3w ago

LPT: Don't leave your electronics constantly charging

When you get a new phone or tablet or computer you should charge it to ~80% and then wait until it's below 20% before charging again. This will protect the battery life. Basically leaving your phone charging overnight slowly breaks your battery because it's constantly being stuck on maximum capacity straining the internal structure of the battery.

Keeping your devices on WiFi also helps greatly increase the time before the next change

3 comments

Good intention, but outdated info. This has not been true for almost a decade now. Only very old Li-ion batteries needed a cycling to calibrate sensors. Modern battery controllers are very good at avoiding damage from keeping a charger connected all night long. The phones can now cut current to avoid constant voltage to the battery making overcharging basically impossible.
See here.
This advice still applies for shitty toys and other cheap electronics that come with old-tech rechargeable batteries. But new phones and tablets are safe and don't require this much babysitting anymore.
- That article says exactly the same as OP, and even mentions Google working on a mechanism to keep charging in the 20-80% range.
  When we charge our phones there's an inclination to always charge to 100% and then let the battery completely drain. However, I'd recommend holding off on that. The reason is simple: devices have a set number of charging cycles that indicate how often you can go from 0% to 100%. The more you keep your phone topped up above 20%, the longer those cycles will last.
  It's also important to note that charging your phone to 100% and keeping it there causes wear due to the frequent high voltage. That's why most devices come with adaptive charging, which delays charging the phone to 100% until you need it. Google is also working on releasing a battery charging limit that keeps your phone at 80% for Android 15, which will massively help to keep the battery healthy for longer.
  
  wait until it’s below 20%
  Not quite the same. No reason to discharge it before topping it up. If you do want to top up from 70% to 80&, that's not a problem for the battery, just perhaps the charging connector if you do that a lot.