Can you damage a phone's battery by charging it too often, or for too long?
Why is it that your phone's battery seems to get worse over time?
Partly it's how you use your phone - the apps you install, the modifications you make, and the more notifications you receive - puts more strain on the battery.
Phone batteries, like all batteries, do degrade over time, which means they are less capable of holding the same amount of power.
Three things wear out lithium-ion batteries: number of charging cycles, temperature, and age.
When’s the best time to charge my phone?
Best practice recommends keeping your battery topped up somewhere between 30% and 90% most of the time. Top it up when it drops below 50% but unplug it before it hits 100%. For this reason, you might want to reconsider leaving it plugged in overnight. Pushing in the last charge from 80-100% causes a lithium-ion battery to age faster.
iOS users can use the Shortcuts app to set a notification when the battery level reaches a certain percentage. This is done under the tab "Automation" and then "Battery Level".
Likewise, at the other end of the scale, avoid allowing your phone battery to get below 20%.
Simply put, lithium-ion batteries thrive best in the middle. Try to avoid a low battery percentage, but also not too high.
To help keep your long-term battery life in good health, frequent, small charges are better than full recharging.
With iOS 13 and later, Optimised Battery Charging (Settings>Battery> Battery Health) is designed to reduce the wear on your battery and improve its lifespan by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged. When the feature is enabled, your iPhone should delay charging past 80% in certain situations, depending on Location Services that tell the phone when it is at home or work (when you are less likely to need a full charge) compared to when you are travelling.
If you are leaving it plugged in for a long period of time, removing the case can prevent it over-heating.
Will fast-charging damage my phone?
While fast-charging itself will not harm your phone's battery, which is built to support it, the heat generated will potentially affect its lifespan.
In the same way that phone batteries don't like extreme heat, they also don't like the cold. So it goes without saying that you should avoid leaving your phone in a hot car, direct sunlight or out in the snow and ice. Typically, batteries perform at their optimum somewhere between 20 and 30°C, but short periods outside of this should be fine.
Can I use any phone charger?
Where possible use the charger that came with your phone, as it is sure to have the correct rating. Or make sure that a third-party charger is approved by your phone's manufacturer. Cheap chargers from Amazon or eBay may harm your phone, and there have been several reported cases of cheap chargers catching on fire.
