Related
I always keep my pda in the cradle charging whenever I can (most of an average day) just like the instructions say so. A guy I work with says it's better for battery life to discharge them (near) fully and then recharge.
My battery life is now very short (after about 10 months use) and I am going to buy a replacement. Anyone know for sure which is the best way to keep batteries in good shape?
Thanks in advance ... Dr Firstpost
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
How to prolong lithium-based batteries
Battery research is focusing heavily on lithium chemistries, so much so that one could presume that all portable devices will be powered with lithium-ion batteries in the future. In many ways, lithium-ion is superior to nickel and lead-based chemistries and the applications for lithium-ion batteries are growing as a result.
Lithium-ion has not yet fully matured and is being improved continuously. New metal and chemical combinations are being tried every six months to increase energy density and prolong service life. The improvements in longevity after each change will not be known for a few years.
A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.
Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. (Read more in 'Choosing the right battery for portable computing', Part Two.)
Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. Depending on the state-of-charge and storage temperature, lithium-based batteries have a typical lifetime of 2-3 years (longer if partially charged and kept cool). The clock starts ticking as soon as the battery comes off the manufacturing line. The capacity loss manifests itself in increased internal resistance caused by oxidation. Eventually, the cell resistance will reach a point where the pack can no longer deliver the stored energy, although the battery may still contain ample charge. Increasing internal resistance is common to cobalt-based lithium-ion, a chemistry that is found in laptops and cell phones. The lower energy dense manganese-based lithium-ion, also known as spinel, maintains the internal resistance through its life but loses capacity due to chemical decompositions.
The speed by which lithium-ion ages is governed by temperature and state-of-charge. Figure 1 illustrates the capacity loss as a function of these two parameters.
Figure 1: Permanent capacity loss of lithium-ion as a function of temperature and charge level.
High charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss. Improvements in chemistry have increased the storage performance of lithium-ion batteries.
There are no remedies to restore lithium-ion once worn out. A momentary improvement in performance is noticeable when heating up the battery. This lowers the internal resistance but the condition reverts back to its former state when the temperature drops.
If possible, store the battery in a cool place at about a 40% state-of-charge. Some reserve charge is needed to keep the battery and its protection circuit operational during prolonged storage. The most harmful combination is full charge at high temperature. This is the case when placing a cell phone or spare battery in a hot car. Running a laptop computer on the mains has a similar temperature problem. While the battery is kept fully charged, the inside temperature during operation rises to 45°C (113°F).
Removing the battery from the laptop when running on fixed power protects the battery from heat but some battery and laptop manufacturers caution against it. They say that dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing could damage the laptop. The dealers will be happy to provide you with a new pack when a replacement is needed a little sooner.
The question is often asked, should the laptop be disconnected from the main when not in use? With lithium-ion it does not matter. Once the battery is fully charged, no further charge is applied. It is recommended, however, to turn the laptop off overnight because heat harms the battery.
A large number of lithium-ion batteries for cell phones are being discarded under the warranty return policy. Some failed batteries are sent to service centers or the manufacturer, where they are refurbished. Studies show that 80%-90% of the returned batteries can be repaired and returned to service.
Some lithium-ion batteries fail due to excessive low discharge. If discharged below 2.5 volts per cell, the internal safety circuit opens and the battery appears dead. A charge with the original charger is no longer possible. Some battery analyzers (Cadex) feature a boost function that reactivates the protection circuit of a failed battery and enables a recharge. However, if the cell voltage has fallen below 1.5V/cell and has remained in that state for a few days, a recharge should be avoided because of safety concerns. To prevent failure, never store the battery fully discharged. Apply some charge before storage, and then charge fully before use.
All personal computers (and some other electronic devices) contain a battery for memory back up. This battery is commonly a small non-rechargeable lithium cell, which provides a small current when the device is turned off. The PC uses the battery to retain certain information when the power is off. These are the BIOS settings, current date and time, as well as resource assignment for Plug and Play systems. Storage does shorten the service life of the backup battery to a few years. Some say 1-2 years. By keeping the computer connected to the main, albeit turned off, a battery on the PC motherboards should be good for 5-7 years. A PC should give the advanced warning when battery gets low. A dead back-up battery will wipe out the volatile memory and erase certain settings. After battery is replaced, the PC should again be operational.
Simple Guidelines
Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.
Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.
Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.
Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)
Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing date. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.
If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.
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Created: February 2003, Last edited: June 2005
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About the Author
Isidor Buchmann is the founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics Inc
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V
The short answer.
No. Lithium batteries prefer to be topped up frequently and don't like being fully discharged.
Thanks TheBrit :wink:
Just to add - you can do damage to a lithium battery by entirely discharging it, so don't. Top up away. But expect to replace after a couple of years!
V
Thanks for the replys & detail.
Maybe my batteries are suffering from 'digital memory' - they have hardly ever been run down to device switch-off. For my new ones I'll try fully discharging every 30 recharges as suggested and see how that goes.
