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Why Do Smartphones Explode? Here is the Truth

There have been multiple cases of smartphones exploding. Here are the reasons and the precautions that you should take to prevent this.

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Boudhaditya Sanyal
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Smartphone explosion stories have become very common now. There has been news about smartphones like the Poco F3, Oppo A53, Redmi Note 9 Pro and even Apple iPhone X blasting while the user was using it. There is a lot of fake news and fake reporting when it comes to phones exploding, but the truth is that not all of these stories are fake or false. Most of these phones have actually exploded and caused severe damage to the user and the surrounding people. So why is this happening and what can you do to protect your phone from blasting?

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Overheating

Overheating is one of the major reasons why phones explode unexpectedly. Most phones nowadays come with technologies that make sure that they can bear some amount of heat and still work fine. However, not all phones can perform under constant heat. Lithium-ion batteries are very volatile, and constant heat and strain on the battery can cause it to swell up, put the structure of the battery in a compromising situation and in the worst-case scenario, explode. There are multiple ways in which your phone can experience overheating. Long hours of gaming, calling while the phone is charging, connecting the phone to a power bank and keeping it in the bag are some of the reasons. When you put your phone on charge on the bed, there is not enough space for heat dissipation. However, it is not just charging. Leaving your phone out in the sun or in any hot place for a long can lead to the explosion of the phone.

It is very important to take the overheating of your phone seriously. If you are experiencing overheating, make sure to check the temperatures. A lot of smartphones, nowadays, tell the temperature of the battery, but you can also download apps like Accubattery that will show you the temperatures of your phone.

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Damage to the Battery

Lithium-ion batteries are complicated. External damage to the battery can change the chemical and the mechanical structure of the battery, which can lead to overheating, a short circuit and then an explosion. If you have dropped or bumped your phone very hard and the battery is not lasting as long as before, and the phone has suddenly started overheating, it means your battery might have been damaged, and it can cause an explosion. This can also happen if you have bent your phone.

Using Third-Party Chargers

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We have seen a lot of people around us who use third-party or uncertified cheap chargers for charging their smartphones. Using non-compatible chargers can affect the performance and the health of your battery. It is important to stick your phone's charger and charging cable. Do not mix, match or experiment with different chargers and charging cables. Smartphones have different charging capacities and wattages. If not suited, the phone can explode due to excess power being supplied to the battery.

Battery Degradation

Most of us use our smartphones till the time its battery doesn't die and then charge it all the way up to 100%. The battery dies when it is fully discharged and depletes faster when it is at 100%. If you are keeping away your smartphone for a long time, make sure you charge it to the 50% mark and store it in a cool and dry place. Manufacturers do this to most of their smartphones because the shelf life of a smartphone is uncertain. If you have a smartphone that has a swollen battery, do not charge it, do not use it, take it to a service centre and get it checked.

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Battery Health is Important

Lithium-ion batteries are under the most stress when they are at 0% or when they are at 100%. The smart way to go is t charge the phone to the 80-90% mark and do not let the battery go any lower than 25%. Make sure that you use the adaptive charging or the optimized charging feature that your phone might have. it will make sure that when you put your phone on charge, it will go to 80% fast and then slowly reach 100% without creating a lot of load on the battery as a result of overnight charging.

These are some of the reasons and precautions that you should take if you want to prevent your smartphones from exploding. The phenomenon is not as common as it sounds, but it is still better to be aware and safe than sorry.

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