wbauknight Loc: Buda, TX

I am 72 years old and often have damaged my phone battery because I left it plugged and forgot it or fell asleep with it plugged in and woke up during the night to discover it is plugged in.

There is now help for forgetful people like me. There is a cord called a smart cord that protects your phone buy cutting the power off when your battery is charged. I have no financial interest in this product but thought there could be other people out there who would like to know about this.

https://www.getmodern.co/pages/mcdv3?fbclid=IwAR1wMDRJCs1MNOBbBlWIiiwXWxxkto1_vo574nB-DHz251cdaX914Yt90VU&utm_campaign=Jan%20Promo%20%28QaGbGQ%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=PD%20Engaged%2030&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJ3YmF1a25pZ2h0QGFvbC5jb20iLCAia2xfY29tcGFueV9pZCI6ICJzN0VmRHMifQ%3D%3D

hahersh Loc: Burlington, ON, Canada

Apple products use lithium batteries, which are rechargeable, so you can plug your device in and let it charge for multiple uses. The lithium battery uses a trickle charge at the end of charging, so you don't need to worry about overcharging your battery by leaving the phone plugged in once it has reached a full charge.

Apple's iPhone uses two types of charging when you plug in your phone. For the first two hours that the phone is plugged in, the battery charges quickly so that it reaches 80 percent of the capacity, and your phone retains that charge if you need to use it immediately. If you leave the phone on the charger, the battery continues to charge at a trickle charge, which uses just a small amount of charge to continue charging up the battery until it is fully charged.

bedouin Loc: Big Bend area, Texas

I have heard confusing information about the issue of whether overcharging a cell phone battery diminishes its overall life. One group of so-called battery experts say that phones have a built-in circuit to stop charging when the battery is full and others say this is not true. Anyone out there no which is correct?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thanks, but I'll pass. I charge my phone when it's a little below half full, and I never leave it plugged in overnight. Getting a 100% charge isn't essential, so just a few hours will give me all I need. Phones prevent themselves from getting too much of a charge, but leaving it plugged in for hours on end can stress the battery as it gets a lengthy trickle charge. Regardless how you charge your rechargeable battery, it's going to lose power over time.

I wouldn't trust this cable to do what it claims, and the ad seems sketchy. It has nice pictures, but the text has typos, and there's too much gibberish at the bottom. Another thing I don't like about that page you linked - when I'm off the page, the tab has a crying icon with, "We miss you...Come back to us!" Maybe it's too early in the morning, and I haven't finished my coffee yet.

http://time.com/4949569/mobile-phone-charge-overnight/
https://www.moneytalksnews.com/will-charging-your-phone-overnight-damage/

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I noticed this article is in reference to iPhones, not Android phones. I plug my phone in several times without checking to see if it is fully charged. After being fully charged, it goes into trickle mode. The techs say you should let your battery fall to 50%, or lower before recharging. The less charging cycles, the longer your battery will last.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Deleted.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Overcharging isn't the problem. It's that continuous trickle charge that keeps topping up the battery that can be harmful. I've been using Samsung phones with batteries that are easy and inexpensive to replace, so battery life is almost irrelevant.

https://www.sciencealert.com/how-to-charge-phone-battery-to-last-longer-advice-science
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/do_and_dont_battery_table
https://www.androidauthority.com/maximize-battery-life-882395/

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

no, the charge stops when the battery voltage hits its limit. It does not continue to charge, But this assumes you use the right charger. i would be very careful buying third party chargers which might have a slightly different output voltage.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I would say, "so what" I am 75. I have never have a battery fail because I left it plugged in. How does it overcharge?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I would imagine that the phones have circuitry to shut off the charging system. Actually I cannot imagine that they do not. But maybe it's iPhones... (I have a Samsung.)
I plug mine in when I go to bed, phone gets a wee bit warm. When I arise, the phone is cool.
So to me the charging system shuts off.
Same with my camera battery chargers, they shut off (stop charging).
(Now a dollar-two-ninety-eight external charger may not stop charging)

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

You can simply use a timer on your charger. Set it for 3-4 hours and forget about it.
My iPhones are set to backup to iCloud overnight so mine is always plugged in while I’m sleeping.

Bison Bud

All rechargeable batteries, no matter what kind, produce heat when charging and discharging. It is this heat the eventually damages the battery pack and lowers it's capacity. To some degree this is unavoidable as all rechargeable batteries eventually suffer from this and they do wear out. However, the best case scenario is a peak sensing charger that lowers the current flow as the battery get closer to full charge and cuts off completely when it is nearly full and I don't mean the ones that monitor battery temperature either, as again the heat is the problem even if it gets turned off sooner. It is also true that a trickle charger will do less harm, but most of us want a quicker charge than they can deliver and that requires the higher currents that really produce the more harmful heat inside the battery packs. All in all, it's really somewhat of a trade off. Try to keep from overcharging and producing noticeable heat and by the way, leaving your cell phone to charge in the car when it's hot out is double whammy and about as bad as it gets. Good luck and good shooting to all.

alby Loc: very eastern pa.

i have an iphone at least 6 years old. i let it rundown nearly to 20% or lower. plug in overnight and, or longer. no problems so far. want a newer one? sure. this one was 99 cents. think i got my moneys worth!!!!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

If it's too hot in the car (left phone in cubbyhole once) my phone tells me and it will not charge.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

As others have stated, the largest problem reported with a battery is that it has a memory when it comes to charging. If you charge it often before it goes below a certain percentage, it will remember that as the baseline for capacity. In other words, it will lose its charge quickly. That can be mitigated by draining the charge on the equipment (phones, tablets, etc) to zero several times. You can do that by charging the unit, then leaving on till it dies completely.
It's ok to leave it plugged in unless the battery overheats when you do so. A bit warm is normal, hot is not. That would mean the equipment has a defect in either the software or hardware that causes it to continue charging after the battery has reached capacity. If that’s the case, you need to replace it because it may catch fire.