I'll post results of test in a years time!
I don't believe in topping them constantly. A friend and I bought our new phones 2 weeks apart from each other. I always heard to discharge them before charging, he on the other hand never cared. Just 6 months in now, his dies in 2 hours or less, with light use. I am playing music, surfing FB etc. all day long. Right now at 15 hours discharging and still 40% battery. He has charged his 5 times today due to phone going into low battery life, and only been up 11 hours.
It only happens with the Niquel-Cadmium not with the Lithium
jrodcamaro said:
I don't believe in topping them constantly. A friend and I bought our new phones 2 weeks apart from each other. I always heard to discharge them before charging, he on the other hand never cared. Just 6 months in now, his dies in 2 hours or less, with light use. I am playing music, surfing FB etc. all day long. Right now at 15 hours discharging and still 40% battery. He has charged his 5 times today due to phone going into low battery life, and only been up 11 hours.
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Wut
Updated and simplified version here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3846897#post3846897
I've been around this forum for some time now and I have noticed one thing that is spelled in all sub-forums: BATTERY LIFE
So I thought of pulling some info together that is relevant to our Raphs (Li-ion batteries), taken from www.batteryuniversity.com.
Hope you find it helpful and understand better behaviour of your battery
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About the Author
Isidor Buchmann is the founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics Inc., in Vancouver BC.
Mr. Buchmann has a background in radio communications and has studied the behavior of rechargeable batteries in practical, everyday applications for two decades. Award winning author of many articles and books on batteries, Mr. Buchmann has delivered technical papers around the world.
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"If possible, do not discharge lithium-based batteries too deeply. Instead, recharge more often."
Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, an advantage that most other chemistries cannot claim. There is no memory and no scheduled cycling is required to prolong the battery's life. In addition, the self-discharge is less than half compared to nickel-cadmium, making lithium-ion well suited for modern fuel gauge applications.
Lithium-ion has not yet fully matured and is being improved continuously. New metal and chemical combinations are being tried every six months to increase energy density and prolong service life. The improvements in longevity after each change will not be known for a few years.
Charging
There is only one way to charge lithium-based batteries. The so-called 'miracle chargers', which claim to restore and prolong batteries, do not exist for lithium chemistries. Neither does super-fast charging apply. Manufacturers of lithium-ion cells have very strict guidelines in charge procedures and the pack should be charged as per the manufacturers "typical" charge technique.
Lithium-ion is a very clean system and does not need priming as nickel-based batteries do. The 1st charge is no different to the 5th or the 50th charge. Stickers instructing to charge the battery for 8 hours or more for the first time may be a leftover from the nickel battery days.
Most cells are charged to 4.20 volts with a tolerance of +/?0.05V/cell. Charging only to 4.10V reduced the capacity by 10% but provides a longer service life. Newer cell are capable of delivering a good cycle count with a charge to 4.20 volts per cell.
A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.
Batteries live longer if treated in a gentle manner. High charge voltages, excessive charge rate and extreme load conditions have a negative effect on battery life. The longevity is often a direct result of the environmental stresses applied. The following guidelines suggest ways to prolong battery life.
The time at which the battery stays at 4.20/cell should be as short as possible. Prolonged high voltage promotes corrosion, especially at elevated temperatures. Spinel is less sensitive to high voltage.
The lower charge current reduces the time in which the cell resides at 4.20V. 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 into voltage limit prematurely.
Do not discharge lithium-ion too deeply. Instead, charge it frequently. Lithium-ion does not have memory problems like nickel-cadmium batteries. No deep discharges are needed for conditioning.
Do not charge lithium-ion at or below freezing temperature. Although accepting charge, an irreversible plating of metallic lithium will occur that compromises the safety of the pack.
Not only does a lithium-ion battery live longer with a slower charge rate; moderate discharge rates also helps.
Discharge of the lithium-ion battery is 5% in the first 24 hours after charge, and then reduces to 1% to 2% per month thereafter. The safety circuit adds about 3%. High cycle count and aging have little effect on the self-discharge of lithium-based batteries.
The battery industry is making incremental capacity gains of 8-10% per year. This trend is expected to continue. This, however, is a far cry from Moore's Law that specifies a doubling of transistors on a chip every 18 to 24 months. Translating this increase to a battery would mean a doubling of capacity every two years. Instead of two years, lithium-ion has doubled its energy capacity in 10 years.
Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate.
Despite its overall advantages, lithium-ion has its drawbacks. It is fragile and requires a protection circuit to maintain safe operation. Built into each pack, the protection circuit limits the peak voltage of each cell during charge and prevents the cell voltage from dropping too low on discharge. In addition, the cell temperature is monitored to prevent temperature extremes. The maximum charge and discharge current on most packs are is limited to between 1C and 2C. With these precautions in place, the possibility of metallic lithium plating occurring due to overcharge is virtually eliminated.
