This is how you keep your smartphone or tablet battery optimal – part 2

Only the smartphone is mentioned in the questions and answers below. What applies to the smartphone also applies to the tablet.

In part 1 of this article you can read more questions and answers about smartphone and tablet batteries.

I regularly notice that my smartphone battery is not charged, even though it was connected to the charger for hours. How is that possible?

If your smartphone battery does not charge properly, it usually means that there is something wrong with the power supply from the charger. This regularly occurs with chargers with a cable. In this case, first check whether the plug is properly connected to your smartphone. Sometimes that contact is just not quite right. If good contact is made with the charger, you will see this on the screen of your smartphone. The image of a battery being charged will then appear.

Is this okay? Then check whether the charger is properly plugged into the socket.

Often this will all be OK and the problem lies with the cable of the charger. This is the most vulnerable part. Connecting and disconnecting the charger with the smartphone can easily break one of the thin electrical wires inside the cable. This is called a cable break and is also known from, for example, headphones, where the sound regularly drops out.
You can usually tell if you have a cable break by holding the cable in a slightly different position. If contact is made and the smartphone is charged, that is certainly the problem.

Smartphones with a wireless charger have the advantage that they are not connected with a vulnerable cable. If there is a charging problem, then you have usually not placed your smartphone exactly right on the charger.

Do not attempt to repair a broken charger yourself. This poses a risk of problems, such as short circuits. Then buy a new charger.

Does the charger appear to be OK? Then there is very likely something wrong with the battery in the smartphone. In that case, it is wise to take your smartphone to a repairer.

I always charge my smartphone via a cable. Can I also charge it wirelessly?

That depends entirely on what brand and type of smartphone you have. The smartphone must be made suitable for wireless charging and that is not every copy. Certainly not the cheap models.

Induction is used to charge a smartphone wirelessly. The smartphone placed on it is charged using an electromagnetic field from the charger. Charging with induction is also known from electric toothbrushes.

To be able to be charged wirelessly, a smartphone must therefore be able to handle induction. In addition, it is also necessary that the back of the smartphone is not made of metal. Plastic and ceramic are suitable. In short: if your smartphone is made of metal on the back, you know for sure that it cannot be charged wirelessly.
The specifications of a smartphone on the internet and in the manual always state how you can charge the smartphone. If this is possible wirelessly, you can read about it here.

Wireless charging seems more convenient than via a cable, but in practice this is sometimes a bit disappointing. It takes almost as much time to insert a cable plug into your smartphone as it does to place your smartphone properly on the wireless charger. In addition, wireless charging is often slower than charging via a cable. This is also better for the battery life.

Do heat and cold affect a smartphone battery?

Batteries work using chemical processes that generate electricity. Cold and heat can have a great influence on this. As you can also notice, for example, with a battery of your e-bike or your car in the summer or winter.

Because a smartphone and the battery already develop heat by themselves while working, it is important that there is not too much extra heat on top of that. So leaving a smartphone in the sun, near a stove or under a pile of clothes can cause overheating and sooner or later damage the battery.

Too much cold, on the other hand, can cause the battery to deteriorate or even temporarily stop working altogether. In the winter cold, it is therefore important not to expose your smartphone too much to the weather elements. In those circumstances, keep it in a pocket of your jacket or pants, or in a bag or backpack as much as possible.

Can a battery spontaneously catch fire?

Smartphone batteries, like other types of batteries, are sensitive to external influences. For example, a bad charger can cause a short circuit, resulting in a fire. A battery can also overheat if you leave it in the hot sun, for example on holiday in your car.

By itself, a battery will not quickly overheat and catch fire, although there can sometimes be defective batteries from the factory. Notorious is Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that came on the market in 2016 and had a structural fault in the battery. Quite a few batteries and therefore Samsung smartphones catch fire as a result. This type of smartphone was therefore recalled and withdrawn from the market. This cost Samsung billions.

The battery in my smartphone is no longer working properly. Can I replace it?

There are always two rules for parts of equipment: something can go wrong with them and sooner or later they wear out. A battery is a part with a limited life, especially compared to the rest of the smartphone. The length of that life mainly depends on how often it is discharged and recharged. You can only do this a maximum of so many times until it really doesn’t charge properly anymore. With one battery that is 500 times and with the other more than 1000.

The good news is that a smartphone battery is a “loose” part and can therefore be replaced. This means that you do not immediately have to buy a new smartphone if it is otherwise in order. If you are technical enough, you can do it yourself. There are packages for this with a battery, screws, etc. This is easier with an Android smartphone than with an iPhone. In addition, you should keep in mind that doing this during the warranty period will usually void your warranty. In addition, you should make sure that you buy the same battery as the battery you want to replace. It is therefore easier to take your smartphone to a smartphone repairer. Often this is also a place where you can have a PC or laptop repaired. But also mobile phone shops sometimes offer a battery replacement service.

It is therefore important when replacing a battery whether your smartphone is still within the warranty period. If so, check the terms and conditions for the smartphone to find out what to do. Usually this means that you have to return or send your smartphone to the store where you bought it. This then ensures that the smartphone is returned to a service center of the manufacturer. There it is decided whether the smartphone can be repaired, which is usually no problem with a battery. The great thing is that this is free, possibly separate from the shipping costs. The disadvantage is that you will lose your smartphone for a longer period of time.

Outside the warranty period, you have to pay for the battery to be replaced by a repairer yourself. Exactly how expensive this is mainly depends on the price of the battery. Prices including installation are roughly between €40 and €100. It is wise to inquire in advance about the price or to look at the website of the repairer. A major advantage of having your battery replaced by a repairer is that you only lose your smartphone for a short time. Sometimes you can even wait for it. Especially if you have made an appointment in advance.

How can I last as long as possible with my battery?

There are several ways to make your smartphone battery last longer throughout the day. This all has to do with what you do on your smartphone and how it is set up.

The screen of your smartphone is a significant power consumer. Therefore: if you are not using your smartphone, set the screen to standby mode. The screen is temporarily turned off. This is also known as the lock or home screen.

You can set your smartphone to automatically go into standby mode if you don’t use it for a certain time. The disadvantage of this is that your smartphone regularly goes into standby while you are still reading on the screen, for example.

You can control this yourself by not using the automatic setting, but simply manually putting your smartphone on standby if you don’t use it for a while. To do this, you usually briefly press the on/off button on your smartphone.

Another way to make the screen use less power is to make it less bright. There is a separate setting for that. You can see more about this in these videos:

Android:

iphone:

Some apps consume a lot of power. For example, a streaming app such as Spotify, especially if you use it to play music on a bluetooth speaker. You can see which apps consume a lot of power in the videos below.

Certain apps continue to run in the background, including checking the Internet regularly for updates and other tasks. Temporarily disabling these apps can help, for example using Power Saver Mode on iPhone. You can see more about this in the videos below.

There are a number of settings on your smartphone with which you can view the use of the battery. In addition, smartphones offer the possibility to better manage your battery with smart battery management. You can see more about this in these videos:

Android:

iphone: