Database Users

Keep Evo Plugged in?

Hello All,
First, let me just thank everyone on these threads for all the knowledge they have imparted to me! Thank you!
Now to my question: If I have my charger with me, is it best to keep the evo on and connected to a power source as often as possible? Or is it better to charge it once until the battery is full and then not plug it back in until the battery flashes the "battery low" message?
A friend and I were having a disagreement over this question and we couldn't think of any reasonable way to answer this question. I know that between our two MacBooks, which I understand might have a completely different type of battery, mine definitely gets much more battery life and I am convinced that this is because I have it constantly plugged in (though again, I'm not sure that this is true).
I will greatly appreciate your input on this matter!
Thank you.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Check this Thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=694441

For the record:
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 dates. 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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(via above source)
Thanks!

Best way to charge your phone?

Should I charge my phone when it has like 0.5% battery left always, or can I charge whenever it gets a little low, like 30-40%?
Also, can I leave my phone plugged into the charger overnight? Will that drain the battery?

I leave mine in the charger every night. And I'll put it in charge at work, too, or whenever a charging opportunity arises. With this kind of battery, it really doesn't matter.

Here is a very good article that discusses Lithium Ion batteries:
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

I don't get the article.
Does 4.2V mean 100% battery life?
If you want to charge it to 4.0 V, does that mean its like 90% battery life?

convolution said:
I don't get the article.
Does 4.2V mean 100% battery life?
If you want to charge it to 4.0 V, does that mean its like 90% battery life?
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Not certain, but it seems the charger and/or battery on the Vision is designed so that it does not keep the voltage at 100% when its charging and full. I've noticed the battery meter periodically drop to 99% when still on the charger, then back up to "F" (full). While I know the battery meter is not really accurate enough to read to 1% increments; what this seems to indicate is that once a full charge is achieved, the system is going to let the charge drop below a certain threshold, then top off again, rather than keep the voltage at 100% constantly.
The table below is a little more easily digestible (not overly technical). It says you can keep the battery on the charger.
It also says not to let the battery discharge below 20%. Overdischarge of Li ion batteries can result in your battery no longer accepting a charge, on the off chance the safety circuit does not trip properly. The safety circuit is designed to prevent over discharge of the battery, but this has been known to fail, at least on other phones. And there is no benefit to letting the battery discharge below 20%.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/do_and_dont_battery_table

convolution said:
I don't get the article.
Does 4.2V mean 100% battery life?
If you want to charge it to 4.0 V, does that mean its like 90% battery life?
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There are two terms you need to understand when it comes to batteries: volts and amps.
Volts is "static" for a battery, meaning it doesn't change. You have a 1.5V battery, it will always be a 1.5V battery. Now the capacity of the battery is measured in amps. A 1Amp battery has more capacity than a 500mAh battery. At 100% fully charged, you'd have 1000mAh (or 1A). At 90%, you'd have 900mAh.
What that article tells you is that your phone is charged to (or close to) 100% using a specified voltage (probably whatever the battery is rated at...3.7V?). Now batteries and chargers of the past had what's called a "trickle" effect, in which it still chargers the battery when it is (or close to) 100%, but at a much lower voltage. If you phone was to stop charging after it hit 100%, it would start to discharge. When you unplugged it (assuming you charge it over night) in the morning, you would have less than 100%. The trickle is so that your battery will still have 100% when you unplug it.
Think about if you filled up your gas tank and left your car running over night. When you woke up, you wouldn't have a full tank anymore. But if you left the gas nozzle in the tank while it was running, it would continually "top it off". That or gas leak everywhere and your car would burst into flames...therefore canceling the point that you wouldn't a full tank...
Anyways...Li-Ion batteries charge and behave differently that batteries of yore. It's bad to let it go down to almost 0%. It's also bad to let it continually sit on the charger. I personally charge mine every other day but I used to charge my Vibrant and HD2 every night.

The batteries in these phones have protection circuits to prevent over charging as well as over discharge. It is perfectly safe to charge over night as well as discharge until empty. What the display shows as 0% does not mean the battery has actually reached 0%. It is just were the protection circuit deems safe. It is possible to over discharge a Li-ion/LiPo battery which may cause it to no longer charge but there are ways to bring it back for the willing. Our phones, however, will not do this due to the protection circuit unless that fails. If that happens you need a new battery because Li-ion/Lipo batteries are very dangerous if over or under charged.
Also, the voltage is static in theory but in real life the the voltage does drop as the battery is discharged. The drop is not large however. A 3.7v Li-ion/LiPo cell will read around 4.2v at full charge and lowers to just over 3.7v at full SAFE discharge. If the battery falls below 3.7v, you will likely have damaged the cell. Again, our phone batteries have a protection circuit to prevent this.

ihateusernames said:
The batteries in these phones have protection circuits to prevent over charging as well as over discharge. It is perfectly safe to charge over night as well as discharge until empty. What the display shows as 0% does not mean the battery has actually reached 0%. It is just were the protection circuit deems safe. It is possible to over discharge a Li-ion/LiPo battery which may cause it to no longer charge but there are ways to bring it back for the willing.
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It would require a special charger with a "boost" function, which most people do not have access to.
From the previously linked battery University page:
In spite of these preventive measures, over-discharge does occur. Advanced battery analyzers (Cadex C7000 series) feature a 'boost' function that provides a gentle charge current to activate the safety circuit and re-energize the cells if discharged too deeply.
Most of us let our battery drain low on accident from time to time. But it makes not sense to do it intentionally or make a habit of it, as it yields no benefit (some people think they are "conditioning" or "calibrating" the battery, which does not apply to Li ion batteries), and actually hurts battery life. Also from Battery University: "Do charge the battery often. The battery lasts longer with partial rather than full discharges."
There have been pretty occasional cases on the Touch Pro 2 forums of people over-discharging the battery, and rendering it useless. So it does happen. Some have claimed that the Android OS, or the Vision phone itself handles the battery better to avoid over discharge. Maybe so. But do you really want to test that theory, if it can most usually be avoided?

redpoint73 said:
It would require a special charger with a "boost" function, which most people do not have access to.
From the previously linked battery University page:
In spite of these preventive measures, over-discharge does occur. Advanced battery analyzers (Cadex C7000 series) feature a 'boost' function that provides a gentle charge current to activate the safety circuit and re-energize the cells if discharged too deeply.
Most of us let our battery drain low on accident from time to time. But it makes not sense to do it intentionally or make a habit of it, as it yields no benefit (some people think they are "conditioning" or "calibrating" the battery, which does not apply to Li ion batteries), and actually hurts battery life. Also from Battery University: "Do charge the battery often. The battery lasts longer with partial rather than full discharges."
There have been pretty occasional cases on the Touch Pro 2 forums of people over-discharging the battery, and rendering it useless. So it does happen. Some have claimed that the Android OS, or the Vision phone itself handles the battery better to avoid over discharge. Maybe so. But do you really want to test that theory, if it can most usually be avoided?
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I agree that it can happen which is why I stated that the prevention circuit can fail though I do believe it to be a rare case that this happens. I charge when ever I am near a charger as I don't like to run low but I also don't freak out if I am close to dead. I also charge over night every night and have for years. I just don't believe that it is necessary to worry that my phone has been on the charger too long or that I am running close to 0% as there is redundant protection in place and for the most part, this protection works very well. Hell, your phone COULD burst into flames while holding it next to your ear due to the volatility of the Lithium Ion chemistry if exposed to air but that also very rarely happens.
I believe it is probably worse on the battery to watch movies on the phone while overclocked with the battery getting too hot than to discharge to 0% occasionally.
I do agree that it is pointless to try conditioning lithium batteries as they have no memory effect.
Reviving an over discharged Lithium battery should not be attempted by most. I fly RC Helis and my electrics use 3 or 6 cell LiPo's. On the very rare occasion I kill a cell, I isolate the bad cell and trickle charge until it matches the others and then resume balance charging. The batteries in our phones can be revived in the same manner. It requires low current and constant observation and should not be done by the inexperienced.

Tips for Battery saving and for a Healthy Battery

HELPFUL TIPS FOR YOUR NEW BATTERY!
Initializing your new battery
When you got a new battery, insert it into your electronic device. Turn your device on and drain your battery until your left with 1 bar of power. Then charge your device for a minimum period of 12 hours. Your 1st charge cycle is very important, do not charge it before it's down to 1 bar.
Recharging your new battery
After you have completed the initial charge, your battery should only ever be recharged once you drain if down to 1 bar of power and should be recharged for a minimum period of 6 hours for the battery to reach its full capacity. Ignore the phone telling you that the battery is full - this is normal but is not accurate.
Avoid fully discharging your new battery
Your batteries' life is shortened every time you fully discharge them. Instead, charge them when the battery meter shows one bar left.
Battery care tips
Charge your battery correctly by using appropriate charger and drain your battery up to one bar before charging.
Keep battery contacts clean to effective deliver power in your device and optimize battery life.
Lower screen brightness/backlight and disable custom animations/transitions to lower battery consumption.
Avoid using unnecessary features and close idle applications running in the background as they still consume power.
Use GSM rather than 3G or Dual Mode as being on GSM mode consumes less power.
Turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity when not in use as they consume a lot of power.

Can you site credible sources for those battery charging "tips"? As it sounds like a myth from way back in the NiCAD era, rather than modern LIon batterys with decent charging circuits.

CrazyPeter said:
Can you site credible sources for those battery charging "tips"? As it sounds like a myth from way back in the NiCAD era, rather than modern LIon batterys with decent charging circuits.
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I'm also curious about hard facts.

http://www.androidauthority.com/the-top-3-android-battery-myths-46924/
Devices nowadays have transitioned from using nickel-based batteries, to lithium ion batteries in the past few years. Until now, myths associated with batteries are yet to be disproved however, there are studies and experiments proving that some of them aren’t entirely true. While nickel based batteries indeed have their own problems back then, lithium ion batteries, which is commonly used to power up laptops, cameras, and phones to name a few, are always filled with myths that most techie people still believe in.
Below are the three battery myths that have already been disproved.
MYTH NO. 1: New batteries need an initial overnight charge
This is one of the most untrue myths about lithium ion batteries that a lot of people believe in. When opening a newly purchased device, you DO NOT need to fully charge it initially. Although there are benefits offered by doing so, initial charging or ‘priming’ does not affect the battery life in any way.
Manufacturers strongly suggest users to do this so that the battery will be properly calibrated and the power indicator will display the accurate battery life of the device. However, there is no need to worry about using your gadget fresh out of the box because even if the calibration is incorrect, which rarely happens, it will fix by itself over time.
MYTH NO. 2: Overcharging your lithium ion battery will reduce its battery life
One of the most common myths that we have heard about lithium ion batteries would be the need to plug it from its charger after being fully charged, since overcharging the battery/device will reduce its battery life. The truth is, lithium ion batteries cannot be overcharged or can be reduced of its battery life through overcharging. What’s good about these batteries is that that already have built-in circuits that will cut off the power once it has been fully charged.
However, it is a good idea to unplug or remove the battery once it has done charging because the heat from poor ventilation or from charging will cause it to blow up. Another reason why this is an important note worth remembering is that batteries discharge faster when heated thus, reducing its lifespan.
MYTH NO. 3: You can calibrate your Lithium Ion battery every once in a while
Some of the rechargeable batteries being used today have a battery memory. Some batteries will slowly lose their maximum capacity if you fail to completely discharge it plugging it in. Hence, recharging it while it is still 40% charged will mark it as the new 0%, which gives you lesser capacity for your battery. However, this only applies to technologies applied in older batteries but isn’t applicable to today’s lithium-ion batteries.
What you have read above hopefully in one way or another, eased your worries about decreasing your battery’s lifespan.
---------- Post added at 02:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:45 PM ----------
Further information about battery facts and myths.
http://www.greenbatteries.com/batterymyths.html

