Year by year iPhone is increasing in complexity and cost. That should give you a good reason to regularly clean and maintain your iPhone in a hope that you get several years out of your expensive device. In this post, we will tell you how to keep your iPhone clean, fast and make it last for a long time.
Rethink about Putting your iPhone in a Case
Common sense would suggest that using a case to protect your iPhone from damage is a good idea. Surprisingly, most of the time that’s not true. Most cases insulate the phone and prevent it from dissipating heat. This will result in your iPhone heat up and can even damage its internal components such as the battery and WiFi module. At least the useful life of your iPhone will be compromised.
However, if you are so clumsy that you drop your phone often it’s better to put your phone in a case. Dropping your iPhone will incorporate far more damage than an increased risk of heating up. Another situation that you may want to use a case is when using your phone in the cold outside. A neoprene case will insulate your iPhone from extreme cold, allowing it to operate without shutting down. But in most situations, a case will shorten the lifespan of your iPhone or can damage its components. Even Apple recommends removing devices from their cases when charging.
Turn off Your iPhone When Charging
As you know lithium-ion batteries generate heat when charging, this applies to your iPhone’s battery too. You can verify this using a thermometer or simply by touching the device. if you use your iPhone while it is charging it will heat up more, especially if your phone is trapped inside a hard case.
This heat generated during battery charging will make your battery and phone last for a shorter time. It could even damage the internal parts of your valuable device. Although this is unlikely, it could happen in a warm environment without air conditioning.
Turning off your iPhone while charging will not only cut down heating up but also your phone will charge faster. The downside is you may miss important calls. Make sure to forward calls to another phone before shutting down your phone. Another consequence is that iCloud backups won’t execute that only run when your iPhone is plugged in and WiFi is turned on. So, leaving your iPhone switched on when charging once in a while is not a bad idea.
Don’t Overcharge your iPhone
If you want to use your phone for a long time without having to replace the battery, this tip is for you. Stop charging your iPhone before 80%, this will prolong the battery life of your device. When charging, lithium-ion batteries experience more stress as they approach 100% load. This phenomenon is known. Lithium-ion batteries in satellites are typically charged to 60-70% to keep them last for a long time. After all, replacing batteries in outer space is not an easy task!
That’s why iPhone goes into the “trickle mode” when charged beyond 80%. This helps lower battery stress as the charging get closer to full. You can bypass this mode by unplugging your phone from the charger before it reaches 80%. The less you charge your iPhone, the longer the battery will last. If you are charging your device in the switched-off mode, you’ll need to estimate when it reaches this level. For that set a timer on another device. It’s a good chance that you will be able to predict the charging time after a few times.
Only use iPhone’s Original Charger
Every electronic device is designed for specific charging power and condition. When you use a non-original adaptor to charge your iPhone your phone may not be charged properly, or the worth, your device may become damaged. That’s why Apple recommends always using the original lightning connector that comes with the MFi badge.
If you use a counterfeit or uncertified Lightning accessory you should expect that the battery on your iPhone will die sooner. In addition, the cable may be easily broken, the connector may fall off, the charger becomes too hot or doesn’t fit into your device. This may cause issues in your iPhone charging or you may be unable to sync your phone with a PC or iCloud.
Calibrate Your iPhone Battery
Calibrating your iPhone battery is an important part of iPhone maintenance especially for older models such as the iPhone 4. This is equally important for newer iPhone models like iPhone XS and XR models. These devices also use a lithium-ion battery and every device with a smart lithium-ion battery needs to be reset after a while.
Calibrating your iPhone battery will help iOS gauge the battery life range of the iPhone again. This will give your phone a better estimate of your iPhone battery health condition. If your iPhone’s battery drains quickly or your phone shuts down unexpectedly when charging is below 10 percent, most of the time inaccurate battery calibration is to blame. With newer iPhone models you only need to calibrate the battery only once every month and here are some simple steps to accomplish this:
Step 1: Drain the Battery
First, you need to drain the battery of your iPhone to 0%. You can do this by normal usage or you can accelerate the process by playing a game or a YouTube video on your device with the volume turned up to the maximum level.
Step 2: Wait Three Hours
You may notice that your iPhone will automatically shut down before the battery charge reaches 0%. This is deliberately designed to give your phone the chance of saving the current state of apps so you don’t lose data.
So, for accurate calibration, it’s very important to let the last ember of battery life die away, and the only method to do this is to wait. Wait at least three hours so that your iPhone battery drains completely. The longer you wait, the result will be more satisfactory.
Step 3: Charge Your Device
Now it’s time to fully charge your iPhone. Plug your original lightning cable into a wall socket rather than a computer. Continue to charge your phone for a couple of hours even after your phone shows 100% full. This is to guarantee that your phone is fully charged to ensure that calibration works correctly.
Step 4: Drain Your Device again
You need to repeat the whole process in step 1 a second time, either by normal use or heavy usage that drains the battery faster.
Step 5: Wait Another Three Hours
It may seem boring, but you need to wait another three hours to ensure that you drained the last bit of charge from your iPhone.
Step 6: Charge Your Device again
To finish the calibration process, you need to fully recharge your device again.
Turn on Low Power Mode
Apple has introduced Low Power Mode in iOS 11. When the battery charge falls below 20%, your iPhone will prompt you to turn on Low Power Mode. You can get the benefits of this feature to make your iPhone and its battery last longer. Doing so will extend the battery life and reduce heat generated from the battery and thus the useful lifespan of your device.
To active Low Power Mode tap on Setting-> battery. Then turn on Low Battery Mode. The battery meter graphic is orange when in Low Power Mode.
With these simple tips, you’ll be able to keep your iPhone (and its battery) fast and in tune for a longer time. If you are interested, stay in tune with the next part of our iPhone maintenance tips coming soon.
References:
- https://www.appledystopia.com/how-to/make-iphone-last-almost-forever/
- https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-maintenance-tips/
- https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/calibrate-iphone-battery/
- https://chargetech.com/top-10-tips-make-iphone-last-longer/
- https://lifehacker.com/how-to-speed-up-clean-up-and-revive-your-iphone-5897438
- https://www.cablewholesale.com/blog/index.php/2016/06/20/dont-be-fooled-by-these-5-myths-about-iphone-chargers/
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7786709
- https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204566