Pixel 5 and the Battery - 80/40%?

[dannyro77]

The battery on this phone is outstanding. I'll leave it at that.
With the new technology in batteries, is it still advisable to charge it to only 80%, and when it gets down to 40/35% charge it back to only 80%? OR will it degrade the battery faster by charging to 100?

 

[bkdodger2]

Great to hear it.. I've heard good things... I've always done the 100% and charge it when done for day...

 

[Scott337]

I've always been a "charge it overnight while you sleep" person - start the day with 100%, and have never had any issues with a battery wearing out prematurely. I have read a lot of counter-arguments stating otherwise, and a lot of arguments stating that is the preferred way.

 

[eric002]

I've always been a "charge it overnight while you sleep" person - start the day with 100%, and have never had any issues with a battery wearing out prematurely. I have read a lot of counter-arguments stating otherwise, and a lot of arguments stating that is the preferred way.

yeah, unfortunately, I hear that. That's why I'm really looking forward to this new phone parody insane battery life, wide-angle lens, more RAM, etc etc

 

[cbreze]

A lot of people subscribe to that method of charging. The site Battery university swears by it and performs numerous testing to back up their claims. I’m currently running a pixel 2 purchased on launch day over 3 years ago still going strong and I always charge to 100%. I don’t think charging using the 20/80 or 40/80 method would make a difference and it seems like a hassle to always be near a charger at the right time to plug in.
I’ve been using cell phones for a bit longer than 20 years and the old nickel cads were the only batteries I ever had issue with. The lithium ion never had a problem with. So based on that I shall continue to charge from wherever it is at bedtime to full 100% everyday, and this usually means plugged in at midnight, unplugged at 8am. I see no reason not to as I’ve never screwed up a battery yet, then I just go about my life without a care about finding a charger at 40% and being at a place to plug in.
Pro tip: plug in anytime you feel like it if convenient for a top off as it does not hurt the lithium ion battery.
People stress way to much over battery.

 

[ezdoit]

^^^ this ^^^

 

[dmxjago]

Since the nexus 6p and all the previous pixel devices that I've owned i always charge up to 100% and don't really focus on when to throw it on the charger based on how much % i have left. Typically when I'm working from i keep the phone on the pixel stand on my desk and only take it out when I need to use it or leave to go somewhere. Also at night I keep it on a second pixel stand charging over night. I never notice a battery degrade issue that was noticeable. I just use the phone how I please and don't focus on best practices to making the battery as long as possible. Again never notice a difference.

I'd say just use and charge the phone as little or as often as you'd like. If you worry about charging it at a certain % and having to worry about not charging it last 80% then it would feel like your only using like 40-60% of the phone's battery.

*Sorry for typos.

 

[eric002]

Since the nexus 6p and all the previous pixel devices that I've owned i always charge up to 100% and don't really focus on when to throw it on the charger based on how much % i have left. Typically when I'm working from i keep the phone on the pixel stand on my desk and only take it out when I need to use it or leave to go somewhere. Also at night I keep it on a second pixel stand charging over night. I never notice a battery degrade issue that was noticeable. I just use the phone how I please and don't focus on best practices to making the battery as long as possible. Again never notice a difference.

I'd say just use and charge the phone as little or as often as you'd like. If you worry about charging it at a certain % and having to worry about not charging it last 80% then it would feel like your only using like 40-60% of the phone's battery.

*Sorry for typos.

I do agree with you. I try not to stress over this either, I just want battery for what and when I need it for.

 

[revo2001]

By the time I got my Pixel 5, the battery on my Pixel 3xl was shot. I also plugged it in at night and unplugged it in the morning. I am hoping to prevent that from happening again. I'm able to plug it in during the course of the day, that's not an option for everyone.

 

[eric002]

By the time I got my Pixel 5, the battery on my Pixel 3xl was shot. I also plugged it in at night and unplugged it in the morning. I am hoping to prevent that from happening again. I'm able to plug it in during the course of the day, that's not an option for everyone.

You know, that's pretty much what I do. What should the correct charging happen be though? I mean my pixel 3XL battery is Pretty worn out as well.

 

[Mooncatt]

With the new technology in batteries...

