Battery Life - How to Protect?

[cobra kid]

I'm on my first new phone since mid 2018 (iPhone 13) and was wondering what the current (no pun) advice was regarding charging and discharging of phone batteries to help lengthen their life??

[Radec]

Don't let it discharge to empty
Don't charge it to 100%
Only charge it when needed like if it gets to about 10%

[sjg]

Apple already do optimised charging by default where it goes to 80% then holds off until you normally start using it - that helps a lot to avoid holding the battery at 100% for long.

I’d also avoid using the faster chargers unless you really need a quick boost, they’re harder on the battery.

[Griffith4ever]

Fast chargers - if your battery is rated for the charging current is makes zero difference fast charging. Lipos handle it in their stride.

Running flat - Your phone should not let you take it's battery below 3.3v per cell, which is where the damage starts. It will turn itself off. Early phones were more prone to going too flat, but I've not experienced one now that doesn't shut down when it should. The real damage is running one flat, then leaving it flat. i.e. chucking it in a drawer for months, then deciding to use it again, only to find it's since sagged to a battery damaging low.

Full charge - Lipos handle 100% charge just fine. What they don't like is sitting at 100% for extended periods, and by extended I mean weeks or months. Otherwise, how on earth are you going to charge it overnight? It'll be done by midnight. Best advice is to not leave it plugged in all day when using it at home. Let it use it's battery rather than sitting full all the time.

Modern phones handle "random" charging routines just fine. You really don't have to worry about it, other than avoiding having it plugged in all day and all night.

Of course if you have an iPhone you may well have to plug it in all the time :--P