The worst condition is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures, which is the case with running laptop batteries. If used on main power, the battery inside a laptop will only last for 12-18 months. I must hasten to explain that the pack does not die suddenly but begins with reduced run-times.
The voltage level to which the cells are charged also plays an important role to longevity. For safety reasons, most lithium-ion cannot exceed 4.20 volts per cell. While a higher voltage boosts capacity, the disadvantage is lower cycle life.
"how deep can a battery be discharged and still achieve maximum service life?" There are no definite answers. Batteries are like us humans. Suppose we ate all the vegetables our mother heaped on our plates and do our daily exercise, would we life longer? Perhaps. But by how much, no one will know. Batteries lose capacity as part of aging, cycling and exposure to heat. Nickel-cadmium also loses capacity due to lack of exercise because of memory.
Some lithium-ion batteries fail due to excessive low discharge. If discharged below 2.5 volts per cell, the internal safety circuit opens and the battery appears dead.
Aging is a concern with most lithium-ion batteries and many manufacturers remain silent about this issue. Some capacity deterioration is noticeable after one year, whether the battery is in use or not.
Lithium-ion batteries lose capacity through cell oxidation, a process that occurs naturally during use and aging. The typical life span of lithium-ion is 2-3 years under normal use. Cool storage a 40% charge minimizes aging. An aged lithium-ion cannot be restored with cycling.
Shorted Cells
Cell reversal caused by deep discharging also contributes to shorted cells.Specified to deliver 100% capacity when new, the battery should be replaced when the capacity drops to below 80% of the nominal rating.
The self-discharge on all battery chemistries increase at higher temperatures. Typically, the rate doubles with every 10°C (18°F). A noticeable energy loss occurs if a battery is left in a hot vehicle.
Premature voltage cut-off
Not all stored battery power can be fully utilized. Some equipment cuts off before the designated end-of-discharge voltage is reached and precious battery energy remains unused. Applications demanding high current bursts push the battery voltage to an early cut-off. This is especially visible on batteries with elevated internal resistance. The voltage recovers when the load is removed and the battery appears normal. Discharging such a battery on a moderate load with a battery analyzer to the respective end-of-discharge threshold will sometimes produce residual capacity readings of 30% and higher.
Counterfeit cell phone batteries (clone batteries)
In the search for low-cost battery replacements, consumers may inadvertently purchase clone cell phone batteries that do not include an approved protection circuit. Lithium-ion packs require a protection circuit to shut off the power source if the charger malfunctions and keep on charging, or if the pack is put under undue stress (electrical short). Overheating and 'venting with flame' can be the result of such strain.
Cell phone manufacturers strongly advise customers to replace the battery with an approved brand. Failing to do so may void the warranty. Counterfeit cell phone batteries have become visible since the beginning of 2003 when the world was being flooded with cheap replacement batteries from Asia.
Cell phone manufacturers act out of genuine concern for safety rather than using scare tactics to persuade customers to buy their own accessories. They do not object to third party suppliers in offering batteries and chargers as long as the products are well built, safe and functioning. The buyer can often not distinguish between an original and a counterfeit battery because the label may appear bona fide.
Caution should also be exercised in purchasing counterfeit chargers. Some units do not terminate the battery correctly and rely on the battery's internal protection circuit to cut off the power when fully charged. Precise full-charge termination and a working protection circuit are needed for the safe use of the lithium-ion battery.
A large number of lithium-ion batteries for cell phones are being discarded under the warranty return policy. Some failed batteries are sent to service centers or the manufacturer, where they are refurbished. Studies show that 80%-90% of the returned batteries can be repaired and returned to service.
© Copyright 2003 - 2005 Isidor Buchmann
Great thread! Wiki!
Thanks
Tis is good info to know and to share. Thanks for putting this together for us all.
overcharging Fuze battery
When I exchanged my Fuze for a new one at AT&T, the service person said my battery was bad, due to overcharging. She said leaving my Fuze plugged into my car charger and my computer(with charging turned on) degraded the battery.
There is an option to NOT charge the battery when connected by USB to the computer.(kind of indicates no automatic charging control)
Well, I use my Fuze as a computer 12-14 hours a day. I want to see the screen, which means I need it plugged in either to the computer or car charger.
If I turn off recharging when connected to my computer, I end up with a dead battery pretty quickly, since I use it a lot as my business phone with a Bluetooth speakerphone.
The AT&T person said this information was given to them by HTC.
Thank you for the infos. Really need this cause battery life is my main concern.
recharge cycles
from reading other posts, it looks like the batteries have around 1000 recharge cycles.
Unfortunately, the cycles can occur every time you plug into your computer or charger, even if the charge goes from 99 to 100 %.
Which means I need a new battery probably every 9-12 months. Not too bad.
hrothnir said:
When I exchanged my Fuze for a new one at AT&T, the service person said my battery was bad, due to overcharging. She said leaving my Fuze plugged into my car charger and my computer(with charging turned on) degraded the battery.
