regular charging tips

[yz kid]

i have searches all the threads like 'extended battery life' threads and still no answer. i understand your first 3 charges should be for 24 hours while the phone is off for optium use. witch i did but after that how should you charge your battery regualrlly for best charge? should the battery be dissconected once it hits 100(full charge)? so it does not start to trickle down and charge again?
thanks ahead of time all answer appriated.
sorry if repost mods
joe

 

[n0cturne74]

The majority of opinions on this from prior threads are that right out of the box the phone should be charged for 24 hours to condition the battery and after that it should be good to go. I didn't charge mine right out of the box because I had to play with it immediately and my battery is fine. Disconnecting the phone at the moment the battery is fully charged isn't necessary because there are safety features that shut the charging off so that the battery doesn't overcharge. Other than that, use and enjoy the phone and charge it when it needs charged. Simple as that.

 

[Martin030908]

My phone NEVER goes off... and I don't pull the battery ever. (Maybe some resentment from my BB and the CONSTANT batt pulls)

I didn't get the full initial charge first either... had to play The first couple days the batt didn't seem to hold a charge too long but as my usage settled in and the batt charging got onto a schedule (charge at night) the battery life seemed to even out and I'm getting a full day with heavy usage out of the phone.

Bottom line the battery seemed to improve after a couple days of a 'scheduled' charge.

 

[atomicwedgie]

I've lived in a world of batteries for reasons I won't bore you with. Battery University is a site I place faith in.

Here are some important quotes for you to keep in mind;

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.

I try to never allow my battery to get so low that it shuts itself off and here is why;

Extreme low voltage must also be prevented. The safety circuit is designed to cut off the current path if the battery is inadvertently discharged below 2.50V/cell. At this voltage, most circuits render the battery unserviceable and a recharge on a regular charger is not possible.
There are several safeguards to prevent excessive discharge. The equipment protects the battery by cutting off when the cell reaches 2.7 to 3.0V/cell. Battery manufacturers ship the batteries with a 40% charge to allow some self-discharge during storage. Advanced batteries contain a wake-up feature in which the protection circuit only starts to draw current after the battery has been activated with a brief charge. This allows prolonged storage.

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. A full charge and analysis follows.

 

[n0cturne74]

Maybe some resentment from my BB and the CONSTANT batt pulls

Don't feel alone. My HTC Touch Pro needed a battery pull once or twice per day. :icon_evil:

 

[vonfink13]

"I try to never allow my battery to get so low that it shuts itself off and here is why;

Extreme low voltage must also be prevented. The safety circuit is designed to cut off the current path if the battery is inadvertently discharged below 2.50V/cell. At this voltage, most circuits render the battery unserviceable and a recharge on a regular charger is not possible."


i took that to mean that the voltage going into the charger can't be too low. because on the same page he says this...

"However, a full discharge/charge will reset the digital circuit of a 'smart' battery to improve the state-of-charge estimation"

a little confusing for me...i will be the first to admit that i dont know too much about this stuff...

 

[Martin030908]

I've lived in a world of batteries for reasons I won't bore you with. Battery University is a site I place faith in.

Here are some important quotes for you to keep in mind;

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.

I try to never allow my battery to get so low that it shuts itself off and here is why;

Extreme low voltage must also be prevented. The safety circuit is designed to cut off the current path if the battery is inadvertently discharged below 2.50V/cell. At this voltage, most circuits render the battery unserviceable and a recharge on a regular charger is not possible.
There are several safeguards to prevent excessive discharge. The equipment protects the battery by cutting off when the cell reaches 2.7 to 3.0V/cell. Battery manufacturers ship the batteries with a 40% charge to allow some self-discharge during storage. Advanced batteries contain a wake-up feature in which the protection circuit only starts to draw current after the battery has been activated with a brief charge. This allows prolonged storage.

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. A full charge and analysis follows.

Informative. Thanks for the post. Kinda confirms what I've witnessed with my battery usage/life.

 

[zegolf]

Batteries have certainly come a long way. Used to be, you had to perform maintenance on rechargeable batteries to extend the life and keep the batteries from getting "dead cells". Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the concept of "dead cells" now something that doesn't happen anymore?

 

[atomicwedgie]

"I try to never allow my battery to get so low that it shuts itself off and here is why;

Extreme low voltage must also be prevented. The safety circuit is designed to cut off the current path if the battery is inadvertently discharged below 2.50V/cell. At this voltage, most circuits render the battery unserviceable and a recharge on a regular charger is not possible."


i took that to mean that the voltage going into the charger can't be too low. because on the same page he says this...

"However, a full discharge/charge will reset the digital circuit of a 'smart' battery to improve the state-of-charge estimation"

a little confusing for me...i will be the first to admit that i dont know too much about this stuff...

Every Li-ion battery is supposed to have a smart circuit to know when to shut the battery down. HOWEVER, like all electronics, these sometimes fail to do their job. What the author is explaining is that there are special chargers that can circumvent the failed batteries smart circuit with a special charge current that can wake the battery up. I own such a charger but if you don't, it will be dead to you forever.

As I said, it's easier for me to avoid letting the battery shut itself down then risk having to revive it. I have had it happen several times.

 

[vonfink13]

I will assume that this special charger is not the one that comes stock with the droid. can you please give me a little more info on this special charger?..thanks... and at what point do you recharge.??..with 10% left or 15%....?..cos if you have a strategy that works...i would love to steal it from you...thanks for all the very helpful info.

 

[TheShaz]

OK, OK, OK, let me get this straight.....when the little Droid goes...

:motdroidvert: Dude, I'm down to 15% :motdroidvert: you plug it in?

Wow, that doesn't sound all that complicated.

Jokes aside, I've been very happy with the Droid's battery, compared to the Omnia, it's HUGE. The Omnia once it gets below 50% it nags you constantly. With the Droid, I get the notification at 15% and that's it. I havent' let it get below that. But the battery life is huge compared to the Omnia. Finally got a 12v charger for the car. So no worries here.

 

[thelion]

' Lithium Ion batteries do not require conditioning.'

Right from a battery info website.

Folks, this is a lithium ion battery and, as such, does not require conditioning. It is not subject to the memory effect and typically will not experience the degraded use overtime.

The best way to get a good solid battery life is to turn off gps and wifi when not in use, fully charge your battery every night, keep the screen as dim as possible while still able to view it comfortably, and set the screen to turn off at regular intervals when not in use.

 

[vonfink13]

my battery life is really good..and i have access to a charger in my home, car and office(media dock).. i am cool with my current battery life..but if it could be better....why not...?....there are a lot of conflicting opinions on this one..pretty interesting stuff...

 

[thelion]

But they are not conflicting from people who truly understand batteries. Lithium-ion batteries do not require conditioning.

You can do it if you want (it will not hurt) but it is effort wasted.

 

[vonfink13]

i am doing my best to be one of those that truly understands batteries...thanks for the info..very helpful.