It's one of those powerful instruments that you rely on daily for communication, work, or entertainment reasons. Though it might be as indispensable as your hand, it is undergoing wear and tear, particularly its battery. Many of these individual users ask the same questions: "How often do you need to replace your phone's battery?" Here are factors that can affect your battery's health, signs that mean you should replace the battery, and some tips on how to extend the lifespan of your battery.
Understanding battery life cycle
It is primarily made of lithium-ion, and it has a finite amount of charge cycles. A charge cycle is the process where one is charging 0% to 100%, but partial charges are also counted. Most lithium-ion batteries last for about 300-500 charge cycles on average or roughly 1-3 years of regular use. Once a battery reaches these cycle limits, it tends to start failing in most aspects.
As age catches up, the battery will perform less well in sustaining its charge. While you may only notice subtle changes with regards to your battery life to start with, changes grow with time. At some point, the battery will be unable to keep up with the needs of the device, and frequent recharging might also affect the device's performance.
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Key Signs That Your Battery Needs to Be Replaced
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Rechargeable Battery Decay:
You may start noticing a battery percentage that falls significantly faster than before, even if you are not using the battery much. This could be indicative of ageing. For example, when your phone goes from 100% to 20% in a few hours, it is most probably a sign of battery decay.
Sudden Shutdowns:
‍ometimes you may find your battery old and shutting down your phone even when the percentage still shows as partially charged. That happens as the old batteries cannot give consistent current to the cell phones; they actually tend to shut off or go dark.
Battery Swelling:
Lithium-ion batteries tend to swell when they degrade. So if your battery starts swelling, it is time to replace it. Swollen batteries will damage your phone, and you need to pay attention to that immediately.
There can be overheating issues. Most batteries start becoming hotter while in use and also get hotter during charging as the battery ages. If, considering you seldom or hardly use your phone or it's not in use for a while, it becomes so hot or warm, then this could be a sign that this is going to be its last time.
Erratic Charging Behavior:
If your phone charges erratically sometimes, then sometimes slow or will stop charging before reaching 100%, the battery is probably not holding charge properly.
Reduced capacity by display display:
‍ The older generations of smartphones, primarily iPhones and some newer variants of Android devices, gives an option to check the battery health from the settings menu. A percentage lesser than 80% indicates that the battery has reached the last stage of its life.
When to Replace Your Battery?
As a general rule of thumb, you should replace your battery every 1.5 to three years, depending on use and the health status of the battery. For a typical user, this is about the end of the charge cycle life that most batteries are built to handle, at about 300 to 500 cycles.
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Here's a rough guideline along usage type
Heavy Users:
If you are using your phone every day for intensive activities like gaming or streaming videos or just constantly opening apps and using them, then each 12-18 months would be a good time to replace the battery. Heavy usage means you're draining through more battery charge cycles faster.
Moderate Users:
‍Everyday usage of your phone for calling, texting, browsing, and occasional opening of apps would mean that the battery should be replaced every 18-24 months.
Light Users:
‍Those who are less frequent users of the telephone may need replacement of their battery every 2-3 years to make calls, send texts, and just those really necessary apps.
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Cost and Convenience of Replacing a Battery
A phone battery does degrade over time, but one of the best and easiest ways to extend the life of your phone is by changing the battery. The price that you will have to pay for this service varies depending on your type of device or model but also varies with where you go for the task to be done. The replacement of the battery can be done ranging between $30 to $100, for an average iPhone or a popular Android model.
For example, for Apple users alone, Apple offers battery health reports and offers battery replacement services so that a visit to an Apple Store could be in order if your phone has this problem. Several Android devices, especially newer models, now offer battery replacement services from manufacturers or authorized repair centers as well. DIY enthusiasts can easily source replacement kits online, but this also comes with risks and might invalidate a warranty if not done correctly.
Tips to Prolong the Life of Your Battery
Do Not Expose to Extreme Temperatures:
‍Lithium-ion batteries are highly susceptible to extreme temperature fluctuations, more so on the high side. Long exposure periods to high temperatures may lead to more degradation. As much as possible, keep your phone out of direct sun exposure and avoid heavy use in hot conditions.
Charge Wisely:
It is okay to top up your device to 100% sometimes, but frequent topping may stress the battery out. Most experts believe that keeping a charging level between 20% and 80% serves to prolong the battery life of your phone. Most devices have optimized settings for charging, which has the same effect.
Reduction of activities that drain the battery:
Some of these activities can be reduced by turning off some feature such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use, reducing the brightness of your screen, background app refresh, which can all stress the battery.
Use Original Chargers:
The differences in voltage output in the non-original chargers could lead to health decline of the batteries than expected. So ensure that you only use the original charger or an original high-quality replacement to ensure the maintenance of your battery health.
Do Not Drain Full Frequent Full Discharges:
Lithium-ion does not like being frequentlyrained down fully. Instead, recharge before the phone drains down below 20 percent to avoid stressing the battery cells.
Final Thoughts:
When Replacement Is Better Than an Upgrade
Replacing the phone battery can cost pennies and be one of the most affordable ways to revive your device if it's starting to trouble you with its battery. Indeed, many smartphones can function virtually like when you buy them for years after; most often, the battery is the part that begins to degrade first. So, if your phone still works well, a battery replacement can be very suitable; you can avoid the cost and waste related to buying a new device.
While constant battery replacement might appear to be an added cost, it would be an investment that will elongate the time and continue keeping your phone running for some time.
You are always monitoring the health of your phone's battery, and you are always acting to avoid a state where your phone is subjected to increased friction due to its depleting battery because you dread the frustration of unexpected shutdowns or rapid battery drain.
Of course, whether you would need to replace the battery depends on your usage and how you feel about the battery as it is. You can also visit the best phone repair shop like,Fone ClickDo you wantve a smooth user experience? Upgrade after about 1.5 to 3 years can ensure that your phone remains reliable, thus further delaying the necessity for a full upgrade.