Recently, a Class 4 boy in Maduranthagam was almost blinded when he took a call on a charging mobile phone and it exploded. In another incident, a couple succumbed to burn injuries because a phone that was charging overnight exploded and sparked a fire because of an LPG cylinder leak
Analysing what could have gone wrong, Express finds that the safest step to prevent such an accident is to use original branded handsets. Use only the charger that comes with your phone; and don’t use the device while it’s charging. Following these tips could also prolong your battery life and slow down wear of the device
Phone Elements
Battery
Made of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) or Lithium-polymer (Li-poly). Expands during charging, as the Li-ion molecules are excited during charging. Once the battery has charged 99%, it is better to disconnect it and do a partial discharge rather than a complete discharge on a day-to-day basis
Motherboard
The electronic brain of the phone or electronic device generates heat when the CPU and other units are taxed with HD videos, games, camera and so on. The more tasks running simultaneously, more the heat
Antennas
Covering the antennas (positioned all over the handset) cause the device to start searching more often for signal. Phone operates at higher frequencies, leading to more power being used. This emits heat or radiation, which can cause other components in the phone like the battery to heat up or turn unstable
Charger
Using a standard charger that ships with your phone is better, as it will charge at the recommended voltage for the device. If the voltage is too high, the chances of the phone circuits being damaged or the battery getting overcharged or overheated are more
Expert Speak
The main reason for a mobile to catch fire is either over-charging or deep discharge. Batteries in the mobile phone are of high energy density and emit a lot of energy. When the battery gets more charge than required, the electronic circuit will still allow it to charge, resulting in bulging of the battery. Most mobile batteries are composed of lithium-ion and lithium polymer, which when decomposing, release high amount of carbon dioxide. This leads to battery bulging and bursting
– Dr K Hariharan,
Associate prof, ECE, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai
How you can avoid it
Use original handsets; don’t use Chinese rip-offs or certain Korean handsets as the components are made of substandard quality. These are prone to problems like short-circuit, surges and expansion due to heat.
Use the standard charger supplied with your device, don’t go for third party chargers as these might have higher output with less electronic circuits required to nullify power surges, voltage fluctuations etc.
Don’t use the phone while charging, as most devices have batteries that are meant to be used away from the power socket. Using phone while charging eventually degrades the quality and lifespan of the battery as the charging process is interrupted quite often
Storage conditions
■ Keep at room temperature (between 4° C and 26° C)
■ When not using devices for a long time, retain at least 40-50% charge in the battery before removing it or storing it
■ Different phones have different optimal operating temperatures. For instance, Apple recommends usage between 0° and 35° C. However, the temperature of the internal circuits will be much higher when several apps are running
Once a month, use the phone till it is fully discharged. Then charge it to 100% so that the battery is able to calibrate itself to a full charge cycle