Do you think you’re doing a good job charging your iPhone? Well, some everyday charging habits could actually be shortening its lifespan without you realizing it.
While charging your iPhone is something you probably do every day without a second thought, how you charge it can make a difference over time. Certain habits can put unnecessary strain on the battery and contribute to faster battery degradation. From letting your phone completely die to keeping it in excessive heat while it charges, some seemingly harmless routines may be doing more harm than good. Tech experts recommend making a few simple changes to help keep your iPhone battery performing at its best for longer.
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1. Draining Your Battery All The Way To 0%
If you regularly wait until your iPhone is completely dead before plugging it in, you may want to rethink that habit. Allowing an iPhone battery to repeatedly drain all the way to 0% can contribute to its demise over time. Instead of treating a completely drained battery as your cue to charge, it's generally better to plug your iPhone in before it reaches low percent levels.
"Complete discharge is an outdated technique that is not used in iPhones anymore, and complete draining is harmful for the lithium-ion battery and subjects it to deep discharge conditions," explains IT expert Chris Angulo. "Small charges and maintaining mid-level charges are more beneficial for its longevity."
2. Not Using Optimized Battery Charging
Today's modern iPhones have helpful settings to ensure your battery doesn't drain as fast, but you could be missing out on its benefits if Optimized Battery Charging is turned off. The feature can delay charging past 80% in certain situations, helping reduce the amount of time the battery spends fully charged, which can wear it down. Keeping the setting enabled can be a simple way to support your battery's long-term health.
"Sitting at 100% for long periods puts a regular battery under more voltage stress," notes tech store owner and expert Steven Athwal. "Apple's Optimized Battery Charging learns your routine and delays that final part of the charge until you're likely to need the phone. Turning it off will remove one of the easiest battery-protection features built into the iPhone."
3. Charging Your iPhone In A Hot Place
Where you charge your iPhone can be just as important as when you charge it, and if you've been out and about in the sun this summer, you might want to give your phone a rest. Excessive heat is notorious for damaging iPhone batteries, and charging can make a phone warmer on its own. Leaving your iPhone charging in direct sunlight, inside a hot car, or under a blanket is a habit you want to avoid to protect its battery health.
"Of all the factors affecting the lifespan of batteries, heat is the worst among them," adds Angulo. "Charging batteries in heat, like on a hot car dashboard, under a pillow, or in an insulated case which traps heat, causes permanent and irreversible capacity degradation."
