Tag: Battery

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Batteries Guide

5 Signs It’s Time to Replace Your iPhone Battery

Have you acclimated to the sub-par performance of your iPhone and accepted it as part of the drudgery of life? Has restarting your crashed iPhone become routine and ritual? Do you long for the days when your apps loaded swiftly, and you could watch Youtube videos ‘til your battery was at 5 percent?

Everyone knows that there’s nothing worse than a bad iPhone battery. 

There are some signs you can use to tell when your battery has reached the point of no return. Some of these signs are baked into iOS, whereas others could be more physical symptoms you’ll notice when you use the iPhone. Regardless, we’ve listed major pointers for when it’s time to get a new battery.

1. Your battery outgrew your iPhone

Why are you even reading this? If your battery has outgrown its case, it obviously needs to be replaced! Even if it’s not swelling this badly, immediate action should be taken to dispose of the battery safely. But, beware: You do not want to puncture the pack and release its toxic contents. Early signs of a swollen battery include: a hazy white screen, separation between screen and phone body, or “squishiness” of the screen (no visible separation, but your screen moves a bit when you pinch the edges of your phone). 

2. Your iPhone shuts down unexpectedly

If your iPhone suddenly shuts itself down when the battery is half-drained or so, the calibration may be off. To re-calibrate your iPhone, follow these steps:

Use your iPhone until it shuts itself down due to low battery.

Plug your iPhone into a reliable charger using a reliable cable and let it charge uninterrupted until it reaches 100 percent.


Once it’s fully charged, perform a soft reset by holding your sleep/wake button and your home button until the Apple logo shows up. If you have an iPhone with Face ID, quick-press the volume up button followed by the volume down button. Then, press and hold the sleep/wake button until the Apple logo shows up.

If that doesn’t solve your battery woes, then the battery may be the culprit and will require replacement.

3. Your iPhone Frequently Overheats

Although there could be other reasons why your iPhone overheats, once you rule out everything processor or software-related, it only leaves the battery as the culprit.

When batteries age, the chemical components become less fluid, and that causes what we call a high internal resistance. It makes it more difficult for your iPhone to draw energy from the battery, and this high resistance (similar to friction) causes more heat than normal.

It’s not just aged batteries that can cause abnormal heat but damaged batteries, too. If you have a faulty battery damaged by water or a puncture wound, the chemical balance can get disrupted, which can lead to overheating or even health risks.

So, if you notice your iPhone getting extremely hot while doing the most mundane things, it might be time to get its battery checked.

4. Reduced Battery Life

It’s common to hear people say that their phone used to last the whole day, but now it barely makes it to lunchtime at work. And a lot of people might blame it on software rather than hardware. You may have even tried all the iPhone battery-saving tips, only to still experience a woefully subpar battery life.

Typically, this means that your battery has degraded to the point where it can no longer keep an optimum charge. iPhone batteries are lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, and they generate energy through chemical reactions. With time and use, these chemical reactions lose their potency, and your phone will no longer be able to support peak performance.

While all iPhone batteries degrade with age, there are steps you can take to maintain your iPhone’s battery health so it lasts as long as possible.

5. Battery Health Is Less Than 80%

One of the many advantages of iOS over other mobile operating systems is the synergy between hardware and software. Because Apple makes its own hardware and software, it can tie the two together in a way Android or other operating systems can’t. This synergy extends to managing your iPhone’s battery health.

You can monitor your iPhone’s battery health through the Settings app to judge when it’s time for a new battery. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging and note its Maximum Capacity. If the number there reads below 80%, it might be time to change your battery.

In fact, you will see a notification at the top of the page warning you to take your phone to an Apple Authorized Service Provider. Also, if you have an AppleCare+ warranty, Apple will replace your iPhone battery only if its health is below 80%.

However, sometimes, you should take the figure there with a grain of salt. If the number is suspiciously low (or even high), it might be time to calibrate your iPhone’s battery. Calibrating the battery is essentially resetting it so the percentages are more accurate.

