Spare Battery.... What are your thoughts now...?

[Bianca Horkan]

I went to a convention in California back in April. I wasn't sure how often I was going to be able to charge my phone at an outlet so I picked up the Samsung charger with an extra battery.

I'm so glad I did. About halfway through the day I'd end up swapping the batteries so I could keep going without having to plug into an outlet.

Three months later, I'm still using the extra battery (playing Ingress can kill my battery like nothing else right now).

I call it a good investment as it has saved my sanity a few times.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk Pro.

 

[Neo_ii_Droid]

Here's a question I have regarding swapping out drained battery for fully charged battery; do you shut down/turn off your SGN.IV first before the exchange? Or do you simply remove the back cover and then swap batteries while the device is on? Any harm doing the latter? Does it even matter?

 

[srvctec]

Here's a question I have regarding swapping out drained battery for fully charged battery; do you shut down/turn off your SGN.IV first before the exchange? Or do you simply remove the back cover and then swap batteries while the device is on? Any harm doing the latter? Does it even matter?

A battery pull (what pulling out the battery with the power on is referred to) is actually good for devices once in a while. It can stop/prevent erratic behavior and is one of the first suggested fixes for erratic behavior of an electronic device. It certainly won't hurt anything unless you are working on a spreadsheet or something similar and haven't saved it. It's also a lot faster than waiting for the phone to shut down.

 

[Neo_ii_Droid]

A battery pull (what pulling out the battery with the power on is referred to) is actually good for devices once in a while. It can stop/prevent erratic behavior and is one of the first suggested fixes for erratic behavior of an electronic device. It certainly won't hurt anything unless you are working on a spreadsheet or something similar and haven't saved it. It's also a lot faster than waiting for the phone to shut down.

Again learned something new to me in that first instance and I'll have to agree with the time it takes to shutdown and restart again. Hopefully I don't encounter a "glitch" that'll "freeze" my SGN.IV which would require me to do a "battery pull."

 

[Neo_ii_Droid]

I always shut down the phone first (wait for the blue LED to go off), then swap out the battery. It's a habit from working in the IT field where it's a best practice to allow the operating system to gracefully shut down to avoid the risk of corrupting any files on the hard drive and it then not booting up again or any of your data being messed up. That's less likely to happen though with the type of storage used in mobile devices and the Android operating system. But I'd still rather play it safe than sorry. It only takes about 15 seconds to power down, 30 seconds to swap the battery and put the cover back on and another 15 seconds to power back up (to the PIN lock screen), so to me I'm not saving any kind of substantial time by just pulling the battery.



Pulling the battery while the device is still powered up isn't what is actually helping. It's the system being rebooted that helps as it ends any errant processes that might have been causing erratic behavior while also loading a fresh instance of the operating system. It also can allow the device hardware to reset as all electrical current will drain from the internal circuitry.

That's what I was concerned about coming from a non-techie guy. Now see here, I am truly liking AC and its Members and am learning something new each day. Thank you once again for detailing this. Much appreciated!

 

[srvctec]

Pulling the battery while the device is still powered up isn't what is actually helping. It's the system being rebooted that helps as it ends any errant processes that might have been causing erratic behavior while also loading a fresh instance of the operating system. It also can allow the device hardware to reset as all electrical current will drain from the internal circuitry.

Here's where we are going to have to agree to disagree, then. I'm in my 26th year of working on electronic devices and I've seen with my own eyes, removing power completely from devices and letting all voltage drain from all components and capacitors, help solve a miriad of issues when nothing else would. I've witnessed it dozens, if not hundreds of times. Must just be me.

 

[Neo_ii_Droid]

Here's where we are going to have to agree to disagree, then. I'm in my 26th year of working on electronic devices and I've seen with my own eyes, removing power completely from devices and letting all voltage drain from all components and capacitors, help solve a m[y]riad of issues when nothing else would. I've witnessed it dozens, if not hundreds of times. Must just be me.

Oops, my bad. Think we have a little miscommunication as I completely agree with that (been my experience as well with electronics)! I was just trying to point out that it's usually best to gracefully shut down the operating system (on devices with that option) versus just pulling power from a device.

I can discern the validity of these testaments. Thank you!

 

[Magnesus]

I have an external USB battery that I use from time to time when I need to charge Note 4 and there is no power. It is heavy but doesn't require taking off the back plate.

 

[Neo_ii_Droid]

I have an external USB battery that I use from time to time when I need to charge Note 4 and there is no power. It is heavy but doesn't require taking off the back plate.

Which one would this be, and how has it worked out for you? Reason for asking is because I'm also looking into something along the lines of the RavPower RP-WD02 or the RavPower RP-WD03.

