11 phone battery myths you really have to stop believing

Truth: Smart technology stops your phone from charging after it’s full. If the battery drops back down to a certain point when it’s still plugged in, the phone knows to start charging again, says Sergio Flores, electronics engineer for Samsung. “This way, even if you are charging your phone overnight, the phone is only being charged when it is necessary,” he says.

Find out 17 hidden iPhone hacks you never knew about.

Truth: Keeping your phone on low-power mode after it’s charged won’t harm the software, but it might lead to poorer user experience. “Phones are designed to be really flashy and give you an over-the-top experience,” says Brad Nichols, technician with technology repair service company Staymobile. “When you turn them into that efficiency mode, it gets rid of all the redundant things.” Low brightness might make the screen hard to see, and you might notice the sound isn’t as loud as you like. Plus, apps might only check for notifications every 10 minutes or so, so you won’t get the instant feedback you’re used to, says Nichols.

Truth: Using a public port could put your information at risk. Unlike the typical socket you’d plug your charger into, those cords you see at restaurants and airports create an easy path to transfer data. “People don’t realise they’re not just a power source,” says Eva Velasquez, CEO and president of Identity Theft Resource Center. “It’s not like plugging your lamp into the wall.” Hackers could potentially access anything in your phone – emails, texts, photos and more. If you need to charge your phone in public a lot, a portable charger is a much safer option, says Velasquez.

Truth: Your phone already has some juice, and skipping that first charge won’t affect its life long-term. The only reason some manufacturers suggest charging it first is to make a good first impression. By the time that new phone reaches your hand, testing and manufacturing have already drained up to half the battery. “If you expect an eight-hour battery and it lasted four hours, that’s not the experience the manufacturer wants you to have,” says Nichols. “Most of the time these recommendations are to make users feel like they are getting the quality of the device they were promised.”

Find out 10 tricks to make your computer run faster.

Truth: It’s better to juice up the lithium-ion battery in your phone before it reaches zero. “These kind of batteries tend to ‘forget’ what their full capacity level is, and so when recharged, they do not recharge to the same level as they were at the beginning,” says Flores. Major brands have solved the problem for the most part, but older models might still have that issue, he says.

Truth: Just one app could be sucking up a ton of your phone’s battery. Sadly, one common culprit is the Facebook app. “A lot of [apps], like the Facebook app, do things in the background, even when you’re not running it,” says Nichols. The app is constantly checking for messages and status updates, and refreshing your feed in the background, he says. Some Android users have even reported that deleting Facebook apps helped their other apps run 15 per cent faster and saved 20 per cent of their phones’ battery lives. Keep from running to your charger as often by deleting the app and checking Facebook through a web browser on your phone instead, suggests Nichols.

Truth: Resetting your phone could help conserve battery. Most people don’t fully close apps when they’re done using them, so those apps are still working in the background. Each one might not use a ton of juice, but the more that are running, the shorter your battery life will be. If you’re in the habit of leaving apps up, make a point of turning your phone off at least once a week to close those battery suckers. “Restarting your phone takes two minutes, and you can usually tell the difference,” says Nichols. “If you turn your phone off completely, it’s processing zero tasks as opposed to 20 tasks every 10 minutes.” Keeping it off overnight might not be realistic, so try shutting it down before a long meeting or at the movies.

Truth: You can feel free to open apps or take calls while your phone is charging. “Although when you are charging your phone, the power is different from the one you normally use (the battery), the results and performance of the circuitry are always the same,” says Flores. One caveat: Open apps use up power while the phone is charging, meaning it will take longer to juice up, says Nichols. So if you need a full charge fast, fiddling with your phone will work against you.

This is how much time you should be spending on social media..

Truth: Knockoff chargers could damage your phone’s battery. “Cheaper chargers don’t necessarily have the standards in place to fill your phone constantly with the correct voltage,” says Nichols. “The fluctuation of voltage can damage the charger port, and even damage your battery.” In a pinch, an off-brand cord probably won’t do as much damage as a knockoff of the piece that plugs in to the wall or car might. But your best bet is to stick with manufacturer-certified products, says Nichols.

Do you need a break from your smartphone? Here’s advice on how your mobile phone affects your body and mind.

Truth: Taking your phone out of your computer without ejecting it could damage your files. “If you were before transferring pictures or data, unplugging it may disrupt that connection too soon,” says Nichols. You could end up with corrupted files or keep your phone from backing up completely, he says. But if your phone is plugged in to the wall, you can pull the plug any time.