When a phone battery gets old, it loses capacity and you will get less use from a full charge. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make your phone battery last longer.
Keep your phone charged
Keeping your phone topped off is actually a good thing. Unlike older rechargeable battery technologies, phone batteries do not have a “memory”. There is no harm in partially charging your phone. It actually is better.
One way of discussing battery life is in terms of charge cycles. For example, Apple states that “your battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles.” A charge cycle is when the entire battery capacity is consumed and then replenished. The key is that this does not need to be one single event. If you only use 10% of your battery each day and recharge each day, it will take ten days to complete one charge cycle. It is the number of charge cycles that determine the battery life, not that those charge cycles are made up of many partial charges. This means that topping off your phone battery won’t cause the battery to age quicker.
Do not completely discharge your battery
If you have a flashlight and let your batteries run down, the light will dim until the batteries are completely depleted. Phone batteries are different and will have their full brightness and functionality until the battery reaches a certain low threshold. Then the phone will shut off. This is actually a safety feature to save your battery. If you can completely discharge your phone battery, you would ruin it.
The exception to this is if you plan on storing it for some time. These batteries do best being stored at about 40% of their capacity. If you get a new phone and keep the old one as a spare, get it to around 40% and then power it down.
Avoid heat
This actually applies to most electronics. Your battery will age faster if kept in a hot environment. We know this is hard to control when you carry a phone all the time, but there are some things you can do to help keep it cool. Choose a phone case that allows your phone to release heat. Don’t leave your phone sitting in direct sunlight. Keep your phone out of tight pockets. Never leave your phone in a hot car.
Use an app to make your phone battery last longer
If you can do the first three things I mentioned, you will be in good shape. You can also use an app to help make your phone battery last longer. For IOS, you can go to Settings, General, Usage to see what’s using your battery. For Android, you can use the built-in tool, but I use an app called AccuBattery. It monitors the battery usage of your apps along with screen usage so you know what is using up your battery. Along with that information, it shows you detailed information about your battery, its health and how to maximize it. It’s free to try, so try it out. Whether you’re on IOS or Android, if you have apps chewing through your battery that you don’t use, uninstall them.