Is 50-80% the best battery charge range for a long battery life?

[marthaHoopkins1976]

If I want my battery to last for several years, should I ensure that it remains within a charge range of 50%-80%? This means when it drops to 49% I charge it and when it reaches 80-81% I stop charging it.

 

[mustang7757]

40 to 80 is what they say for longest battery life but thats not guaranteed

 

[Mooncatt]

This article explains all the technical stuff.

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries

In short, 40-80% is the general guideline for a balance between usability and long term life. If you stray outside that range, it's not going to instantly kill the battery, but you should avoid going below 25%. Those really deep discharges are what does the most damage to the battery.

 

[B. Diddy]

That should protect the battery quite well, but it can become impractical for day-to-day use.

Another thing to do is avoid extreme heat (so don't leave it in a car on a hot day).

 

[dangerousfen]

I thought that most people charge their phones overnight. I always have. Which means I'm charging from about 50% to 100%.

So with this procedure, am I reducing battery life? If so, I guess many are guilty of this.

 

[B. Diddy]

I thought that most people charge their phones overnight. I always have. Which means I'm charging from about 50% to 100%.

So with this procedure, am I reducing battery life? If so, I guess many are guilty of this.

Technically, yes, but I think the difference is really only noticeable if you keep your phone for more than 3-4 years or so. Before my Pixel 3 XL died (unrelated to the battery, I think), Accubattery reported its battery health to be around 90%, and this was after about 2 yrs and 2 mo of ownership. I would typically charge overnight and keep it plugged in until I woke up. <85% is generally regarded as when a battery is noticeably wearing down, so I probably could've gone at least another year before the battery got to that state.

 

[gomezz]

If following the common practise of recharging overnight then surely the key point is how long before the battery does not last a typical day's usage over the next day, say 18 hours?

My previous phone a Lumia 820 running WM8.1 which I had been using since 2013 until last year and that still was able to go a whole typical day but sometime I like to give it a refresh charge during the afternoon if planning to go out for the evening after work or if I had been doing a lot of battery chewing usage such as watching sport. I kept (and still keep) a USB battery charging pack in my work bag to fall back on if necessity calls.

BTW the old Lumia 820 is still to hand as an emergency phone and with battery saving and airplane mode switched on still goes a week between recharges, going down to 50%.