With how much we use our smartphones and laptops today, charging them has become a daily routine. Seemingly, this should be a simple affair, right? However, because we currently depend on our gadgets so much, many battery charging myths have emerged that make this process seem complicated, even dangerous.
Because of these myths, questions like: “what happens if you keep charging after full charge?”, “does draining your battery damage your gadget?” and “what are the effects of leaving your phone charging overnight?” are regular sights in tech forums. To answer these questions, here are 7 typical battery charging myths you should stop believing today.
Charging Your Gadgets Overnight Damages their Batteries.
Perhaps the most common battery charging myth for smartphones and laptops is the idea that leaving them charged overnight will damage their batteries. Unlike previous phone and laptops, modern ones have built-in protection chips that prevent them from overcharging themselves. Once they reach 100% charge, your gadgets will stop charging.
That said, charge your gadgets someplace cool and devoid of fire hazards. Charging generates excess heat that, although unlikely, can start a fire. In addition, regularly check your cables to see if they have any damage. Not only can faulty cables and chargers damage your gadget, but they’re also another potential fire hazard.
Your Gadget Should Be at 0% Before You Charge Them.
I’m sure many of us have heard of, or even practice, this myth. Supposedly, to preserve your gadgets’ battery life, never charge them until their battery is empty. Doing so shortens your battery’s lifespan and causes problems when you plug them in again.
Unlike the previous nickel-metal hydride batteries, today’s lithium-ion batteries don’t need to be drained and fully charged to function effectively. In fact, doing this to your gadget can damage them instead, as draining your battery wears it down significantly. This means you can start charging your device whenever you need to, rather than wait for it to empty its battery.
Avoid Using Your Gadgets While They’re Charging.
Oh, I’m guilty of practicing this next one, even today. If you don’t want to damage your phone or laptop’s battery, you should never use it unless necessary. Continue doing this, and you run the risk of breaking your battery or, in worse cases, having your device explode in your hand.
Fortunately, this isn’t really the case. Unless you have a faulty charger or cord, you shouldn’t fear your gadget blowing up on you while charging it. In the case of laptops, they actually perform better when they’re plugged in.
You Can Use Any Chargers to Charge Your Device.
This next battery charging myth is more specific to smartphones than to laptops. When you charge your phone’s battery, do you use the charger that came in the box with it? Or do you just use any charger lying around close by?
It may be tempting to charge your phone using cheaper chargers, but this brings plenty of risks to your phone and yourself. Not only will they not provide enough power to charge your phone, but they are also a fire hazard. To be safe, use only the chargers made specifically for your phone, or purchase one from an accredited store.
My Battery Can Last Forever if I Take Care of It.
Just like some relationships, nothing lasts forever. No matter how well you take care of your gadgets’ batteries, they will one day fail and force you to get a new one. This is because modern lithium-ion batteries degrade over time, meaning they’ll hold fewer and fewer hours as you use them.
Don’t get me wrong; this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of your gadgets anymore. This just means modern gadgets have a life expectancy. So don’t be surprised if they fail one day, no matter how well you maintain them.
Want to Conserve Battery Life? Force Quit Your Apps.
This is another phone-based charging myth. If you have unused background apps, the smart thing is to force shut them down; so they don’t consume your gadget’s battery life. Sound’s savvy, right? The thing is, this isn’t always the case.
Force quitting your apps means you’ll need to manually turn them on again if you need to use them. Doing so requires more power from your device, which renders the entire point of force shutting them moot.
It’s Alright to Leave Your Devices Turned On All the Time.
Here’s a question, do you shut your devices off instead of just putting them in sleep mode? If you answered no, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Most of us are content with keeping our gadgets turned on most of the time and only turning them off if when absolutely necessary.
Not turning off your devices shortens your battery’s lifespan, which means frequent charging. Aside from your battery, the heat from being turned on for a long time can also damage your device’s other internal components.
Just like your body, your device also requires rest to function correctly. For laptops, always turn them off whenever you’re not using them so they can cool off. For your smartphones, you should reboot them at least once a week.
Charge Your Brain With Updated Information.
Because of our dependence on modern gadgets for online jobs and recreation, we have developed myths about how we should use them. To help you avoid these misconceptions, here are 7 debunked battery charging myths you need to unlearn.
