Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives. We are known to make use of the smartphones from getting access to everything -right from groceries to waking up every morning, drinking water, and what not!Every day we hear the unfortunate news of the batteries of the gadgets catching fire or Cell Phones Exploding.However, while we are used to utilizing smartphones on a daily basis, there are certain aspects of the gadget that might get wrong easily. Smartphones are indeed useful. Still, these are not perfect altogether.
Every day we hear the unfortunate news of the batteries of the gadgets catching fire or even exploding. In some cases of explosions, there have been cases of the users getting hurt as well. While instances have been quite rare, the latest rise in the number of such cases has created quite a stir amongst the smartphone users all around the world.
As a smartphone user, the last thing that you would want is the smartphone exploding every now & then. It has been lately happening with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. This exclusive tablet from the leading South Korean manufacturer has been known for delivering the speediest performance out of all smartphones out there. It is also regarded as one of the most well-built smartphones out there.
The point of preventing the explosions is through understanding the main cause behind the explosion of the smartphones. If you are asking about what is the reason behind such explosions, then you should go on to read this post. The post also explains the ways in which you can stop the cell phone from exploding on a day-to-day basis.
Preventing the Smartphone Explosions
Most of the users who make use of the smartphones are known to overlook the fact that batteries in the smartphones contain electrical energy. The energy in the smartphones comes from the power banks or all outlets. At the same time, we are aware of the fact that electricity turns out dangerous in certain instances. This is the reason why it is vital how we tend to charge the smartphones and how we are charging the same to ensure safe charging.
Why Do Batteries Explode?
Batteries in the smartphones are made up of lithium-ions. Inside the smartphone’s batteries, there are two electrical conductors (also referred to as electrodes) on opposite sides. Each side of the battery holds a positively-charged ion (referred to as cathode), and a negatively-charged ion (referred to as anode). You can imagine the same as plus & minus signs that you observe on the battery.
For understanding how batteries in smartphone explode, here is a step-by-step explanation on how energy gets transferred in the lithium-ion batteries. Here are some steps:
- When the battery of the smartphone is utilized, lithium ions in the battery are known to transfer from the anode to its cathode
- During the charging of the smartphone, the lithium ions are known to move in some other direction -moving from the cathode to its anode.
- Electrolytes (a type of chemical in the battery) are known to help in moving lithium between the conductors of the battery
For your understanding, some of the possible causes of the explosion of the battery in smartphones include:
- The conductors in the smartphone battery that tend to touch one another end up channeling heat (in the form of energy) into the respective electrodes. This might lead to an explosion mostly caused due to some defect.
- Overcharging -that might be caused when a large number of lithium-ions get pushed into the smartphone’s battery while pushing the given limit.
- Overheating that could happen anywhere like being stored in a hot environment or being locked in a car for too long.
- Charging the smartphone too fast. This would lead the lithium ions to get formed into a plate. As a result, blocking happens from the rest of the battery.
All of these could happen anytime and would lead the battery of the smartphone to result into short-circuit. As a result, this could lead to a dangerous explosion that might seriously injure people along with the respective properties.
How to Prevent Phones from Exploding
Taking care of the battery of the smartphone
If you wish to prevent the smartphone from exploding, it is important to take proper care of its battery. Taking care of the battery of the smartphone is relatively simpler. Even so, most of the individuals out there tend to overlook the importance of taking care of the batteries of the smartphones.
Smartphones that have removable batteries are known to be highly convenient when it comes to extending the overall lifespan of the battery. This is because these batteries can be replaced easily in case the batteries would lose the overall efficiency.
However, in the modern era, most of the smartphones out there are known to feature the batteries at tend to be sealed-in. This helps in providing a better power efficiency. However, it also limits the overall lack of access to the battery of the smartphone. This means that you might require to send the battery to some service center to get the same corrected in case of any issue.
If you are looking for ways to prevent the issues that lead to the explosion of the smartphones, here are some of the remedial steps:
Stay away from the No-Brand Chargers
As far as preventing the explosion of smartphones is concerned, you should aim at going down to the roots of the problems -the chargers. When you think about the same, it is important to know that chargers help in making a direct interaction of the smartphone with the electricity.
A smartphone charger is known to serve as the gateway between the source of raw electric power and your precious smartphone. Still, most of the individuals out there pay little or no heed to the chargers of the smartphones.
