I’m sure when you saw the title of this post you were thinking, “Great, another preachy post about having device free dinners and getting outside more.”. While that isn’t a bad idea, we’re not jumping on that band wagon with this post. This is more of a public service announcement for your safety and the longevity of your devices.
In September 2017, we published an article on how to extend the life of your computer. In that article, we briefly mention that heat is the number one killer of computers and provided suggestions for reducing heat related failures. One such suggestion mentioned, if you were going to be stationary, removing the battery from the laptop and using the laptop while plugged into the wall. Now, that may sound contradictory to the title and purpose of this article, but it really isn’t.
Although we suggest you plug in the laptop, you will notice that our first instruction is to remove the battery. Why? Because it reduces heat, overcharging and the possibility (the very real possibility) of the battery swelling or exploding. Now that there are a good deal of devices such as tablets, wifi hotspots (aka mifi), cell phones and laptops (aka notebooks, netbooks or Chromebooks) with batteries that can not be removed, Computer Tutor recommends unplugging them once charged and/or not in use.
We have had several clients bring in laptops, cell phones and mifis that have had the batteries swell or explode entirely. The main reason is because they leave these devices plugged into the outlet. They should not remain plugged in all the time, especially overnight or while you are away. Once the item is charged, unplug it. This will not only extend the life of the device by reducing heat, it will extend the life of the battery, prevent the potential for device destruction and data loss as well as prevent a potential fire hazard and related property loss.
For more information and suggestions on extending device life and reducing issues, check out our articles on extending computer life and choosing the right charger. If you want to know more about what causes and how to prevent battery issues, check out Wired’s article on why lithium ion batteries keep exploding.