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Here is some information that should be useful to everyone in one way or another if not then you should have told us your secret months ago. lol
A Li-ion batteries life is on a time clock from the day it's produced and how it is used, maintained and the number of cycles it goes through reduces it's life. Even when not being used at all the clock is ticking and life is shortening.
So if any of you are like me I know many of you are far worse than me when it comes to the amount of stress put through it with flashing and extreme general use. Hopefully this will shed some light for us as to what we can do to try and prolong the life of our batteries.
The majority of the following information is from the book “Batteries in a Portable World – A Handbook on Rechargeable Batteries for Non-Engineers” (2nd edition) and Battery University™
Special thanks to the books author and sponsor of Battery University™,
Isidor Buchmann
CEO and Founder, Cadex Electronics Inc.
How to Prolong the Life of Li-ion Batteries
Battery wear-down on lithium-based batteries is caused by two activities: actual usage or cycling, and aging. The wear-down effects by usage and aging apply to all batteries but this is more pronounced on lithium-based systems.
The Li-ion batteries prefer a shallow discharge. Partial discharges produce less wear than a full discharge and the capacity loss per cycle is reduced. A periodic full discharge is not required because the lithium-based battery has no memory. A full cycle constitutes a discharge to 3V/cell. When specifying the number of cycles a lithium-based battery can endure, manufacturers commonly use an 80 percent depth of discharge. This method resembles a reasonably accurate field simulation. It also achieves a higher cycle count than doing full discharges.
Simple Guidelines
Charge the Li-ion often, except before a long storage. Avoid repeated deep discharges.
Keep the Li-ion battery cool. Prevent storage in a hot car. Never freeze a battery.
Avoid purchasing spare Li-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing date when purchasing. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.
Hints to long battery life
3.92V/cell is the best upper voltage threshold for cobalt-based lithium-ion. Charging batteries to this voltage level has been shown to double cycle life. Lithium-ion systems for defense applications make use of the lower voltage threshold. The negative is reduced capacity.
The charge current of Li-ion should be moderate (0.5C for cobalt-based lithium-ion).The lower charge current reduces the time in which the cell resides at 4.20V. It should be noted that a 0.5C charge only adds marginally to the charge time over 1C because the topping charge will be shorter. A high current charge tends to push the voltage up and forces it into the voltage limit prematurely.
Memory Myth or Fact?
Lithium batteries are not affected by memory, but the chemistry has its own peculiarities. Current inhibiting pacifier layers affect them through plate oxidation. This degenerative effect is non-correctable on a lithium-based system
Calibration
A more serious issue is maintenance requirements, better known as capacity re-learning. This procedure is needed on a regular basis to calibrate the battery.
Why is calibration needed?
The answer is in correcting the tracking errors that occur between the battery and the digital sensing circuit during use. The most ideal battery use, as far as fuel-gauge accuracy is concerned, is a full charge followed by a full discharge at a constant 1C rate. This ensures that the tracking error is less than one percent per cycle. However, a battery may be discharged for only a few minutes at a time and commonly at a lower C-rate than 1C. Worst of all, the load may be uneven and vary drastically. Eventually, the true capacity of the battery no longer synchronizes with the fuel gauge and "a full charge and discharge are needed to ‘re-learn’ or calibrate the battery."
How often is calibration needed?
The answer lies in the type of battery application. For practical purposes, a calibration is recommended once every three months or after every 40 short cycles.
What happens if the battery is not calibrated regularly? Can such a battery be used in confidence?
Such a battery is able to function normally, but the digital readout will be inaccurate. If not corrected, the fuel gauge information simply becomes a nuisance.
Just Tell Me WTF I Should Do!
Charge your battery as often as possible, partial discharges are actually better for your battery
Once your battery is charged to 100% avoid leaving it plugged in any longer if you are not using a OEM charger.
Your battery should never get hot from charging if it does this is a sign it may be damaged.
If fuel gauge starts acting up calibrate your battery.
Yeah but how the f^$% do I calibrate my battery?
Charge phone up and then delete your battery stats.
Unplug your phone from your wall charger and let your battery drain all the way down until phone shuts off.
While still off charge phone to 100% and then boot up as normal.
