Don’t kill your battery!
One of the most common mistakes people make with charging their devices will shorten the life of the battery. Many if not most people plug in their phone or tablet before they go to bed. So much so, that there is a whole category of accessories devoted to bedside nighttime charging.
Letting your battery charge to 100% and leaving it on the charger will shorten the lifespan of your battery. Ideally you should keep your battery between the 20% – 80% range. This is true for electric vehicles as well. If you have an iPhone 15 or higher, you are in luck. You can set the charging limit to your desired limit.
Lithium-ion batteries should not be overcharged.
Why Overcharging Is Bad:
- Safety Risk: Overcharging can cause the battery to overheat, leading to swelling, leaking, or in rare cases, fires or explosions.
- Battery Life: Keeping a lithium-ion battery at 100% charge for long periods can degrade its capacity over time.
- Internal Chemistry: Overcharging disrupts the delicate balance of chemical reactions inside the battery.
Good Practices:
- Use a quality charger with built-in overcharge protection (most modern devices have this).
- Avoid charging overnight regularly if the device doesn’t have good power management.
- Unplug when full if practical, or keep it between 20% and 80% for maximum lifespan.
- Most modern devices and chargers include safety circuits to prevent overcharging, but the habit of constantly keeping lithium batteries at full charge can still shorten their lifespan.