Some more (generic) information about lithium-based batteries (sorry, not allowed to post links yet):
batterycare.net/en/guide.html
micro-power.com/userfiles/file/mp_tempcharge-1250026530.pdf
batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries
All of these show heat as an important factor in capacity loss. You might be able to reduce heat from external sources, but as the chart in the pdf shows, the battery itself produces heat while discharging. With a constant load, the generated heat goes up rapidly after the battery reaches around 25%. As there is no memory effect in lithium batteries, it seems best to avoid this area altogether.
Of course, the maximum capacity will decrease with time regardless and a calibration cycle (100% to near empty) once in a while can be useful to ensure your battery indicator is reliable.

Thanks
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium

How to correctly charge lithium polymer battery

I read so many thread that indicate Nexus 4 poor battery performance. Therefore, I start thinking if I have the correct concept of charging a lithium
polymer battery. I don't know if the article I found correctly indicate the fact. Here is my way to charge my nexus 4 or 7
1. I never let my battery drain to zero or shut itself down. I usually charge when it's 10% or over 5% (How's your view about it? too low?)
2. I rarely fully charge my phone to 100%. I usually get it done around above 95.
3. I "turn off" the device while I'm charging. In this case, I turn off Nexus 4 and 7 when I need to charge them.
4. I rarely charge my phone overnight...( any second opinion on this?)
Any views and suggestions are all welcome. I just try to find the best way on how to "correctly" charge our nexus 4 lithium polymer battery.
Here is an article I read as an example http://buychargeall.com/cellphonebatterychargertips/

This link may help you http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=518861.
Lipo batteries do not need priming as it does not have memory.
Even though it's about Li-ion, effectively they're the same thing.
The lithium-polymer (LIPO) is a more technologically advanced version of a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. It's electrolyte is held in a solid polymer film which is directly bonded to the lithium electrode.
Charging a drained battery will shorten the battery life. So I would recommend that you charge more frequently, than charging after the battery is low.

Just charge it however you like and don't worry about it. You'll likely have a new phone before any noticeable damage is done to your battery

xRegrets said:
This link may help you http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=518861.
Lipo batteries do not need priming as it does not have memory.
Even though it's about Li-ion, effectively they're the same thing.
The lithium-polymer (LIPO) is a more technologically advanced version of a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. It's electrolyte is held in a solid polymer film which is directly bonded to the lithium electrode.
Charging a drained battery will shorten the battery life. So I would recommend that you charge more frequently, than charging after the battery is low.
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Thanks I see.

Michealtbh said:
Just charge it however you like and don't worry about it. You'll likely have a new phone before any noticeable damage is done to your battery
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That's true too....but still...lol. Worry people worry a lot

xRegrets said:
This link may help you http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=518861.
Lipo batteries do not need priming as it does not have memory.
Even though it's about Li-ion, effectively they're the same thing.
The lithium-polymer (LIPO) is a more technologically advanced version of a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. It's electrolyte is held in a solid polymer film which is directly bonded to the lithium electrode.
Charging a drained battery will shorten the battery life. So I would recommend that you charge more frequently, than charging after the battery is low.
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Sorry, I just have one more question after reading the guide...
So, it's ok to charge over night? Is it ok to always put the phone on charger?

I always charge it when below 5% juice is left. And I let it charge till it hits 100% mark. Plus I put it on charge when I got to sleep and wake up after 3 or 3.30 hours (yeah, thats how long it takes to full charge) then turn the switch off and go back to bed.
Is it ok?