There is so much more that it's mind boggling but I think this covers the main parts and beyond for everyone. So far it appears that the bump method is not necessary nor are the numerous other steps.
I can only laugh when I think that the reason the method of calibration I was using was actually working is due to the fact that the "wipe batt stats, drain battery completely and charge to 100%" is basically the last step and all that is essentially needed.
3 hours? That's it? I thought whenever I charged from empty to full when it's off it's longer.. I should time it.. hmm
darkamikaze said:
3 hours? That's it? I thought whenever I charged from empty to full when it's off it's longer.. I should time it.. hmm
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I removed the time completely since some may vary. But the 3 hours is how long it should take to charge on a standalone battery charger. So rather than confuse or have questions it's better without it.
Nice work!
Charging a 1500mAh battery at 500mAh for example will take 3 hours. The Captivate charges at 2 levels though depending on if it's USB (500mAh max for charge + phone use) or a charger (whatever it says on the charger up to ~1200mAh) so it can probably get done in under 2 hours.
The phone charges to 4.23V and stops charging when full but continues to run on external power, and shuts down at 3.500V where it only consumes current to monitor the power button.
Just for reference.
Battery Stats
Since this is the first time i had a really good battery life. I would like to share it with everyone. Please see the attached screen shots.
I am using Darky's 9.1 with SuckerPunch's 1280/500 Kernel and TLJL3 modem.
I hope this will help anyone trying to get more battery life out of their Captivate.
Thanks,
CuriousTech said:
Nice work!
Charging a 1500mAh battery at 500mAh for example will take 3 hours. The Captivate charges at 2 levels though depending on if it's USB (500mAh max for charge + phone use) or a charger (whatever it says on the charger up to ~1200mAh) so it can probably get done in under 2 hours.
The phone charges to 4.23V and stops charging when full but continues to run on external power, and shuts down at 3.500V where it only consumes current to monitor the power button.
Just for reference.
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Thanks Curious appreciate it and thanks for the additional info.
I had some other random thoughts about the calibration because I keep seeing so many posts daily.
For example "I installed a new kernel 15 minutes ago, recalibrated and the battery drain is horrible." or "After a few charges it lasted longer."
I don't think people get the idea of calibration. Recalibrating determines the capacity of the battery to convert to a % full gauge. To do that you need to fully charge until the "Battery full. Unplug charger." notification, and not rely on the display and unplugging as soon as it hits 100%. That's the inaccurate display that you're trying to calibrate.
Think of it like having an opaque container and a teaspoon. You think the container can hold 100 teaspoons, so you stop filling at 100. All you can get out of it is 100 until you try to fill until it tops off and then count how many come back out.
The phone works the same way. It has an ammeter that monitors the charge current and drain current from the battery from the time you unplug it until it shuts off and remembers that total as the capacity. Unless it's recharged in the middle which voids the data.
After that full discharge, it should stay pretty accurate even with partial discharges. At least until the next rom/kernel flash which wipes it out. At that point (I assume) it uses a simple voltage level and some relative amps drawn to display the gauge, instead of the smarter method of keeping a constant value of mAh by adding when charging and subtracting when draining to know exaclty how full the battery is.
CuriousTech said:
Nice work!
Charging a 1500mAh battery at 500mAh for example will take 3 hours. The Captivate charges at 2 levels though depending on if it's USB (500mAh max for charge + phone use) or a charger (whatever it says on the charger up to ~1200mAh) so it can probably get done in under 2 hours.
The phone charges to 4.23V and stops charging when full but continues to run on external power, and shuts down at 3.500V where it only consumes current to monitor the power button.
Just for reference.
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hm. so if the phone switches to external power when the charge is full, is it okay to leave my phone plugged in once it's done charging? or is it just the fact that the battery is holding a full (4.2V) charge for a long time that's bad for its health?
in any case, useful post! i knew there were ways to preserve the life of li-ion batteries, but was never well-versed on the details.
Yes to both. Once the battery is fully charged, the charge circuit stops completely. It doesn't even need to trickle charge, so leaving it plugged in doesn't hurt anything.
Once the charge is complete the voltage isn't being held at 4.20V so it can come back down a little. I think BatteryUniversity generalizes becuase there have been many different designs over the years that weren't as good as what we have now, and some may have trickle charged their Li-Ions which shortens the life.
