When to recharge the battery?

[sevenmad]

Hi,

Back when i had a normal phone it was said that i should only recharge when the "battery low" signal comes and if i didnt i would lose the battery life. But i heard from a smart phone user that his mobile (xperia x-10) was actually the opposite and the more he charged the mobile (whether in low battery or not) the longer his battery life would be?

Does that mean its the same for all smart phones? ~ i have a galaxy Wonder

Thanks in advance

 

[Harry2]

Battery University says ...
"Do not discharge Li-ion too low; charge more often."
and
"A random or partial charge is fine. Li-ion does not need a full charge."

Harry

 

[ExtremeNerd]

Based on what I've read from many android sites, specifically Jerry from Android Central (an electrical engineer), a battery life is based on charge cycles. Assume your phone gets 2000 charge cycles for example. If you charge from 0-100, that's a full cycle, and reduces the count to 1999. If you were to charge the phone in the middle of the next day from 50%-100%, that would be half a cycle. Your total would be 1998.50. Once it reaches 0, the battery is unable to take a new charge.

-There is no way to extend battery life
-Calibrating your battery is a myth

 

[thenomad]

Battery University says ...
"Do not discharge Li-ion too low; charge more often."
and
"A random or partial charge is fine. Li-ion does not need a full charge."

Harry

This statement being true, battery chemistry-wise that is (Li-Ion doesn't have the *MEMORY* effect of its predecessors), one must also note that, the battery indicator you see on the notification bar is the output of a tiny piece of software inside your Android OS (or iOS for that matter) and depending on the manufacturer of your phone, that piece of software may have some other intelligence in it, on top of checking the status of the actual battery charge level. It learns from your actions and programs running and more external influences, which affect the battery life and gives you its *ESTIMATE* for the battery life left on your phone. If two identical phones put side by side, one being used by a heavy user of the device and the other by a more casual user, and let their batteries drain under identical conditions, more than likely, the low battery alarm comes on faster on one than the other, dur to this extra intelligence.

It is sometimes beneficial to let the battery drain until the phone shuts itself off and then recharge, few times in a row to train the battery checking program, regarding the actual capacity of your battery. Otherwise, it is a cumulative information, since the last time it was drained, which in most cases, was never since you purchased the phone.

I do this once every couple of months and let my battery run dry 4-5 cycles before connecting my charger. Of course this calls for having a charger handy while you are at work, at home or on the road. Otherwise it might be a tad unpleasant experience, as my life revolves around this little gizmo.

 

[aysiu]

-Calibrating your battery is a myth

I'd love to see your sources on that. You should not do a full drain on a regular basis, but every once in a while to recalibrate is definitely recommended for lithium ion.

How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University

Partial discharge on Li-ion is fine; there is no memory and the battery does not need periodic full discharge cycles to prolong life, other than to calibrate the fuel gauge on a smart battery once in a while.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...c00596784&lc=en&product=18703#c00596784_calib

Repeated short discharges and recharges cause increasing inaccuracy between the state-of-charge of the battery and the Power Meter readings. Periodically, the battery needs to be calibrated to "relearn" its usable capacity so it can synchronize its charge status with the Power Meter. The calibration procedure maximizes the notebook run time by giving the user an accurate estimate of the remaining battery charge.

Apple Portables: Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance

The battery has an internal microprocessor that provides an estimate of the amount of energy in the battery as it charges and discharges. The battery needs to be recalibrated from time to time to keep the onscreen battery time and percent display accurate and to keep the battery operating at maximum efficiency. You should perform this procedure when you first use your computer and then every few months after that.

 

[chanchan05]

Calibrating li-ion batteries is more for the device, rather than the battery I think. Sometimes I notice the device suddenly saying its 100% when its at actually 85 (pull out an reinsert charger), or that when I reboot, sometimes the battery reading actually rises instead of going down.

Also AFAIK, batteries used commercially have 600 charge cycles.

 

[aysiu]

ExtremeNerd said calibrating the battery is a myth. It's not. Does it actually make your battery physically capable of holding a longer charge? Of course not. Lithium ion holds less and less of a charge from the minute it's made as time goes on, and that's whether you use the battery or not. But saying calibrating is a myth--that's a bit off.

 

[ExtremeNerd]

ExtremeNerd said calibrating the battery is a myth. It's not. Does it actually make your battery physically capable of holding a longer charge? Of course not. Lithium ion holds less and less of a charge from the minute it's made as time goes on, and that's whether you use the battery or not. But saying calibrating is a myth--that's a bit off.

This is what I meant. When most people think of calibrating the battery, they assume it means the battery gets better life.

 

[aysiu]

This is what I meant. When most people think of calibrating the battery, they assume it means the battery gets better life.

Okay. Just a language clarification issue, then. Sounds as if we're all on the same page.

 

[Martimus]

There is a lot of science out on the Internet regarding batteries... and there is a lot of mythology!

Personally my Android phone gets placed on the charger every night so it's fully charged the next day. If the battery is good for 600 or so charge cycles then my phone's battery should, theoretically, last almost 2 years.

As for my collection of Android tablets, they get recharged when their battery indicators dip below 50%.

 

[!on]

Calibrating your battery is only necessary when you suspect the display meter to be giving false information of actual battery life - if it's showing in the red for hours but still keeps going, or quits when showing as healthy. Run it down so it shuts itself off, so you are sure you are starting at zero again & charge it. Leave it on charge for longer than it shows full, as often this is not really full (like, when you charge a new phone the manual says charge it longer first time). Then you should be back to a couple of hours charge again.

Edit. If rooted & have recovery, it's possible to also reset the battery meter.