Is It Bad to Use Your Phone While Charging?

In today’s blog, we’re myth-busting yet another piece of misinformation about phone charging: whether or not it’s bad to use your phone while it’s charging. Learn why using your phone while charging is not dangerous (though still not the best thing for your battery), plus tips to help your phone stay charged during a long day. Grab your power adapters and let’s get mythbusting!

IS IT BAD TO USE YOUR PHONE WHILE CHARGING?

There’s a lot of conflicting information out there about whether or not it’s bad to use a phone while charging. There was even a viral TikTok video circulating around last year, claiming that using your phone while on a charger was dangerous because the phone sends electrical waves through your body. This is absolutely not true and, in fact, it’s totally safe to use your phone while it charges from either a wall outlet or a power bank.

However, using your phone while charging will cause it to charge much more slowly. That’s because you’re drawing power from the battery at the same time that you are trying to charge it. In fact, using your phone while it’s charging is one of the main culprits behind slow charging speeds.

Think of your phone battery like a big water jug that’s almost out of water. You put it in the sink and begin filling it up with water from the faucet (the equivalent to plugging your phone in to charge). Then, you grab a cup and fill it with water from the jug (analogous to using your phone) even as you’re trying to fill the jug with water from the faucet. The jug will eventually fill up with water from the faucet but it will just take more time than if you left it alone.

Using your phone a lot while it’s charging can also cause the lithium ion battery to degrade faster than it would otherwise. That’s because both using your phone and charging your phone causes the battery to heat up. When you do both at the same time, it heats up the battery and puts a lot of stress on it. If you do this frequently, all that heat will compromise the battery performance and potentially make it harder for it to hold a full charge.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR PHONE CHARGED FOR LONGER

We get it — You’re a power user, and you need a charged phone at all times. So how can you keep your phone charged while you’re constantly using it? First of all, we recommend upgrading to a new phone with a bigger battery, if you haven’t already. This is because newer batteries can usually hold a charge for longer due to technology advancements, plus they haven’t experienced any of the battery decay that comes from use.

We also recommend getting a power bank that you can carry with you at all times. It’s actually better to charge your phone in short bursts vs. one longer period of time. If you can, plug your phone in for a few minutes when you’re not using it and then take it off the charger when you need to get back online. Many modern phones have fast charging capabilities, so you can get a surprisingly big amount of power even with just a few minutes of charging.

We love wireless chargers for their convenience, but they’re not the fastest way to charge your phone and they make it impossible to use your phone while it’s charging. If you’re trying to stop yourself from using your phone while it’s charging, wireless chargers are actually a great way to do that. But if you must use your phone while it charges, then look for a wired charger instead.

You should make sure that your power outlet and cord are rated for the right wattage. If they offer less watts than what your phone can accept, then your phone will take longer to charge than it would otherwise. Check out our guide that explains the relationship between power wattages and fast charging if you want to know more about this.

Ready to upgrade your charging game? At Case-Mate, we offer all kinds of tried-and-true charger accessories for all the major smartphone brands. Whether you need an external battery pack or a new power adapter, we’ve got you covered with our sleek and affordable products.