 

[sparksd]

Which one would this be, and how has it worked out for you? Reason for asking is because I'm also looking into something along the lines of the RavPower RP-WD02 or the RavPower RP-WD03.

I have the RavPower RP-WD01 and it works great with my Note 4, Nexus 7, TF100T, and iPad Air 2. I rarely use it for the external battery but when I do, it works just fine. As a file hub it is outstanding.

 

[Neo_ii_Droid]

I have the RavPower RP-WD01 and it works great with my Note 4 . . . I rarely use it for the external battery but when I do, it works just fine. As a file hub it is outstanding.

Yes I learned and first heard of RP from one of your posts/thread. Thanks to you, I've been keeping a close eye on these products from said company. The reviews have been great especially from xda members.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[sparksd]

Yes I learned and first heard of RP from one of your posts/thread. Thanks to you, I've been keeping a close eye on these products from said company. The reviews have been great especially from xda members.

Posted via the Android Central App

You're welcome. On the OP's question and wrt the RavPower - if I think I'll need the extra juice for the Note 4, I prefer the ease and quickness of putting in a spare battery over using any of the too-many external batteries I now have. I use those only with sealed devices like my tablets. (The RavPower file hub battery I prefer to keep for powering the hub itself). And given the good battery life I've had with the Note 4, I've seldom had to swap out - usually only occurs when I'm in an area with poor cell coverage and the radio sucks the battery.

 

[Neo_ii_Droid]

You're welcome. On the OP's question and wrt the RavPower - if I think I'll need the extra juice for the Note 4, I prefer the ease and quickness of putting in a spare battery . . . And given the good battery life I've had with the Note 4, I've seldom had to swap out - usually only occurs when I'm in an area with poor cell coverage and the radio sucks the battery.

This is the situation I'm in now for this 4-day weekend for me. No Wi-Fi and spotty cell coverage. Reason for me buying the spare battery. I'm just wanting to be prepared and at the same time observing the original battery.

Yesterday I noticed this from my SGN.IV was at 100% full charge at 4:25AM to 53% charge at 10:05PM. (All subjective) But personally, I think I'm getting good battery life out of it according to my uses. Of course Your Methods May Vary accordingly so.

Enjoy!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[mchi5]

To the OP question I just bought the Anker extra battery and charger set. Got a great deal on it from Amazon and it comes with two replacement batteries and a wall charger.

This will be a great investment. . At first I was using the zerolemon 10,000 mah extended battery but it was way too heavy and bulky for everyday use.

Swapping out the battery takes like 30 seconds, and I can still use my favorite cases which is the best part.

If I upgrade to the Note 5. I'm gonna miss this feature. May have to invest on a mophie or some sort of battery case

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[Neo_ii_Droid]

Looks like they are back ordered again for the Samsung website says the wait is another 4 weeks. Tried yesterday...blahhhh!

Which may indicate the large number of folks that find a spare battery useful.

Yes! And that—they say—is a clue.

 

[Yogi217]

I've had the spare battery since last November. Love it. Use it regularly. I also had it for the note 3. It's way better imo than an external battery pack (for most situations). Can never have enough backup juice when life is busy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[nahoku]

I just recently bought a spare battery and charger kit for my Note 4. Trying to future proof a little. Plus good for weekend fishing trips. Plan on swapping out monthly to cycle the batteries. Also own a battery pack that uses 18650's. Don't really like packs that have permanently installed batteries. I want to be able to swap the 18650's out too!

 

[cwbcpa]

Loving this kit from Anker! Great price for what you get. Perfect for days when you're out and about and you don't want to worry about finding an outlet. If you're a gamer or stream a lot of video, these are a must-have to keep you going.

[NFC/Google Wallet Capable] Anker® 2 x 3220mAh Li-ion Batteries for... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q4NQQA0...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU4651541

Sent from my SM-N910T

I bought this a few weeks ago and have been rotating through the 3 batteries. It's great. I never plug in at all. I have to swap a battery about once a day on average and I'm good. I have had a few heavy use days where I was able to swap in a new one mid afternoon and saved the trouble of finding an outlet. For $25 you can't beat it.

Sent from my Note 4

 

[djle93]

I plan to get a spare battery as I plan to keep this phone a long time like 3 yrs+ so having a spare battery and charger makes sense. Mightest well buy one now and have the convenience of instant full battery. Only thing is the case. I guess Ill just have to find a average case where you can slide it on and off easily for battery changing.

 

[BrockS.]

Very hapoy with the purchase, in fact, I ordered two more the other day.

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