Tech experts reveal leaving your phone charging overnight can actually drain your battery.
Tech experts warn against charging phones overnight.(Image: Getty Images)
With the vast majority of us using our smartphones throughout the day – whether it’s to scroll through social media, chat with pals or stream your favourite shows – many of us have got into the habit of charging our phones overnight.
Allowing people to start off their day with a full battery, choosing to charge your smartphone overnight seems like a harmless act. However, it turns out tech experts strongly disagree saying it is ‘one of the worst things you can do’.
With many of us running on low battery by the time we go to bed, leaving your phone on charge overnight seems like the right thing to do as you are allowing your device to charge without interruption.
However, this common habit could actually be harmful for your smartphone as it could be slowly destroying its battery which can be costly, reports the Manchester Evening News. On top of this, charging your phone overnight could be impacting your electricity bills by far more than a few pennies.
Charging your phone overnight could be destroying the battery.(Image: Getty Images)
To put it into perspective, if your phone battery does become weak and needs to be replaced, it can now cost users around £100 to the battery replaced professionally.
Thankfully for those wanting to preserve the life of their smartphone, there are many small changes you can make to your charging habits that can save you some money down the road.
A spokesperson from Outplayed said: “Most people don’t realise that overnight charging is one of the worst things you can do to a lithium-ion battery. It’s convenient, but convenience often comes at a cost.”
Many people would presume leaving your phone charging for longer than necessary will eventually impact its battery life. While this is true, it is not the only issue that can arise from overnight charging.
While modern smartphones are sophisticated pieces of technology with a variety of cutting edge features, their batteries are actually quite delicate, especially when it comes to heat.
Smartphone batteries are very delicate, especially when it comes to heat.(Image: Getty Images)
The simple act of charging your phone generates heat, which is a problem seeing as lithium-ion batteries can degrade significantly faster when they are warm.
Once your phone reaches 100 per cent charge, the charger doesn’t simply turn off. What actually happens is it begins to ‘trickle charge’, which means the charger will constantly be topping up the battery throughout the night to keep it at 100 per cent.
Outplayed explained: “Think of it like constantly filling up a full glass of water. The battery is working overtime to manage this constant input, which wears out the cells much faster than you’d expect.”
This constant act of keeping a full charge of hours on end can be very stressful for the battery cells in comparison to keeping the phone between 20 to 80 per cent.
In order to try and expand the lifespan of your smartphone, Outplayed has shared some simple adjustments you can make. One of which is charging your phone during the day as this allows you to take your phone off charge once it reaches full capacity.
Additionally, it is recommended tech users aim for a partial charges of their devices rather than full zero to 100 per cent cycles.
Another tip is to have a slower charger on hand that can be used when you are not in a rush. While many companies are promoting their fast chargers to give your device a quick power boost, these can actually be stressful on the battery and generate more heat.
Tech firms are also trying to help their customers preserve their phone’s battery life by creating smarter features. For example, Samsung’s Protect Battery mode and Apple’s Optimised Battery Charging are able to learn your routine and will delay charging your device past 80 per cent until it is actually needed.
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