If you buy a mobile phone, you quickly find many supposed tips on how to improve the performance or battery life. However, many of these “tips” are not true at all.
Many users know this. You are on the go and the battery of your phone is running out. With numerous tips and tricks, you try to extend the battery life a bit longer so that the battery lasts until you get home and you don’t have to sit in the noisy tram without music.
However, many of these so-called tips are not as useful as they sound. MeinMMO explains what’s behind it.
Myth 1: You should always close all apps in the background
What kind of myth is this? It is always recommended that you should turn off all apps on your phone. Because supposedly that drains power and makes the phone slower:
Why this is wrong: Both Android and iOS control how many apps can run themselves. The load from background apps is also minimal. You create a significantly greater load when you close apps in the background and restart them later. Because then the phone has to load all the data again, which costs more battery than if the app leaves data running in the background.
Many apps are also restarted in the background. If you end WhatsApp with one of those task-killer apps, you can be sure that your phone will restart the messenger immediately. Because without a background task, notifications wouldn’t work.
Myth 2: Completely discharge the mobile battery before charging
What kind of myth is this? It is often suggested that you should completely discharge your phone’s battery as it is better for the battery.
Why this is wrong: In the past, many devices used NiCD and NiMH batteries. These batteries had a “memory effect.” They remembered how much the batteries were discharged.
Today, mobile devices primarily use lithium-ion batteries. Here, the “memory effect” no longer exists.
Some experts recommend fully discharging the battery every 3 months (or every 40 charge cycles). However, this does not improve the runtime, it only recalibrates the battery display on your phone.
For proper and recommended tips on how to conserve your phone’s battery, you can read the following article:
Myth 3: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi consume a lot of battery
What kind of myth is this? Many people believe that the phone battery drains faster when Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are active.
Why this is wrong: The newer versions of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi consume very little power when you are not using them. Your battery is only drained when you download large amounts of data. As long as you are not doing anything with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and the system remains in idle mode, you are not consuming any power.
Myth 4: You should only use your phone’s original charger
What kind of myth is this? Official chargers are (not surprisingly) official and are therefore best suited for your phone, and it is also best to not use another device with your smartphone. And many manufacturers provide their new smartphones with an official charger.
Why this is wrong: The manufacturer of the battery charger plays a minor role. Instead, it is important that the technical standards are met and the device provides the right power for your device.
Therefore, you can safely buy a high-quality charger from Anker or Ugreen and use it to charge your phone. However, you should be cautious when buying a charger: Because cheap Chinese devices are rarely tested and can be dangerous. Generally, a glance at the reviews on Amazon is sufficient: If there are indications of burning cables or power supplies piling up, you should avoid that charger.
Myth 5: You should never charge your phone overnight, or the battery will be damaged
What kind of myth is this? One of the most well-known myths is that you should never charge your phone at night. Because then the battery is said to get damaged.
Why this is wrong: In the past, batteries could actually be damaged by this, but nowadays technology has advanced to the point where nothing can happen anymore. Manufacturers have developed charging techniques and built them into the batteries. Thus, they can detect when they are fully charged and slow down the charging cycle. Therefore, you can safely charge your phone overnight.
Myth 6: Using automatic brightness adjustment can save battery
What kind of myth is this? Many phones are equipped with a brightness sensor that can automatically adjust the display brightness.
Why this is wrong: The sensor in your phone continually communicates with your processor to determine whether the display should be brighter or darker. All these steps – collecting data, processing it, and deciding on the brightness, consume performance and power. Therefore, you save nothing with it.
However, you can actually save power by lowering the display’s brightness. Alternatively, just buy a power bank that you can pack in your travel luggage. Then you can charge your phone anytime you urgently need power again. We also present the best power banks and accessories for Apple and Android here on MeinMMO:
The best power banks for mobile phones, Nintendo Switch, and more that you can buy