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Batteries Guide

How to Calibrate Your Android Smartphone Battery

Android smartphones and bad battery life is a never-ending love affair. Despite the efforts of smartphone companies to improve battery performance through software optimization, adding features such as optimized charging,users just can’t help but grumble about their Android phone’s battery life.

Users often complain that their Android device discharges very quickly or their phone unexpectedly shutdowns in the middle of the day. The reason behind, quite often, this is the fact that the battery of their Android smartphone isn’t calibrated properly. In such cases, the displayed battery percentage fails to align with the actual charge level.

The batteries of new smartphones, and often those of old ones as well, need to be calibrated. This procedure is usually done in the factory, but it should be repeated many times, and it certainly doesn’t hurt.

This is because in some cases, the operating system indicates a charge level that is DIFFERENT from the actual charge of the battery, and in many cases, this ‘reading’ problem translates into a shorter duration of full charges.

Therefore, in this article, we will learn more about battery calibration on Android—three easy ways to calibrate the battery of your Android device.

Manual Calibration

The best way to calibrate the battery of your Android smartphone is to manually reset the stats. Here’s how you can do it:

  • Use your phone until it powers off on its own.
  • Switch it back on and wait for it to turn off again.
  • Connect your phone to a charger and do not switch it on. Let it charge in the power-off state until 100%.
  • Once the phone reaches 100%, turn it on. It’s likely that the battery indicator will show a percentage below 100%. In this case, reconnect the charger while keeping your phone on, and continue charging until it shows 100%.
  • Once it reaches 100%, disconnect it from the charger and reboot your phone. If the battery indicator still shows a percentage below 100%, repeat the steps above until it shows 100%.
  • Again, use your phone until it reaches 0% and powers off on its own.
  • Finally, charge your phone once again without disconnecting it in between, and now your phone will show the actual battery readings.

Use a Third-Party App

If you don’t want to follow the manual process, you can consider using a third-party app to reset the battery statistics of your smartphone. There are several apps available on the Google Play Store that can help with calibration. However, many users have reported that these apps are less effective than manual calibration.

Reset Your Device

If nothing works, it’s best to factory reset your smartphone. Remember, this should be used as a last resort when all the other methods fail. also, just make sure you back up your device before performing a factory reset.

Lastly, it’s important to note that this process should not be performed frequently, as excessive calibration (full charging and discharging cycles) can be detrimental to the battery of your smartphone. Only rely on the methods mentioned above if the battery is behaving strangely. If calibration is required more often, it likely indicates a more serious issue (you might need to get that battery replaced).

General Tips:

  • Use the original charger and cable that came with your smartphone.
  • Do not fully charge or fully discharge the battery on a regular basis.
  • Avoid using your smartphone in extreme temperatures, as this can damage the battery.
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Batteries Guide

LITHIUM ION BATTERY – THE PROS AND CONS

LITHIUM ION BATTERIES – THE WAVE OF NEW INDUSTRY TECH

Lithium-ion batteries offer some distinct advantages and improvements over other forms of battery technology. Used in many devices today, they provide good performance, charges faster, and lasts longer compared to other types of batteries. 

Lithium-ion is a popular choice for portable devices because they offer distinct advantages and improvements over other battery technologies. Like all technology though, there is a difference in how well each one works with certain applications — it’s important to understand not only what makes them good but also their downside.

THE PROS AND CONS OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES

But the shininess and newness of a technology doesn’t mean it’s without its downfalls. Before hopping on the Lithium Ion Battery bandwagon, take a look at the pros and cons of the product. While the benefits are hard to dispute, there are still some potential drawbacks to consider. Whether you ultimately utilize Lithium Ion Batteries or not, it’s important to be in the know on the latest industry tech and innovation.

