At Data Recycling we’re all about what to do with your devices when they no longer work (a battery that’s constantly dying, for instance) or you’ve upgraded to the latest and greatest and need to move on. However, there are some instances when a device isn’t quite ready to be put out of commission and needs to be held on to for a bit longer. In those cases, it can be frustrating to use a device that seems to be playing chicken with you on when it will work and when it won’t, but we’ve got some tips for extending the battery life of your devices to help alleviate some of that stress.
Charge Your Batteries… Properly
Since all portable electronic devices – laptops, mobile phones, cameras – use rechargeable batteries to keep them going, it’s important that you’re treating the battery just as well as you do the rest of the equipment. First and foremost, use chargers from the same manufacturer whenever possible — off-brand chargers can sometimes cause overheating or other performance issues.
Modern lithium-ion batteries can also present safety risks if they become swollen, damaged, or improperly handled. Devices showing signs of battery swelling or overheating should be powered down and handled carefully prior to recycling or disposal. Learn more in our Battery Safety & Preparation Guide.
Additionally, don’t leave your mobile phones on the charger 24/7 — cell phones generally shouldn’t remain on the charger for extended periods unnecessarily. Leaving a laptop plugged in most of the time, however, is typically acceptable for modern devices.
Keep It Updated
One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not updating their devices as new releases are rolled out by the manufacturer. Some people just don’t want to wait around for the update to load, while others think that the new update may take up too much space, but the fact of the matter is that these updates are important to the overall health of your device.
Not only do they sometimes include new functionality and features, they also contain patches and updates that improve security and can fix bugs that would otherwise be causing harm to your device.
Dispose of It Properly
If you’ve followed steps for keeping your device in good working order – not dropping it, getting it wet, maintaining battery health, and keeping software updated – and it still seems like a lost cause, it may actually be time to let it go.
In that case, properly recycling your device is the best thing you can do. At Data Recycling we recommend wiping hard drives clean before sending devices our way. For businesses and organizations, secure data destruction and proper battery handling are also important considerations when retiring laptops, tablets, phones, and other electronics containing onboard storage or lithium-ion batteries.
We’ll perform an additional wipe of the hard drive before either physically shredding the drive or refurbishing and reselling reusable equipment through our reuse-first recycling process. Equipment that cannot be reused is responsibly recycled to help keep electronic waste out of landfills.