There is an option to NOT charge the battery when connected by USB to the computer.(kind of indicates no automatic charging control)
Well, I use my Fuze as a computer 12-14 hours a day. I want to see the screen, which means I need it plugged in either to the computer or car charger.
If I turn off recharging when connected to my computer, I end up with a dead battery pretty quickly, since I use it a lot as my business phone with a Bluetooth speakerphone.
The AT&T person said this information was given to them by HTC.
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Which tells you how much you should listen to most AT&T people about technical issues and details. They were 100% wrong about the impact of charging continuously. And unless they were talking to an HTC hardware engineer...
It's more likely that your issues were simply caused by heavy use, which will cause any rechargeable battery to wear out more quickly. Most batteries I've seen will last between 500-1000 charging cycles, so if you're a heavy user and are wearing down your battery frequently, you'll "run through" those charging cycles more quickly.
The advice you were given is worth ignoring.
does it make any difference
Does it make any difference if i charge my fuze from a
- charger connected to power outlet
or
- an USB cable connected to compute
Obviously, the USB option takes longer time to charge completely.
I wanted to know, which is suggested?
hrothnir said:
from reading other posts, it looks like the batteries have around 1000 recharge cycles.
Unfortunately, the cycles can occur every time you plug into your computer or charger, even if the charge goes from 99 to 100 %.
Which means I need a new battery probably every 9-12 months. Not too bad.
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Charging from 99-100% definitely will not qualify as "One" cycle. Discharging from 100% to some 20% and then charging up may count as one cycle. Similarly, 5 or 6 shallow discharging and charging 60%-40%-60% can count as one cycle. It is much better for battery health though. charging momentarily for one or two minutes which increases the battery percentage by 2-3% will not count as a full cycle.
From http://www.wmskins.com/blog/how-to-increase-battery-life-of-windows-mobiles:
1. A Lithium Ion battery should never be charged to 100% or fully Discharged. The famous 80-20 rule is applicable here as well, though in a different way. Charging to 80% increases battery life.
2. Don’t wait for full discharge, charge it frequently. Keeping the battery near to 80% always, gives better life. This is also what many vendors claim as “memory effect”.
I followed that advice and then after a few weeks, when once I charged it to 100%, it dropped quickly to 80%! and has been like that since. now I don't give a damn to that rule and charge my phone to 100% instead.
At this point, I would advise you do a full charge and deep discharge of your phone. Just to allow the phone to calibrate itself to the battery again.
However, I would advise against running programs to intentionally drain it at a high draw. So instead of playing 5 hours of FPSECE to drain it flat, just let it sit on standby and use it as you normally would, until it dies. Then charge it back up in one continuous charge (refrain from unplugging until it goes back to 100%). Hopefully that will restore the accuracy of your battery meter by a bit.
And IMHO, the article you included discusses things about batteries that are no longer true....
2. Don’t wait for full discharge, charge it frequently. Keeping the battery near to 80% always, gives better life. This is also what many vendors claim as “memory effect”.
No. "Memory effect" is, in laymen terms, the battery not being able to hold above a certain charge after being repeatedly discharged from the same capacity. E.g. being discharged at 80%. It doesn't "give battery life" -- in fact it kills your battery's capacity.
This is a term more relevant for old NiCd batteries. LiONs and most NiMH batteries have very weak/no memory effect.
3. Every battery has limited Full charge-discharge cycles. Of the order of 300+. In other words a typical phone battery can be fully charged/discharged 300 times. Doing more frequent charges, as specified in point #2, will increase overall life.
Partially true. Every battery can be charged a number of times before its ability to hold a charge deteriorates. Usually this is around 300, though the exact number varies between individual batteries. However, the concept of a "cycle" isn't exact -- just because you charged from 60-80% (or whatever) doesn't mean you didn't use a cycle. It's really a continuum, and should only be conceptualized as the battery losing its ability to be charged and hold a charge, the more times you charge it.
4. During first time use (when the battery is new) don`t use it till its fully charged. This is why it is always written on manuals “let the device charge for 2-3 hours”.
The necessity of preconditioning is controversial now. There is little evidence to suggest that devices nowadays benefit from preconditioning, and likewise there is little evidence that not doing so harms battery longevity. Many manuals these days simply omit to mention preconditioning.
5. Best way to increase battery life is Not to use it. If you keep AC power plugged in on your phones, keeping the battery at 80% (as in #1), your battery will last longer. Though discharging it once in a month would be must in such cases.
Partially true. Not using your battery does indeed help its longevity, but not by plugging into the AC. Heat is a LiON battery's enemy, and plugging it into your wall will generate heat that is ultimately bad. This translates to laptop batteries as well -- if you want to store a laptop battery, the best bet is to discharge it to 40%, then put it somewhere cool (even the fridge if you want).
Also I would say doing a deep discharge once a month is too frequent. Once every 2 or even 3 months is more appropriate.
Finally, LiON batteries themselves have a shelf life. So even if you let them sit there, they will lose their function after a few years. Just so yo uknow.