Pros:

  • Lithium-ion batteries are the best type of battery to use in your device since they don’t require any extra maintenance. Unlike other types of batteries that may need periodic discharge or topping off with fluid and priming before you can use them (and who has time for that?), these bad boys will just work every single time without fail!
  • A lithium-ion battery can be really great when it comes to loading characteristics. They provide a fairly constant 3 volts per cell before they start losing their charge as you use up all of your last charges, which is perfect!
  • Lithium-ion batteries come in many different types and sizes, which makes them convenient for use in various applications. The rechargeable battery you find inside your smartphone has very specific power requirements versus something like an electric vehicle – so it’s important that before buying or borrowing certain devices we know what type of lithium-Ion they have.
  • A rechargeable cell may require priming when it first receives a charge. Lithium-ion, on the other hand, has no such requirement, as they are ready to go from the start!
  • Lithium-ion batteries offer twice the energy density of nickel-cadmium, making their charging capabilities much more robust. This means that a single lithium-ion battery can power an electronic device for up to three times as long before needing recharging compared with two identical counterparts using NiCd or lead-acid technology – this is important in devices such as smartphones and laptops where you don’t want your battery dying out just when it becomes essential.

Cons:

  • Lithium-ion batteries can be tricky to handle if you don’t know of their flaws. One problem with these types is that they lose power faster than other battery types, such as nickel-cad or NiMh ones which typically have self-discharge rates of less than 5%.
  • The major disadvantage to lithium-ion batteries is their ageing. The battery can only withstand so many charge-discharge cycles before capacity falls and this could be due in part to the number of times it’s been charged or discharged; typically a li-ion setup will need at least 500 more charges than what you put into them just for safety reasons!
  • The lithium-Ion polymer(LiPoly) cells were created so you don’t need any external circuits but still maintain long life cycle times due t° the high energy density delivered by each cell!
  • The other problem with these types of cells, especially those found within consumer electronics such as cell phones, smartwatches etc., has got to do with time-related factors — namely how quickly they age if left unused over several months without use.
  • Lithium-ion batteries are a type of rechargeable battery that can be used for mobile devices and other portable electronics. The biggest downside to this kind of power source? It needs protection from being overcharged or discharged too much, which usually means including built-in circuitry in both the device itself as well as inside its voltage regulation system (also sometimes called “protection”).

How to Store Lithium-Ion Batteries Safely

Batteries should always be stored in a cool, dry place away from heat and sunlight. If your home does not have adequate ventilation or you’re storing batteries for an extended period of time (more than six months), it’s best to store them at 59℉ with relative humidity below 60%.

Boosting your home security is not just about installing alarms or motion sensors. You need to make sure the batteries in these devices are running at full strength and stored safely and away from children.

Get in touch with us today for all your battery needs.

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Guide

Should You Charge Your Phone Overnight?

There are a lot of questions about mobile phone batteries. Should you leave your phone plugged in overnight? Is it bad for the phone? Is it even safe?

In fact, how much should you charge your phone? When’s the right time to plug in? Should you let it run down to zero every time? Should you charge it up to 100%? How do you get the longest life out of the battery inside a phone? Does it even matter, if you’re going to keep the handset around for just a couple of years and then upgrade?

Longer update pledges mean that battery health is a big deal for modern smartphones, and manufacturers are starting to take note. We already have features like Adaptive Charging, but Android 15 is expected to introduce an optional 80% charging limit in a bid to prolong battery lifespans. This will match a similar feature that Apple already debuted with the iPhone 15.

But doesn’t that number, 80%, seem rather arbitrary? Is there really any point in capping yourself at less than full capacity?

We present to you the myths and truths of iPhone or Android phone charging, in particular regarding whether you should plug you phone in overnight.

Charging My iPhone Overnight Overloads the Battery: False!

One thing all the experts agree on is that most devices are smart enough these days to avoid overloading themselves. Extra protective chips inside make sure that can’t happen in a tablet, a phone, or even alaptop. Once the internal lithium-ion battery hits 100% of its capacity, charging stops.

With older phones, if you leave you phone plugged in overnight, it is going to use a bit of energy by constantly trickling new juice to the battery every time it falls to 99%. That is;eating into your phone’s lifespan .Newer phones and OSes compensate for this; since iOS 13, Apple has shipped phones withOptimized Battery Charging ;turned on, so iPhones will usually not charge past 80% when connected to a charger for an extended period (like, say, overnight). With the latest iPhone 15, you can specifically tell the phone in settings to never go above 80% charge; if it’s on a charger, it won’t even try to recharge until it goes at least to 75%.

