1st time ever, I let my phone unplugged overnight, then went all day. Did I ruin it?

[AC Question]

1st time ever, i let my phone unplugged overnight, then went all day. Did I ruin it?

It powered itself off when it reached 2%, when I got home , I charged it all night, and am still charging it now at work in a port on my computer but it won't power back on. Can the battery be replaced? Did I wreck the phone? Help...

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: 1st time ever, i let my phone unplugged overnight, then went all day. Did I ruin it?

Welcome to Android Central! Which phone? Have you been charging using the USB port this whole time? It's much better to plug it into a wall outlet, since the current will be higher. Also try different charging cables and plugs, in case the one you're using is faulty.

Letting a battery run out to the point that the device shuts down automatically isn't damaging in itself--but repeatedly doing this can reduce the overall lifespan of the battery. And if a battery is allowed to drain to true zero (which would probably take an additional several days), then it can become irreversibly drained, but that shouldn't be the case here.

 

[Rukbat]

Actually, the phone will probably hard shut off before the battery drops below the pre-charge state (too low to recharge in the phone), so they shouldn't happen unless you leave a phone in a drawer for a few years. (Then many external chargers will do a precharge and bring the battery back, although the lifespan will probably ha affected a little.)

Leave the phone charging - plugged into a wall charger - at least overnight without trying to turn it on. It should then turn on.

If, for some reason, the battery did get damaged, it can be replaced. How easily and cheaply depends on the make and model of phone. Most user-replaceable batteries are $10 or less, but having to send it to a shop for a battery replacement (because the user can't remove the battery) can run $50 (or even more).

 

[B. Diddy]

Ah, thanks Rukbat! I had thought that if the battery had already been drained to the point of shutting the device off automatically, it wouldn't take that long for the battery to discharge to true zero on its own (even with the device powered off).