How to Maintain Your Tablet's Battery: Practices to Avoid

The way you charge your tablet is crucial for preserving its battery life and optimal performance, as some common charging habits can cause a gradual deterioration in battery efficiency. To ensure maximum benefit and a long lifespan for your tablet's battery, here are the main practices to avoid, and the correct ways to maintain your device's battery:

Avoid Leaving Your Tablet Plugged In Overnight

Although most modern tablets are equipped with protection mechanisms that stop the charging process when the battery reaches 100%, leaving them connected to a power source for extended periods can expose them to what is known as "Trickle Charging". This means the device continues to receive small amounts of electricity to keep the battery fully charged, which puts continuous stress on the battery over time and reduces its lifespan. Lithium-ion batteries differ from older batteries like nickel-cadmium, as they do not require trickle charging, and this can lead to internal chemical corrosion or the formation of metallic deposits that negatively affect battery capacity and performance.

Instead: Disconnect your tablet when the battery is 100% charged. The golden rule for maintaining a lithium-ion battery is to keep the charge level between 20% and 80% to ensure optimal performance and extend battery life (Battery University). Full and continuous charging puts significant stress on the battery, accelerating its degradation process.

Allowing the Battery to Drain to 0% (or Forgetting it Empty)

Allowing your tablet's battery to completely drain and storing it without charge significantly accelerates battery aging and can lead to irreparable damage. Lithium-ion batteries, used in most modern tablets, are not designed to remain empty for extended periods. When a device's charge runs out, it doesn't truly reach 0%; instead, a small amount of charge is left to protect the battery from deep discharge damage. If you leave the device with an empty battery for days, weeks, or months, the battery slowly continues to discharge until the voltage drops to a critical level, destroying the battery's internal chemistry and making it unchargeable again.

Instead: Completely avoid letting the battery drop below 20%. If you plan not to use your tablet for a period (such as seasonal storage), charge it to about 50% and then power it off before storing it. This charge level is considered ideal for maintaining battery chemistry stability during disuse.

Using the Wrong Charger

Using a cheap, uncertified, or unsuitable charger for your tablet can cause serious problems beyond just slow charging. These chargers may provide inconsistent power, overcharge the device, or be inefficient in the charging process, all of which increase stress on the battery and reduce its lifespan. Mismatching the charger's wattage to the battery can lead to device overheating, internal circuit strain, or even damage to the battery's chemistry due to voltage or current fluctuations.

Instead: Always look for a certified or properly matched charger for your device, from the cable to the power adapter. Certified chargers, such as those with USB-IF certifications (for USB-C Power Delivery platforms) or MFi (for Apple devices), often include built-in safety measures that prevent overcharging issues and harmful fluctuations, thereby protecting your tablet's battery and extending its lifespan (Large Battery).

In summary, your tablet's reliability and performance are directly affected by its battery life. By avoiding these incorrect practices, such as leaving the device plugged in overnight, allowing the battery to completely drain, or using an unsuitable charger, you can keep your tablet's battery in excellent condition for as long as possible, ensuring a smooth and efficient user experience.