How Many Of You Leave Your iPhone On A Charger Overnight
OOOHHHH , Wait What! Hold Up, Youre charging your phone overnight, Yes Im guilty as well
Apple says if you want to preserve your iPhones battery, dont charge it up too much.
The company says charging your iPhone overnight or for long periods of time can actually be bad for it, thanks to its lithium-ion battery. Leaving your phone on the charger forever erodes its power supply faster.
BestLife explained that your phones battery can expect to have a shorter lifespan the more time it spends close to 100 percent. Yeah, Im confused, too.
Android users, youre not out of the woods, either. A cellphone expert told USA Today to not leave your phone connected to the charger for long periods of time or overnight. Keeping your battery level as close to the middle as possible can effectively prolong the battery life.
TAGS
Charging Your iPhone Overnight Reduces Battery Life
Ideally, a batterys capacity starts to diminish once it hits the 500 charge-discharge cycles. A full cycle happens when you use a batterys 100 percent power. And as you know, leaving your phone to charge overnight will charge up to 100 percent.
This means, that if you charge every day overnight, your battery performance will begin to diminish within a few years. Besides, due to knocks and other elements, a batterys performance gradually diminishes with time.
An iPhone only requires up to two hours to recharge itself. So, what happens during the other four or five hours? Well, as youd expect, there are background activities that run even when you are not using your phone. This naturally depletes the battery forcing it into a condition known as trickle charging.
This is when the charger attempts to keep the battery at 100 percent. As such, it is likely to bounce between 99 and 100 percent. As a result, the battery might overheat, which is not ideal for lithium-ion batteries.
Why Is It Bad To Leave Your iPhone Charging Overnight
So far, there are more than 1.5 billion iPhones with Li-Ion batteries worldwide. These batteries are better than NiMH, but they arent flawless. Here are some issues you may experience with your iPhone battery because if its nature.
Li-Ion Batteries Generate a Lot of Heat
This would be one of the notable problems you may face while charging your iPhone overnight. Li-Ion batteries are very practical, but lithium is a very reactive material. The heat it could generate can eventually lead to overheating, and the battery could catch fire.
If this sounds unbelievable, let me remind you of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco. Moreover, HP suffered a similar issue recently and had to recall around 78,000 batteries, which may cause fire and burn damage.
Now.
I know what you are thinking.
Since you are an iPhone user, this couldnt happen to you.
Apple does make durable phones, sure. Some may bend a bit, but the battery is safe.
Unfortunately, this isnt quite true. Apple uses the same Li-Ion technology as other manufacturers. There have been several incidents with iPhones catching fire because of their batteries.
So this is one of the reasons why charging your iPhone overnight is not a great idea. If you like to avoid all risks, even those with the tiniest of odds then charging it during the day is your best bet.
This doesnt mean you should sleep with a fire extinguisher next to your charger.
In the fewest words possible heat is bad for your iPhones battery. Period.
Don’t Miss: How Do You Play Pool On Imessage
Topping Up Your Phone Battery Throughout The Day May Help Prolong Its Life
If you’re concerned about preserving your battery for the long haul, one expert says the best approach is making sure your phone is always just above half chargedwhich might actually help improve it overall. “According to research we have seen, battery lifetime actually increases by 4x when the depth of dischargeor amount that the battery is drainedis limited to 50 percent, rather than 100 percent,” Menno Treffers, founder and chairman of the Wireless Power Consortium, told The New York Times.
“In other words, by continually topping up the phone battery during the day and not letting your phone battery dip below 50 percent, you will actually increase the life span of your battery,” he says. And for more on where you won’t be able to pick up your electronics anymore, check out This Beloved Chain Is Closing All Its Stores.
Charging Your Phone Overnight: Battery Myths Debunked
Is it bador even dangerousto leave a smartphone plugged in as you sleep? The answer is complicated, as are many things regarding batteries.
There are a lot of questions about cell phone batteries. Should you leave your smartphones plugged in overnight? Is it bad for the phone? Bad for your safety? What’s the right thing to do?
In fact, how much should you charge your phone? When’s the right time to plug in? Should it go down to zero every time? Up to 100%? How do you get the longest life out of the battery inside a smartphone? Does it really matter if you’re only going to keep the handset around for a couple of years before an upgrade?
The debate goes well beyond the worry of moderate harm to a device, as some people have fears of “overloading” a smartphone battery. That worry seems relatively justified since it was only a few years ago that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7s were bursting into flame due to battery issues. But as we’ve explained before, unless a device has some serious manufacturing defects like that phone did, the fire-in-your-pocket aspect is unlikely.
The problem is, some of the research and opinions out there are diametrically opposed. We’ve narrowed down the right and wrong things to do as best we can. We present to you the myths and truths of iPhone or Android phone charging, in particular when plugging in overnight.
