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“Is it good to let your phone die?” Tips to boost your phone battery

March 04, 2026|

Our smartphones let us surf the web, play games, point us in the right direction, and serve as a mobile movie theater. With so many convenient uses, and so much of your day spent on your device, it’s easy to use up a lot of battery fast. While the latest smartphones offer around 30 hours of battery life, you many still find yourself out of juice, wondering if you should charge or let it drain completely. Below, we answer the question, “Is it good to let your phone die?” and give you more tips to help your battery last longer.

Is it good to let your phone die?

Batteries come under the most stress when they’re fully drained, so you should never let yours reach 0%. It’s best to keep your percentage above 30. If that’s not practical, try to start charging your phone before it hits 20%.

It may be hard to keep your phone charged if you’re always on the go. The powerful, portable Qi 2.0 Snap+ Powerstation Mini works seamlessly with Apple’s MagSafe and Qi2-enabled Android devices. Besides keeping watch on your battery life and remembering to charge when necessary, we’ve got more tips to help you save power, so you can enjoy your phone more and worry less about the percentages.

Keep your phone cool

If you’ve ever wondered how to damage a cell phone battery, heat is your answer. Try to avoid exposing your device to temperatures higher than 95° F. The heat can permanently damage your battery capacity. This means your device won’t last as long on a given charge.

A person, seen from behind their left shoulder, holds up their smartphone in one hand and a charging cable in the other.

Your screen is too bright

Screen brightness is a significant drain on your phone battery. To conserve power, go into your display settings and turn down the brightness on your screen. Your battery (and eyes) will thank you.

Use power saver mode

Enabling the battery saver mode dims your screen, reduces the screen timeout, and prevents apps from updating in the background. This feature usually comes on by default when your battery reaches 20 percent. You can switch it to come on at 30 percent instead. When your phone charges up again, the feature automatically switches off.

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Settings you can use to use less battery

To optimize your power saving efforts, try adjusting these settings:

Turn off Smooth Display. This Google Pixel phone feature increases refresh rate, but it can also be draining.
Use dark theme. This turns down your display brightness and saves energy.
Shorten screen timeout. The less time your display is on, the less battery your phone uses.
Enable adaptive battery. This helps your phone anticipate your usage and maximize battery life.

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Watch out for power-hungry apps

One of the first steps to boosting your battery’s life is finding out what’s using your power. Some apps will continue to run in the background, even when you aren’t using them. Delete, disable, or restrict permissions where possible. For apps like Google Maps, Spotify, and other streaming services, preload your maps, playlists, and shows over Wi-Fi before you go out. This will keep those apps from draining your battery.

Android has the Adaptive Battery feature and iPhone has Adaptive Power. Turn it on to prevent apps you don’t frequently use from draining excessive power in the background. Your phone will help manage your usage and conserve battery power to keep your device running all day.

Is it bad to overcharge your phone?

Technically, you can’t overcharge your phone, as most devices have a management system that prevents incoming current when the battery is already at 100%. The real risk is in leaving your phone charging overnight. It will trickle charge to 100% repeatedly, creating heat and degrading the battery.

How to keep your phone battery healthy

The best way to keep your battery healthy is to use the power adapter that comes with your smartphone. If a charger was not included, check out our selection of chargers to keep your devices powered up.

If you’ve noticed your battery isn’t performing as well as it used to, or that you have to charge your phone more often, it may be time to trade up. Visit us in-store to save on upgrade deals.

Founded in 1993, Cellular Sales proudly serves as Verizon’s premier retail partner. With almost 800 locations nationwide and more than 7,000 employees, we connect customers with top-tier products and services. We were named Verizon Agent of the Year in 2020 and 2021, and have been listed nine times among Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing companies in the country. For more information, visit cellularsales.com or follow us on social media at facebook.com/cellularsales and @cellularsales on Instagram. For career information, visit cellularsales.com/careers.

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