
Lithium-ion batteries in today’s smartphones, tablets, and laptops require a lot of charging time. Yet when is the ideal time to power or charge? Is overnight charging an option? Does maintaining a full charge harm the battery?
There are several myths around technology, such as the idea that a phone with more bars has better service. In order to access “Field Mode” and learn more about nearby networks and cell towers, enter the dialer code *3001#12345# and then hit the call button.
How does the battery on your smartphone perform? It will eventually become worse, but you don’t want to hurry it along. End the discussion about whether overnight charging will do that.
Overnight Charging
It’s a widespread misconception to charge your phone too much. The quantity of charge entering your device shouldn’t be a problem as the majority are intelligent enough to stop accepting a charge once full, only topping up as necessary to keep it at 100%.
The issues arise from the battery overheating, which may result in damage. When charging your phone overnight, it is preferable to take off any cases in order to prevent this. It’s also advisable to place the phone on a firm, flat surface so that the heat can quickly disperse.
Therefore, charging your phone overnight is quite safe; just be careful that it doesn’t overheat. Nevertheless, you won’t believe how quickly phones can now recharge, so you don’t actually need to keep it charging for 8 hours.
Using a wireless charger is one way to reduce the charging speed. It will spare you from having to struggle to plug it in and use less energy in the process.
How Chargers Operate
Most of the time, whatever you’re worrying about won’t be a problem for the gadget. For instance, Android is made to manage to multitask for you, so you don’t need to close apps.
The battery and other internal components of smartphones are protected by built-in safeguards. Overheating is one thing that can harm phones, which is where a lot of the worry about charging overnight comes from.
The majority of phones charge rapidly the first time you plug them in or set them on a wireless charger. So that you don’t have to wait too long if you only need a little additional juice quickly. When it hits 100%, charging will eventually slow down and stop altogether.
Naturally, the battery will gradually deplete because the charging process ends at 100%. When it reaches 99% once again, it will swallow a tiny quantity of power to increase to 100% again. Until you turn off the electricity, that cycle continues. Despite practically continual charging, the phone is never overcharged.
Cycles of charging
While charging from zero to full may have been beneficial in the past, we must repeat that this is no longer the case. It is best to avoid using up your lithium-ion battery’s restricted number of charge cycles.
Keep the battery topped off with several little charges rather than a full cycle so that you don’t have to start charging your laptop, phone, or tablet from scratch after letting it entirely die. If you use the battery for full charge cycles, you’ll notice that it suddenly stops accepting as much charge and starts losing it more quickly as it degrades.
Users of Apple iPhones, for instance, have a function in iOS that will let them know how well their battery is doing and whether it needs to be replaced. The check is located under Settings, Battery, and Battery Health.
Charging in extreme temperatures
The majority of gadgets are made to operate in a wide range of temperatures, such as those between 16 and 22 degrees Celsius, but regularly exposing your device to temperatures exceeding 35 degrees might harm it.
For instance, Apple may briefly turn off your iPhone if it becomes too hot. “Charging the item in high ambient temps might harm it further,” the manufacturer advises.
Fortunately, it differs for freezing temperatures, and batteries are much more equipped to withstand the cold. You’ll undoubtedly notice a decrease in battery life; on skiing vacations, cameras are particularly susceptible to this.
However, the bad performance is often only temporary, and as you return to warmer weather, you should see your battery life returning to normal.
How to maintain the health of your battery
You don’t have to wait until your battery is completely dead to charge it. That implies that if you charge from 0% to 100%, you will use up a complete charging cycle. Don’t stress too much about percentages and charge when it suits you.
Make every effort to keep your phone cool. Tucking your battery beneath your pillow is one of the worst things you can do since heat shortens the battery’s lifespan over time. The same is true if you leave your phone outside in the heat or cold.
Unplug your phone if you discover it is completely charged when you wake up at night. Although it won’t have much of an impact, it won’t hurt either.
According to Apple, you shouldn’t entirely charge or totally deplete your device’s battery. “Charge around 50% of the price. If you keep a device with a totally depleted battery, the battery may enter a deep discharge condition and lose its ability to retain a charge.
On the other hand, if you keep the battery fully charged for a long time, it can lose some capacity and have a shorter lifespan.”
If you know you won’t be using it for a long, it’s also a good idea to switch it off rather than allowing the battery slowly drains as it sits on the shelf.
Can a phone battery be overloaded by an overnight charge?
Protection chips, however, keep track of when the internal lithium-ion battery reaches full capacity in the majority of contemporary products (and in all batteries for current mobile phones). When this occurs, the charging is abruptly terminated. Thus, you cannot in this manner overcharge the battery.
Depending on the device, it may be crucial to limit the amount of time a battery is charged in order to prevent overloading and battery damage.
The issue is that the charger will automatically turn on once more and recharge the phone to 100% while it continues decreasing down to 99% capacity. It’s known as trickle charging.
Will the Battery Get Worse if Charge Overnight?
Most likely, the battery will deteriorate if the phone is left charging. As we’ve already explained, if you charge your phone overnight, one of two things will probably happen that shorten the battery’s life. Either you are letting it get too hot or you are letting it trickle charge for hours on end.
Follow these recommendations if you have to charge your phone overnight to prevent any harm:
- To prevent it from overheating, charge your phone on a solid, cool surface. Don’t put it under your pillow (or anything that will trap heat).
- Before charging, take the case off of your phone.
- If you get up during the night, unplug your phone.
- Continually use the official charger and charging wire that came with your phone. Since they were created specifically for your phone, they are less likely to have flaws that might harm your battery or slow down charging.
Make sure the power bank you choose is high-quality and won’t likely harm your battery if you use one.
Is it necessary to recharge your battery just when it is 0%?
No. Allowing more recent lithium-ion batteries to deplete to 0% capacity can harm them. Because of the way batteries operate, they will inevitably lose capacity over time.
Older nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries gave rise to this urban legend. If you didn’t completely discharge them, they would build a “memory” that would actually reduce their capacity.
Lithium-ion batteries should be maintained at 30-80%, according to experts. Ideally, you should keep an eye on the charge of your phone and strive to maintain it within these ranges. It won’t end the world if you slightly under or overshoot.
Conclusion
Depending on how you charge your phone, doing so overnight isn’t always a terrible idea. But if you’re not careful, you can shorten the battery’s life, forcing you to purchase a new phone sooner than you had intended.
Even with the finest maintenance, though, phone batteries typically only last for a few years. So, don’t worry too much if you need to periodically charge your phone overnight.