6. Surrounding temperature contributes a lot. Colder weather gives better battery life. So make sure your cellphone doesn’t overheat, if it does, find ways to keep it cool.
True. And that's why you shouldn't leave it plugged in.
Learn more about batteries here: http://www.batteryuniversity.com/
felixdd said:
E.g. being discharged at 80%. It doesn't "give battery life" -- in fact it kills your battery's capacity.
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is that so? why? so i guess now my battery's capacity has lessened. damn the article.
have drained my battery to 1% and charged it to 100%. let's see how it goes from here..
good subject for discusion. WM user or not the battery life and the tricks of LION only a few knows.
1.i have two batteries for my HTC. he original battery and one with 2800mAh. Does my phone cofused if i change tha batteries aternately?
2. if ai want to work with my phone for hours is it better to connect it with the charger?
3. Wich kind of charging is better? with USB cable from pc or wall charger.
I have the option in my BIOS for my laptop which says an 80% charge will prolong the lifespan of the battery.
Batteries must undergo a fair bit of research (for environmental impact reasons if nothing else!) and to have such a bold statement to me indicates that its an obvious fact to battery researchers.
Given ive lay in bed this morning messing about on facebook and setting up rss feeds on my phone and emptied a full battery I dont think Id ever stop charging at 80%. Ill just buy another battery!
i really doubt cold weather improves battery life, numerous times my family and I brought electronic products to cold countries and the Battery life always drops at a much quicker rate
dan138zig said:
is that so? why? so i guess now my battery's capacity has lessened. damn the article.
have drained my battery to 1% and charged it to 100%. let's see how it goes from here..
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You are taking what i said out of context.
What I'm saying is that IF your battery had a memory effect as the original article claimed, then charging the battery to only 80 will create a memory at 80, which would be worse for your battery. I'm merely trying to point out an inconsistency in there article.
However, I went on to say that li ON batteries do not have a memory effect. So more relevant to the real world is the fact that our batteries will not experience memory as claimed by the article.
Two main things kill lithium batteries, heat and time as they promote deposits forming in the electrolyte, which reduces the capacity of the battery.
So, buying a "spare" battery at the time you buy a phone with a plan on using it when the original battery starts to fail is a bad idea as the spare battery would be slowly deterorating on the shelf.
Deep charges rather than top up charges are bad as they produce more heat inside the battery, although doing it if your battery doesn't seem to be holding it's chage is a good idea as it should recalibrate the phone's battery level software.
To paraphrase the old saying, " blogs and opinions are like a##holes, everyone has one "
I have followed the links in this thread and so far I have just read unsubstantiated opinion.
I have used " cordless " electronics for most of my life and have used all kinds of batteries extensively as well as talked to company reps and battery " experts ".
Nickel Cadmium batteries had memories. The batteries had to be conditioned and fully charged and discharged. The new Lithium Ion batteries were advantageous , not only because they held a bigger charge and lasted longer, but also because they have NO memory. The latest example being, I regularly charged my Tilt battery to all levels of charge. Mostly 100% everyday and ran it down to 5% most times before charging it again. I used it a lot and charged it a lot. and it lasted 2 yrs.
The only difference I have really noticed in batteries has nothing to do with the way you charge it. It has to do with " getting what you pay for " I have had quality batteries really show their quality and $ 12 batteries give me up to and only my $12 worth.
Charging Lithium Ion Batteries to 80%
denco7 said:
To paraphrase the old saying, " blogs and opinions are like a##holes, everyone has one "
I have followed the links in this thread and so far I have just read unsubstantiated opinion.
I have used " cordless " electronics for most of my life and have used all kinds of batteries extensively as well as talked to company reps and battery " experts ".
Nickel Cadmium batteries had memories. The batteries had to be conditioned and fully charged and discharged. The new Lithium Ion batteries were advantageous , not only because they held a bigger charge and lasted longer, but also because they have NO memory. The latest example being, I regularly charged my Tilt battery to all levels of charge. Mostly 100% everyday and ran it down to 5% most times before charging it again. I used it a lot and charged it a lot. and it lasted 2 yrs.
The only difference I have really noticed in batteries has nothing to do with the way you charge it. It has to do with " getting what you pay for " I have had quality batteries really show their quality and $ 12 batteries give me up to and only my $12 worth.
