When a cell phone explodes, or melts down in a big way, injuring someone or damaging property, the news picks up on it and spreads the word. Certainly, cell phones can be a bit unsafe, although dangerous occurrences aren’t frequent. Millions of people daily surf the net, play games, conduct work activities, send texts and talk on their phones safely. Does safety protocol change if they’re talking on their phone while it’s charging?
Some believe that working on your phone while it’s charging is either unsafe or not good for the phone. Most commonly, there are concerns about the phone overheating, creating an unsafe situation. There are other reasons to consider allowing your phone to rest while charging rather than using it. Let’s consider the top 5 reasons to avoid cell phone use while charging.
5 Reasons to Avoid Cell Phone Use While Charging
Generally, today’s smartphones are safe for use while charging. It’s recommended that you use original manufacturer power bricks and cables or those recommended as safe by the manufacturer. Off-brand bricks and cables may not charge as well as may create issues for your smartphone. That said, issues can occur, if infrequently, so you should be aware of the top 5 reasons to avoid cell phone use while charging.
It’s not optimal for charging
When you’re charging and using your phone simultaneously, some of the power for charging your phone will be used toward phone use. This slows the charging process and the power has a tougher time in getting allocated to the battery. If you’re playing an intense game or watching videos for an extended period of time, you may end up with a phone that has the same or less charge as you started with.
It may damage your phone.
How warm does your smartphone get when you’re playing a game or streaming? Let’s say you’re playing for 30 minutes, long enough to fill the built-up heat. If you do the same while the phone is plugged up, the charging process will add to the heat. In some cases, your smartphone may get warm enough to cause damage to the phone’s hardware, including the chip that’s your phone’s CPU. This isn’t good for your phone, so be mindful of stopping when the phone is heating up and unplugging the phone until it cools. If your phone has this issue, stay off while it charges.
It may damage your battery.
A too-hot smartphone can also create battery issues. Your battery might swell when a phone gets too warm from playing or streaming while charging your smartphone. Swelling can cause a battery to leak, and the chemicals inside can burn the skin or otherwise expose whoever is using or near the phone to harm.
A swollen battery is dangerous in another way. There have been documented cases of exploding batteries that had been swollen. The battery damage, even without leaking or exploding, can lead to your phone not charging or powering up. Check online to see if your model phone has a record of this type of issue, and change your behavior to avoid overheating the battery.
It may cause damage to your charger or cable.
You can create too much demand on a charger if you’re heavily using it while charging. Once the charger has been damaged, it might not charge the phone properly or not at all. You’ll have to replace it to get your phone charged fully.
Think of what you do when you’re on your phone while it’s plugged into a charger. Do you hold the phone so that the cable is being pulled on? Do you move around and twist the cable? It’s likely that you do these things, putting pressure on the wire and potentially damaging it to the point of replacement. Overheating can also occur during cable abuse.
It could be dangerous for your or your property.
We’ve already discussed the dangers of an overheated phone, compounded by being plugged into the charger. A couple other concerns exist. If you’re phone Is plugged up and you’re in the bathtub or near water, you risk electrocution. Don’t charge your phone near water, and especially don’t use your phone while it’s charging and near water or a wet surface. Make sure you have dry hands before handling a phone on charge.
Potentially, there’s a risk of brain damage while using your charging phone. Since no one wants to take this risk, keep your plugged-in smartphone away from your head so that the radiation emitted time after time after time doesn’t lead to a tumor or another issue. You can easily switch to talking on speaker phone, just in case.
Safety Precautions for Using Your Cell Phone While Charging
Considering all the possible ways in which using your smartphone while charging could be dangerous to you or could damage your phone, battery, or charter, it’s also possible to prevent all these issues with some common-sense actions.
- Get into a habit of charging your phone at a time of day when you don’t need it, such as when you’re doing a chore or working on your laptop.
- Buy original manufacturer or manufacture recommended chargers and cable to get the best performance and possibly improved safety.
- Pay attention to how hot your phone gets when you’ve been streaming, gaming, or other power hungry activity when it’s off the charger to know if you have a phone that is quick to overheat.
- Choose your fun or work smartphone activities for times when the battery is charged up and ready to go.
- With your action plan in place, you can enjoy your smartphone safely.