Which is it that wipes the battery stats, ROM or kernel? or is it both?
CuriousTech said:
Yes to both. Once the battery is fully charged, the charge circuit stops completely. It doesn't even need to trickle charge, so leaving it plugged in doesn't hurt anything.
Once the charge is complete the voltage isn't being held at 4.20V so it can come back down a little. I think BatteryUniversity generalizes becuase there have been many different designs over the years that weren't as good as what we have now, and some may have trickle charged their Li-Ions which shortens the life.
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One word of caution though is to ensure that you are using an OEM charger. Battery University recommends that you unplug once capacity is reached but perhaps this is a general statement for Li-ion batteries as you state.
zerkai said:
Which is it that wipes the battery stats, ROM or kernel? or is it both?
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Both. The first thing in a ROM flash script is to format all the partitions, so that means the batterstats.bin file is erased. When flashing a new kernel the file gets reset by some other means. No idea what. It could be CWM.
Yeah but how the f^$% do I calibrate my battery?
Charge phone up and then delete your battery stats.
Unplug your phone from your wall charger and let your battery drain all the way down until phone shuts off.
While still off charge phone to 100% and then boot up as normal.
My noob question is, how do you delete the battery stats?
iNFRiNGE said:
One word of caution though is to ensure that you are using an OEM charger. Battery University recommends that you unplug once capacity is reached but perhaps this is a general statement for Li-ion batteries as you state.
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What happens when you introduce the variable of occasional car charger use?
Sanctus Peregrinus said:
Yeah but how the f^$% do I calibrate my battery?
Charge phone up and then delete your battery stats.
Unplug your phone from your wall charger and let your battery drain all the way down until phone shuts off.
While still off charge phone to 100% and then boot up as normal.
My noob question is, how do you delete the battery stats?
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Click to collapse
the file is located at /data/system/batterystats.bin . you'll need a file browser with root access (i use root explorer, a paid app). make sure you mount the storage as read/write or you won't be able to delete the file.
after that, reboot your phone and it will rebuild the batterystats file.
***disclaimer: be careful doing this. if you delete a crucial file, you risk messing up or bricking your phone. such is life.
Nice write up with alot of interesting information. I have never calibrated my battery but will have to try it out. Thanks for posting.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I'm not positive of this, but I don't think batterystats.bin holds any battery capacity or health info. I was looking at BatteryManager and it looks like a database of processes and what they use only. But there is info somewhere that gets lost easily, which is the capacity and current amount consumed.
I've been skipping the delete of that file (using CWM) and have noticed that it recalibrates fine anyway. This coming from the point of dropping just after unplugging, which is a good indication that the info is gone.
It doesn't matter if you use a car charger, USB, or AC. The phone has the actual smart charger in it, the external connection is just the power supply. The chip inside regulates and monitors the charge.
So think of it this way. The charger knows when the battery is empty or full, and measures what goes in and comes out. So to know the capacity, it has to go from full to empty. That's really all there is to it. Just wait for the real "Battery full" before unplugging.
my last g2x battery lasted like 4 hrs on a full charge what is the best way to charge the new one? do i let the battery run out then charge it?
When you first get a phone, you should let the battery die before charing it. Then charge it completely after it dies, this will maximize your battery life. If you charge it right out the box, you're actually reducing the amount of juice the battery can hold.
rashad1 said:
When you first get a phone, you should let the battery die before charing it. Then charge it completely after it dies, this will maximize your battery life. If you charge it right out the box, you're actually reducing the amount of juice the battery can hold.
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That's not really accurate. Lithium Ion batteries have no memory effect like older batteries so charging them from halfway full does not reduce the maximum capacity.
What happens is the phone needs to learn to measure the amount of mAh from the phone and recognize what battery % that means. By taking the phone through the full discharging and charging cycle, the battery drivers pick up on this and will better report the battery level. With a poorly calibrated battery, you do not get less battery, but instead you just will not see accurate information about the charge level. For example, my first discharge went quickly to about 10%, and even quickly below 5%, but stayed on for hours between 5% to eventually shutting off.
The battery still will not die faster, but my phone thought it was much lower than it was, giving it the appearance of dying faster. Point is, you can do the charge/discharge cycle whenever, not just the first time, and it won't effect your long term battery health.
