One of the biggest questions when buying a new smartphone concerns the duration of the battery. Before, with the dumb phones (the phones without advanced functions, unlike the smartphones), it was enough a recharge per week to be able to use it. Now the vast majority of smartphone users are always looking for an electrical outlet to recharge them. But the worst is that, over time, the life cycle inevitably decreases. But why is the current situation so precarious, and what can we do?
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First of all, let’s try to notice the inside of a smartphone’s battery. As with any type of battery, there is a stream of electrons coming out of a pole, powering the phone, and then entering the opposite pole. In addition, the battery must be connected to a socket with a higher voltage to recharge.
If this worked in practice as in theory, there would be no problems and we would have batteries that would work for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, there are reactions and undesirable effects during the process. We still can not avoid them, and they negatively influence and gradually the operation of our battery.
Problems with lithium batteries
Before beginning to list the things that do not work, I would like to emphasize that lithium batteries are at the moment essential for smartphones and other devices that require little power because they are smaller and lighter than other technologies. They can be constructed so as to efficiently fill the space if one little discharge when not used (5% monthly from 20-30% of others) and do not suffer the memory effect, so do not need to charge it up to a maximum or expect to reconnect them to the outlet again. That said, their chemistry is not safe like the others. In fact, in addition to requiring several mandatory security systems inside, they have weaknesses and some tips can optimize its use.
Temperature
The first problem with lithium batteries is temperature. All batteries suffer from heat, but lithium batteries are particularly sensitive. One example is that people who live in colder regions have batteries that last longer than those who live in hot regions.
ADVICE– The optimum temperature of use varies from 20 to 25º. If you want to keep a battery, it is best to leave it in a refrigerator with a 40% charge. Check the following table:
Overload
Besides the temperature, our batteries suffer greatly from the overload. I mean, if loaded with unofficial chargers and with very high currents, they can burn or explode. Therefore there are several protection circuits inside.
TIP– Use only official chargers and do not let your smartphone charge for more than 8-10 hours in a row.
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The battery lithium can be damaged irreparably approaching 0% load. This is partly avoided by a security system that turns the phone off if the battery reaches 5% (indicating, however, that it is at 0%), but it is still dangerous to reach such low levels.
BOARD– to maintain a load between 20 and 80%. As already mentioned, these batteries do not suffer from the memory problem. It is even preferable to make more refills that last less time than a longer one.
Inevitable Decay
The biggest problem with lithium batteries is that even if they are not used, they go through the process of deterioration, losing up to 20% of charge per year. This means that even when stored in the best way, after two years its capacity will be half, and with it the operating time of our smartphone.
ADVICE– do not buy spare batteries if it is not extremely necessary (in this case keep it following the previous advice on temperature).
Advice to increase the duration
Recapitulating the measures to be taken or avoided to optimize the duration of your battery:
- Charge your battery for shorter periods and more times;
- Charge it in a cool place; never use the phone while charging;
- Do not let the smartphone charge you on the bed;
- Do not let the battery drain and do not store it uncharged;
- Disconnect the charger when charging is complete;
- Do not attempt to re-connect the phone if it is switched off due to the low battery.
Lastly, remember that after 3 or 4 years, maybe before, the battery should be changed so that the usage time can be again satisfactory. Is not it amazing that, with all the progress made on smartphones, the batteries are still so primitive?
