Why lithium batteries continue to fail your phone and laptop - and 6 ways to reduce the risk

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• It's uncommon for a rechargeable artillery to origin problems for the user.
• Some 1,500 fires and 5,000 overheating incidents are attributed to rechargeable batteries yearly.
• Don't usage immoderate gadget that's damaged oregon showing signs of overheating.

Rechargeable batteries are everywhere.

Stop what you're doing and deliberation astir each the things successful your beingness close present that incorporate a rechargeable artillery -- the laptops, smartphones, tablets, powerfulness banks, astute doorbells, and surveillance cameras. And don't hide to number your wearables:   smartwatches, earbuds, and astute rings each incorporate rechargeable batteries.

Then determination are the batteries that we enactment to our mouths and suck connected -- the ones wrong e-cigarettes and vapes. 

Also: I tested a solid-state portable artillery for a week - present lithium-ion feels outdated

And don't hide that portable powerfulness presumption you person successful the garage. That happening is virtually a container filled with rechargeable batteries.

I'm betting that you person rather a few. 

Right now, I person astir a fractional a twelve wrong arm's reach, and a batch much that unrecorded astatine my home, the office, oregon the car. And I've astir apt forgotten astir that aged smartphone successful the backmost of a drawer, oregon the aged -- perchance recalled -- powerfulness slope successful my backpack.

For the astir part, rechargeable battery-powered devices are incredibly well-behaved. It's a bully thing, really, due to the fact that astir of america are blessed to spell to slumber with a charging smartphone not acold from our caput each night, and cram ourselves onto an craft and walk galore hours astatine 40,000 feet surrounded by hundreds of antithetic devices -- each of varying prime and authorities of repair -- containing a rechargeable battery.

Also: The champion powerfulness banks of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed

But things tin -- and bash -- spell wrong.

Just however unsafe are rechargeable batteries?

I've pulled up information from a fewer sources, and it seems that rechargeable batteries are liable for astir 1,500 location fires and immoderate 5,000 "overheating incidents" each year. E-cigarettes besides origin hundreds of injuries each year, astir of which, thankfully, aren't terrible oregon life-changing. 

And each year, a communicative makes the quality astir a smartphone oregon wearable artillery misbehaving. Fortunately, astir radical locomotion distant from specified incidents with limbs attached and eyes working. However, that doesn't alteration the information that it could person been overmuch worse, and that we should beryllium vigilant and cognize what to bash if we travel crossed a artillery that's gone bad.

A modern rechargeable artillery contains a batch of powerfulness successful a precise tiny space. Most of the time, batteries bash what they are expected to bash -- merchandise that vigor dilatory and successful a controlled fashion. But if thing ever causes the artillery to merchandise that vigor suddenly, that's erstwhile determination is simply a hazard of detonation and fire.

As idiosyncratic who has witnessed respective artillery fires (some deliberate, others unexpected), I person a steadfast respect for however overmuch vigor we transportation astir successful our pockets.

Also: If your USB-C instrumentality isn't charging, here's the speedy hole I ever see first

Make nary mistake, a faulty lithium-ion artillery is incredibly dangerous, and it can explode. And erstwhile I accidental explode, I don't mean the tiny popular of a enactment popper (although immoderate bash spell disconnected successful precisely that way). An aggravated artillery battalion tin spell disconnected with a heavy-duty bang, and it has capable vigor to shatter the instrumentality wrapped astir it, creating a ablution of shrapnel.

But a bang and the resulting shrapnel isn't each you request to interest about, due to the fact that chances are that you volition besides find yourself successful the mediate of a spray of molten lithium metallic and a thick, acrid unreality of choking toxic fumes.

And this enthusiastic chemic absorption is astir apt not going to hap erstwhile you're outdoors, surrounded by caller air, distant from combustible materials, and erstwhile you person a occurrence extinguisher adjacent to hand. Oh no, it's going to hap erstwhile you slightest expect it. Maybe erstwhile the instrumentality is each snugged up successful your pocket, oregon erstwhile it's connected complaint successful the car and you're zipping down the road astatine 65 mph.

Or erstwhile it's close adjacent to your caput connected your nightstand -- erstwhile you're accelerated asleep. 

Why bash batteries drawback fire?

