5 Tips for Using a Cell Phone Car Charger

5 tips for using a cell phone car charger

A car phone charger keeps your iPhone or Android device powered up while you travel. So if you're heading out on a trip soon, a phone charger is a must-have accessory while on the road to keep your phone alive and charged up: Both in case of emergencies and to route you to your destination.

As more features are added to smartphones each day, you'd expect that their battery capacities will keep pace, but that's hardly the case. Battery capacity has hardly increased in the last 3 years when compared to actual smartphone technology. As apps get bigger and more powerful, their taxing effect on your smartphone battery continues to climb, with many people unable to even go a full workday without charging their iPhone or Android device. Therefore, you need to charge your phone more often to keep your phone running, making a phone charger an indispensable accessory in your car.

Since there are many types of cell phone car chargers, here are some tips and warnings that you should be aware of whenever you use a car charger.

A car charger case sits inside a car

1. Avoid Car Battery Drainage

To prevent your car phone charger from draining your car battery, you should unplug your charger from the power source when it is not in use. Even when it is not charging anything, leaving the phone charger plugged in may drain the car battery and may deplete its power if the engine is not running, which could leave you stranded or make for an inconvenient morning.

However, the best iPhone car chargers and android phone car chargers have safeguards, such as the ZUS Smart Car Charger, which can cut off charging when your devices are fully charged, so you aren't draining your car's battery power unnecessarily. Check to ensure that the charger has these safeguard properties to protect your car’s battery from being drained after your devices are fully charged.

2. Ensure Compatibility Across All Your Mobile Devices

When you buy a car charger, make sure that it is compatible with your phone and other mobile devices that will require charging while on the road. Though a majority of car phone chargers are compatible with the universal USB charger specifications, some of them were manufactured before the standards were put in place. Consequently, you should always carry chargers that are compatible with your devices to avoid inconveniences while traveling.

3. Avoid Degrading Your Cell Phone's Battery

Yes, you can have too much of a good thing. Using your car charger continuously to charge your phone — i.e. after your phone is already fully charged — will steadily degrade your phone's battery and reduce its lifespan. Once your phone is charged up or near to a full charge, unplug it from the car charger to help maintain the health of the phone's battery. This advice holds true for the regular chargers you'd use as well as car phone chargers: Don't leave your iPhone or Android plugged in longer than they have to be, or you'll end up seriously shortening your battery life.

4. Charge Faster by Turning Off Your Phone

Some smartphones are notoriously slow to charge, but there are ways to speed up the process if you're To increase the charging speeds while using a cell phone car charger, you should turn off your device. Turning off reduces the rate of power consumption by your phone to zero while it is plugged in hence increasing the rate of charging significantly

A woman uses her phone on a road trip after charging it with her car phone charger

5. Be smart, go smart

Sure, you could pick up a generic car phone charger that keeps your phone powered up, but a smart car charger will make any road trip (and everyday drives) all the more convenient and enjoyable. With the ZUS app, you can find your car parking location, monitor battery health, and so much more.