Best way to charge a Nexus 10

AdmnUnpwnd

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I've contacted Google several times for tips on how to best charge the battery (I got my replacement last week, the old one had multiple issues such as extreme RAM usage which caused the tablet to be extremely hot, and one time the battery went from 11% to 8% in 30 minutes WHILE CHARGING with the original wall charger and USB). That brings me back to my question: What is the best way to charge the Nexus 10?
Google's answers:
1) start at 40%,got to 100%
2) start when it turns red, go to 100%
3) doesn't matter what percent you start or stop charging
4) overcharging doesn't affect the battery
5) overcharging will eventually degrade the battery and put the tablet into "Deep Sleep" mode (basically the tablet doesn't turn on for a while and if it never does then it's broken)

My tablet is not rooted and I do not plan to root it until the warranty runs out since Google can detect if it's rooted (I asked in their Apps Department and I've heard of one such case)

If you have any suggestions on how to best charge the battery so it's life stays well for years please reply.

Thanks!
~ AdmnUnpwnd

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masqueofhastur

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How long have you had it? A number of devices have a week or so of bad battery before they break in

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jerrykur

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Thanks for replying.
The old one for about 5 months. I got the replacement last week. And what do you mean by "break in"?

Before you can accurately measure the performance of the battery the unit needs to go through a few charge-use-charge cycles. The first few cycles may have variable result, but after that it should settle into a predictable pattern.
 

AdmnUnpwnd

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Before you can accurately measure the performance of the battery the unit needs to go through a few charge-use-charge cycles. The first few cycles may have variable result, but after that it should settle into a predictable pattern.

Thanks for replying.
About how many cycles does it need to go through? One cycle is 14% (when the "Charge your battery" warning shows up) to 100% right? This is what I've been doing since I got it, about 3-4 cycles plus the first initial 100% charge. And is it okay if I use it heavily (for a long duration of time not for games but for videos and internet) or will it damage the tablet?
 

masqueofhastur

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I'm not sure exactly, but if you still have problems after two weeks, that's either a defect or just the limit.

I wouldn't worry about damage. That doesn't happen with modern batteries.

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AdmnUnpwnd

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I'm not sure exactly, but if you still have problems after two weeks, that's either a defect or just the limit.

I wouldn't worry about damage. That doesn't happen with modern batteries.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Thanks for replying.
I'll post an update after 2 weeks. How do I check the performance of the battery? Is three an app for it?

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Funduro

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In my opinion, and this applies to all rechargeable batteries, let it die then charge it and make sure it is switched off. I use this method for both my nexus and my samsung S2. Battery in my S2 has been good for the last 18 months
 

wunderbar

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In my opinion, and this applies to all rechargeable batteries, let it die then charge it and make sure it is switched off. I use this method for both my nexus and my samsung S2. Battery in my S2 has been good for the last 18 months

That is old thinking from the time of NiCad batteries. Li-Ion batteries actually last longer when they are kept charged. The more discharges on the battery the shorter the overall lifetime of the battery will be.
 

ongre10

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Just use it. When the battery gets low, charge it. If you need it charged fully at the beginning of the day then charge it overnight.
 

AdmnUnpwnd

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In my opinion, and this applies to all rechargeable batteries, let it die then charge it and make sure it is switched off. I use this method for both my nexus and my samsung S2. Battery in my S2 has been good for the last 18 months

Thanks for replying.
That is what one employee at Google told me but others had different opinions.
 

AdmnUnpwnd

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That is old thinking from the time of NiCad batteries. Li-Ion batteries actually last longer when they are kept charged. The more discharges on the battery the shorter the overall lifetime of the battery will be.

Thanks for replying.
I've heard something similar on XDA Forums but Google said that process will damage the battery. I've also heard that Li-Ion batteries like frequent charges and discharges rather than full charges and discharges, which is contradictory to Google's answer. Can you explain why keeping the battery charged helps it? Thanks!

I don't trust Google a lot since one of the employees in the Hardware Department told me that Nexus 10 has an Asus processor when it is clearly made entirely by Samgsung.
 

Devlyn16

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FROM: Lithium-ion battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Conditioning controversy
There is a belief that Li+ batteries need to be "conditioned" before first use. One is told to plug the battery/device into a charger and leave it there for seven or eight hours, even if fully charged.[108] But this may simply be a confusion of the battery software calibration instructions with the "conditioning" instructions for NiCd and NiMH batteries.[109] The software of a typical smart phone, for example, learns how to accurately gauge the battery's life by watching it discharge, and leaving it on the charger produces a series of "micro discharges" that the software can watch and learn from.
Lithium ion batteries do not need the "conditioning" of being fully discharged and charged the way NiCd and NiMH batteries do.
Charging

Google's specs say the battery is a Lithium Polymer battery https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...om/us/?playredirect=true&hl=en&token=WpfnOOwm

