# Charging tips on how to keep my cell phone battery long-lasting?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charging-tips-on-how-to-keep-my-cell-phone-battery-long-lasting/296462>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 27, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charging-tips-on-how-to-keep-my-cell-phone-battery-long-lasting/296462 "2005-03-27T15:38:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charging-tips-on-how-to-keep-my-cell-phone-battery-long-lasting/296462/1 "2005-03-27T15:38:34Z")

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I’m about to get a new mobile phone, and even though this is my 4th one I’m still not sure if when and how often I charge the battery makes a difference as to how long the battery will stay healthy.

I thought Cecil dispelled the “battery memory” myth (at least for modern rechargable batetries), but I can’t find the article in the archives for some reason. Assuming I’m remembering correctly, is this still true, and "topping off’ my phone’s charge every morning via the car charger on my commute to work (about an hour) won’t result in a memory issue or any other problems?

A person selling phones in a Circuit City once told me that letting the battery fully discharge is actually bad for it. Is this true?

How about using the car “quick” charger vs the wall charger? Will that harm the battery in the long term?

Any other tips or info appreciated.

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**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charging-tips-on-how-to-keep-my-cell-phone-battery-long-lasting/296462/2 "2005-03-27T15:56:59Z")

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Most modern cell phones use lithium-ion batteries. From [this](http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm) web page:

> [@](#):
>
> A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.

> [@](#):
>
> Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. lithium-based batteries have a lifetime of 2-3 years. The clock starts ticking as soon as the battery comes off the manufacturing line.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charging-tips-on-how-to-keep-my-cell-phone-battery-long-lasting/296462/3 "2005-03-28T03:41:38Z")

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Thanks! Sounds like topping it off every morning is OK.