The Best Thing to Do

Don’t worry about this too much. Plug the phone in or place it on the wireless charger when you go to sleep. If you wake up in the night, unplug it or move it to prevent constant trickle-charging. You could also plug your phone into asmart plug;that’s on a schedule to turn off.And make sure that the Optimized Battery Charging option is turned on.

Potential Problems With Charging Phones Overnight

Trickle charges can generate some heat. Many experts recommend taking a phone out of the case to charge it overnight. But that’s not always feasible with a complicated protective case.

Battery health has two major arch nemesis: heat and voltage. The former can mostly be controlled by keeping your phone off a hot dashboard, not charging it under your pillow, and using slower charging when you don’t need a quick top-up. Voltage wear, however, can’t be controlled so easily by the user; voltage stress is simply a result of charging a battery.

At the very least, do not stack anything—books or other devices, for instance—on top of a charging device. And for the love of Jobs, do not put your phone under your pillow. Do any of the above, and you can expect the phone to get hot—not necessarily hot enough for spontaneous combustion but enough to damage the battery.

If you’re afraid of fire, some recommend leaving the charging device on a dish or saucer while it’s plugged in or placing it on something metal that is more likely to dissipate heat, the way a heatsink does on the chips inside a PC. That’s not much of an option if you use a wireless charging pad, so don’t sweat it.

I Should Freeze My Phone to Prevent Battery Problems: False!

Lithium-ion batteries hate two things: extreme cold and extreme heat. Repeatedly charging a phone in sub-freezing temps can create a permanent plating of metallic lithium on the battery anode, according to BatteryUniversity. You can’t fix that problem; it’s simply going to kill the battery faster.

Your phone battery is not alone in hating heat; all the internal components of a phone feel the same. Your phone is a computer, and computers and hot air are mortal enemies going back decades. Leave your black-screened phone sitting in the sun as you laze by the pool, but don’t be surprised when it throws a warning that it needs to cool off. Instead, give it some shade. In the summer, keep it off the car dashboard.

Apple specifically says charging iPhones in an environment that’s hotter than 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) does permanent damage to the battery. Expect the same with any modern phone.

The Best Thing(s) Never to Do

Don’t charge a phone when it’s too cold or hot. And don’t put your phone in the freezer.

My Battery Should Always Drop to Zero Power Before I Charge It: False!

Running a phone until it’s dead—a full discharge—is not the way to go with modern lithium-ion batteries. Try not to let it get close to 0%. That wears out a lithium-ion battery faster than normal. Partial discharge is the way to go.

Batteries are on borrowed time from the get-go. The insides are in a constant state of decay that can’t be helped. Over time, the materials inside are simply going to hold less and less power. If you’ve got an older iPhone still in use and wonder why it’s only got a charge for a few hours compared to the almost full day (or two) you got when it was new, that’s why. Capacity diminishes over time.

Drain a phone battery to zero only when you want to recalibrate the internal sensor that displays your phone’s battery level. Success here is hardly guaranteed—in fact, many people don’t think it works at all—but it’s recommended by some, especially with a phone that goes down to 10% (or even 20% or 30%), then abruptly dies.

Note that even when you do use the phone all the way to auto-shutdown, that may not mean the battery is actually at 0%. Leave the phone alone for a few hours, if you want to try recalibrating. Then give it a reset for good measure.

The Best Thing to Do:

Plug the phone in before it asks you to enter a low-power mode; iOS will ask you to turn that on when you hit 20% power. Plug the phone in when it’s between 30% and 40%. If you can’t turn on the Optimized Battery Charging, pull the plug at 80% to 90%; going to full 100% when using a high-voltage charger can put some strain on the battery.

Keep the phone’s battery charged between 30% and 80% to increase its lifespan. Eighty always seems to be the magic number when it comes to lithium-ion batteries.

