How to maximize your battery life for your smartphones, tablets and devices

Everyone hates when their Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery powered devices don’t last as long as they used to when new. Not only do batteries degrade normally over time as they are used, but how you use your devices can speed-up the wear and tear of the battery leading to reduced battery lifespan and capacity sooner than later.

This issue is not just a problem for your own personal devices, but also an issue for work devices from always plugged in devices like GPS navigation, smartphone powered POS terminals to devices used for app testing in a test farm to demo devices on kiosks and more.

Let’s find out more about these Li-ion battery life issues, learn what you can do about it and see how this cool little device called Chargie can help you easily keep your battery healthy. It’s so easy to use. Just set and forget. All without having to root your smartphone or tablet.

Watch the video below for a quick summary of Chargie’s features and read the full article for all the details and more on how to maintain lithium-ion battery life!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means we will receive a commission on qualifying purchases you make through our links, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure here, for more information.

We did receive one Chargie A GE for free from Chargie.org. This however did not change our opinion or review of Chargie. We do still believe it is a good product and have purchased two for our other devices.

Checkout Chargie’s features here!

Signs your battery is going bad

You may find that within a year or less of owning your device it may exhibit one or more of the following:

it doesn't last as long as it used to (lower capacity/runtime)
the battery percentage will drop suddenly or quickly during use or the device suddenly restarts
the battery will start to bulge out and deform your device, permanently damaging it or worse, it could explode injuring you or causing a fire
the battery runs hot even when you aren't doing much
it just won't hold much of a charge or not hold a charge for long (end of life)

In pretty much all smartphones, tablets and many modern-day electronics, lithium-ion or Lithium polymer batteries are the standard type of batteries used because they hold a lot of charge in such a small package. In other words, they have high energy density. The downside is that they are very sensitive to how you treat them. Doing the wrong things will reduce the battery’s life and capacity much faster than from normal wear and tear.

There are two things that are important to any rechargeable battery. The capacity and the service life (lifespan). The capacity is how much power it can supply per charge (e.g., 3500 mAh) and the service life is the how many times (charge cycles) the battery can be used before end of life (e.g., 500 to 1000 charge cycles). When a Li-ion battery is not taken care of, both of these will suffer and your device will need a new battery sooner than later.

How do I keep my battery healthy longer?

The short answer: In general Li-ion batteries are negatively affected by high heat, full charges (especially when left at 100% for long periods of time), deep discharges, and heavy charge and discharge cycles.

Subjecting your battery to any of the above conditions will cause faster internal wear and stress to the chemistry of the battery causing it to have reduced capacity and a lower lifespan sooner than later. In other words, the sooner your battery will not last as long on a charge and the lower the remaining number of charge cycles your battery will have before end of life.

Best Li-ion battery practices

When should I charge my phone or tablet? At what percentage should I charge my device?
Keep charge level between 30% to 80% State of Charge (SoC) for longest battery life ("BU-415"). Charge your device anywhere between these two percentages. If you need more capacity, you can always use a larger range, for example, 20% to 90%. Just be aware that this will reduce battery life more than the recommended range, though it will still be better than using a range of 25% to 100%.
How much can I discharge my device down to?
Never discharged a Li-ion battery below 20% charge. This is called deep cycling. And absolutely avoid full discharges down to 0%.
How often should I charge my device?
Charge more often. Smaller charge cycles (e.g., from 65% - 75%) are better than larger charge cycles (e.g., from 25% - 100%) ("BU-808"). Smaller discharges between charges are best so charge often between use because partial, random charging is better ("BU-706").
Should I unplug my device at 100%? Is charging to 100% bad?
Do not keep SoC at 100% for long periods ("BU-808"). If charging to 100%, stop charging and unplug from charger as soon as possible after reaching 100% so that the battery does not stay at 100% for long. Only top up to 100% before usage when full capacity is needed. So no more all-night charging at home or full day charging at work and keeping devices charge at 100% over several hours. When turned off, never store long term at 100% charge. It's best stored long term at 50% SoC ("BU-415").
What temperature is bad for Li-ion battery health?
Limit exposing the battery to temperatures above 30°C (86°F). High temperatures degrade a Li-ion battery and going "above 30°C (86°F) is considered elevated temperature" ("BU-808"). For long-term storage, cool temperatures are ideal ("BU-415"). Limit the amount of time the battery temperature exceeds 30°C (86°F) especially during use or when charging.
Is rapid charging or fast charging bad for Li-ion batteries?
Avoid ultra-fast charging ("BU-415"). Use normal charge speeds instead of rapid or fast charging. Fast charging does more harm than slower charges. The time you save using fast charge comes at the cost of faster battery life and capacity loss over time. Limit fast/rapid/ultra-fast charging use, especially when the temperature is outside 10ºC to 45ºC (50ºF to 113ºF) ("BU-401a").
Is rapid discharge or harsh loads bad for Li-ion batteries?
Heavy loads are bad for battery life ("Why Mobile"). Try to avoid prolonged heavy/fast draining of the battery when possible.

