What does the shield icon mean on your Samsung Galaxy?

Although the shield icon next to the battery symbol on your Galaxy phone may suggest a security feature, it is actually related to the battery. Modern smartphones have many features designed to extend battery life, from temporarily suspending charging to intentionally limiting it. And depending on the phone you have, these features may be enabled by default.

This is the case for Samsung Galaxy phones with battery protection. If you don’t understand how it works yet, we’ll go over everything you need to know about it.

Whenever you see the shield icon on your Galaxy’s battery indicator, it means battery protection is turned on and active. When this is the case, the phone limits the battery charge instead of fully charging it. This is all due to the aging of lithium-ion batteries.

Modern batteries experience more stress when left at their highest charge level for extended periods of time, causing the battery to degrade more quickly. So, leaving your phone plugged in for hours when the battery is at 100% is not ideal in the long run.

This doesn’t mean you’re harming your phone by charging it to 100%. If you’re out all day without a charger, you’ll need a full charge before you leave. Phone batteries are designed to last, and you probably won’t notice the effects of their degradation after a few months of use. But after keeping the same phone for a few years, the effects become noticeable. So, companies like Samsung have developed features to slow down battery degradation.

Battery protection offers different modes. Basic is the least aggressive and the one most people should use. When the battery charge reaches 100%, charging stops even if you leave your phone plugged in. As soon as the battery level drops to 95%, charging starts again automatically.

MaximumIn the meantime, you need to choose exactly when your phone will stop charging. There are options ranging from 80 to 95 percent; the lower the level, the more you will protect your battery in the long term. Of course, this also means that battery life will be reduced with a single charge.

To change your battery protection options, go to Settings app on your Galaxy and search for the Battery menu. Faucet Battery protection and turn the switch on or off as you like. Assuming you enable it, choose between Basic Or Maximum — selection Maximum will also display a slider to set the charge level cap. There is also a third option called Protection of sleep timewhich learns your usage habits and stops charging at 80% overnight. It automatically resumes to fully charge your phone just before you wake up.

Whether or not to use battery protection depends on your energy habits. If you tend to leave your phone plugged in all night or on a desktop charger all day, it’s worth enabling this feature. You probably won’t even notice it in action, and your phone will probably reach a full charge before you need to unplug it. As a result, the battery will stay healthy longer, which is especially important if you plan to keep the same device for years.

If you don’t have a set charging routine, it may help to leave battery protection turned off. Long trips or battery-intensive activities often require constantly recharging your phone. So it’s a good idea to get it to 100% as quickly as possible in these cases.

The good news is that you can change the option at any time, so there’s no need to stick to just one battery mode. Changing certain Android settings can also help improve battery life.