If you took a look at a battery today, you would see some writings or inscriptions on it. A lot of people do not actually know what they mean, it could be a language of aliens for all they know. So if you are one of them, this post aims to rectify this and teach you how to read a smartphone’s battery specs.

Our batteries, especially the ones on our Smartphones, have rather limited lifespans. The best you can hope to get out of a smartphone battery is an average use of about two years or 1500 charge cycles. Sooner or later, you would be needing a new battery.

Read: Battery life

Knowing how to read smartphone battery specs should come handy when shopping for a new battery.

How to read a smartphone’s battery specs

On most batteries, the first thing you’ll see is the name of the manufacturer. If it doesn’t carry the name of the manufacturer, then it is most likely a generic battery. Next to it, you’ll find the model number. Generic batteries may or may not have model numbers.

A Li-Polymer battery

The next item written there should be the battery type. Most of the time, it is either a Li-ion or Li-po battery.

The rest of the specifications can be written in any particular order.

Power: The power of a battery is measured in Watts per hour (Wh). This is gotten by multiplying a battery’s standard voltage by its capacity. The power rating of a battery shows how much energy it can deliver.

Capacity: The capacity of a battery is measured in milli-Ampere per hour (mAh). The capacity rating of a battery shows how much current that it can carry.

Standard voltage: Voltage refers to the force that pulls/pushes current into/out of a battery. It is measured in Volts (V). The voltage used across all smartphone batteries is 3.7V.

Maximum charging voltage: is the maximum voltage (force) that can be used push current into a battery that is charging. It is pegged at 4.2V. It is standard that is used across all smartphone batteries.

Read: Voltage, Current, Resistance and Power

Good example

Here we have a battery made by Tecno. How do we know this? It has got the manufacturer’s name slapped on top of it. The model number is BL-5CAT and it slots right under the name of the manufacturer. The battery is a Li-ion battery.

The battery conforms to 3.7V industry standard. Its capacity is a rather small 1,150mAh. If you multiply 1150mAh by 3.7V, the result would be 4255Wh. This is the power rating of the battery. The maximum charge voltage is also 4.2V which corresponds with industry standards.

Unlike the days of removable batteries, these days we hardly ever get to see the batteries that power our precious smartphones. They are mostly hidden away and are irremovable (except by an expert).

When choosing a replacement battery for your device, make sure that it is manufactured by the same folks that made your phone. Know your phone’s battery requirements and do not use an underpowered/overpowered battery for it. Doing so will fry your phone. Avoid generic batteries as well as they may not meet industry standards and could damage your device.

Thank you for reading to the end. As always, ensure to check out our links for more information and…