Again, thankfully, explosions and fires don't hap each that often, but erstwhile things bash spell wrong, it's usually down to 1 of the pursuing 3 reasons:

1. Manufacturing defects

A atrocious batch of batteries, a occupation connected the assembly enactment that caused a constituent to beryllium damaged, oregon the usage of the incorrect components tin each origin devices to fail.

Interestingly, portion the media is speedy to blasted manufacturing problems for instrumentality fires and recalls, it's really beauteous uncommon acknowledgment to the myriad of information checks that reputable manufacturers transportation out.

Also: I trial dozens of phones each year: How the iPhone stacks up to Google and Samsung's best

2. Flawed plan and counterfeit products

You usually lone spot this with cheap, poorly made devices. Some of these are made by manufacturers who don't cognize what they are doing, and others are made by firms that are intelligibly cutting corners. Unfortunately, this worldly is flooding fashionable online outlets, and it tin beryllium hard for the mean idiosyncratic to archer the quality betwixt a well-made merchandise and a poorly made 1 due to the fact that galore times the devices diagnostic fake regulatory markings.

Many of the inexpensive and counterfeit products don't incorporate information features that products from reputable makers person built into them.

3. Products damaged successful use

End users are the astir communal crushed wherefore products go unsafe. Throwing devices about, getting them wet, charging them with the incorrect charger, and leaving them to cook successful the prima are each atrocious ideas.

Also: I changed these 7 settings connected my Samsung telephone to widen the artillery beingness by hours

Quality devices volition see information features to support against overheating, overcharging, being discharged excessively much, short-circuiting, and being recharged with the incorrect charger. Although these features enactment to forestall damaged devices from becoming unsafe, thing is foolproof.

What tin you bash to support your household from the dangers?

I don't expect you to person entree to thousands of dollars of trial equipment; the information is that you tin spot astir dangers without it. In fact, I usually place astir 90% of unsafe products with conscionable a ocular inspection.

By pursuing a fewer elemental rules, you practically destruct each the communal causes of occurrence and explosion.

1. Buy named-brand products from reputable retailers. Yes, you mightiness beryllium paying a fewer dollars much for a good-quality charger, cable, oregon powerfulness bank, but this is your beingness and the lives of your household members that we're talking about. Avoid too-good-to-be-true deals, societal media deals, and shady marketplace sellers. If you fishy you've purchased a cheap, poor-quality device, halt utilizing it.
2. If a instrumentality is damaged successful immoderate mode oregon showing immoderate signs of overheating, swelling, oregon deformation, halt utilizing it. This goes for chargers and cords (even frayed charging cords tin beryllium dangerous). I urge checking devices yearly and replacing damaged items promptly.
3. Don't let devices to get excessively hot, particularly erstwhile charging. Don't complaint a smartphone successful your pouch oregon sports bag, and don't permission it connected the dash of your car baking successful the sun.
4. Don't permission a charging instrumentality unattended. OK, astir of america bash that, truthful astatine the precise minimum, I urge you don't enactment charging items connected oregon adjacent flammable objects. A tiny lithium artillery tin rapidly crook a woody array oregon portion of chamber furnishings into an inferno.
5. If you find retired that a instrumentality has been recalled, travel the proposal given. Don't beryllium 1 of those radical who deliberation they tin outsmart safety.
6. If successful immoderate doubt, question nonrecreational advice.

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Do not underestimate however rapidly a lithium-polymer artillery tin drawback occurrence and however unsafe they tin be. Below are a fewer videos showing conscionable however atrocious it tin get:

What should you bash successful the lawsuit of a fire?

And if you are unlucky capable to look a burning electrical device:

• DO NOT THROW WATER ON THE FIRE! That volition marque matters overmuch worse and tin origin further fires. Use lone a suitable occurrence extinguisher oregon fire blanket. 
• Evacuate the building.
• Try to debar breathing successful the fumes.
• Call the occurrence department. Don't beryllium anserine oregon effort to beryllium a hero. 
• Seek aesculapian attraction for immoderate injuries, nary substance however small.

I privation to reiterate that physics devices are, connected the whole, highly harmless and not thing you should suffer slumber over. By buying a known marque sanction from a reputable outlet, and taking attraction not to maltreatment oregon harm that device, you're precise improbable to person immoderate problems astatine all.