Your rechargeable batteries do not last forever. We have come a long way from the issues of those old Ni-Cad batteries with that irritating "memory" problem. The new Lithium-Ion batteries do have their own set off issues. In this post I will discuss the issues with Li-Ion batteries, how to care for them, and how to check to see if you need a replacement.
Issues with Lithium-Ion Batteries
This is the battery of an apple XS Max. Inside the black protective layer are cells of Lithium-Ion. These can be very dangerous if the come in contact with metal. They become a flare and nearly inextinguishable. As batteries get older and even after they get wet, they can tend to swell. That could lead to the protective layer to split and expose the cells to the surrounding metal. Every cell phone battery has an average life span of about 2 years or 200 charge cycles. A charge cycle is the time from being fully charged to discharged. So if you charge your phone once a day you can see how your battery cycles could be higher than someone who charges their phone every 2 or 3 days.
How to care for your batteries
It is fairly easy to keep your batteries running longer. The biggest impact on batteries is not running your device at lower than 20% battery life. This makes the battery work harder to run the phone and the phone becomes more demanding on the limited charge left. Putting on battery saver does not really impact this as much as you would hope. From our experience, putting on battery saver only prolongs the need to charge but also throttles the phone performance making using the phone a hassle and not as enjoyable.
Using the proper charger for your phone also is a huge improvement. We have seen many people buy these cheap chargers online or at gas stations that will actually harm your battery. Most cheap chargers do not have the special circuitry in them to detect if your battery is already fully charged and continues to charge it, burning out the life of your battery. They may also not charge as quickly or as effectively as they may put out different voltages and amperage than the phone needs or supports. In worst case scenarios it could actually do electrical harm to your battery and motherboard. These chargers also cause battery swelling.
How to know if you need a new battery
It is very easy on iPhones to tell if you need a new battery. If you open Settings>Battery>Battery Health it will show you what your battery life is at and if it requires service. It is a good idea to get the battery replaced if you see the battery life is at 86% or lower. Around this time you will notice that your battery does not last all day like it used to and that your phone may also be running slower. Of course if your phone is running slower this could be several factors not limited to needing a new battery.
Android phones are a little more difficult to see the battery life as only some models actually give you that same type of information. It is more of the feeling of it being sluggish or that your battery dies much quicker than it used to.
How to get a new battery
Battery replacement is a very simple process for any repair shop. Most will charge around $50-$150 depending on the model and quality of the battery. Newer iPhones may show an error message after a change due to the batteries being serialized to the phone it was installed in but this will eventually go away and will not affect the life of the new battery. With a new battery your device should last much longer than it would have otherwise and is a good idea if you intend to keep it for 2 or more years. We also do not recommend buying batteries off of online retailers such as amazon or ebay as these are usually not of the quality we would put in your phone.
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