should you charge your phone overnight.Is Charging Your Phone Overnight a Bad Idea?.
There are many myths about the correct use of phone batteries, how often to charge them, and how to get the most out of them. Unfortunately, a short search on the Internet often gives a lot of incorrect or misleading information.
So charging your phone at night is bad for your battery? Read this article to find out the truth.
Can Charging Your Phone Overnight Overload the Battery?
Depending on the device, it may be important to charge the battery only for a certain amount of time to avoid overcharging and destroying the battery.
However, in most modern devices (and all modern mobile phone batteries), protection chips track when the internal lithium-ion battery reaches its full capacity. When this happens, charging stops immediately. So you won’t be able to overload the battery in this way.
The problem is that when the phone’s capacity continues to drop to 99%, the charger turns on again and charges it to 100%. This is called trickle charging and will not extend the life of the battery, which we will discuss below.
Will Charging Your Phone Overnight Start a Fire?
Most likely, the heat generated while charging the phone battery will not be enough to ignite a fire. However, most experts recommend leaving the phone in an open, non-flammable space – just in case. This means you cannot load it under a pile of loose paper or clothing, and certainly not under a pillow.
If you strangle your phone and allow the heat generated during charging to build up significantly, you could damage your phone’s battery as well. However, this does not mean that you should cool down too much.
Lithium-ion batteries do not tolerate extreme heat or extreme cold, and any of them can damage them. Temperatures below 32 ℉ (0 ℃) or above 158 ℉ (70 ℃) can destroy your Li-ion batteries.
Will Charging My Phone Overnight Degrade the Battery?
Chances are, if you leave the phone on charge, the battery is dead. As we mentioned above, if you leave your phone to charge overnight, you will most likely do one of two things, which will damage battery life. You either let it recharge for hours on end, or you let it get too hot.
If you need to charge your phone overnight, follow these tips to minimize possible damage:
Charge your phone on a cool hard surface to avoid overheating. Don’t put it under your pillow (or anything that can trap heat). Remove the case from your phone before charging. Switch off your phone if you wake up at night. Use an official charger and charger cable from your phone manufacturer. They are designed specifically for your phone and are less likely to cause malfunctions that could damage your battery or cause slow charging. If you are using an external battery, make sure it is of good quality and cannot damage the battery.
Should I Only Recharge My Battery When It Reaches 0%?
No. Allowing new lithium-ion batteries to reach 0% capacity can actually damage them. Batteries lose capacity over time – that’s how they work.
This myth originated from old nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries. They will develop “memory” that will effectively reduce their capacity if you don’t drain them completely.
Experts recommend keeping lithium-ion batteries between 30% and 80%. Ideally, you should monitor your phone’s charge and try to keep it between these values. If you go a little lower or higher, it is not the end of the world.
How Can You Get the Most Out of Your Batteries?
The simplest solution is to charge the battery only when you can keep an eye on it. This way, you can stick to the recommended margin of around 30-80% and maximize its lifespan. This means fully charging your phone before bed or after you wake up, instead of letting it recharge overnight.
Another option is to purchase a “smart charger†that can be scheduled to turn off after a certain number of hours. This way, you can charge your phone overnight without worrying about the end of its life.
If you charge overnight, try to avoid using fast chargers, as they can cause unnecessary heating over time, which can damage the battery.
If you want to know more about batteries, read our in-depth charging guide.
Staying Powered Up
Charging your phone overnight isn’t necessarily a bad idea, depending on how you do it. But if you’re not careful, you can shorten your battery life, leading to buying a new phone earlier than you planned.
Typically, batteries in a phone will only last a couple of years anyway – even with best practices. So if you sometimes need to charge your phone overnight, don’t worry too much about it.
Is Charging Your Phone Overnight a Bad Idea?
Is Charging Your Phone Overnight a Bad Idea?