1) do factory reset
2) drain completely
3) charge completely
thanks!
thanks everyone for your advice!
I think it really depends on who you ask. lol Some people will say let it drain first then charge it fully. I have read info on battery maker sites that suggest when you get their battery that you let it charge fully for at least 8 hours, then let it discharge fully. They say to do this the first 5 charges to increase battery life.
When I get a new phone or battery that's what I do. as soon as I get it I charge it up overnight, then let it discharge completely for the first 5 charges. I can only speak by my experience and my experience tells me it makes a difference. Here is my reasoning: me and my ex gf went one day to get new phones. We got the same phone. She started using hers as soon as we left the store. I waited. I charged it up overnight fully and did the conditioning procedure. Our phones were pretty much mirrors of each other app and software wise. Her battery would die out a couple of hours before mine. Battery usage also didnt report any HUGE differences in consumption .
Also every once and a while I go into Clockwork recovery and wipe battery stats(after it's been fully discharged) and re do the conditioning process. It might just be a mental thing, but for me this seems to work
supposedly from htc.....
1) Turn your device ON and Charge the device for 8 hours or more 2) Unplug the device and Turn the phone OFF and charge for 1 hour 3) Unplug the device Turn ON wait 2 minutes and Turn OFF and charge for another hour Your battery life should almost double, we have tested this on our devices and other agents have seen a major difference as well
I heard/read somewhere that you should never let a lithium ion battery fully discharge. It supposedly shortens its lifespan every time you fully discharge it. Instead, you are suppose to just top it off and not let it remain on the charger, for extended periods of time, once its reached a full charge. YMMV
*Omnipresent* said:
I heard/read somewhere that you should never let a lithium ion battery fully discharge. It supposedly shortens its lifespan every time you fully discharge it. Instead, you are suppose to just top it off and not let it remain on the charger, for extended periods of time, once its reached a full charge. YMMV
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This is "more" true for everyday normal usage. Yes, you shouldn't constantly fully charge and fully discharge every time you use your phone. But for battery calibration it is necessary/beneficial.
I also hard that during the first charge after turning the phone off you have to strange on your head for ten minutes, then only use your left hand for the rest of the day and you will double your battery life
rashad1 said:
When you first get a phone, you should let the battery die before charing it. Then charge it completely after it dies, this will maximize your battery life. If you charge it right out the box, you're actually reducing the amount of juice the battery can hold.
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Well I did it this way too. I get good batt
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I still currently own a Samsung galaxy s3, and I have been charging it to full 100% and letting it drain fully until it shuts off. Once i get S8+, should i still be doing this or will that mess up the battery over time. Do you guys drain until 10% , and charge up too 90%? Was curious.
Batteries have so many charge cycles at a certain depth of discharge. My understanding is you get more charge cycles if you discharge less.
So, unlike removable battery phones, I plan on leaving this phone on a charger as much as possible and usingbt the battery when necessary.
The battery change on this device looks hairy!
masbirdies said:
Batteries have so many charge cycles at a certain depth of discharge. My understanding is you get more charge cycles if you discharge less.
So, unlike removable battery phones, I plan on leaving this phone on a charger as much as possible and usingbt the battery when necessary.
The battery change on this device looks hairy!
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I See, does the phone stop from overcharging the battery once you reach 100%?
It's best to keep it between 20%-80%
Also, pretty much all lithium ions are nearly impossible to overcharge.
You generally want to keep your batteries between 40-80% I believe is the sweet spot. I will not let my battery go below 30% generally and I top it off whenever available. Forgot where I read it but as others have said your phone has so many charge cycles (500 or so before the battery starts losing a certain compacity). And if you constantly charge from 0-100% each time, you are using a full charge cycle. Instead if you charge it at 50%, you would be using half a cycle, etc.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Ive read similar things. I generally follow this and try to charge before i reach 20% up til 89%.
Ive also read somewhere to deplete battery to 0 atleast every few months if not sooner. Dont know if its true though.
