How to Extend the Life of Your Smartphone Battery
A smartphone’s battery life is one of the most important factors in maintaining long-term performance and usability. Over time, battery degradation leads to shorter usage times, frequent charging, and even the need for costly battery replacements. Many users unknowingly follow habits that speed up battery wear, such as overcharging, exposing their devices to extreme temperatures, or using fast charging excessively.
Understanding how smartphone batteries work and adopting the right practices can help extend their lifespan, reducing the need for frequent upgrades and contributing to less electronic waste. This article covers how lithium-ion batteries function, the best charging habits to preserve battery health, and the effects of heat and temperature on battery longevity.
Understanding How Smartphone Batteries Work
Most modern smartphones use Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which offer high energy density, lightweight design, and fast charging capabilities. However, these batteries degrade over time due to charge cycles—a complete charge cycle is counted every time a battery goes from 0% to 100%. Most Li-ion batteries are designed to last around 500 to 1,000 charge cycles before experiencing noticeable capacity loss.
Several factors impact a battery’s lifespan, including heat exposure, charging habits and discharge cycles. Higher temperatures accelerate chemical wear inside the battery, while keeping a device constantly at 100% or letting it fully drain can shorten its usable life. Additionally, modern smartphones feature optimised charging technologies to slow down degradation, but proper battery care remains essential for maximising longevity.
Three Best Charging Practices to Extend Battery Life
Adopting the right charging habits significantly extends a smartphone’s battery lifespan. While smartphones are equipped with smart charge management, user behaviour still plays a crucial role in preserving battery health.
a) Avoid Full Discharges and Overcharging
Letting a battery drop to 0% regularly or charging it to 100% frequently can wear it out faster. Ideally, keeping the battery between 20% and 80% helps reduce stress on battery cells and extends its lifespan. Unlike older battery types, Li-ion batteries do not require full discharges to maintain capacity.
b) Use the Right Charger and Cable
Using a certified charger and high-quality cable is essential for maintaining stable power delivery and preventing battery damage. Cheap, uncertified chargers may cause voltage fluctuations and overheating, reducing battery efficiency over time. To ensure safe charging, always use the manufacturer-recommended adapter or a certified third-party charger with proper voltage and amperage ratings. Use MFI (Made for iPhone/iPad) certified charger to charge your Apple devices.
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c) Enable Optimised Charging Features
Many modern smartphones come with built-in battery optimisation settings. On iPhones, Optimised Battery Charging slows down charging after 80% to reduce battery wear. Android users can enable Adaptive Battery or Smart Charging to learn usage patterns and limit charging speeds accordingly. These features help prevent unnecessary strain on the battery, ensuring it remains healthier for longer. To make sure you have optimised battery charging enabled for your iPhone, follow the steps below:
- Go to Settings
- Tap on Battery
- Tap on Battery Health & Charging
- Ensure that Optimised Battery Charging is enabled (green)
Managing Heat and Temperature for Battery Longevity
Excessive heat is one of the biggest threats to a smartphone’s battery life. High temperatures speed up chemical degradation, reducing battery capacity more quickly. Whether caused by charging, gaming or environmental conditions, heat exposure should be minimised to preserve battery health.
a) Avoid Excessive Heat Exposure
Keeping a phone in direct sunlight, leaving it in a hot car, or placing it under a pillow while charging can lead to dangerous overheating. Heat causes battery cells to degrade faster, leading to permanent capacity loss. To prevent overheating, always charge in a well-ventilated space and avoid using power-intensive apps while charging.
b) Charging in Safe Environments
Charging a smartphone in an ideal temperature range (10–30°C or 50–86°F) ensures efficient power transfer and reduces battery stress. Charging in extreme temperatures, especially above 40°C (104°F), can cause the battery to swell and degrade rapidly. If the phone becomes too warm during charging, removing the case can help improve airflow and dissipate heat more effectively.
How to Reduce Battery Drain and Prolong Your Daily Usage
Extending daily battery life helps reduce the frequency of charging cycles, which in turn preserves long-term battery health. Many background processes and high-power functions drain the battery unnecessarily, so optimising settings, connectivity, and app usage can significantly improve power efficiency.
Part of the strategy to extend the life of the battery in the smartphone involves minimising the times you have to charge your phone. You can do this by turning on the Low Power Mode. This reduces the background activity like downloads and mail fetching and slows down the battery drain so you do not have to charge your phone so often.
a) Optimize Screen and Display Settings
The screen is one of the biggest power consumers on a smartphone. Reducing its impact on battery life involves:
- Lowering screen brightness manually or enabling adaptive brightness to adjust based on ambient light.
- Using dark mode on OLED screens, as black pixels consume less power.
