Help Possible Battery/Charger problem

[Nordo]

Hey all,

So far my Shine Plus is working as it should, however; I have noticed that after about 3 months of normal use, the battery life has degraded considerably, which has got me thinking about something.

I've been following all the recommended care tips for Lithium Ion cell batteries (clean contacts, recharge when between 5-10%, kill battery for full recharge only once/twice a month, don't leave phone off overnight when 100% full etc), and I noticed that after 3 months, my battery life drops from 35 operational hours to under 24 hours (which I think is a big drop for 3 months).

So I've been thinking that the charger that came with my phone is defective, and went about getting it replaced. I know it's always important to stick with the stock charger and keep with the voltage output for the phone.

My stock charger's Voltage output is 4.8V @ 1.0A, so I phoned LG to get the same spec charger, but they couldn't get me any. So I then tried telus, and a bunch of online cell supply retailers, and I discovered that this particular charger specification is kinda rare (with micro-usb). It would seem that the "compatible charger" for the Shine Plus is a 5.1V 0.7A charger according to most other sources (but not LG). I'm starting to think that no other current cell phone on the market uses 4.8V 1.0A chargers.

So I am basically wondering what other people are using to charge their phones with and what kind of effects do they have. If you're using a stock charger, could you read the small print on the back of the adapter for the voltage specification for me? I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for taking the time guys! All the best!

-Nordo

 

[El Presidente]

Mine says 5V at 1A, but I'm using a different handset (Desire HD).

You might be interested in an app called Curretn Widget that measures charge going to and from the battery?

I tend to charge my battery when it reaches 40%. You might want to try the same?

Are you rooted? Clearing your battery stats might also help.

 

[Nordo]

Thanks for the pointers El Presidente!

I'm rooted and have cleared the battery stats on occasion to no avail. However, I'll work-in a habit of charging at higher levels as you do as well to see the effect.

I don't know why I didn't think to hit the market for relevant apps, and it looks like the current widget is exactly what I could use.

Thanks again!

 

[El Presidente]

You'll need current widget to properly callibrate the battery/phone. Setup the widget and charge until it reads 0mAh, that denotes your battery isn't accepting any further charge and is genuinely 100% full, clear the stats, then let it drain completely.

Let me know how you get on.

 

[Nordo]

Ugh, it looks like some of the neat features that most current widgets offer may not be available for the Shine Plus, as it seems that things like battery voltage/discharge and temperature info are not read by the phone's driver/hardware design. However, there are some apps that are able to estimate discharge/charge rate based on increase in battery capacity and voltage over time.

I also went and had my battery replaced (works great now) so it'll be hard for me to have a controlled test. Nevertheless I'm going to go through the process you mentioned and will see how things fare.

Thanks again for these tips! I'm now able to hold a more empirical approach to my battery issues which will definitely help!

 

[El Presidente]

Not a problem. You might want to check out a site called Battery University, it's a gold mine for tips on how to make your battery last longer and how to get the most out of it.