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I have a Nissan Leaf. It is clear that the engineers have spent a LOT of time thinking about how to maximize the life of the battery in the car. One of the options the car come with is to ALWAYS charge the batteries to 80%. In fact, they've gone as far as to add a button on the dashboard to override that setting in cases where a 100% charge is needed. According to the documentation that comes with the car, this is the single most important step to prolonging battery life. Next is frequent charges. Next is monitoring battery temperature which is constantly shown in a BIG display on the dashboard. In general, a good way to think about a lithium ion battery is that over its life you're trying to maximize the amount of power stored and then subsequently removed from the device. From the research I've done, if the "charging/discharging life" of the battery were cycles that swung from 100% to 0% you might get X kwHrs of power "moved" through the battery, yet if you were to limit charges to 80% and constantly charge it after each use, you could expect at least 2X! So it's a big deal. I live in Bellevue, Washington which has a very mild climate and have put 26,000 miles on this car in the last 2 years, making mostly small 3-to-20 mile trips, and I routinely charge the car when I pull into the garage, and would estimate that the battery has been charged well over 1000 times. To date, there is no detectable loss in battery capacity; the first indication of which would appear on the car's instrumentation when just over 4% of the charging capacity of the car has been lost.
My Sony VAIO Pro 13 actually offers the 80/20 option in Power Settings. However, I do not use it.
One of the things I have noticed scouring the internet for tips on battery life prolongation, is that you end up with lots of contradictory advice coming from unreferenced (and often, unresearched) sources. (Note that by 'prolonging', I mean both prolonging the current battery cycle, and also, how to prolong the battery in the long term).
One big question is how you should be recharging it. For example:
Do you let the battery go down low, and then recharge it back to full?
Do you only do partial discharges, and always keep the battery topped up?
When available, is it better to work plugged in?
There are two helpful articles, both from the Battery University, which seems reliable and they have nice experimental data.
[1] Charging lithium batteries
[2] How to prolong lithium batteries
From what I gather, the answer to the above questions are as follows:
Full discharges will reduce the number of recharge cycles in your battery. For example, going to 100% discharge only gives a battery with 500 discharges, while going to 10% discharge gives a battery with 4700 discharges. Note that this advice contradicts other 'unreferenced' sources, like here:
Change your charging pattern: Most of us have the habit of charging the phone quite often even when the phone has enough battery left on it. It’s always better to leave the battery to discharge completely to say like 20% and only then recharge it. This way your battery will not only also last longer but also has longer life.
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It is better to note recharge to full
Li-ion does not need to be fully charged, as is the case with lead acid, nor is it desirable to do so. In fact, it is better not to fully charge, because high voltages stresses the battery. Choosing a lower voltage threshold, or eliminating the saturation charge altogether, prolongs battery life but this reduces the runtime. Since the consumer market promotes maximum runtime, these chargers go for maximum capacity rather than extended service life.
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However, I admit that this is a fairly PITA rule to implement. It would be impractical to always charge only to, say 80%. I think this rule, in practice, advises against charging all the way to 100% because then your charger may put in the topping charge (how many chargers do this?)
It is better to not leave devices plugged into wall charges.
Some portable devices sit in a charge cradle in the on position. The current drawn through the device is called the parasitic load and can distort the charge cycle. Battery manufacturers advise against parasitic load because it induces mini-cycles. The battery is continuously being discharged to 4.20V/cell and then charged by the device. The stress level on the battery is especially high because the cycles occur at the 4.20V/cell threshold.
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A portable device must be turned off during charge.
This allows the battery to reach the set threshold voltage unhindered, and enables terminating charge on low current. A parasitic load confuses the charger by depressing the battery voltage and preventing the current in the saturation stage to drop low. A battery may be fully charged, but the prevailing conditions prompt a continued charge. This causes undue battery stress and compromises safety.
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This, however, spawns two further questions:
What about USB charging? Because USB charging is slower (due to a lower amperage), is there any advantage to working with your tablet plugged into a USB drive? Is this better than discharging the battery?
I work with my laptop plugged in all the time. Partly, there is nothing I can do about it (Macbooks no longer allow easy removable of the battery). This means that on top of the heat degrading the battery, one must contend with the battery contunually being charged. What are the safeguards in place? I would imagine a smart charging system would lower the voltage and amperage when a laptop is plugged in.
I remember when I used a iPhone that one cycle includes partial charges and discharges like if you charge 10% and then another 20% and so on you ad those until you get 100% of a cycle, this was according to apple. That's why you can get your battery dead in one year and half (since they promises 450ish battery cycles )
Inntresting reading...
Sent from HTC Sensation, Elegancia ROM Series....
Hey, thanks for this, man. Good tips. I don't want to go abusing the batteries of all those shiny new Christmas gadgets.
Thanks very useful tips
Yes for li-ion you never want it to fully discharge.
Rift
I like the research you did here very nice. I have an EVO and that thing can't hold a charge for anything. I have like three batteries (two that come with wall chargers) just so I know I'm not going to run out of juice when I need it. I could leave everything off like mobile data, wifi, etc but then why do I have a fancy smancy phone then to begin with I want to use the damn thing. The battery is my only real issue I have with this magnificent phone. Thanks for taking the time to do some research on the subject.
Thanks for the tips. Battery is important than CPU now as for UX is concerned.
battery management
i found the battery manager from Market Place really useful for my I9000 Galaxy S on ICS
thanks for the good information
Thanks for this news
If your worried about power "cleanliness" you could always get a power conditioner to guarantee level output.
