Most of us used devices with the old style nickel cadmium or nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. We learned to leave them on the charger when not in use and to drain them as low as possible before recharging.
But today’s lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in your phone or laptop need to be treated differently.
Want to kill your current device battery? Do this.
# 1 Let your battery get hot. Your device creates enough heat on its own. If you let it be in the sun when it is operating it will overheat and stress your battery.
# 2 Your battery also gets hot when your device is pulling a heavy drain on the battery due to running multiple apps and running apps that use streaming data. You may be surprised at how hard you ask your device to work. You are using your GPS / mapping app, checking email, using the Internet, streaming music or video and your Bluetooth is active. Your battery is taking a beating.
# 3 Keeping your screen brightness higher than you really need is also hard on your battery.
Here are the tips that can save your battery and device:
# 1 Keep it cool and don’t overwork your device. If your battery has gotten hot, let the battery cool to near room temperature before recharging it. The battery won't accept a full charge when it’s hot.
# 2 Your battery works best between around 50 - 75 degrees. If it gets too cold, you left it in the car overnight, let it warm up to near room temperature before you turn the device on or try to charge it.
# 3 Your device and battery has an optimal recharging rate. The recharger provided by the manufacturer should be designed for that optimal recharging rate. The problem comes in that some generic rechargers do not match this optimal recharging rate and charge too fast. This can damage your battery.
# 4 Recharge your battery only up to a 80 – 97% level. If it does charge up to 100%, do not leave it on the charger. I recharge my phone when I first get up in the morning rather than leave it in the charger overnight.
# 5 If your battery is removable, keep a charged spare battery and swap out before your primary battery gets too low.
A well cared for battery will last many times longer than one that has been overworked.
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