Apple claims that with fast charging, iPhone batteries can increase 50% in only 30 minutes. That requires a USB-C power adapter, which on older phones in turn means using a special USB-C-to-Lightning cable or a higher-voltage charger such as the one from an iPad or even a MacBook.

Don’t fast-charge your phone if it doesn’t support it. That’s just another thing that’ll strain the battery. But it’s hard to find a phone these days that doesn’t support fast charging. 

But,if you plan to swap out your phone every year or two, charge it any way you want for as often as you want, and don’t worry about diminished capacity. But if you want to stretch out your phone’s useful life, pay attention to best practices for lithium-ion batteries, as described above. Or you could just get a new battery installed every couple of years, which is much cheaper than a brand-new phone. Then hold out for 2028!

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Guide

When should you replace your smartphone battery?

If your cell phone can barely make it to lunchtime without a recharge, you may be tempted to buy a new one. But consider springing for a new battery instead.As long as the phone is in good shape—no cracked screen, for instance—replacing the battery can make the device work like brand-new.

Most smartphones come with non-removable batteries, so replacing one has gotten a lot more time-consuming and, in some cases, more expensive. It’s not something you should do on your own unless you have experience repairing phones, as you could make the problem worse. It can be a day-long project where you must disassemble your phone — in newer models, you even have to detach the screen from all of its sensors and wires. Now begs the question, when do you need to replace a phone battery?

How long does an Android phone battery last?

Much like the battery in your car, your Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phone battery will degrade over time. Typically, your phone battery is good for 2 to 3 years, or even longer if you take good care of your device.

Signs your phone battery needs to be replaced

If you’re worried your phone’s battery is damaged or not working at its best, we’ve got you covered. Here are the signs to look out for.

Your phone is slow to respond

Does your phone respond more slowly than it used to? Do apps take longer to launch? If your phone is sluggish—even when it’s mostly or fully charged—you may need a new battery.

Your battery doesn’t hold a charge

If your phone won’t charge to 100%, drains quickly after you’ve charged it, or shuts down unexpectedly on a full charge, it’s probably time to replace the battery.

Likewise, if you have to charge your Android more than once a day or if it only works when it’s plugged in, it’s may be time for a new battery.

Your phone heats up while charging

Are you wondering how to tell if your phone battery is damaged? Check to see whether your phone gets hot while it’s charging. You can also take a look at your phone screen or case to see whether it’s warped: If it is, you may have a swollen battery, which could be dangerous. The safest option is to take your device to a tech repair pro and replace it right away.

How to check your Android phone battery health

Most Android phone models have a battery usage setting where you can check battery health.
Go toSettings > Batteryto check your current battery level.
From there the steps vary by device, but look for an option like Battery Usage to get more information, like which apps are using the most power.

If you’ve tried these steps and still need a little help,get the best batteries for your business and professional needs here atBatteryone.co. Get in touch with us today for all your battery needs. 

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Guide

A Huge Guide to Improve Battery Life

Smartphones continue to get faster, and every update comes with a host of new features that promise to make your life easier. But this technology can also sap your battery life, causing you frustration.

Battery life is going to massively differ between people due to what apps are being used – something as simple as browsing the internet can hit the battery more than video consumption, and any kind of gaming will kill the battery even quicker. 

If your Android is draining faster than normal, don’t panic.This post is here giving a detailed list of what can be changed to improve battery life. 

Software Updates

Keeping up-to-date is always a good idea for features, security fixes and bug fixes, and if you’re having battery problems, it could be because you’re on an older firmware. To see if you have the latest version:

  1. TapSettings > Software update > Check for new update(on some Android devices, this will appear asSettings > System > System update > Check for update).
  2. TapOK.
  3. If your operating system is up to date, “Current software is up to date” will display. If a new update is available, follow the instructions to install.

Settings to Help Battery Life

All of these settings can be found in the Settings app (from app draw or from notifications panel). Disabling these settings helps battery life unless stated otherwise.

Switch to mobile data 

Your device periodically checks if Wi-Fi can be found, and if it can’t, mobile data is turned on. With this disabled, mobile data will need to be manually turned on when your Wi-Fi slows/drops.