I have let all my devices in the past 3 years charge continuously overnight and have never had a single problem

Odp: How to correctly charge lithium polymer battery
Michealtbh said:
I have let all my devices in the past 3 years charge continuously overnight and have never had a single problem
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Yea same here.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Michealtbh said:
Just charge it however you like and don't worry about it. You'll likely have a new phone before any noticeable damage is done to your battery
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This. There is nothing to worry about, other than ignoring the many myths that you can read on this subject. The battery will turn itself off way before any chance of damaging it.
Sent from my Nexus 4

zxcv106106 said:
1. I never let my battery drain to zero or shut itself down. I usually charge when it's 10% or over 5% (How's your view about it? too low?)
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Because deep discharging is bad for all lithium based cells non of them allow the battery to discharge to zero, when the cells hit zero in your phone that is the empty limited deemed as safe by the manufacturer and not that the cells are depleted, conversely you cannot over charge it either, Lithium based cells have circuitry embedded in them to prevent damage. Therefore I charge and discharge my battery as i see fit to suit my needs be it over night or a quick blast.
I recently went on a trip to Belgium and it was a 14 hour ferry crossing of which most of the time the phone has no signal. Presumably my N4 was searching for a cell most of the time yet at 17 hours after unplugging it there was still 86% battery left.
People need to realise it is using the screen more than any other single activity that uses the battery, the Nexus 4 is no worse than any other similar phone with a similar battery.
The first phone i had which had a lithium battery was a Nortel 2000, this was in 1996 and i didn't give a toss how i charged that up and i didn't damage that battery, i am sure the technology had advanced shed loads since then.

How do you call people who let phones control their lives?
OP.

0rigin said:
How do you call people who let phones control their lives?
OP.
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Nothing here about control live by the phone. I post this only to find out the correct way to charge lithium battery.
Thanks for all the information.

Whats is the best Battery charging practice for better battery life?

Using always connected to Charger?

For long term battery health I wouldn't recommend keeping it plugged in for long periods of time. People say today's batteries have protective circuits that prevent overcharging, but I don't really trust this. So I simply unplug it as soon as it is fully charged.
As for actual better battery life, turn off everything you don't need - GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Mobile Data etc. This phone should give you an average of 6 hours SOT. To obtain more you will probably need a custom kernel, but even then the results may vary.

Yeah it has protection circuit to protect overcharging. Lithium based batteries can always take charge, and might self-combust. (ok , worst case. basically, lithium can't get in contact with water. RH in air is just enough to start the self combustion reaction). Nowadays, Li-ion or Li-Po are well made, and this is less problematic.
This as been said, it doesn't mean that this circuit won't trigger the battery every 0.XXX% drop, which is not good, so yeah, until someone do electric reading test on the op5, I won't suggest to let the device plugged in when full.
Simple rules for lithuim based batteries :
- time will kill the battery, even if it's brand new sealed. (normal chemical reaction). Nothing we can do here, limit extreme temperatures, not too cold not too hot.
- heat will decrease battery life and capacity. This mean, dash charging will decrease life. So, 1.2A to 2.0 [email protected] charger is more appropriate. Even if dash tech will regulate the charge, you still have a time that it will optimize to max power, so more heat.
- Polarity direction changes will decrease life/capacity. This mean, do not charge it if you don't need to.
- do not wait to drain it at 0%, I don't know what is the security factor from OnePLus. A single lithium based batterie under 2.60-2.75V, will mostlikely be dead , or will loose more than 50% of his capacity.
Some lithium based battery will perform better, but to keep low price, do not worry, oneplus use standard li-po.
More developed info here :
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

When the phone is plugged, it doesn't use the battery anymore, therefore the battery is not drained. Once it reaches 100%, it just stays at 100% until you unplug it.
Some says that leaving the charger plugged is not ecological, because it still uses energy even if it doesn't charge anything, but in reality it hardly use energy. I don't remember the numbers, but it is really insignificant.
In the end, there are a lot of superstitions concerning charging and battery life, most coming from old habits and false/outdated information spreading through the internet. The only things very true is that you should avoid letting your battery going to 0%, and don't let your battery overheat, and that's all. Charge when you please, as long as you please, and avoid using low-cost chargers or batteries as some can be dangerous.
I used my Xiaomi Mi3 for 3 years, letting it plugged every night with a QuickCharge charger, and it could still handle a whole day when I finally sold it.