Li-ion battery safety (Dangerous bulging batteries)

Note that battery lifespan and capacity are not the only issues when Li-ion batteries are not properly taken care of. Bulging of batteries is the visible sign of a Li-ion battery that is starting to fail. Not only does this damage the devices the batteries are in, but your device could now be a ticking time bomb that could explode or start a fire causing injury or death. You only need to do a search on YouTube to see the dangers of Li-ion battery explosions and fires.

Though, Li-ion batteries are generally safe, if you start to notice that your devices are starting to expand out then it could be time to follow the best practices above to slow down the damage done to the battery. If it progresses further, it could be time to get the battery replaced professionally.

For the safety of yourself, family and others, it’s not a bad idea to start taking care of your Li-ion powered devices today. Find out next how to properly charge your smartphones, tablets and devices, next.

How to properly charge your devices (Smartphone, tablet and others)?

Now that you know what is required to properly maintain and take care of your Li-ion battery, what do you do? You will want to start managing your devices charge and usage to optimize for longevity. Here are some pointers for you to consider implementing.

Keep the state of charge (SoC) in the ideal range of 30% - 80% by charging when SoC reaches 30% and unplug the device from the charger when it gets to 80% ("BU-706").
If full capacity of 100% is needed for a long day out, then plan to have it finish charging to 100% just as you are about to leave. Just try to limit how often this is done. Better yet, don't go above 90%.
Charge the device anytime you are able to, as often as possible, while keeping the charge between 30% - 80% ("BU-706").
If keeping the device plugged in all the time, or storing it unused for long-term, then 50% charge is best.
As much as possible avoid exposing the battery to temperatures below 0°C (32°F) or above 30°C (86°F).
* Limit prolonged battery temperatures above 30°C (86°F) as much as possible. Stop running the app or remove from the environment causing it and let the device and battery cool down.
* Do not place the device in a hot environment. For example, in a hot car or on the dash of a car exposed to the heat of the sun. This is typical when using GPS navigation with the phone mounted on the dash or windshield. If overheating happens by accident, then remove from heat source and let it cool down naturally.
* Avoid charging the device when the battery temperature is above 45°C (113°F) ("BU-401a").
Or keep things simple. Get a Chargie to manage the charging for you. Find out more below!

Sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? It is and some of this is not possible, for example, overnight when you are sleeping. This is where Chargie comes to the rescue. It can help you manage the charging of your devices so that you don’t have to watch over it like a hawk.

This means you will have your expensive smartphone, tablet or accessory last much longer with much less effort. You won’t waste your hard-earned money buying a new device or replacing the battery every year, which is also more environmentally friendly.

What is Chargie? Is Chargie legit?

Chargie is the Battery Charge manager you wish came built-in to your smartphone, tablet or other devices powered by Li-ion batteries. It will automatically help you manage the charge on your devices to optimize the lifespan and capacity helping you get the most value out of them.

Yes, of course, Chargie is legit! Our Chargie works well in watching over the battery of our smartphones. We bought one to test out it’s features before we wrote this post and like it so much that we would recommend it.

How does Chargie work?

Chargie is a little hardware device (USB dongle) that plugs in between your charger and your device, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or wireless charging pad. It is also Bluetooth paired to your smartphone or tablet running the Chargie app. Together, the Chargie hardware and app are able to monitor your device’s state of charge, battery temperature and power coming from your charger to properly mange when to charge and when to stop charging based on what you configure in the settings. It’s as simple as that!

Chargie C Basic connected to charger and tablet

Chargie connected to USB charger, cable and smartphone

Though Chargie works best with it’s companion app, it can also be used app-less to take care of your other devices like your Bluetooth speakers, smartwatches and more.

Find out more below!

What cool things can Chargie do?

Keep your battery charged at a set max limit while plugged in to charger.
Set the Charge Limit to define what maximum charge you want Chargie to charge your device up to and maintain while plugged in. No more keeping your battery at 100% all night long or all day long at work.

Typically, charge limits of 50% to 70% are ideal when using this feature.

