Smartphone batteries decline with age and use. A battery that can last for days when the phone is new may eventually need to be plugged in twice a day or more. When you’re on the go, there are few things more frustrating than having your battery run out when you’re in the middle of something important and having to find a power point.
New or used, battery life is something everyone pays attention to when buying smartphones. Surveys have shown that most people consider it the most important factor when smartphone shopping, even beating out 5G and performance. If you’re concerned that a second-hand mobile phone just won’t be able to keep up with a sleek new model in terms of performance, refurbished phones should offer you some peace of mind.
You may have heard that refurbished smartphones are a little different to standard second-hand iPhones and Androids but cheaper than brand-new devices. Refurbished smartphones are second-hand mobile phones sold by retailers that have tested their quality, repaired them if they need it and made sure they meet certain standards. This is a process that involves making sure the phone isn’t stolen or lost, wiping all of the previous owner’s data and selling the phone with a grade based on its condition. Refurbished smartphones give you the chance to buy popular iPhones and Androids for a fraction of their regular prices.
But what about a refurbished phone’s battery health? You may have read that all OzMobiles devices are sold with at least 80% of their battery life intact, but how long does 80% battery health last?
This article explains more about your refurbished phone’s battery health and how you can look after it.
Dos & Don’ts to Maintain Battery Health
If you’re wondering how you can maintain your battery throughout the day and keep it healthy for the future, then there definitely steps you can take to hold onto your battery quality. Here are a few dos and don’ts for looking after your refurbished phone’s battery health.
DO: Charge your battery slowly
We’re all busy, and fast-charging technology can be a lifesaver if you’re in a hurry. But it can also stress your battery out and shorten its lifespan, particularly if your phone is an older model. Slow charging places less of a strain on lithium-ion batteries, so as laborious as the process of charging your phone through your laptop may seem, it’s actually a good thing for it.
DON’T: Charge your phone all the way to 100% or let it drop below 0%
You might have heard that letting your battery drain flat before you plug your phone into the charger helps to extend its lifespan, but that’s a myth left over from the days of older battery styles. Letting a lithium-ion battery drain down to zero can actually reduce its lifespan. Likewise, plugging your phone in overnight to charge may be common, but it actually places unnecessary strain on a lithium-ion battery which, in the long run, isn’t good for it.
DO: Turn off your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you’re not using them
The fewer charges your phone battery has to cycle through, the longer it takes to wear out. One way to keep the cycles down is to turn off your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you don’t need them. Even in the background, Wi-Fi and data are constantly on the hunt for networks to connect to, which drains your battery faster.
DON’T: Close your apps
Both Android and iOS systems are designed to automatically detect and manage how much power your apps are using. Forcing your apps to close interferes with this system. Instead, look at how much energy your apps consume while they’re running in the background. If it’s very high, you can adjust how often they refresh.
DO: Adjust your phone’s settings
There are ways you can change how you use your phone in order to consume less battery power. You can use different battery modes, such as low power mode, turn down your screen brightness and embrace dark mode if you have an OLED screen.
DON’T: Use an off-brand charger
Just because a charger works with your smartphone doesn’t mean it’s good for your smartphone. Chargers are designed to control the amount of current that flows to your phone and to cut the supply off before they overload it. Some cheaper chargers may not have the same sort of settings, and as you know, too much charge can degrade your battery quickly.
Obviously, preserving your smartphone’s battery health in the future is a priority. It’s also worth knowing how to check a refurbished phone’s battery health before you buy it.
How to Check Battery Health on a Refurbished Phone
It’s always a good idea to check the battery health of a second-hand mobile phone. If you have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone or an iPhone running iOS 11.3 or higher, it’s easy to do. This is how:
iPhone
Simply go to Settings > Battery > Health to see your iPhone’s health percentage.
If you have an older iPhone and can’t update your iOS, there’s no way to check your battery health in the settings. You’ll have to ask Apple to run a diagnostic test for you.
Samsung
Go to your Settings > Battery and Device Care, and a “smiley face” icon at the top of your screen will tell you what kind of state your smartphone battery is in.
Android or older Samsung
If you have an older Samsung Galaxy or a different kind of Android phone, the process gets more complicated. Download the AccuBattery app, let the battery drain to 10% or less, recharge it back to 100% and look at the ‘Health’ section of the app.
Do Second-Hand Phones Have Bad Battery Health?
All batteries degrade over time, so a second-hand mobile phone is always going to be a lucky dip as far as battery health is concerned unless the seller discloses it.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to the battery health of a refurbished phone, as checking on the battery's health is part of the refurbishment process.
OzMobiles only sells refurbished phones with a battery health level of 80%, but how long does 80% battery health last? That’s a difficult question to give a concrete answer to. What OzMobiles can promise is that we never sell a smartphone with a battery that has less life in it than that.
OzMobiles Battery Health Guarantee
OzMobiles is the ultimate destination for refurbished mobile phones in Australia and a place to find high-quality chargers as well.
We offer the OzMobiles Battery Health Guarantee, which means that if your refurbished phone’s battery health drops below 80% at any time during your warranty period, we’ll repair or replace it for free. How long does 80% battery health last? Because 80% is the peak performance threshold, your refurbished phone’s battery health (and its day-to-day level of charge) should last as long as a new smartphone’s battery or close to it. It depends on how frequently you use your mobile phone, what you use it for and, of course, how you treat your battery.
For more information about the battery health of a refurbished phone, how long 80% battery health lasts, or help to find the perfect refurbished phone for you, get in touch with the OzMobiles team!
