There are a lot of frequently asked questions about if you should keep your phone charging overnight. Does it overheat the battery? Can it degrade your battery? We want to keep our phones in tip-top shape for as long as possible to make sure they last us as long as possible.
So is charging your phone overnight bad? Read on in this week's blog to find out.
Will charging my phone overnight start a fire?
In most instances, the energy used to charge your phone overnight will not start a fire. However, this doesn't mean you should not gladly leave it charging overnight on a combustible surface. Keep it charged on a hard surface rather than your pillow or clothing so no heat gets trapped. If you're worried about your phone getting too hot, take the phone case off. (Read more about overheating in phones here)
Will charging my phone overnight degrade my battery?
Pretty much the answer is yes. Most modern smartphones take about an hour or two to fully charge. This means if you leave it plugged in for 7 or 8 hours, it will sit at 100% for hours which is not good for the battery either.
There may not be a noticeable change straight away but if you do this every single night, you may see your battery degrade over time.
Therefore, charging your phone overnight isn't necessarily bad but you should not do it consistently if you want to get the best out of your battery. However, if you need to sometimes charge your phone overnight, don't worry too much.
Photo by Daniel Korpai on Unsplash
What can I do instead?
We've gathered some tips about how to avoid charging your phone overnight and how to get the best out of your phone battery.
Plug your phone in before bed or when you wake up
This may seem like a no-brainer but charging 1-2 hours before you go to sleep or just when you wake up and get ready. This is better than leaving it charged overnight. However, if you don't have time to charge your phone fully in the morning then keep on reading.
Charge in short bursts during the day
Charging your phone in small bursts during the day is probably better than waiting for it to go up to 100% before you leave the house. The batteries used in our modern smartphones do better if you keep them within 30% to 80%. Therefore, it’s better to charge them in short bursts throughout the day than in one long stint at night. Not near a power outlet? Bring a portable charger with you in your bag.
Keep it cool if you must charge it overnight
Have no choice but to charge it overnight? Make sure you keep it cool on a hard surface and take the phone case off to prevent overheating. This includes not placing your phone on any soft surfaces or near any heaters or radiators. If you wake up at night, unplug your phone if it's sufficiently charged.
Use a smart charger
Nowadays, you can buy smart chargers which you can schedule to turn off after several hours. This way, you can charge your phone overnight with no worries of overheating or damaging your smartphone.
Use adaptive charging
Android phones have a feature called adaptive charging. To help preserve your phone battery, you can charge your phone steadily overnight using Adaptive charging. It uses your alarm settings to completely charge your phone just before you wake up.
Here at Harper & Blake, we have a wide variety of phone cases for the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phones in bright and colourful designs.
Shop our range of iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phone cases here