Is connecting your phone via USB to the head-unit bad for the phone battery?

sen2693 · 7th October 2022, 21:58

Pretty much the title. My car does not have wireless Android Auto/Carplay but only a wired one.

When I connect the phone with the head unit via a cable to access Android Auto, the phone also goes into charging mode. Is that safe for the phone battery? Given that the power drawn would be much less, does the affect the battery life or any other aspect of the phone in any way?

VW2010 · 7th October 2022, 22:22

Forget about time of charging and check heat. If it's not heating up you are fine to connect phone to usb and use it.

Most phones have over charge protection and some even have option to enable intelligent/smart charging that stops charging after 80%.

Heat is your best indicator.

shancz · 8th October 2022, 11:02

Like mentioned earlier the temperature will be the biggest cause of concern. Happens due to the services being used like navigation, mobile data, Bluetooth and/or the ambient temperature rising inside the car with sunshine on the device.
IIRC I once saw my phone(Moto X2/Nokia 5 can't recall which one) with a red boundary on screen and some alert related to overheating and it shutdown. I noticed that the sunshine was beating down on it while it was connected via bluetooth and probably the navigation was on too along with charging. Temperatures outside the car could have been 40+ degrees.

Other than this the only impact would be losing some charge cycles due to the constant charging going on but hardly a concern.

Crankshaft · 8th October 2022, 16:18

Mobile batteries have come a long way since the early cell phones. However it's bets to charge them with their own charges/adaptors as recommended by the manufacturer for long battery life.
In case of emergencies you can use any souce for short durations.

7th October 2022, 21:58	#1
sen2693 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 146 Thanked: 363 Times	Is connecting your phone via USB to the head-unit bad for the phone battery? Pretty much the title. My car does not have wireless Android Auto/Carplay but only a wired one. When I connect the phone with the head unit via a cable to access Android Auto, the phone also goes into charging mode. Is that safe for the phone battery? Given that the power drawn would be much less, does the affect the battery life or any other aspect of the phone in any way?
	(1) Thanks

7th October 2022, 22:22	#2
VW2010 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: electricity Posts: 2,947 Thanked: 4,558 Times	re: Is connecting your phone via USB to the head-unit bad for the phone battery? Forget about time of charging and check heat. If it's not heating up you are fine to connect phone to usb and use it. Most phones have over charge protection and some even have option to enable intelligent/smart charging that stops charging after 80%. Heat is your best indicator.
	(2) Thanks

8th October 2022, 11:02	#3
shancz Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: BH Posts: 1,987 Thanked: 5,496 Times	Re: Is connecting your phone via USB to the head-unit bad for the phone battery? Like mentioned earlier the temperature will be the biggest cause of concern. Happens due to the services being used like navigation, mobile data, Bluetooth and/or the ambient temperature rising inside the car with sunshine on the device. IIRC I once saw my phone(Moto X2/Nokia 5 can't recall which one) with a red boundary on screen and some alert related to overheating and it shutdown. I noticed that the sunshine was beating down on it while it was connected via bluetooth and probably the navigation was on too along with charging. Temperatures outside the car could have been 40+ degrees. Other than this the only impact would be losing some charge cycles due to the constant charging going on but hardly a concern. Last edited by shancz : 8th October 2022 at 11:04. Reason: Typos
	() Thanks

8th October 2022, 16:18	#4
Crankshaft Newbie Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6 Thanked: 2 Times	Re: Is connecting your phone via USB to the head-unit bad for the phone battery? Mobile batteries have come a long way since the early cell phones. However it's bets to charge them with their own charges/adaptors as recommended by the manufacturer for long battery life. In case of emergencies you can use any souce for short durations.
	() Thanks