- Reducing screen refresh rate (if your phone supports 120Hz or 90Hz) to 60Hz when high refresh rates are unnecessary.
- Shortening the screen timeout duration so the display turns off faster when not in use.
b) Manage Background Apps and Connectivity
Many apps continue running in the background, consuming battery without users noticing. To minimize drain:
- Close unnecessary apps or restrict background activity for apps that don’t need constant updates.
- Use Wi-Fi instead of mobile data, as Wi-Fi is more power-efficient.
- Disable Bluetooth, GPS, and location services when they are not needed.
- Turn off background app refresh to prevent apps from constantly updating in the background.
c) Enable Battery-Saving Modes
Most smartphones come with built-in battery-saving modes to extend usage during low power conditions:
- Low Power Mode (iOS) reduces screen brightness, limits background tasks, and disables visual effects.
- Battery Saver Mode (Android) adjusts CPU performance, background activity, and network usage.
- Ultra Power Saving Mode (on select devices) restricts phone functionality to basic calls and texts, significantly extending standby time.
Using these settings strategically helps conserve power throughout the day, reducing the need for frequent recharges.
Long-Term Battery Care Tips
To ensure a smartphone battery remains healthy over the long run, proper maintenance is essential. Certain charging habits and storage practices can make a difference in preserving capacity.
a) Avoid Frequent Fast Charging
Fast charging is convenient but generates excess heat, which can accelerate battery degradation over time. While it won’t immediately damage your smartphone’s battery, using fast charging too often can gradually reduce its long-term capacity. To prolong battery life, opt for slow charging (5W–10W) whenever possible, especially for overnight charging. Reserve fast charging for times when you need a quick power boost and avoid using the phone for heavy tasks like gaming or video streaming while it’s charging to minimise heat buildup. If you game on your smartphone, consider a smartphone cooler to avoid heat from the GPU and CPU affecting the battery.
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b) Perform Occasional Battery Calibration
Battery calibration helps ensure that your device accurately reports battery percentage, preventing unexpected shutdowns. To recalibrate:
- Let the phone drain completely to 0% and power off.
- Charge it uninterrupted to 100% using a stable power source.
- Leave it plugged in for an extra 30–60 minutes after reaching 100%.
- Use the phone normally and repeat this process every few months.
c) Store Your Phone Properly When Not in Use
If you plan to store your smartphone for an extended period, proper storage practices are essential to prevent battery degradation. Lithium-ion batteries naturally lose charge over time, and storing a phone with a completely drained battery can cause it to enter a deep discharge state, making it difficult to recharge.
For long-term storage, keep the battery at around 50% charge and power the device off. Store it in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight, extreme temperatures, and humidity. If storing for several months, charge the battery to 50% every few months to prevent it from fully depleting. Following these steps ensures your phone remains in good condition and the battery stays functional when you need it again.
Battery Myths vs. Facts
There are many misconceptions about battery care that can lead to unnecessary or even harmful habits. Here are some of the most common battery myths debunked.
Myth 1: You Must Fully Discharge Your Battery Before Charging
Fact: Lithium-ion batteries do not have memory effects, so fully draining before charging is unnecessary. Keeping the battery between 20% and 80% helps extend lifespan.
Myth 2: Using Your Phone While Charging Damages the Battery
Fact: It is safe to use your phone while charging, as long as you are using a certified charger. However, heavy usage (e.g., gaming or video streaming) during charging can generate excess heat, which can degrade the battery faster.
Myth 3: Overnight Charging Ruins Your Battery
Fact: Modern smartphones have built-in charge management that prevents overcharging. However, keeping the phone plugged in at 100% for long periods can cause gradual wear.
Myth 4: Closing Background Apps Saves Battery
Fact: While closing some power-hungry apps (like navigation and streaming apps) helps, constantly closing and reopening apps can use more battery than leaving them in the background. Instead, optimize app settings through battery management features.
Myth 5: Fast Charging Damages Your Battery
Fact: Fast charging does not immediately damage the battery, but frequent use generates more heat, which speeds up degradation. Using slow charging when possible helps extend battery lifespan.
By understanding what really affects battery life, users can avoid harmful habits and follow proven strategies to extend their smartphone’s battery lifespan.
Conclusion: Making Your Smartphone Battery Last Longer
Extending your smartphone’s battery life is not just about making it last longer each day, but also about preserving its long-term health to avoid premature degradation. Proper charging habits, reducing excessive heat, and optimizing settings all contribute to maintaining battery efficiency over time.
By following the best practices outlined in this guide, users can reduce frequent charging cycles, prevent unnecessary wear, and maximize battery lifespan, ultimately extending the overall life of their smartphone. These small changes not only help you get more value from your device but also contribute to reducing electronic waste and the need for costly battery replacements.
