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The smart way to recharge your mobile phone battery

Especially now that smartphones are so slender that replacing the battery is a complicated task, battery health has become a major issue. This article provides some useful tips and helpful advice.

Different types of battery require different types of treatment to keep them running at their best. That is why you may have heard contradictory advice. The tips in this article apply to the modern lithium-ion battery that you will find in most mobile phones.

Don’t let it run empty or charge fully

Do you always charge to 100% and wait until the phone dies before recharging? This principle dates back to the past, when the batteries were based on a different technology. For modern mobiles, it is now advised to keep your battery at a charge of between 30% and 80%.

Don’t charge overnight

Leaving your smartphone on charge overnight is convenient, but it damages the battery. It is therefore better to charge your phone during the day – ideally switched off or in airplane mode. The good news is that newer smartphones come with battery protection, which reduces the wear on your battery and improves its lifespan by reducing the time your phone spends fully charged.

Enable battery protection

In newer smartphones, this feature is already integrated and improves battery life automatically. With an iPhone, you can turn on the ‘Optimised Battery Charging’ option or activate Smart Charge mode on Huawei models. Samsung and Sony also have a number of useful tips to save your battery.

Use smart gadgets

With a smart power outlet, you can limit the flow of electricity to, for example, 2 hours per night. Or you can connect your mobile phone to a power bank for overnight charging. This is gentler than a standard power outlet.

5 golden rules

  1. Don’t overload the battery: Don’t make phone calls or use power-hungry apps while charging.
  2. Use a standard charger: A fast charger (from a current of 2 amps) will heat the battery more.
  3. Remove the phone case: If your smartphone becomes unusually hot when charging, it is best to remove the case.
  4. Avoid cheap chargers: Only use batteries from the mobile phone manufacturer and chargers bearing the CE marking as well as wireless chargers with Qi certification.
  5. Charge your phone on a safe surface: Batteries can become swollen or even set alight. Therefore, be sure to place your phone on a non-flammable surface.

Useful links

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3 years later

I think the tip about not charging overnight is now completely outdated. This is because modern cell phones now handle the applied voltage very intelligently. The iPhone, for example, determines when the device is usually unplugged and only begins to charge the range between 80% and 100% shortly before this point. So the device doesn’t stay at 100% overnight.

I can see from the condition of my iPhone that this has a positive effect on the lifespan of the battery. Although I use it quite intensively and charge it practically every night, after two and a half years the battery still shows me a very good maximum capacity of 92%. What more could you want?

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@Zufreuhi80 I feel the same way, my iPhone is still at 95% after 1.5 years and is used intensively and charged almost every night.

However, this tip is still useful, especially if you don’t charge it at night or always at about the same time, because then the iPhone doesn’t know when you disconnect it from the power again.

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@Zufreuhi80 Thank you for your feedback.
In fact, this is no longer as relevant with newer devices, you’re right. However, there are still many older devices in use for which this tip is still correct. That’s why this article is currently still online in this form.

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Liebe Grüsse / Salut et à bientôt / Ciao e a presto / Cheers, see you soon!
ThomasS

The information that the devices should not be completely discharged or charged to 100% is also outdated. Modern devices show 0-100%, but the battery charge level corresponds to the gentle range of 10-90%. Depending on the device, you can also set whether you want to operate it in battery-saving mode or with the maximum runtime.

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a month later

@MiriamF

You should definitely change rule 5 as follows:

- Only use original batteries and chargers from the respective cell phone manufacturer

For me, this is the most important rule when it comes to liability claims and insurance benefits, especially in the event of damage (e.g. fire). Original parts are also relevant in connection with the guarantee and personal protection.

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It would also be interesting to have an independent, separate note for the DECT HD phones, which are usually permanently stuck on the charging cradle. Here too, opinions differ as to whether they should always be left stuck on the charging device, or next to it from time to time.

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Installationen, Netzwerk, Internet, Computertechnik, OS Windows, Apple und Linux.

@MiriamF

Thank you very much

@WalterB

Since DECT devices generally do not have as sophisticated charging electronics as smart phones and cannot be configured, there is only one correct variant for the maximum lifespan of the batteries:

-> Charge the device in the charging station, then use it outside the charging station down to 10% and then charge it again.

However, if the DECT device has standard AAA batteries, it is not so important, at least from a financial perspective, how long they last, because replacing them is very cheap.

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