Cellular Phone Battery - DOs and DONTs

Even if you are overjoyed with several attractive features of the cell phone, nothing is more important than the life of the cellular phone battery. The longer the cellular phone battery life, the more talking time you can have before the battery needs a recharge. However, at some point in time, your cellular phone battery will wear out and your talk time will be noticeably diminished. When this happens, you have to necessarily get a new battery. Make sure you buy the correct battery for your cell phone model or else it will not fit

As you may be aware, there are three different types of materials that are used to make a cellular phone battery. The metals are nickel metal hydride, nickel cadmium and lithium ion. The lithium ion cellular phone battery is the most widely used because it has the longest battery life, reportedly 3 to 5 hours of talk time. They can also be recharged around 200 times before you need to purchase a new one. When you replace your cellular phone battery, make sure to dispose of the old one at the correct hazardous waste place or hand over to a store that accepts old batteries.

Please note that the cellular phone battery should be stored at room temperature as extreme heat or extreme cold can damage it. Make it a point to wait till the battery has completely run dry before recharging. Read carefully the instructions on charging and recharging the cellular phone battery and make sure you do not overcharge the battery. When purchasing a replacement cellular phone battery, it is better to buy only OEM (original equipment manufacturer) batteries. OEM batteries may be more expensive, but they are still worth the cost.

You can charge up your cellular phone battery with an AC adapter (desktop charger) or car adapter charger. You will be required to buy the car adapter separately but buy the car charger from the same store wherefrom you bought the cell phone. Make sure you check the make and model number so that you buy the correct one for your phone. You have to take care to prevent memory effect. Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every three weeks or at least once a month. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries, which do not suffer from the memory effect. Do not leave the battery dormant for long periods of time.

Make it a point to always use a battery charger, which is by the same battery manufacturer as your phone – as that way it gives battery more life and also safeguards if you overcharge your battery now and then. To keep the battery clean, it is a good idea to clean the battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol. Please remember that the vibrator mode of your cell phone consumes more battery charge, so when not needed, it is preferable to use the ring-tone mode. Yet another point to remember, if you do not plan on using the battery for a month or more, store it in a clean, dry, cool place away from heat and metal objects. Batteries tend to de-charge when not in use, so make sure you charge them again before using.