In the end, it’s up to you to decide based on your usage requirements and battery lifespan expectations. Higher charge limits are generally worse for batteries, long-term, but if you need to balance other factors like having enough runtime capacity then a higher limit can be used at the cost of most battery wear.

Set the max temperature where charging should stop.
You can set the Max charging temperature so that if your battery exceeds it, Chargie will stop charging, thereby protecting your battery. Even though smartphones and tablets have over-temperature protection, this is usually set at a higher than desirable level for better battery lifespan and capacity. This is typically set around 50°C (122°F), prioritizing for usability and not for battery care (Longer life).

Configure Chargie to use a lower limit. For example, set Chargie's Max charging temperature limit to 45°C (113°F) to balance usability with battery health.

Automatic Top-up for going out.
The Top Up Scheduler feature will allow you to have Chargie automatically Top Up your device to a higher, pre-configured maximum for times you need more capacity on the go. This is typically used overnight or at work when you have your device plugged in for long periods of time. Normally, you want the battery to stay at a lower state of charge (SoC) throughout many hours being plugged in (e.g., 50% - 70%). But, when you leave home for work or leave work to head home, you will want your smartphone to be topped up higher for the trip. Chargie's Top Up feature automatically does this for you to ensure you have more runtime capacity for the trip!

You configure a start time and Chargie will start charging at that time and stop at the Top Up SoC you set and keep it there. Note that the Top Up percentage should be set higher than the Charge Limit maximum mentioned before.

For example, you normally set your Charge Limit on Chargie to 60% with an Allowed Charge Drop of 3%. You now set the Top Up percentage to 95% and a start time of 6 am. Let's say your smartphone is at 40% when you plug it in at night to go to sleep. Throughout the night, Chargie will charge your smartphone up to 60% and let the charge drop to 56% before it starts charging again up to 60%. The cycle continues throughout the night, protecting your battery by keeping it between 56% - 60%. At 6 am Chargie will start to charge your smartphone up to 95% so that when you are heading out the doors to go to work, you have 95% SoC to use for the day. How cool is that?

Protect the battery of other devices.
The Hardware limiter feature allows you to use Chargie to prolong the battery of your other devices that can't run the Chargie app. For example, Bluetooth speakers, smartwatches, Air Pods, smartphone that's turned off and more can use this app-less charging feature. The app-less charging will cut power off at around 90% based on automatic power measurements done continually by Chargie ("Chargie").

Protect devices that are always plugged in.
If your device is used in a way that requires it to be plugged in all the time like smartphones or tablets used as security cameras, POS terminal devices, GPS navigation, demo devices at kiosks, devices used in a test farm, etc., then consider using a Chargie charge limit feature to keep the max charge at 50%. Because this kind of usage is similar to that of long-term storage at 100% charge, keeping the battery at 50% charge by using a Chargie will maintain the battery for a longer lifespan.

This gives the device a longer service life, a better 2nd hand value and also makes bulging batteries less likely to happen and greatly reduces the dangers and fire risk too.

Please share our post to help others protect their devices too!

Do Smartphones, Tablets and Laptops have features to protect your battery?

Some manufacturers have started implementing Battery protection features that allow you to prolong and maintain your battery life and capacity. These features are available in some devices from companies like Sony, Apple, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Huawei and others. If you have such a device, check it out to see what it’s all about. Just note that they work well but may not be as configurable as Chargie. So Chargie may still be the way to go for you.

The Sony Xperia 1 III smartphone, for example, has a Battery Care feature that allows limiting the charge to 80% or 90%. It also has additional features like Target time for full charge.
The Samsung A8 tablet has a battery maintenance feature to limit the charge to the battery at 85%. But note that this feature seems to make the tablet/Android OS think that the battery has a lower capacity than actual. So once set, you will still be able to charge your device up to 100%, but in reality, the battery is only charged up to 85% capacity.

Samsung Battery and device care settings page

Should you get a Chargie?

In the end, it’s your device and you will have to choose what method works best for you to manage your devices batteries that suits you and your lifestyle. Chargie allows you to configure and manage your device charging based on your needs since there isn’t only one set of settings that is ideal for everyone.

I hope you can see the advantages of properly maintaining your Li-ion batteries and how Chargie can play a big part of that. We enjoy using our Chargie and have already ordered another one for our many Li-ion devices.

Charging smartphone using Chargie charge manager

Chargie A GE battery charge controller for USB-A

Chargie comes in 2 versions. One for USB-A and another for USB-C. If you enjoyed our post and want to get Chargie for yourself or as a gift for friends and family, then consider using our affiliate links below to get one or a combo pack to spend less per Chargie!

Prolong and safeguard your devices plus keep your family and kids safer today!