If you go for the cheap, USB chargers depicting the after-market scene, you are in for some problems. You can easily spot these chargers in the cheap electrical markets out there. While these chargers are immensely cheap, you can look out for red flags in these if you wish to prevent any accidental explosion of the smartphone while charging. The cheap chargers are known to transfer electrical energy from the respective wall outlets to the smartphones.
However, the transfer here happens without any type of power management or circuit protection. As such, there could be a possibility of overcharging the smartphone, and the smartphone might get prone to overheating. This could lead to smartphone explosions.
When you go for the option of choosing reliable chargers from the reputed manufacturers or brands out there, you can be assured of the fact that most of them come with power management chips and circuit protection capability. As such, you can be well-aware of when the smartphone is fully charged without the risk of overcharging or overheating the same. Therefore, you should make sure that you go for buying a charger from a reputed brand only.
Using Reliable Smartphone Charging Stations
When you wish to be assured of the best outcomes with respect to charging your smartphone, a reliable smartphone charging station can be of great help. While using the same, you are recommended to make use of proper phone charging station precautions to be assured of the overall safety. When you hire services from the reliable smartphone charging stations like that of InCharged, you can prevent any accidental explosion or other smartphone charging-related problems.
Pay Attention to the Charging Cable
Just like anything else, every stage in the process of cell phone charging matters when you wish to safeguard the same from exploding. The charging cable that you make use of for charging the phone is significantly important. The charging cables on smartphones are quite similar to the chargers itself. They tend to feature a specific power limit while allowing the transfer of electric current through the same.
While cables are highly handy, the most dangerous aspect of using a charging cable is to consider the overall quality of the same. Just like the chargers, when you make use of the no-brand, cheap charging cables, you might be putting the smartphone at risk. Most of these cheap charging cables are known to make use of low-quality components that are highly prone to damage. In turn, these will expose the cable’s inner wires easily and might lead to a short circuit.
As such, the overall possibility of damaging the gadget increases significantly -causing fires as well in some cases. Therefore, while buying a charging cable for your phone, it is recommended to go for a branded one with a high-quality assurance.
Keep the Phone Away from Heat
There is no denying the fact that overheating any electrical gadget can turn out hazardous. The batteries present in the smartphones are known to function the best at normal room temperatures.
When the same are subjected to or left in extremely hot conditions like exposure to direct sunlight or keeping the batteries enclosed in a car for too long, the batteries might start reacting adversely. As the smartphone’s batteries start getting heated up, they might end up losing the overall efficiency. At the worst, they might explode.
It is recommended to make sure that you are charging the smartphone in an environment featuring normal temperatures. In case you notice that the battery or the smartphone is getting heated up, you might as well consider removing the plug of the charger for some time for safety concerns. At the same time, you should refrain from keeping the smartphone in the freezer. This is because the lithium in the cell phone’s battery might freeze up right away.
Tips to Protect Yourself
While we have summarized the tips on preventing your smartphone from exploding, here are some additional tips that will safeguard you and those around you in such cases:
- Look out for general warning signs in the smartphone including popping, swelling of the smartphone, a hissing sound, and others.
- Stop charging the phone in case it becomes too hot. Allow your smartphone to cool down before you charge the same again. However, make sure that you are not covering the phone while charging the same. This allows the excess heat to pass around easily.
- Always make it a point to use the first-party chargers. Ensure that you are using the charger that came along with the smartphone in the box. This will make sure that your smartphone is receiving ample current and voltage and not overheating at the same time. In case you are using a smartphone featuring a USB Type-C charging pot or the Quick Charge capability, then you should aim at sticking to the same charging cable that came along in the box.
- Always avoid charging the phone in bed. It might be highly tempting to watch your favorite show or browse something interesting on your phone while you are dozing off to sleep, you would still not want to roll over on your phone while overheating the same all night long. Moreover, if you tend to leave the phone under the pillows while charging, this could lead to overheating of the phone.
- Be careful of where you are charging the phone. Make sure that you are avoiding to charge the phone for prolonged hours in an environment that is relatively hot -like the dashboard of the car, under direct sunlight, on hot days, or next to the car’s radiator.
- Avoid taxing on your phone while the charge is still on. Playing a game or watching a movie on the phone are known to tax the device significantly. This would lead the temperature of the phone to go up drastically and in no time. Therefore, if you carry out these activities with the charger of the phone still on, it would lead to an increase in temperature beyond the range that is usually considered safe.
Make sure that you follow all the necessary steps that are needed to stop your cell phone from exploding too easily. With a few preventive measures, you can keep your phone going on for a longer period than expected.