Wi-Fi power saving mode

Looks for patterns in Wi-Fi usage to learn when it’s best to turn on Wi-Fi power saving. I’d suggest trying this yourself and seeing if it affects your everday usage (as it can in some cases).

Bluetooth 

Bluetooth can use a large amount of energy, especially when it’s constantly syncing to devices like watches, earphones and speakers that trade large amounts of data. Disable this if you don’t use Bluetooth devices, and if you do, it isn’t a large enough battery sink to worry about.

NFC 

This will check for NFC/contactless payment points whenever the screen is on. Leaving this turned off, and simply turning it on when needed is simple and can save a tiny amount of energy.

5G

5G can be very power-hungry – under the right circumstances it can drain 20% more than other bands. Below is a detailed explanation of 5G and why it can be a battery drain under certain conditions. If you do not use 5G at all, disable it – set your network mode to LTE/3G/2G if possible – this will not change your data speeds and may help with battery life. If you do use 5G, please read below!

  1. There are two deployment types of 5G – Stand Alone (SA) and Non-Stand Alone (NSA). SA deployments handle calls, texts and data single-handedly without needing any other network band active. NSA deployments cannot handle calls, texts and data without another network band being active at the same time. NSA 5G therefore needs to maintain a 4G/LTE/3G connection alongside the 5G connection for higher data speeds. As of writing, there are no large-scale SA deployments. The vast, vast majority of currently avalaible 5G is NSA. In use, this will drain your battery ~20% faster than when just using 4G/LTE/3G.
  2. Connection strength and reliability also play a large role with battery life. As 5G is still an emerging technology, overall coverage is far worse than other bands, which can cause your data connection to constantly switch between multiple bands while also always seeking 4G/LTE/3G for a stronger connection. This can play a large role in 5G killing your battery quicker.

Wireless emergency alerts 

These are sent out about severe weather warnings and amber alerts, as well as also being used to send location information to emergency services. This is an important service that should be left on if supported in your area. If it isn’t used in your country, or your country uses SMS instead, you can disable this feature for an imperceptible battery save.

Dark mode

Dark mode changes all Android menus and supporting apps to a dark version – meaning mostly white backgrounds change to black/grey backgrounds. OLED screens turn off pixels completely when black – meaning little to no power draw from these pixels – whereas pixels showing white is a large battery draw over the same period of time.

Additionally:Most browsers support a dark mode independently of OS settings and therefore need changing in their respective settings to be turned on/off. Browser dark modes can save massive amounts of battery at the cost of making most webpages look… strange.

Motion Smoothness and Eye Comfort Shield

Motion smoothness:Most Smartphones supports 120Hz displays which can be a large battery drainer. Although it’s adaptive (meaning it can change based on what is needed – from 120Hz all the way down to 10Hz), it still drains more power than in standard mode (60Hz). I spoke earlier about striking a good balance between battery and features – and in my opinion, 120Hz is well worth the extra battery usage.

Eye comfort shield:Eye Comfort Shield isn’t for everyone as it both limits blue light and uses warmer colours. Setting this can make things look yellow-tinted, but can help with eye fatigue, sleep, and most importantly for this list, battery life.

Power saving mode

As mentioned above, this is the power saving mode that often gets confused with adaptive power saving. This will automatically be turned on and off when adaptive power saving finds it best, or this setting instead can be left on at all times if preferred.

Protect your phone from extreme temperatures

Whether you’re on the go or staying in, make sure to avoid leaving your phone in very hot or cold environments. Being in extreme temperatures can not only drain your phone battery but also cause it to overheat and explode, putting your safety at risk. Try to store your phone in an area between 68° and 86° Fahrenheit.

Make sure your phone has service

While this may seem like a no-brainer, double-check to make sure your phone has service. If your Android is constantly searching for a signal, it can drain your battery quickly. 

Check whether your battery is at the end of its life cycle

If none of the above steps works, it could be because your Android phone’s battery is on its way out. Get the best batteries for your business and professional needs here atBatteryone.co. Get in touch with us today for all your battery needs.