When you get a new iPhone, you might be worried about basic protection things, like a case and screen protector, but you should also have your charging habits in mind.
Although charging your iPhone might sound like a simple task, there are actually numerous mistakes you can make when doing so, as the device’s battery can be more prone to damage than you may think. Tech experts have been warning iPhone users about certain charging habits they’ve noticed can hurt a battery over time, and you might be doing some of them every day. Read more about one of the charging mistakes that tech pros say can secretly hurt your battery below.
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The Charging Mistake You Should Avoid
After opening this, you might've expected to see more advice about how keeping your phone plugged in overnight can hurt your battery and slowly ruin your device. While that's true, it is fairly common knowledge, which is why there's even more you should know about. When you first buy an iPhone, you're given a charging cable that corresponds with it, which is great, but from time to time, you might lose it or need a replacement.
Therefore, many people purchase a charging cable from a third party, typically an affordable one that they like to keep as a spare or use in their car, office, another room in their house, etc. Although these charging cables are often a convenient way to charge your phone without spending lots of money on a name-brand cable, and can also be helpful to those who tend to lose their chargers, using cheaper, lower-quality chargers over time can do some damage.
"Use a quality charger, I really can't stress that enough," says Steven Athwal, tech expert and owner of The Big Phone Store. "We've lost so many charging ports, just totally burned out or batteries depleted from cheap cables."
What To Do Instead
If you have to use a cheap charging cable from time to time to prevent your phone from dying on you, it's completely understandable, as you don't want to walk around with a dead phone. However, if you're worried about making your iPhone or its battery last as long as possible, you should invest in higher-quality chargers.
"Apple-sanctioned or well-regarded third-party chargers manage the current thus and adequately protect the phone in the long term," adds Athwal. "It is not worth jeopardizing it for saving a few pennies because you will be paying a much, much higher price for new batteries or even a new phone when you use cheap cables."
In addition to using a good charger when possible, you should also avoid leaving your device plugged in overnight, and plug it in before your battery percentage reaches lower than 20% to make the most of it.
