Power bank, are you using it right?

Together with ever-changing technology, electronic devices have become an integral part of our daily life. Thus, a power bank is essential to keep our devices stay charged all day long. Students can use a power bank in the bus to charge the phone when there is no power socket, adventurers can use the power bank for emergency cases when they need to send an emergency signal or travellers can use a portable power bank to find direction while travelling in a foreign land. Surprisingly, not everyone knows how to use their power bank correctly.

When you purchase a power bank, they mostly come with a USB cord and wall adapter. You can simply plug the larger end of the USB cord into the adapter. Then, connect the smaller end into your power bank adapter. That’s in, now you can leave the power bank to charge.

To simplify the charging process, Qi wireless charging was invented. You can just plug the charging station into the wall, or the accessory outlet in your car, and then you place your phone, smartwatch, or airpods on it. As long as the phone stays in place, it will charge. As the wireless charging has been using on a lot of modern phones and electronic devices, power banks are catching up with the trend. There are a few models that can be charged wirelessly. However, keep in mind you can only charge wirelessly if the product is Qi wireless charging supported.

You may or may not own a device that supports PD fast charging. But it’s being used on most recent phones. PD technology enables your device to take on more power in a shorter amount of time, which is super fast charging. With PD, your phone is charged from 0% to 20% in just 10 minutes. How convenient, isn’t it!

As you may or may not be aware, you can’t use you power bank for every little thing. Some power banks are intended to charge phones only, others for tablets or even laptop. Many can charge multiple devices, but you have to know the correct charging port to use. You can either look online to see how it should be used or read the user’s manual of your power bank to know how to use your power bank.

Many high-quality power banks are designed for universal charging. They are often advertised that can be used for phones, tablets, GoPros, and many more. However, not many people understand how to charge correctly. Despite having built multiple charging ports, some charge at 1 Amp while others at 2.1 Amps.

Like all other electronics, power banks can heat up. It’s very important to know that heat is not suitable for electronics. You should keep your power bank cool. Don’t try to put you overheating power bank in the refrigerator because that can damage your power bank. You shouldn’t keep you bank lying in the sun either ( unless it’s a solar power bank). Power banks have circuits inside to control the in and out electricity flow. If these are damaged, it could lead to accidental discharge of electricity, which could lead them to explode. Keep these cool by avoiding the sun; don’t leave them in a poorly vented area like a pocket or bag for too long.

Power banks can short-circuit when they become wet and can stop working or cause damage to other electronics or electrocute you under some circumstances. Make sure you keep your power bank dry at all time.

However, if it gets wet, you can soak up a paper towel with water , put it in a dry and warm environment for the water to evaporate, and clean it with deionised water after. Don’t use your power bank when it’s wet because it can harm you and your electronics.

Same as your phone battery life, your power bank battery life gets shorter as time goes on because you overheat it and leave it charging overnight. Prolonged and consistent overcharging can damage your power bank. You can keep your power bank from overcharging by reading manufacture guide to see how many hours it usually takes to charge it. Or you can have a look at the LED button that indicates how much charge your power bank has.

Your power bank can damage itself if you leave it for too long. The capacity tends to reduce, and electricity leaks when not being used for a long time. Think of it; the battery will oxidise inside if there is no power in it, thus cause damage from the inside out.

Not many people use their power bank regularly. Even though that does harm your electronic device, you can decelerate the process by storing it correctly. All you need to do is keep it in cool environments, and charge your power bank to around 50% capacity before you store it. Keeping a little amount of charge will slow down the oxidising process.

You can find a lot of articles and videos on how to modify your power bank. It’s best if you don’t practice it. Power banks are manufactured and tested to be as safe as possible when coming to your use, thus, messing with it may be fatal. If you’ve been following the news, you should’ve known that phones and power banks can explode. Worst case scenario, the electricity discharged all at once from high amps power banks can electrocute you.

HiQ is developing a battery pack that is not only convenient, but it’s also safe to use as it’s been carefully tested. OneBattery includes all modern charging methods so you can quickly charge all of your electronic devices. Additionally, with the little tips provided above, you can confidently use power bank without worrying about damaging it in any possible ways.