The new technologies are mostly software, such as controlling current, thermal handling, voltages, etc. The underlying Li-ion chemistry and internal designs really haven't changed much over the years in phones (larger industrial and electric vehicle batteries are another story). I still stick with roughly the 40-80% rule, mostly because I'm a heavy user and don't feel like paying those stupid expensive prices due to manufacturers sealing up the phones. Back when user replaceable batteries were common, I didn't care much about it because it was cheap and easy to replace.

 

[Rukbat]

The only reason to not charge the battery to 100% is that the charger (the circuitry inside the phone - the thing you plug into the wall is just a source of power) could fail during charging, cooking the battery before you realize that something is wrong and unplugging the wall wart (or removing the phone from the wireless charging pad). When the charge shuts off at "100%", the battery is actually charged to about 98% or 99%, so it's perfectly safe. (Running GSam Battery Monitor will at least give you a notification when the charge reaches the limit you set (I've had mine set to 99% for years).

40% is the "drop dead point". You should really plan on charging when the battery drops down to 45%. If you can't charge, and the battery is down to 40%, turn the phone off!

Nothing about lithium technology has changed, as far as cellphone batteries. We have newer types of lithium batteries, but no phone has a $200 battery in it - those are reserved for much larger batteries (lithium iron phosphate, lithium titanate, etc.) And the charge rate hasn't changed either - don't get too close to the C rating. (If the battery is rated at 4080mAh, don't charge faster than 2040mA, or 2.04A [0.5C]. That includes 9 Volts at 2 Amps when it's fast charging - that's about the fastest the battery should charge at.)

 

[mrpackerguy]

I'm an 80/40 charger. No hassle at all to top off during the day at home, at work or in the car. My 3XL is 19mos old. My battery capacity is 95% of original. I'm an extremely heavy user.

 

[dannyro77]

ok thanks. Im just curious, why is 40% the drop dead point and why does it hurt your battery in the long run to drain it past 40%? Just wondering if there is anything proven on this?

 

[Mooncatt]

ok thanks. Im just curious, why is 40% the drop dead point and why does it hurt your battery in the long run to drain it past 40%? Just wondering if there is anything proven on this?

Li-ion batteries don't like being kept at high or low levels of charge, and doing so increases the chemical breakdown internally, but it's not like if you drain to 39% the battery is toast. The testing shows wear doesn't really accelerate until you get closer to 25%, and the ideal for absolute longevity is around 65%, so 40% is seen as a good balance between longevity and time between charges. Battery University goes into a lot of testing and detail on this is you feel like geeking out on the details.

 

[mrpackerguy]

I'm no expert, but the literature suggests depth of discharge, and faster rate of losing a battery's capacity when discharged to low levels. One article I read also said, charging to 100% is one charge cycle, but charging to 80% is less than a cycle, and "topping off" rather than deeply discharging a battery, is even less of a cycle. Since a battery is good for only so many full cycles before it starts losing capacity, charging at less than a full cycle will therefore prolong the battery life. I don't know....it's worked for me. Like I said, I've been following the 80/40 approach pretty faithfully with the Accubattery app and like I said, I'm at 95% capacity after almost 20 months of owning my 3XL. Seems to be working for me. YMMV.

 

[mustang7757]

I'll be sticking to my usual routine 100% to 5-10%

 

[eric002]

I'll be sticking to my usual routine 100% to 5-10%

Yeah, I hear you dude! Other than my being uptight and anal I try to drain my battery as much as I can. The interesting thing is when I take it out the charger, I'm still plugging into my car for Android Auto if you know what I mean.

 

[mustang7757]

Yeah, I hear you dude! Other than my being uptight and anal I try to drain my battery as much as I can. The interesting thing is when I take it out the charger, I'm still plugging into my car for Android Auto if you know what I mean.

Yeah, I'm not really worried about it , but I won't limit myself to any rules when I get outstanding battery life ,SOT, battery wear. Just me , anyone can follow their own ways .

 

[eric002]

Yeah, I'm not really worried about it , but I won't limit myself to any rules when I get outstanding battery life ,SOT, battery wear. Just me , anyone can follow their own ways .

You know mustang dude, I agree and hear you out completely dude! Even with my Pixel 5 in the future, it'll be plugged into Android Auto in my car everyday and I will force myself to be less uptight/anal about my battery life. Considering that the Pixel 5 has outstanding battery as it is, this should be easy! By the way, mine's supposed to ship on December 2nd from Verizon! The stores don't even have them yet, as I've been told.