At What Percentage Should You Charge Your Phone?

Charging your phone is a necessary evil. We all hate it, but we have to do it. Most of us probably just plug our phones in as soon as we get home and call it a day. But is that the best way to charge your phone? And at what percentage should you start charging your phone?

There is a lot of debate over when to charge your phone. Some people say to wait until it's completely dead, while others recommend charging it every night. So what's the right answer? According to science, you should charge your phone at around 80 percent. Has it occurred to you that these habits are hurting your phone battery in the long run?

A lot of science goes into the lithium-ion batteries that keep your smartphone running, and understanding charge cycles can go a long way toward helping you extend your phone's battery lifespan. When should you put your phone on the charger if you want to extend its battery life and stay at 100 percent?

Consider this brief guide our version of "Battery University!" Keep reading to learn the ins and outs of your phone's battery capacity and how to get the most out of a single charge. When you "graduate," you will know how to get an ideal charge without doing damage to your battery or your phone.

Battery Basics

Depending on how old you are, the humble smartphone might seem like a brand new invention. Even so, there is a whole generation of "digital natives" who have never lived in a world without this technology. Whatever your age, you have probably come to accept that smartphones are an essential part of everyday life in the twenty-first century.

As smartphone technology has become more complex, battery technology has evolved along with it. Today, nearly every smartphone, from iPhones to Samsung Galaxy Android phones, uses lithium ion batteries.

How Do Batteries Work?

Almost all batteries use three basic components to route electricity where it needs to go: the anode, the cathode, and the electrolyte.

In essence, the anode is the negative end of the battery, and the cathode is the positive end. They work together to keep the chemical reactions between electrons and positive ions in check. Meanwhile, the electrolyte is the insulator that keeps electrons from slipping between the anode and cathode.

When hooked up to a power source, electrons and positive ions trade places, moving through the battery's conductor. When electrons pass back through the cathode and recombine with the positive ions, the circuit is complete.

As the chemical conversion takes place within the battery, there will be a reduction in its ability to generate power. This is why your battery drains over time. Essentially, charging your battery directly reverses this process. The positive ions move into the anode to recombine with the electrons there.

What's Different About Lithium Ion Batteries?

The difference between a lithium ion battery and one of the 80 other battery varieties is the lithium. It's a light, stable metal with a high energy density. The chemical reactions that take place within these batteries are ideal for keeping your phone running for several hours at a time.

What Is Battery Capacity?

Your battery capacity is the total amount of power that your phone's battery is capable of holding. Specifically, it refers to the number of lithium ions in the battery itself.

We measure capacity in milliampere-hours (or mAH). Your phone's battery capacity will determine how much power you can harness during a single charge.

What Is Battery Life?

In contrast, battery life refers to the length of time it takes for your phone's battery to drain. This is the element that you have some measure of control over. Many factors go into a phone's battery life, including your charging habits.

Charging Your Phone

The average lithium ion battery will naturally degrade over time, lasting somewhere between three and five years. That means you can charge a phone to its capacity somewhere between 500 and 1000 times. The number of charging cycles has the largest effect on battery life, followed by age and temperature.

Certain charging habits can cause your phone's battery to age faster. The biggest mistake that most people make is charging their phones to 100% every single time. Because of your phone's finite number of potential charge cycles, this means fewer full charges over the lifetime of your battery.

Likewise, lithium ion batteries don't work quite as well when you drain them to 20% or below. It takes more energy to generate the necessary chemical reactions. That's why your battery appears to drain even faster when it's already low.

The exception is when you do a full battery reset. Once a month, consider allowing your phone's battery to "die" or reach 0%, then charge it back up to 100%. This has the effect of recalibrating the battery, which can help it work better.

The Ideal Charge

Is there an ideal way to charge your phone? Yes! There is a "sweet spot" that will allow you to extend the life and health of your battery.

The perfect time to charge your phone is when it drops just below 50%. When you plug it in, be sure to remove it from the charger before it gets to 100%. If you'll be near a charger, consider unplugging the phone (or removing it from your wireless charging device) before it reaches 80% power.

Your phone's battery will work its best when consistently kept between 30% and 90%. Shorter, more frequent charging sessions will help you maximize your battery life because it will not go through a complete charge cycle every time. You don't need a full battery to use a vast majority of your phone's functions.

With that in mind, it's best if you don't charge overnight, especially if your phone's battery isn't completely drained at the end of the day. Each overnight charge is a full charge cycle. This will deplete your battery lifespan much more rapidly than short, intermittent charges as needed.

There are obviously exceptions to this rule! If you know that you're going to be away from a charger and will need your phone, charging the phone to 100% will provide you with peace of mind. You may want to keep your phone fully charged before traveling, or if you're going on a long hike.

Other Ways to Extend Battery Life

Once you change your charging habits, you can expect your phone's battery to last significantly longer. If you have "battery anxiety" and can't handle looking at a phone with its battery below 98%, you are not alone! Luckily, there are several other ways to extend the life of your battery if you insist on a full charge.

Foremost, find out if your phone has a power saver or energy saver mode. You can usually find this option in your phone's settings menu. It will find ways to cut your phone's power consumption, such as by dimming the screen or disabling apps using data in the background.

You can also check to see if your phone has a "dark mode." Your phone will switch off pixels that display the color black, allowing you to save your phone's power for something else. If you don't have this setting, you can manually lower your screen's brightness for the same effect.

If you're used to plugging your phone in before you crawl into bed, consider changing your habits and using that time to switch it to airplane mode instead. This will ensure that your phone won't lose battery power overnight. You won't wake up to a dead phone, and you might even sleep better without pesky notifications!

You also might want to consider removing your phone's protective case before you plug it in. The temperature has a major effect on battery lifespan, and each charge generates heat. Your case acts as an insulator and can harm the battery over time.

Finally, make sure that you are using a high-quality charging cable. A charger with a charge-control element can ensure that you never overcharge your phone. Keutek cables are an excellent option that can help extend the health of your lithium ion battery.

Charge Your Phone the Smart Way

If you're still plugging your phone into the charger the second that little battery symbol loses a sliver of green, it's time to change the way that you charge your phone.

There is science behind every charge, and that knowledge can help you optimize your phone's battery life. Change your charging habits, and you will never have to go from person to person begging to borrow a charger ever again!

At Keutek, we know that the best charge is a fast charge. We've developed premium, fast charging cables and adapters that constantly outperform expectations. Check out our featured products to get your hands on the premium charger that will keep your phone's battery going strong.