Now with batteries being able to be replaced easy enough (droid user) and with in my price point I don't give it too much thought.
Thanks for the great info, should be a big help
Glad I have insurance.... battery dies, they give me a new one!-
3G or 2G
Had someone checked, if using 2G instead of 3G giving the much better battery life?
If you are asking if you get more battery life with 2G than 3G, I think it's the same. The battery life should be less if you have the option "use 2G/3G preferred" because the phone searches simultaneously for 2G and 3G frequencies
Now that you bring that up, has anybody compared 3g to 4G battery life?
Thanks for the tips. It really does get confusing when coming to batteries.
Thank you for the advice
i agree...and have found this all true in my own studys and doings
First off this isn't a guide about how to make your battery last longer between charges, at least it isn't yet. If a demand arises I will happily facilitate. *EDIT* For simplicity's sake I am including a link to V7's battery guide which addresses increasing the time between charges. ✭[GUIDE][26-07-2016]Extreme Battery Life Thread(Greenify+Amplify+Power Nap)✭This guide is about reducing wear that happens from many thing we all either knowingly do; out of a possible misunderstanding, or ignorance. All of this information is available doing a simple Google search, I am posting it here though for those who otherwise would not think to Google it. Furthermore I claim credit for absolutely none of this, but I do hope you find it helpful.
HOW TO PROLONG YOUR Li-Ion BATTERY'S LIFE
1) Keep your battery at room temperature: Heat is the worst enemy of your cell phones battery. So keeping your battery at room temperature (65-75*F) is the first step towards prolonging your battery's life. According to Battery University
each 8°C (15°F) rise in temperature cuts the life of a sealed lead acid battery in half.
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They also go on further adding
Once the battery is damaged by heat, the capacity cannot be restored.
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There are many things you can do to keep your battery cooler, such as taking it off the charger when the phone is done charging, and avoiding prolonged continuous usage. Also avoid leaving your phone in your car, it gets upwards of 140* in a car during the summer. The worst thing that can happen to a Li-Ion battery is a full charge and high heat, so avoid charging your phone until your car has cooled off if you are charging your battery in the car. Heat is by far the greatest factor when it comes to reducing the lifespan of a Li-Ion battery.
2) Use partial-discharge cycles: According to lancair.net
Using only 20% or 30% of the battery capacity before recharging will extend cycle life considerably
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Other sites I read while researching this stated that users should use up to 80% of their energy before recharging, they were all consistent with regards to a few things including: avoiding full discharges will prolong battery life, and it takes several partial charges to use one full charge cycle. Additionally Li-Ion batteries do not have "charge memory", but your digital device most likely does. Discharging the battery until cut off after every 30 charge cycles re calibrates the devices gauge.
3) Avoid keeping your battery at 100%: Every source I referenced for this guide said the same thing about keeping your battery at a full capacity, but oranageinks.com explains it most simply by stating
Permanent capacity loss is greatest at elevated temperatures with the battery voltage maintained at maximum (fully charged).
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4) If you are going to store your battery for an extended period store it at about 50% charged: This goes hand-in-hand with number 3. Also keeping the battery cool during extended storage will slow deterioration. Keeping the battery in a sealed bag or tupperware in your refrigerator is okay, but storing your battery in the freezer is not. When a battery is fully charged oxidation is occurring at its highest rate, and oxidation is essential corrosion. Oxidation occurs whether the battery is in use or not, for this reason it is better to get a high capacity battery rather than a spare. So with this said it almost should go without saying that if you can, buy batteries with a recent manufacture date.
5) Avoid completely discharging your battery: Lancair.com states:
Very deep discharges will quickly, permanently damage a Li-ion battery. Internal metal plating can occur causing a short circuit, making the battery unusable and unsafe. Most Li-ion batteries have protection circuitry within their battery packs that open the battery connection if the battery voltage is less than 2.5 V or exceeds 4.3 V, or if the battery current exceeds a predefined threshold level when charging or is charging
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If you found this helpful please don't forget to hit the "Thanks" button
now that explain why my battery drain so fast,my phone temperature is a bit high these days,thank you :good
I decrease my battry drain with installing som suitable kernal
this way realy effective in my device battry mangement
You're absolutely right, and you hit the nail on the head,
Saeedblack said:
realy[sic] effective in my device battry[sic] mangement
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But the physical battery itself needs care too. Device battery management is more related to how much power the CPU sees that the device has. Understanding how a Li-Ion battery works is kinda important at this point. So basically the positive electrode is made of Lithium cobalt oxide (cathode), or LiCoO2. The negative electrode is made of carbon (anode). When the battery is charging, ions of lithium move through the electrolyte from the positive electrode to the negative electrode and attach to the carbon. During discharge, the lithium ions move back to the LiCoO2 from the carbon. Over time the Lithium ions bond to the carbon thereby restricting the flow, creating resistance which decreases the battery's ability to deliver current. So properly caring for your battery is really the only thing that will slow the inevitable. Its kinda the same thing for a car...all cars eventually die, but if you take care of them they will last much longer than if you neglect them.