FROM: Lithium polymer battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LiPoly batteries must be charged carefully. The basic process is to charge at constant current until each cell reaches 4.2 V; the charger must then gradually reduce the charge current while holding the cell voltage at 4.2 V until the charge current has dropped to a small percentage of the initial charge rate, at which point the battery is considered fully charged. Some manufacturers specify 2%, others 3%, but other values are also possible. The difference in achieved capacity is minute.
Balance charging simply means that the charger monitors the voltage of each cell in a pack and varies the charge on a per-cell basis so that all cells are brought to the same voltage.
Trickle charging is not recommended for lithium batteries.[8] Most manufacturers claim a maximum and minimum voltage of 4.23 and 3.0 volts per cell, respectively. Taking any cell outside these limits can reduce the cell's capacity and ability to deliver full rated current.
Most dedicated lithium polymer chargers use a charge timer for safety; this cuts the charge after a predefined time (typically 90 minutes).
As of the beginning of 2013, charging rates of up to 15C (i.e., 15 times the capacity of the battery, or approximately 4-minute charge times) are possible in the relatively new (circa 2009) breed of nanowire technology LiPo batteries. This, however, is the exception to the rule, as the more common 1C charge rate still stands as the recommended standard among RC users. It is also important to note that regardless of the charge rate that a battery can handle, using the lower 1C charge rate will always increase the longevity of any RC LiPo battery.



So by understanding it is less about the battery and more about software controlling the charging.
 

AdmnUnpwnd

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FROM: Lithium-ion battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Conditioning controversy
There is a belief that Li+ batteries need to be "conditioned" before first use. One is told to plug the battery/device into a charger and leave it there for seven or eight hours, even if fully charged.[108] But this may simply be a confusion of the battery software calibration instructions with the "conditioning" instructions for NiCd and NiMH batteries.[109] The software of a typical smart phone, for example, learns how to accurately gauge the battery's life by watching it discharge, and leaving it on the charger produces a series of "micro discharges" that the software can watch and learn from.
Lithium ion batteries do not need the "conditioning" of being fully discharged and charged the way NiCd and NiMH batteries do.
Charging

Google's specs say the battery is a Lithium Polymer battery https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...om/us/?playredirect=true&hl=en&token=IjOfI6Bx

FROM: Lithium polymer battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LiPoly batteries must be charged carefully. The basic process is to charge at constant current until each cell reaches 4.2 V; the charger must then gradually reduce the charge current while holding the cell voltage at 4.2 V until the charge current has dropped to a small percentage of the initial charge rate, at which point the battery is considered fully charged. Some manufacturers specify 2%, others 3%, but other values are also possible. The difference in achieved capacity is minute.
Balance charging simply means that the charger monitors the voltage of each cell in a pack and varies the charge on a per-cell basis so that all cells are brought to the same voltage.
Trickle charging is not recommended for lithium batteries.[8] Most manufacturers claim a maximum and minimum voltage of 4.23 and 3.0 volts per cell, respectively. Taking any cell outside these limits can reduce the cell's capacity and ability to deliver full rated current.
Most dedicated lithium polymer chargers use a charge timer for safety; this cuts the charge after a predefined time (typically 90 minutes).
As of the beginning of 2013, charging rates of up to 15C (i.e., 15 times the capacity of the battery, or approximately 4-minute charge times) are possible in the relatively new (circa 2009) breed of nanowire technology LiPo batteries. This, however, is the exception to the rule, as the more common 1C charge rate still stands as the recommended standard among RC users. It is also important to note that regardless of the charge rate that a battery can handle, using the lower 1C charge rate will always increase the longevity of any RC LiPo battery.



So by understanding it is less about the battery and more about software controlling the charging.

Thanks for replying.
Beautiful explanation. My tablet takes about 6 hours to charge from 14% (warning %) to 100% which is much longer than the 15C time specified (90 minutes), does that mean that my charger charges at the 1C charge rate? Does "RC" mean Resistor-Capacitor? And does this mean that the way I charge it doesn't matter? What is "trickle charging"?

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Devlyn16

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RC is for remote control, as remote control hobbyists seem to be the focus of that wiki.

Trickle charging is essentially adding exactly the same amount of power to the battery as is being used so the battery remains at 100%.
 

AdmnUnpwnd

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RC is for remote control, as remote control hobbyists seem to be the focus of that wiki.

Trickle charging is essentially adding exactly the same amount of power to the battery as is being used so the battery remains at 100%.

Thanks for replying.
Does this mean my charging methods (excluding trickle charging) don't matter much since it depends on the hardware and software?

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AdmnUnpwnd

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Yes, by all means.

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 (while charging) using Android Central Forums

Thanks for replying.
So the constant charging and discharging done while using the tablet while charging won't damage the battery, right? Is it possible for the discharging to be faster than the charging (it happened with my old tablet but I thought it was a hardware error)? And is there a limit to how many hours I use it (I've stopped using my PC since I got my tablet)?

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
 

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