What is proper battery maintenance?

Sanjay Ramoutar

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2015
60
0
0
Visit site
Hi folks,
So I recently bought a new battery for my Note 4, again, in under 6 months. I suspect the last one was not legit. This present one seems to be holding a proper charge for a whole day now. The girl in the store told me that I had to condition the battery by running it all the way down and then charging all the way up to 100% for at least three times. Is this right? I mean, I thought that lithium batteries don't really like being discharged until dead? Can someone tell me at what percentage I should charge my handset please? The battery is working well so far and I really don't want to mess it up. Thanks in advance.
 

Sanjay Ramoutar

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2015
60
0
0
Visit site

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,274
4,386
113
Visit site
There's also an argument that topping off the charge on a regular basis is actually not ideal for the battery. This is the rationale for the 80/40 guideline that you may have heard of, which is to charge a battery to 80% (and not 100%), and start charging again when it gets down to 40%. From a practical standpoint, though, charging only up to 80% makes daily use a little more inconvenient, so 100% is fine.
 

natehoy

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2011
2,667
71
0
Visit site
In general, proper battery management techniques are going to prevent extremely small amounts of wear and tear on a battery. That additional wear and tear does, in fact, add up. But not to a huge amount, really.

On a phone with a sealed battery that small amount of wear and tear *might* add up to make the difference between "phone that doesn't last as long as it did when new but is still okay" to "time for a new phone" in as little as a year. At least for me. Your mileage may vary.

80/40 is a good rule to eke the most out of long-term battery life if it is convenient for you. If I ever go back to a sealed battery that is most certainly what I will do whenever I possibly can.

For the Note 4? Fast charge often, full top-off charge overnight, and when I need to run it down to power-down, I do that and don't even feel guilty. ;)

$40 pair of Ankers (your brand preference may vary) is good for over a year. Small price to pay, for me, for the convenience of using my phone like I want to use it.
 

TechNut79

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2010
1,595
14
38
Visit site
So my new Anker battery says I should unplug after hitting 100% and I've always left it plugged in overnight. Am I OK? Also, I don't plug it in at 40%, but I usually don't wait until as low as 10% either.
 

natehoy

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2011
2,667
71
0
Visit site
So my new Anker battery says I should unplug after hitting 100% and I've always left it plugged in overnight. Am I OK? Also, I don't plug it in at 40%, but I usually don't wait until as low as 10% either.

Yes, you are okay. It may lower battery longevity a bit, but - hey - a new Anker is only 20 bucks, right?

Just think of it as paying a little more for convenience. You could probably get an extra month or two out of the battery if you become its servant and dutifully charge it only to 75-80% and then have it on a slow charger before it hits 40%.

Or you could just go use your phone and change in whatever manner is most convenient to you, and then accept that you'll be dropping another $20 a month or two early for that convenience.

Totally your call. Depends on your personal priorities.
 

TechNut79

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2010
1,595
14
38
Visit site
The problem is that this phone's battery dies so quickly. I'm usually on only a few apps, but I can watch it drop before my eyes. Last night I put it down at 98% and woke up to 90% with no use.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,274
4,386
113
Visit site
In that case, it would help to see some battery stats to get a better idea of what might be responsible. Charge up to 100%, then let it drain to 20-30% with normal usage, without charging in between. Then show us:

1. The main Settings>Battery screen.2. The fullscreen battery graph screen (which shows Awake time and Cell Signal Strength).
3. The Screen category (to see total Screen On time).
4. The Cell Standby category, if present (to see Time Without Signal).

You might have to install a 3rd party battery monitor, like GSam Battery Monitor, to get the Cell Signal Strength graph.
 

TechNut79

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2010
1,595
14
38
Visit site
The Cell Signal Strength graph I won't/can't do because a 3rd party app is not getting downloaded. The rest I can do though.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,274
4,386
113
Visit site
Oh I see. I think Samsung devices don't give you a native way of graphing the cell signal, so you could either find another app that reports the cell signal strength that you're ok with, or not know if poor signal might be the problem. just relying on the bars in the status bar might not be enough, since you can't watch it all the time.
 

TechNut79

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2010
1,595
14
38
Visit site
I'm pretty sure cell signal is part of the problem. It usually ranges from -95 to -100+. So frustrating, but I don't really know what else can be done.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,274
4,386
113
Visit site
If it's primarily at home where the signal is poor, you could check with your carrier to see if they offer a signal booster for free (or for cheap). Or you could make a habit of toggling mobile data off overnight.
 

natehoy

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2011
2,667
71
0
Visit site
I also turned on WiFi calling, so if the cell signal gets weak (which it does at my house a lot) the phone switches over to WiFi for voice, SMS, and voicemail notifications. That seems to have helped quite a lot with battery life for me.

Also, the Note 4 battery meter does have a decent way of monitoring cell signal, albeit not terribly precisely - and it's not terribly obvious to find it. Simply go to "Settings" / "Battery" and when the summary graph comes up, tap on it to go to the detailed graph.

You'll get another view of the graph with stats like "Mobile Network signal" (green = good, yellow = meh, orange = bad, red = nope), Location on, WiFi on, Awake, Screen on, and Charging.

The nice part about that screen is that you can see the signal stats and kinda sorta associate weak signal, screen on, location on, or WiFi on with the current speed of discharge.

There's no way to zoom in or see -dBm for signal at any given time, but it gives a pretty decently solid idea of what is going on for my purposes - no extra apps required.
 

natehoy

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2011
2,667
71
0
Visit site
I'm pretty sure cell signal is part of the problem. It usually ranges from -95 to -100+. So frustrating, but I don't really know what else can be done.

Realized I forgot to tag you on the previous post so you would be notified of the reply. Sorry.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,274
4,386
113
Visit site
@natehoy, I thought that more recent Samsung phones got rid of the cell signal strength graph or bar, so it's good to know the Note 4 has it. What version of Android are you running?
 

natehoy

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2011
2,667
71
0
Visit site
@natehoy, I thought that more recent Samsung phones got rid of the cell signal strength graph or bar, so it's good to know the Note 4 has it. What version of Android are you running?

6.0.1.

Horrible screen shot since there's no history on it, but...
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_2017-06-06-15-34-53.jpg
    Screenshot_2017-06-06-15-34-53.jpg
    79.9 KB · Views: 10

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,274
4,386
113
Visit site
Thanks! I'll have to check my wife's Note5 to see if that's when they got rid of those bars ...