Thanks for this. It's not the usually same guide for battery improvementent.
My battery life got a little better.
Thanks mate, that's some good information.
Hi.
Just wondering:
in "5) Avoid completely discharging your battery"
Most battery calibration softwares say you SHOULD fully discharge your battery then fully charge it for a good calibration.
So, someone like me, who likes to try new roms, new nightlys all the time, are "slowly" burning the battery to ashes by calibrating it after every flash.
It looks like running the processor faster than specified (overclocking) can result in higher temperatures inside the device and faster battery wear as a result.
azraelus said:
Hi.
Just wondering:
in "5) Avoid completely discharging your battery"
Most battery calibration softwares say you SHOULD fully discharge your battery then fully charge it for a good calibration.
So, someone like me, who likes to try new roms, new nightlys all the time, are "slowly" burning the battery to ashes by calibrating it after every flash.
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YES you are slowly burning the battery out, by draining it after every flash. The battery is going to die inevitably anyways though, most of the sources I found suggest doing a "full drain" every 30 charge cycles. Perhaps this is when you should go ahead and do your battery calibration. Also a full drain is not exactly self-explanatory in this case. Your device may say that a battery has 1% of its energy left and to an extent it does, but the battery is designed to cut off before it gets too hot or too low. If you have a tendency to cut your phone back on after it dies then you will deplete the battery completely, possibly resulting in permanent damage.
adrian816 said:
It looks like running the processor faster than specified (overclocking) can result in higher temperatures inside the device and faster battery wear as a result.
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Yes O/C can raise temperatures of the device. Certain kernels run a little hotter than others. My device is currently O/C'd and isn't any hotter than normal when I am not using the device due to CPU governors and what not, and its only marginally hotter than it is when at the stock clock speed. Prolonged heavy use takes a toll on the battery, due to the heat its creating. Also don't let the little bit of heat increase stop you from O/C'ing your device. Many manufacturers use the same cpu with different clock speeds, EX Snapdragon S3 chip is used in the EVO 3D @ 1.2GHz, and the HTC Rezound @ 1.5GHZ from the factory. This is done to reduce power consumption on power hungry phones or to extend the life of a cpu that has proven itself reliable(such as in the example of the Snapdragon S3)...it also helps to market devices without spending more on development.
Good adwise! :good:
This is all very good advice. A lot of it I knew, but I learned a couple new things as well. Glad to see someone making it more easily available to our community!
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda app-developers app
Found this same information when researching my netbook battery.Turns out there is a good reason it will sleep/hybernate/power off at 3 percent, can damage a cell. On the upside this one will charge faster.
Thanks for the information.
Sent from my GT-S5360 using Tapatalk 2
Oh god, by "avoiding keep it at 100%" you mean "don't use it constantly while charging", right?
I have a seriously problem.
Wish I could do something about #1. My phone can get pretty hot when I'm using it and I like to do a lot of things like playing games or dling torrents which gets it toasty.
Will definitely unplug before 100% from now on though. Thanks
Jane Shizuka said:
Oh god, by "avoiding keep it at 100%" you mean "don't use it constantly while charging", right?
I have a seriously problem.
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Yea that's pretty much the gist of it...heavy use while charging creates even more heat than just heavy use or just charging. Since doing the research for this thread I've been doing things a little differently myself. Instead of leaving it on the charger most of the day I charge it at night and use it til about 50% then charge it up to 80%...it may be in my head but I highly doubt it. Doing as I described I have had 1 full charge (from 40% to 100%) and a top off charge (50% to 80%) and my device has been on since yesterday morning (so 36 hours+ with only a 30% top off charge). This is with moderate use, and my phone is currently at 70%...MUCH better than before though.
This guide is still meant more for longer term physical battery care, but it appears to have helped extend time between charges.
zlc1 said:
Wish I could do something about #1. My phone can get pretty hot when I'm using it and I like to do a lot of things like playing games or dling torrents which gets it toasty.
Will definitely unplug before 100% from now on though. Thanks
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Try a different kernel, or underclocking your phone, that should help with the heat.
Thanks, I'll keep this in mind!
Thanks for the advice, but i thought discharge it completely wont do any harm to the battery since the protection circuit will stop at around 3..0-3.4 mV?
ryanshady said:
Thanks for the advice, but i thought discharge it completely wont do any harm to the battery since the protection circuit will stop at around 3..0-3.4 mV?
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That is about the point the device will cut off, but if you turn it back on like I used to until the device won't turn back on that's when the battery is completely discharged. Battery University goes on to say
Each cycle wears the battery down by a small amount. A partial discharge before charge is better than a full discharge. Apply a deliberate full discharge only to calibrate a smart battery and to prevent “memory” on a nickel-based pack.
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Link to article HERE
*EDIT*
i wish there's a way to stop charging once it reaches 85-95% like my laptop...