I spend a lot of the day with my phone tethered acting as a hotspot with unmetered data for my laptop, so the battery would drain very quickly if the phone was not plugged in. But at the same time, this means that I'm constantly plugged in and maintaining my battery at 100%, or if I return after a meeting or lunch, I'd be constantly charging from 80% back to 100%. I understand that both practices (keeping the battery at 100% and charging the last 20%) are not good for the battery. Since I usually have access to a charger, I don't really need to be charged to maximum battery capacity most of the time.
Is there any way to get the Pixel 2 XL to stop charging beyond 80% ?
Searches led me to https://android.gadgethacks.com/how...oid-device-avoid-excess-battery-wear-0176280/ That tells me to set /sys/class/power_supply/battery/charging_enabled to 0 to see if it charging stops.
But my Pixel 2 doesn't have /sys/class/power_supply/battery/charging_enabled. It has /sys/class/power_supply/battery/charge_disable instead, but setting this to 1 does not seem to stop charging. So it seems unlikely that Battery Charge Limit.apk would work. Does it work for anyone else?
This is wrong lithium-ion batteries are designed to be topped off, they last the longest staying above 30%.
My understanding is that these are not good for battery lifespan:
- charging the top 20%. I.e. charging from 80-100% uses up more charge cycles than 40-60%
- keeping the battery constantly at 100%. I.e. storing at 50% is better than storing at 100%
Are these inaccurate?
And, is there a way to limit charging to xx %?
Battery Charge Limit is closest to what what you're looking for - here's the main post.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/root-battery-charge-limit-t3557002
When should you charge your phone?
"Leaving your phone on the charger all night (or all day) is far better for your*battery*than running it down and charging it up. 2.*Charge*a little bit whenever you can. Lithium-ion*batteries*don't respond well to being*charged*all the way up and then run all the way down."
May 26, 2015
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a15731/best-way-to-keep-li-ion-batteries-charged/
One thing i've always wanted to know is if we plug our phones at 100% battery it still uses power from the battery and keep charging it over and over. Or if it uses power directly of the wall without consuming battery.
I want to use my phone for longer periods but im worried about battery health in the long run
fabricio7p said:
One thing i've always wanted to know is if we plug our phones at 100% battery it still uses power from the battery and keep charging it over and over. Or if it uses power directly of the wall without consuming battery.
I want to use my phone for longer periods but im worried about battery health in the long run
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The common recommendation for battery health on most smartphones with Li ion battery, is to charge often (avoid deep discharge/charge cycles), and not leave it on the charger for long periods of time when it is fully charged.
When connected to the charger and fully charged, it will let the battery drop slightly, then recharge, over and over again. I've seen the battery meter on this phone drop down from 100% to 99% when connected to the charger. Although I have a feeling it is doing this a lot more than you would be able to detect from the % meter.
redpoint73 said:
The common recommendation for battery health on most smartphones with Li ion battery, is to charge often (avoid deep discharge/charge cycles), and not leave it on the charger for long periods of time when it is fully charged.
When connected to the charger and fully charged, it will let the battery drop slightly, then recharge, over and over again. I've seen the battery meter on this phone drop down from 100% to 99% when connected to the charger. Although I have a feeling it is doing this a lot more than you would be able to detect from the % meter.
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I see, so no aparent benefit in using it with power cable conected.
thank you
fabricio7p said:
I see, so no aparent benefit in using it with power cable conected.
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In fact, more likely to be harmful than beneficial. I'd say it is better to use it for a while, let the charge drop (say down to 60-80%) than recharge to full, and disconnect the charger (don't leave it charging after it is full).
I should add that this is somewhat debatable. I don't follow all these rules myself. I'm pretty sloppy about putting the phone on the charger when I go to bed, and not unplugging it until I wake up. So plugged in for 8 hours or so, when it only takes 1-2 hours to charge to full. And we all drain the battery pretty low from time to time. So again, the is the deep discharging that should generally be avoided.
But if you want general guidelines or "best practice" than there it is.
I think its good idea to leave phone charging
If you want to charge the battery to the top end, you can charge it to 100%, let half a hour for the battery to cool and for the ions to set into some equilibrium state, and then you can charge it for a little bit more. (The battery percentage will not necessarily show it. The battery voltage is not all the time 100% correlated with its electric charge).
But as redpoint73 said, the common recommendation for Li ion battery is to disconnect it from charger while full.