It’s a long-standing rumor that has reached the level of urban myth: the idea that continuing to use your phone while it’s plugged in and charging will have a deleterious effect on battery capacity in the long run. It’s entered the pantheon of myths alongside the idea that charging your phone overnight is a bad habit. However, this is just that, a common myth about battery charging that you can safely forget; Instead, to extend your phone’s battery life, focus on common mistakes that can destroy its longevity.
It’s true that using your phone while it’s charging can slow down the rate at which the battery charges, because the charger is forced to share power between filling the battery and powering your phone while you scroll. However, the only reason long-term battery health would be negatively affected is if your usage pattern combines with the charging cycle to generate an excessive amount of heat, which can degrade a lithium-ion battery. But that’s very unlikely, unless you’re engaging in unusual behavior that pushes your phone’s internal components beyond their normal operating limits.
What actually happens if you use your phone while charging
Typically, if you plug a charger into your phone while you’re still actively using it, the handset will begin to split power, diverting some to charge the battery while reserving enough to continue powering it. However, a number of modern phones now include a feature called bypass charging. Bypass charging, as the name suggests, avoids fully charging the battery and instead uses all available power to drive your apps and other device features.
The benefit of channeling all available energy directly into device activity is that it can improve performance. It can also help alleviate heat buildup. While for most productivity tasks, like browsing the web or reading your emails, neither heat nor performance will likely be an issue, it can be an issue for heavier loads, like an extended gaming session or video editing. Simultaneously charging the battery and powering the device can cause excessive heat, which can damage a lithium-ion battery and cause the processor to throttle to avoid these same damaging heat levels. Bypass charging can help avoid both, although naturally you won’t be adding any battery charge during the process.
