Phone Batteries

[Sair33]

I've just got yet another new mobile phone, and as always, have been told that before I use it, I should charge it for a minimum of 16 hours.
Does anyone know whether that is REALLY necessary?? (I'm too impatient to wait!!) It says "Battery Full" after an hour and then stops charging anyway.... but does it secretly carry on?

And while on the subject.... does it REALLY damage the battery to charge it every night and not allow it to go completely flat?.... not that that will stop me, but just wondered!!

[mrk]

chargers nowadays will stop charging once 100% has been reached otherwise it would overcharge your buttery

[Sair33]

Thats what I thought, so why do they always say "Before use, charge battery for a minimum of 16 hours".... confuses me!!!

[kaillum]

Originally posted by Sair
And while on the subject.... does it REALLY damage the battery to charge it every night and not allow it to go completely flat?.... not that that will stop me, but just wondered!!

yep.. it really does damage the battery.. if you dont let it go flat it will suffer from battery fade.. meaning you wont be able to get the full talk time from the battery..

and you dont need to let it go flat every time you use it.. just once a week would do!

dont worry tho', the missus has the same problem, insists on plugging it in every time she goes to bed..

[Barakka]

On Nokia phones at least, the phone will charge to 100% and then if left plugged in will switch to trickle charge to ensure the battery is fully charged. If you don't let it do the full charge before it's first use you risk the battery only lasting a few months, is it worth it ?

As for the memory effect, it depends what type of cells are in the battery, NiCad, NiMH, or Li-Ion. These are Nickel Cadium, Nickel Metal Hydride, and Lithium Ion. Very few phones (if any) use NiCAD any more, as it was only any use for things like walkmans. NiMH is better, but Li-Ion is the best and the lightest, usually only the mini-phones, or ones classed as business use have the Li-Ion cells and they should never really suffer from the memory effect.

NiMH will over time but you can reduce the effect by running the battery to absolute flat every 5-10 charges, then charging it for 12/14 hours again. When you run it flat, use it until it cuts off, then wait a few mins and turn it back on, and use it until it cuts off, wait a .... you get the idea. Total pain but will get the most possible out of your battery for the longest time.

Barakka

[sexeh]

i always plug mine in every night too

i better stop then because i didn't realise it damaged them

[wiltonson]

they always say 16 hours of charge but in reality the phone stop charging once the battery is full

the more cycle of charging and discharging , the shorter is the battery life due to accumulation of memory effect. all rechargeable battery are the same. only diff is that memory effect of lithium battery accumulate slower compare to NiCad. just try to charge your phone only when the battery is low.

[steve threlfall]

NiMH = no memory effect to speak of, wherby charging every night halves the battery life and makes it cut out quickly- just dies when it should have hours left etc

As sadi above to care for your battery completly discharge it evrey couple of months and recharge it again to kep it happy

[Barakka]

Originally posted by wiltonson
...only diff is that memory effect of lithium battery accumulate slower compare to NiCad.

And even then it varies between brands, my old old Nokia had a lithium pack and it was a heavily used business mobile and still held the same charge (roughly - about 3 days) after 2 years of solid use. But my little Motorola V66 has a lithium pack and it has gone from average (2-3 days) to pants (1 day) within a year.

[Slick]

I didn't know that

I plug mine in every night and have started to do the same with my ipod as I find myself quickly running out of battery life on both. It's ironic though that the more you charge it...the less charge it has.

[Sair33]

Originally posted by Barakka
On Nokia phones at least, the phone.......

Cool, thanks.... I think!!!
No really, thats helpful... also I don't feel so bad now for telling a certain someone off all the time cos they charge their phone every night!! ("Certain someone"... you know who you are!! )

[Darkmatter]

I didnt follow the rules now my battery is dieing
Got into the habit of just chucking it on charge now it will stop working when the phone reaches halfway.

[wiltonson]

Originally posted by Barakka
And even then it varies between brands, my old old Nokia had a lithium pack and it was a heavily used business mobile and still held the same charge (roughly - about 3 days)

i notice that as well. perhaps nokia makes the best battery.

my ericsson phone battery doesn't last very long at all.

[steve threlfall]

Nokia are definatly best for battery life but m sony ericsson t100 is tiny and im getting at least 5ive days with reasonable use out of it

[headbrace]

Laptops have the same battery memory problems. ow the ipod has the opposite, they reccommend you should lways top it up frequently, and never really let it run down. Strange, that

[wiltonson]

yeah i think they want you to enjoy the device as much as possible but kills your battery faster.

just like my braun elec toothbrush. instruction recommend to keep it charging unless you using it (NICad). my friend follow the instruction while i only charge it when it's flat. so...... he bought a new one couple of months ago while mine still doing fine. it's just over a year when we bought it together.