There are some phone and battery life myths we want to clear up for you. Some of what we will address might actually keep you from having to come to us at all, or at least delay how soon you see us for a phone repair.

Myth #1 – You shouldn’t charge your phone until it’s nearly dead because the battery has a limited amount of life cycles and will stop working. No, we don’t know where this came from, and yes, this is something cell phone owners have been told. However, this is not true. Smartphone batteries are made of lithium and don’t have any memory. This means charging when the battery is low doesn’t matter. You can charge your phone whenever you want and it won’t affect when the battery life goes bad.

What will affect your battery is having it plugged in all night long. The battery can heat up, which can reduce its ability to keep a charge. This doesn’t mean you can’t charge your phone overnight. This just means you need to unplug it once it’s charged.

Myth #2 – You can buy a cheap knockoff charger or battery and it will work as well as the phone brand’s charger or battery. People like to buy knockoff chargers and batteries online because they tend to be a fraction of the cost of the official manufactured charger or battery for the phone. But these knockoffs often don’t work at all. Additionally, when they do work they can ruin your phone, which will cost you in repairs or replacement. You are better off forking over the cash up front for the charger and battery already designed to work with your particular phone.

Myth #3 – You can’t damage your phone if it’s in a case. Honestly, this depends on the case. Some phone cases are flimsy enough that they act as more of an accessory rather than protection. One bad drop and your phone is ruined. However, some heavy-duty cases definitely will prevent phone damage. Otterbox cases and CaseMate’s Tough Xtreme model are some examples of phone cases that will provide amazing protection for your phone. Additionally, you can avoid needing screen repair by using screen protectors, which great for added protection and can be purchased in any store selling phones or on sites like Amazon.

Myth #4 – It’s fine to have your phone in your front pocket. Some phone users already avoid this because of concerns with phone radiation, but there is another reason to avoid storing your phone in your front pocket. While statistics aren’t available for every phone brand or model out there, there have been previous reports of iPhone 6 and 7 bending and warping in phone owners’ pockets. Not only that, but body heat can drain the iPhone battery. Store your phone away in a pocket in your purse, your work bag, or your wallet if you have a designated spot for it.

Myth #5 – Using your phone in the rain or in extremely hot or cold weather is perfectly fine. Here’s the thing. If you wouldn’t use your phone in the shower, store it in the refrigerator or freezer, or use it near a stove or fireplace, why would you essentially do the same thing with your phone outside? You might not realize it, but you can damage your phone using it in the rain or in extremely hot or cold weather. Using your phone in the rain can allow moisture to get inside of it, which could destroy your phone’s circuit board, making it unusable. Continuous phone use in extreme weather temperatures can deplete the battery life significantly. Read the hard copy or online version of your phone’s user manual to see what the ideal temperatures are for phone usage.

Myth #6 – Closing your apps all at once on an iPhone saves your phone’s battery charge and overall battery life. According to developer and Apple watcher John Gruber, the opposite is true. In a CNBC article, Gruber said that iPhone apps freeze when not in use and that IOS is set up so that “unfreezing a frozen app takes up way less CPU (and energy) than relaunching an app that had been force quit. Not only does force quitting your apps not help, it actually hurts. Your battery life will be worse and it will take much longer to switch apps if you force quit apps in the background.” Gruber also referenced an email to an Apple customer from Craig Federighi, the Apple senior vice president of software engineering. In the email, Federighi said that he never closes his apps and that closing apps does not save battery life. So, you can just leave your apps as they are.

Myth #7 – Your iPhone is far less likely to need a repair compared to an Android. We know you love your iPhone, but we have some news for you. Blancoo, a company that creates diagnostics and repair software for mobile carriers and manufacturers, published a 2017 report with data showing the failure rates for iPhones compared to Android failure rates. The report shows that in North America, iPhones have a slightly higher failure rate than Androids, meaning they might be more likely to need repair compared to an Android. Not only that but the older the iPhone is, the higher the failure rate (with the distinction being an iPhone 5 at a 2% failure rate). While there could be other unknown factors playing into the failure rates, it’s safe to say that you’re no safer with an iPhone than an Android when it comes to repairs, and you might one day be seeking iPhone repair near you regardless.

So, if you want your phone to last as long as possible, take heed of the information provided above. But know that accidents happen, and you still might have to pay for that phone repair or get your phone replaced after all.

If you have any questions about phone repair or replacement, please visit our Contact page.