is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.
The lithium-ion battery inside your power bank isn’t designed to run forever. After years of use and hundreds of charges, its performance and capacity will decline, while the risk of more severe issues increases. There are things you can do to prolong your power bank’s lifespan, while also ensuring you can use it safely. And if it’s already a few years old, there are signs that your power bank may be reaching the end of its life and needs to be disposed of properly.
The risk of a power bank causing a fire, which is the result of a chain reaction known as a thermal runaway, is low. But when it does happen, the fires are intense, occasionally explosive, and difficult to extinguish. Anker recently recalled more than 1.1 million aging power banks, and while the company says it only received 19 reports of fires and explosions, the incidents caused multiple injuries and over $60,000 of property damage.
Knowing how to detect when a power bank has reached the end of its life can help prevent hardware failures and reduce the risk of a fire, but so can being proactive and knowing how to use the device properly.
How to safely use and prolong the life of your power bank
It may seem obvious, and it’s not foolproof, but buying a power bank from a reputable brand can increase the chances it’s made from higher-quality components and materials, and that it’s free from manufacturing defects. Cheaper power banks may seem like a bargain, but the corners that have been cut to reduce their price tag could have negative impacts on their performance and reliability.
Larger and more expensive power banks with greater capacities — like a 20,000mAh model instead of a smaller 5,000mAh one — also generally last longer, according to Anker. More capacity means a power bank has more battery cells to distribute the power load, putting less strain on them individually per charge cycle and increasing their lifespan.
The thermal runaways typically responsible for power bank fires are caused when the chemical reactions in a rechargeable battery produce more heat than can be dissipated, resulting in a rapid, uncontrolled release of energy. To help mitigate the risk of overheating, you should avoid using or storing power banks in environments where there’s extreme temperatures. For example, don’t store them in a vehicle that’s at risk of getting extremely hot inside, and avoid leaving them exposed to direct sunlight.
Storing your power banks in a cool, dry, and dark location such as a closet is a good idea, but putting them all in a single container may not be. Keeping a little space between them reduces the risk of an overheating power bank causing another one to overheat.
It’s also important to stop using a power bank and dispose of it properly if it’s been pierced or damaged, which includes accidental drops. Although it may look fine on the outside (aside from a scuff or a dent), it’s impossible to know how the battery inside has been affected, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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