If someone asked me to name the one thing I absolutely cannot do without, every day, it would be my phone. And chances are, that applies to you, too! The thought of not using it for a day or two sounds exciting but I don’t think it’s actually possible. Now that we’ve established the obvious importance of a phone, let’s talk about how we actually treat it. Or rather treat its most important part—the battery. If I’m being honest, I don’t actually know the correct do’s and dont’s of how to prevent battery-damage. Sometimes under the name of prevention, one can end up destroying it even more. That’s something I was doing until I read up about it.

Let me tell you, these are the common ways we indulge in that drain batteries. You may think you’re doing the right thing and still find yourself making rounds to the charging point often. Are you wondering whether you’re taking care of your phone battery correctly? Ahead, we give you a lowdown on the common mistakes that are shortening your battery life.

1. Closing all the background apps at once

It is a common misconception that closing all the tabs that are open in the background will lengthen the battery life. But it’s doing just the opposite. Shutting down all the background apps makes it that much harder for the phone to launch them again. Relaunching an app takes up more processing and uses that much more battery. When the apps are open in the background, they’re merely on a standby mode and hence don’t utilise much of the resources or battery.

Apps On Smartphone by BigTunaOnline | www.shutterstock.com
Apps On Smartphone by BigTunaOnline | www.shutterstock.com

2. Charging till 100

It’s satisfying to see your phone jump from 99% to 100% while charging right? Sorry but we’re here to burst that happy bubble! Charging your phone fully stresses the lithium-ion batteries due to high voltage. So, best is to charge it till 80% and unplug it after. Furthermore, draining your battery to 0 also stresses it out. Hence, don’t overcharge your phone or wait until it dies completely.

Phone With Full Battery by McLittle Stock | www.shutterstock.com
Phone With Full Battery by McLittle Stock | www.shutterstock.com

3. Keeping your GPS on at all times

Many apps today require your phone to have your location on at all times. Sometimes even if not for these apps, you keep it on without realisation. And that hogs your battery way more than you think. This is so because the GPS is actively retrieving signals from various satellites to track your exact location. So when your GPS is on at all times, your phone is constantly listening to signals without a break and using up a chunk of the battery.

Navigation App by Solis Images | www.shutterstock.com
Navigation App by Solis Images | www.shutterstock.com

4. Overheating

Ever since lockdown began, I have been overusing my phone to a point where my hands are warm from the heat that’s generated. And guess what heat does to batteries? Drains it and causes damage! Another way that your phone can overheat is under extremely hot temperatures. Exposure to direct sunlight or keeping it in a hot environment can cause the phone to heat up thereby draining the battery life even more. Hence, don’t use your phone too much and ignore when the gadget produces heat, and don’t keep it under extreme temperatures.

Overheating Mobile Phone by Pearl PhotoPix | www.shutterstock.com
Overheating Mobile Phone by Pearl PhotoPix | www.shutterstock.com

5. Screen brightness

I have noticed this the most amongst adults or maybe it’s just my parents, but their phone brightness levels are blinding. They’re not only causing hurt to the eyes but also the humble battery. Screens use the most amount of resources on the phone. That means, the higher the brightness level, the more battery drainage will occur. So, keep your brightness levels to a minimum, but also not to a point where you have to squint!

Bright Phone Screen by Bogdan Makukhin | www.shutterstock.com
Bright Phone Screen by Bogdan Makukhin | www.shutterstock.com

I hope these tips come in handy to reduce battery-damage of your phone. Know of any more such common mistakes? Drop-in your comments below!

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