Don’t Miss: 8 Ball Pool Stuck On Loading
Its Totally Safe To Charge Your iPhone Overnight But Here Are Some Things You Should Know Anyway
Unless theres something wrong with the charging equipment you use or the smartphone itself, its totally safe to leave your iPhone or Android phone charging overnight. Sure, weve seen some accounts of some devices including iPhones catching fire overnight. But these are rare accidents that cant really be prevented, regardless of when you recharge a phone.
When it comes to smartphones that behave normally, you shouldnt be afraid of leaving it plugged in overnight. Nothing bad will come of it, as long as youre doing it properly.
One of the persistent myths out there is that charging your phone overnight, and leaving it plugged in will hurt the battery after its fully charged, Business Insider notes.
Having your phone plugged in at night doesnt diminish the battery, iFixit head Kyle Wiens told the site. Its all about cycle count, its all about how you actually use the battery how much work youre making the battery do.
In terms of the gradual erosion of battery life, what must be understood is that phone batteries are constantly in a state of decay, a spokesperson for Anker, a company that makes battery and charger accessory, said. Sleeping with a phone charging overnight will make no noticeable difference in the process.
Getting back to battery life, cycle count refers to the number of full charges a phone can get you before the battery starts degrading.
What Do Manufacturers Say
Battery life is not just based on when it was assembled. There are many other factors, including extreme temperature fluctuations and your charging habits.
Lithium-ion batteries in our cell phones age chemically and hold less charge over time. Thats why even after charging your old phone overnight, it doesnt stay charged for that long.
You May Like: How To Restart And iPhone Xr
High Temperatures Drain The Battery Faster
The hotter the battery is, the faster it discharges. The smartphones own design doesnt help much, putting the powerful CPUs that generate heat glued to the battery.
Keep your smartphone out of the sun, dont charge it under your pillow.
As with all equipment, there is natural wear of the system and parts, this also happens with the battery.
The battery life offers an average of one year without performance loss, but all the factors mentioned can extend this life. However, it is natural that performance drops with the course of use.
Here’s How To Charge Your Phone To Save The Battery According To Science
Yes, we know. Our smartphone batteries are bad because they barely last a day.
But it’s partially our fault because we’ve been charging them wrong this whole time.
Many of us have an ingrained notion that charging our smartphones in small bursts will cause long-term damage to their batteries and that it’s better to charge them when they’re close to dead.
But we couldn’t be more wrong.
In fact, a site from battery company Cadex called Battery University details how the lithium-ion batteries in our smartphones are sensitive to their own versions of ‘stress’. And, like for humans, extended stress could be damaging your smartphone battery’s long-term lifespan.
If you want to keep your smartphone battery in top condition and go about your day without worrying about battery life, you need to change a few things.
Don’t keep it plugged in when it’s fully charged
According to Battery University, leaving your phone plugged in when it’s fully charged, like you might overnight, is bad for the battery in the long run.
Once your smartphone has reached 100 percent charge, it gets ‘trickle charges’ to keep it at 100 percent while plugged in. It keeps the battery in a high-stress, high-tension state, which wears down the chemistry within.
In fact, try not to charge it to 100 percent
At least when you don’t have to.
That might seem counterintuitive if you’re trying to keep your smartphone charged all day, but just plug it in whenever you can during the day, and you’ll be fine.
Keep it cool
Also Check: 8 Ball Pool Game Pigeon
Should You Leave Your iPhone Charging Overnight
The discussion above focuses on safety issues, but when it comes to the lifespan of your phones battery, its another story.
Does Charging Overnight Hurt Your Phones Battery?
We now know that leave your phone charging overnight is safe however, the debate over whether you should do it never ceases.
When the battery hits 100%, charging stops, but your phone is still running. At least the chip or sensor continues to work to monitor the battery, and apps continue to run in the background. So, after a short while, the battery will lose some power, and will draw in current from the wireless charging station until its full charged again. This is the so-called trickle charge which may happen a couple of times to your phone while it charges overnight.
Some people believe that the trickle charge increases the temperature of the phone and puts it under a certain amount of stress from the high voltage, as the battery has to keep its full charge. On the other hand, a view prevails among some analysts that the trickle charging effect doesnt hurt the phone or the battery since the phone manufacturers have specifically designed the battery in a way that prevents it from charging constantly and harming itself. Its not clear whether all phone battery companies have included such a function in their batteries. Even if its not the case for your phones battery, you will hardly see the damage done from overnight charging before the battery degrades overtime.
Should You Completely Discharge Your iPhone
Once again, a debatable topic. Some people believe its healthy to discharge your battery completely now and then.
