Help Should I run my battery down first or charge it?

[gfsincere]

So when I get my phone, should I use the initial charge up first or should I charge it up all the way and then run it down? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mxsjw]

IMO...run it down 1st, let the phone shut it's self off, leave it off while charging the 1st time, let it charge minimum of 4 hours (it may show 100% in 2 hours but let it go 4), turn back on and enjoy.

I am getting 16 hours + a day with medium usage (hour's worth of phone calls, 20-30 texts, FB updates, email sync every 15 min, pandora for an hour, web on 3g for an hour, web on wifi for 3 hours, effing with the droid market for an hour or so)

 

[HalfFrozen]

I ran both mine and my fiances batteries down, and it is doing really well so far.

 

[Gskellig]

Running lithium batteries down very low many times can lower their life.
If I can, I never let my battery get down below 20-30%. I turn it off before it turns itself off.

At least with large, prismatic lithium batteries (for electric cars, etc). Discharging to 30% before recharging instead of 20% can increase their lifetime by over 1000 charges.

NiMh batteries (Rechargeable AA/AAA's) on the other hand are just the opposite, they like to be discharged all the way before being recharged again.

 

[ctxx24]

Its good to do it a couple times..then charge whenever dont really matter

 

[ghdtpdna]

no

 

[mahers]

I am having a very quick discharge of my battery and I have the bare minimum running. I called Customer Service to get a new one and they suggested the following FWIW:
1. Out of the box, charge it with phone off until full
2. Run the battery until the phone dies and recharge it overnight. Do this 3 times!
3. Install and use Advanced Task Killer (I've heard this is not a good idea)
4. Do not leave the phone idle for extended periods of time (no idea what that time is)
5. Do not charge the phone continuously for more than 24hours.
6. Keep it plugged into your USB port on your desk when you can (like we're all tethered to a PC or something 24/7)

I personally don't think this is necessarily the best way, but she was reading off of something that was specific to the Droid X.

 

[HalfFrozen]

I am having a very quick discharge of my battery and I have the bare minimum running. I called Customer Service to get a new one and they suggested the following FWIW:
1. Out of the box, charge it with phone off until full
2. Run the battery until the phone dies and recharge it overnight. Do this 3 times!
3. Install and use Advanced Task Killer (I've heard this is not a good idea)
4. Do not leave the phone idle for extended periods of time (no idea what that time is)
5. Do not charge the phone continuously for more than 24hours.
6. Keep it plugged into your USB port on your desk when you can (like we're all tethered to a PC or something 24/7)

I personally don't think this is necessarily the best way, but she was reading off of something that was specific to the Droid X.

Would have hung up right there...

 

[xander66]

After reading a lot of posts on this subject and having many people provide unfounded opinions I did a quick google search.

How to prolong lithium-based batteries

The main points are as follows:
"the battery (li ion) prefers a partial rather than a full discharge."
There is no concern of memory with unscheduled charges
This means throwing your x on a charger for a few minutes is not a problem.
Every 30 charge cycles you should let the battery run out to allow the battery gauge to sync up.
A charge cycle is measured on how much the battery increases. A charge from 50 to 100 is a half cycle, empty to full is a full cycle.
I hope this info helps, but don't be afraid to do a little research.

 

[xander66]

Edit: double post

 

[redgtconv]

When I first got the phone I specifically asked this question and the verizon employee told me just use it and don't charge it. I didn't like the performance of the battery so Vz sent a new battery.on the box from Motorola it says to be sure that you fully charge the battery before using it for the first time. So lesson
learned, do not take advice from a Vz employee!

 

[redgtconv]

Straight from Motorola
DROID X - Tips for extending battery life