How long does a phone battery last? (And how to make it last longer)

It is completely normal for phone batteries to degrade over time, and in fact, the maximum charging capacity for most is roughly 2-3 years. But there are steps you can take to slow down this process and keep your battery as healthy as possible for an extended period of time.

Basic changes like lowering your screen brightness, modifying your charging habits and avoiding extreme temperatures are just a few of the ways you can extend your phone battery’s life. This article will explain how long your phone battery should last and dive deeper into how you can make it last longer.

How long should a phone battery last?

As previously mentioned, the maximum capacity of lithium-ion batteries lasts about two to three years, or approximately 300-500 “charge cycles.” A charge cycle is when you use 100% of your battery’s power capacity (either all at once, or over the course of a few partial recharges) before their capacity drops by about 20%. 

Newer phones, however, are rated much higher. Apple* and Google both tout 1,000 charge cycles on their latest phone models before the batteries lose 20% capacity, and Samsung’s flagship batteries have been rated up to 2,000 cycles.** That means if you’re going through a charge cycle per day, a Samsung battery could realistically last almost 5 and a half years. 

Why is your phone battery dying so fast?

If your battery doesn’t seem to be old enough to be losing a charge as fast as it is, there may be a few other contributing factors:

• Heat exposure
  If you’re leaving your phone in the sun or in a hot car for an extended period of time or charging it under a pillow, heat can damage the battery and cause it to lose capacity.
• Staying at 100% or 0% power for too long
  If you’re constantly topping off your battery or letting it stay dead for hours or days at a time, this can also impact its long-term power capacity.
• Using non-certified chargers or cables
  If you’re plugging your phone into a cheap USB cable you bought from a third-party, that could be the cause of your battery’s short lifespan.
• Heavy background usage
  Things like background app refresh, always-on apps that notify you regularly (i.e. email or social media apps) and heavy GPS usage can drain your battery quickly.

How to extend your phone battery’s life

To keep your phone’s battery life in tip-top shape, we recommend a few things:

• Stop charging your phone to 100%
  Plugging it back in every time it drops below 90% causes additional stress on the battery.
• Stop letting it fully die
  On the flip side, letting your battery drop all the way to 0% causes it to develop an “internal resistance” over time, lowering its overall capacity. It’s best to keep your phone’s battery somewhere between 20-80%. 
• Turn on your phone’s battery management feature
  It’s called Optimized Battery Charging on iPhone, Adaptive Charging on Google Pixel and Battery Protection on Samsung phones, and it will help manage how your battery is charged automatically.
• Use the charger that came with your phone (or at least another certified one)
  If you buy another charge cable or wireless charging dock from a third-party, make sure it’s certified and fully compatible with your phone. Saving a few bucks on a knock-off charger can result in poor voltage regulation, causing shortages or unnecessary stress on the battery, which can be detrimental to it long-term. 
• Avoid extreme heat and cold
  Everyone knows a phone can overheat, but yes, your phone can get too cold too. And extreme temperatures in either direction can harm your phone’s lithium ion battery.

Tips to make your battery last longer day-to-day

In addition to the recommendations above, there are a few tips & tricks that will help your battery last longer day-to-day:

• Lower screen brightness and shorten screen timeout
  The brighter your screen, the more battery power it consumes. Letting it go dark a bit sooner when you aren’t using it can conserve quite a bit of battery power too.
• Enable low power mode
  This handy feature automatically adjusts several things on your phone (like screen brightness, timeout, and background data usage) to conserve whatever power you have left.
• Turn off connections when not using them
  When phone features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are on, they’re always looking for something to connect to, which uses battery power. Disabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, location, mobile hotspot and other connections when you aren’t using them will make a noticeable difference in your battery life.
• Close unused apps and disable background app refresh
  Certain apps can still eat up a lot of battery (and data) even when you aren’t using them thanks to background app refresh. You can choose which apps are allowed to do this in your Settings menu.

Should you replace your cell phone battery…or get a new phone?

If, even after trying all the tips & tricks in the wireless world, you’re still having battery issues, it may be time to replace the battery, or the entire phone (since many new phones don’t have removable batteries). 

How will you know it’s time to start shopping? Here are a few clues:

• Rapid battery draining
  If you charge your phone to 100% and before you can even reply to a text message it’s already dropped to 70%, the battery is likely kaput and it’s time for a new one.
• Phone powering off while over 0%
  If 10% battery used to mean 20 more minutes of scrolling but now it means your phone could shut off at any minute, that battery is due for retirement.
• Visible swelling
  If you can actually see your phone bulging from a swollen battery, stop using it immediately (and absolutely do not plug it into a charger ever again).

If your phone allows you to remove and replace the battery, that might be your best, or at least most affordable, option. However, most modern phones have the battery built-in so you can’t replace the battery without replacing the whole phone. Depending on timing, this may be covered by your warranty, or if you purchased phone insurance, you may be able to file a claim. 

Otherwise, it might be time for you to upgrade to a new phone. If that’s the case, we do know a guy. (It’s us, we have great deals on new phones.)

Knowledge is (battery) power

So, while battery degradation is completely normal and expected, there are steps you can take to keep your battery in its best condition for as long as you have the phone.

Small daily habits like closing apps and turning off connections you aren’t using can also preserve battery power when it’s in short supply. If you’re looking to make your phone charge faster now, we have an article for that too. Just make sure you aren’t charging your phone overnight every single night.   

And if it is finally time to say goodbye to that phone, Mint Mobile is here with great deals on new phones from your favorite brands, all with shiny new batteries inside. We also allow you to bring your own phone to Mint, if it still works fine and you just want to save a ton of money on wireless… just saying. 

*https://support.apple.com/en-us/101575

**https://www.androidauthority.com/smartphone-battery-cycles-3573442/