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Smartphones have come a long way over the years, but they still basically last around a day on a charge. That means that most of us are recharging the battery all night while we sleep. Is that good for the battery?
Contrary to what you might think, battery technology has improved quite a bit. The problem is that phones can also do a lot more now, which means they require more power. The end result is bigger, better batteries that still need to be charged daily.
RELATED: 8 tips to save battery on your iPhone
Information changes
What complicates this situation is that there is a lot of conflicting information. You may have heard that charging your phone overnight is bad. Maybe you heard that it’s completely fine.
Part of this confusion is due to advances in battery technology. Things that were true at one time are no longer true. That’s a natural part of learning more about how things work. So what’s the deal right now? Let’s dive.
How charging works
The moral of this story is similar to other topics that revolve around how to use devices “correctly”. In most cases, the device was designed to handle whatever is troubling you. For example, you don’t have to close apps on Android, it’s designed to handle multitasking for you.
Smartphones are designed with protections to keep the battery and other components safe inside them. One thing that can damage phones is overheating, which is where much of the concern for overnight charging comes from.
Most phones will charge quickly when you first plug them in or place them on a wireless charger. This is so, if you just need a little extra juice quickly, you don’t have to wait long. However, after a while, the charging will slow down and stop completely when it reaches 100%.
Of course, since it stops charging at 100%, the battery will slowly discharge. Once it drops back to 99%, it will absorb a very small amount of energy to get back to 100%. That cycle repeats until you remove it from the stream. The phone never overcharges, but it charges almost constantly.
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Advanced Protection
You may have heard that keeping your battery between 20-80% charged is best. Apple and some Android manufacturers have introduced additional features to keep your phone in that range as much as possible.
As of iOS 13 2019, iPhones have an “Optimized Battery Charge” feature. When enabled, the phone will stay around 80% for most of the night. An algorithm learns when you normally wake up and charges the device the rest of the way before then. You’re still starting the day at 100%, but you weren’t cycling between 100 and 99% all night.
Some Android devices have essentially the same feature. OnePlus calls it “Optimized Charging”; Google Pixel phones have “Adaptive Charging”. Samsung Galaxy devices go one step further and allow you to limit the battery to 85% all the time.
If you charge your phone overnight, it’s a good idea to enable these features if you have them. It makes overnight charging a bit less of an issue.
RELATED: How to enable or disable optimized battery charging on your iPhone
How do we define “bad”?
With those protections in place, it’s very, very difficult for you to unduly damage your phone’s battery. However, batteries will degrade over time and there is nothing anyone can do about it. It’s just a matter of how much you’re helping that process.
Charge cycles are what affect battery life. The more charge cycles it goes through, the more the battery degrades. That’s why it’s best to keep your phone between 20-80% charged as much as possible.
RELATED: How to check the battery status of your iPhone
That’s where overnight charging can speed up the process of battery degradation. Circulating between 99 and 100% for several hours is like turning a light on and off. It won’t cause the bulb to burst into flames, but it’s not particularly good for the bulb either.
That’s the question we need to ask ourselves when it comes to charging batteries overnight. What exactly constitutes “bad” for the battery? Will your phone overheat and catch fire? No, there are protections in place to prevent that, as long as you wear the correct gear. Will it take some life out of the battery? Yes, but you may not notice it.
RELATED: How to check battery status on Android
Charge overnight without damage
There are a few things you can do to charge your phone overnight and mitigate some of the drawbacks. First of all, make sure the device has room to breathe. Overheating is a big concern, so give it space and don’t cover it with anything.
The other great thing you can do is choose the right charging equipment. It is very important to use the chargers provided with the device and those specifically designed for it. Beyond that, you may want to consider avoiding “fast charging” during bedtime. Getting to 100% slower means spending less time in that 99-100% cycle.
Other than that, you have to accept that batteries can’t last forever. Using your phone is degrading the battery. There is no way around that. There are some tips you can use to slow down that degradation, but most of us don’t have another convenient time to charge our devices. Charging all our devices overnight is a part of life now.
The best phone chargers of 2022 
TECKNET 65W PD 3.0 GaN USB C Charger Type C Charger 3-Port Fast Wall Charger Foldable Adapter Compatible for iPhone 13 Pro Max/13 Pro/13/13 Mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Switch, Galaxy S21/S20
Apple 20W USB Type-C Power Adapter
Amazon Basics 100W Quad-Port GaN Wall Charger with 2 USB-C Ports (65W + 18W) and 2 USB-A Ports (17W), White (Non-PPS)
Anker Wireless Charger, 313 Wireless Charger (Pad), Qi-Certified 10W Max for iPhone 12/12 Pro / 12 mini / 12 Pro Max, SE 2020, 11, AirPods (No AC Adapter, Not Compatible with MagSafe Magnetic Charging)
AINOPE Super Mini 48W USB C Car Charger All Metal Fast USB Car Charger Adapter PD&QC 3.0 Dual Port Compatible with iPhone 13 12 11 Pro Max X XR XS 8 Samsung Galaxy Note 20/10 S21 / 20/10 Google Pixel
Techsmarter 11-port charging station with five 100W USB-C PD ports, 25/45W PPS, five 18W USB-A ports and detachable 15W wireless charging pad. Compatible with MacBook, iPad, iPhone, Samsung, Dell, HP, Yoga…
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