You might have noticed that your phone battery doesn’t last long. Similarly, headphones only last a couple of years. But what exactly causes your gadgets to die so quickly? A recent NPR story interviewed The Washington Post’s Geoffrey Fowler, an expert on technology. Fowler explains what causes batteries to die quickly. The most common causes are alkaline batteries and lack of sleep.

Apple Watch battery drains

You may be wondering how to resolve the issue of Apple Watch battery draining too quickly. The answer lies in one thing: using the watch’s settings. While the battery is charged, your Apple Watch will run the same apps in the background, which can waste battery power. Turn off these apps by going into the Watch app on your connected iPhone and selecting General. Scroll down to Background app refresh and toggle it off. Then, you’ll see a notification telling you when apps are running in the background.

Alkaline batteries break down

Batteries containing alkaline material are considered recyclable but not recyclable. In many cases, batteries can’t be recycled because they contain mercury. While mercury has been outlawed since 1996, some states have laws in place that prevent the disposal of batteries. Some states have laws that restrict the disposal of batteries in landfills, while others prefer that all batteries be recycled.

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If you’re unable to recycle your batteries yourself, there are several mail-in options. Many waste management companies offer battery recycling kits to send your electronics to them. But it’s important to note that some battery collection locations accept rechargeable batteries, not alkaline batteries. So, before shipping your batteries, make sure to check the recycling process to find out what type of batteries they accept.

Open-source software

If you don’t use open-source software on your computer or smartphone, you’re missing out on a lot of features. By using open-source software on your gadgets, you can free yourself from planned obsolescence. Open-source software helps developers become better by sharing their code publicly, which allows students to study it and share it with others. Open-source software also encourages people to share their work, which encourages comments and critique. In addition, open-source projects are usually maintained by enthusiasts, which makes them more likely to introduce new standards and specifications.