Still, now that you already know that a Li-Ion cell phone battery doesnt have the memory of a NiMH one, theres no need to discharge it. In fact, you shouldnt let your battery reach 0%. Heres why:
First of all fully discharging a Li-Ion battery may damage it, thus reducing its capacity.
Heres the deal:
If your cell phone battery reaches 0%, chemical reactions start to affect the electrodes in your battery. The safety circuit brakes and theres a risk that you wont be able to even recharge your battery.
Secondly if you dont recharge your phone as soon as possible, the battery may become incapable of holding a charge or its efficiency will decrease.
Don’t Miss: Screen Mirroring Samsung iPhone
Recommended By Our Editors
Apple claims that “Apple lithium-ion batteries are designed to hold at least 80% of their original capacity for a high number of charge cycles” but also admits that the amount differs from product to product.
Apple iPhone batteries also support “fast charging,” so they’ll get to 80% pretty quickly. After 80, you’ll see the capacity increase slowly, some of which is to prevent heat buildupthat extends battery life. But guess what? Fast charging isn’t great for lithium-ion battery either. It makes the corrosion happen even faster.
Older iPhones came with a 5-watt charger block, which works, but of course, you can charge faster with a 10W charger, which has an output of 5 volts at 2.1ampsthat’s the kind of charger that comes with an iPad. If you stick to the Qi-based wireless charging, keep in mind that most support 7.5W, with wireless fast charging now available.\
How Do We Define Bad
With those protections in place, its very, very difficult for you to do any undue damage to your phones battery. However, batteries will degrade over time and theres nothing anyone can do about that. Its just a matter of how much are you helping that process along.
Charging cycles are what affect the lifespan of your battery. The more charging cycles it goes through, the more the battery degrades. This is why its best to keep your phone between 20-80% charge as much as possible.
RELATED:How to Check Your iPhone’s Battery Health
Thats where charging overnight can speed up the battery degradation process. Cycling between 99-100% for several hours is sorta like flipping a light on and off. Its not going to make the bulb explode into flames, but its also not particularly good for the bulb.
Thats the question we have to ask when it comes to charging batteries overnight. What exactly constitutes bad for the battery? Is your phone going to overheat and start on fire? No, there are protections in place to prevent thatas long as you use the correct equipment. Will it take some life off the battery? Yes, but it may not be noticeable to you.
There are some things you can do to charge your phone overnight and mitigate some of the downsides. First and foremost, make sure the device has room to breathe. Overheating is a big concern, so give it room and dont cover it up with anything.
Don’t Miss: How To View Open Apps On iPhone 11
Is Charging Your iPhone Overnight Bad For The Battery 2022 Update
Given an iPhone is a mini-computer, many functions are running in the background. This causes the battery to drain quickly.
Naturally, youll be tempted to recharge your iPhone at night when not in use. While this might sound convenient since you are not using your phone, theres a catch. Lets find out.
Charging When Really Hot Or Really Cold
Most devices are designed to work in a wide range of temperatures, say between 16 to 22 Celsius, but exposing your device to high temperatures regular above 35 degrees could damage it.
Apple for example will temporarily shut down your device if it gets too hot. The company suggests that “Charging the device in high ambient temperatures can damage it further.”
Thankfully it’s not the same for cold temperatures and batteries are far more suited to dealing with the cold. You will probably notice your battery performance go down – cameras are especially prone to this on skiing trips, however the poor performance is normally only temporary and you should see usual battery life return once you get back to warmer conditions.
Also Check: How Much To Replace iPhone 11 Screen
Avoid Extreme Temperature Changes
Keeping your iPhone safe from temperature extremes may help your device get through its entire lifespan without damage to the battery or other components.
Extreme low temperatures can cause a shortened battery life, affecting the batterys ability to hold charges, or make it stop working altogether. On the other hand, extreme highs can permanently prevent you from using some of the phones features, such as causing cracks in the device itself, which can impact overall battery performance.
Letting Your Battery Get Close To Zero Percent Is Just As Bad
While filling your phone up with too much charge can damage it, the only thing that may be worse is depleting its charge entirely. “Running a smartphone until it’s deada full dischargeevery time is not the way to go with modern lithium-ion batteries,” Eric Griffith, features editor for PC Magazine, recently wrote. “Don’t even let it get that close to zero percent. That wears out a lithium-ion battery even faster than normal.” And for more phone tips, check out If You Have This Popular App On Your Phone, Delete It Now.
Read Also: What’s Banners On iPhone
Should I Leave My Phone Plugged In Overnight
From performance to features, modern smartphones exceed our expectations in nearly every aspect. Battery life, however, cannot be taken for granted and requires some attention on your part. Similarly, you may have heard claims that charging your phone for long periods could lead to overcharging and may even wear out the battery sooner than expected. But are these concerns really valid and just how much damage are you doing to your smartphone by leaving it plugged in overnight?