The Ultimate Battery Life Hacks

It may be a year or in some cases six months, but your phone's battery is doomed to lose its capacity to hold a charge.

Anyone who's looked into their phone battery would see a couple of layers sandwiched together. These materials form three sections: a negative side where the potential energy is "stored", a positive section where the used energy is collected, and an electrolyte polymer that offers a path for important ions to flow between the two.

When you turn on your phone, you open a path for electrons crowded in the anode to flow away from their high energy state towards the cathode in search of a lower energy state. This movement is what gives your device energy. In the process, these electrons have left their positively charged lithium atoms behind, now called ions. In order for these ions to return to their 'atom' state, they travel through the electrolyte towards the cathode in search of their lost electrons. But, when it gets there, the lonely ion won't find it's lost electron leaving the cathode with a buildup of positive lithium ions and separated electrons.

When you apply electricity to the battery during a charge, it forces this electron-chasing process in reverse. Electrons and ions reunite in the anode, ready to repeat the process and release energy once again. This is described as one full charge cycle.

Each time you do this, you wear down the material in the cathode, and it can no longer hold the same electrical charge as before. After 400 charge cycles, your battery will lose 20% of its charging capability. This deterioration is expedited by continually allowing your battery to get to 0%, something that can't happen often for more than 3 years. Also, constantly subjecting your battery to extreme temperatures can significantly reduce your battery life.

So, if you want your battery to have the longest life possible, here are a few things you can do:

1. Switch off your phone, wifi or Bluetooth when idle.

2. Maintain room temperature around your device.

3. Never keep your brightness at 100%.

4. Turn off battery intense features like Autoplay.

5. Use low power mode as often as possible.

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