Batteries are one of the most essential parts of any smartphone. A maladroit battery can break down a smartphone like nothing else. But unfortunately, the world of batteries is overflowing with myths.
This one gets thrown around a lot by concerned moms and semi-tech-savvy grandpas. Some people say that using your phone while it’s charging can make your device explode, catch fire, or electrocute you. This is a fear-uncertainty-and-doubt kind of myth that stays alive not because of any sort of actual evidence, but because the urban-legend-tier costs that are said to follow such supposedly unwise use of your smartphone.
Batteries used to be stupid. Older batteries would “forget” their full capacity, so they wouldn’t be able to fully charge again. Over just a few years, the batteries in our smartphones have changed a lot. That means those old tips to stretch out your battery life just aren’t as true as they once were, yet we keep the urban-legend alive.
1. Charging Overnight Destroys Battery Life
“Overcharging” is the word that gets thrown around a lot with this one. The idea that if you leave your phone on the charger for a while after it hits 100 percent, that it will reduce the capacity of the battery.
This myth has some pretty genuine origins, so it’s no surprise that it’s stuck around. Some donkey years ago, lithium ion batteries would overheat if you left them charging for too long.
However, modern devices are way smarter with managing power. Leaving your device plugged in all the time is just fine.
2. Always Use An Original “Official” Charger For Your Phone
This one has its roots in what is essentially marketing. I strongly believe this myth was started by the Nigerians, who were the first to sell cell phone accessories. And also cell phone manufactures are the ones who are pushing this myth to date via their manual which tells you to always buy chargers from the company that made your device.
Any decent 3rd party charger is just fine. There are some compromises, particularly in the case of USB-C cables, and some “unoriginal” chargers might not allow for fast charging, but in most cases a quality “unoriginal” charger should be just fine with your cell phone. Really the only ones that you have to watch out for are the super cheap chargers you’d find at street corners.
3. Closing Apps Improves Battery Life
Most people swears that closing apps will improve battery and performance, then sorry to burst your bubble. Our laptops, having a number of apps open at once especially ones that connect to the internet strains our batteries, so it makes sense that your smartphone would work the same way, right?
In the case of iOS, apps do not stay open the same way they do on a computer. When you leave an app, it’s frozen, doesn’t do anything, and doesn’t require any resources.
Former Genius Bar technician Scotty Loveless explains:
“By closing the app, you take the app out of the phone’s RAM. While you think this may be what you want to do, it’s not. When you open that same app again the next time you need it, your device has to load it back into memory all over again. All of that loading and unloading puts more stress on your device than just leaving it alone. Plus, iOS closes apps automatically as it needs more memory, so you’re doing something your device is already doing for you. You are meant to be the user of your device, not the janitor.”
The same is true for Android. Some people swear by task killers to handle close apps and improve battery life.
4. A 5000 mAh Power Bank Will Yield 2 Full Charges
Often it’s assumed that a 5000 mAh power bank will be able to yield 2 full charges for your 2500 mAh battery. How did we arrive to this assumption? Simple, by dividing the capacity by the full power.
The calculation may seem easy but the catch is in the voltage at which it charges. The power rating of a power bank is calculated at 3.7 volts whereas the phone charges at 5 volts.
Only when a step down in the voltage is made, that the right number of charge cycles can be determined. So, the next time you are on a lookout for a power bank, do make sure to do the math.
5. 4G Drains the Battery Faster
It’s true that radio signal consumes lesser resource than cellular data. However, that should never be the cause of your battery life going for a dive. If you have a good quality SIM from a reliable operator, then it shouldn’t be the cause of a meltdown.
The problem arises when the SIM is damaged or you are in an area with spotty connections. In order to give you the best service, a bit more power is used.
These are our five favourite battery myths, however, this list is by no means complete. After we did our research we have discovered that your screen kills your battery the fastest. So if you’re really worried about battery life, just turn the screen off and put the phone in your pocket until you really need to use it.
