Cold weather and battery indicator

[ahiqar]

I live in Wisconsin. It's cold here. Every morning I go out for a walk and sometimes have to shovel my driveway as well. I've noticed since the weather turned cold (20s or below) that my battery percentage indicator indicates a huge drop in the battery by the end of my walk/shoveling.
For example, this am I was outside for about 75 minutes and the battery went from 99 to 82 during that time. All I did was listen to a lecture on an app (20 min) and 20 min of a podcast.
This has happened to me other mornings as well. And on those days, the battery life will end up being fine. In fact, the battery indicator might sit on 83 for 2-3 hours before going down any further. So I wonder if the issue is with the phone's ability to accurately indicate power left in the battery (and the issue not being the battery itself).
Anyone else have this issue? Any thoughts? I'm not too worried because as I said: the battery life is still fine.

 

[ahiqar]

Btw, wifi is off.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

You probably have it in your pocket I'm guessing. That could cause a weaker signal working the phone harder. Just a thought.

 

[smcd7741650]

Ahiqar:

I also live in Wisconsin and I tried to emulate your circumstances as closely as I could to determine if I would get similar results. I agree with your conclusion that cold temperatures negatively affect the battery life of this phone.

I just completed a walk, in Grant Park which is in southern Milwaukee County. The temperature is 12 degrees Fahrenheit there is no wind and I walked for exactly one hour. My phone was in a holster on my belt and was exposed to the elements. When I started my walk my phone was at 96% charge. When I completed my walk it was at 73% charge. I listened to a previously downloaded audible book on my phone while I walked it was not streaming, but I did have the Wi-Fi on.

When I returned to my car I immediately plugged my phone into the charger. Any doubts I had about the effect of cold weather on the battery were erased when I received the following message: "charging stopped, your phone is too cold to charge, charging will resume when the temperature returns to normal."

I would be interested to hear from other people who spend time outdoors in the cold weather to hear if they have similar experiences. The next time I go for a walk I think I will keep my phone inside my coat next to my body to see if my body heat keeps the phone warm and produces a different result.

I will be following this topic closely.

 

[ahiqar]

Thanks a lot for the replies. Thanks for your experiment. I'd be interested to hear how your battery progresses the rest of the day. Mine, now almost 3 hours later, is at 80 percent. Only a 2 percent drain in 3 hours, and I've had about an hour of SOT in the last 3 hours. At least on my phone, my working theory is thst the battery itself is not adversly affected by the cold weather, but that the phone misreads the remaining capacity of the battery. It normalizes when the phone warms up, but instead of adding a percentage back onto the capacity, it simply shows the drain of battery life slower.

 

[ahiqar]

Thanks a lot for the replies. Thanks for your experiment. I'd be interested to hear how your battery progresses the rest of the day. Mine, now almost 3 hours later, is at 80 percent. Only a 2 percent drain in 3 hours, and I've had about an hour of SOT in the last 3 hours. At least on my phone, my working theory is thst the battery itself is not adversly affected by the cold weather, but that the phone misreads the remaining capacity of the battery. It normalizes when the phone warms up, but instead of adding a percentage back onto the capacity, it simply shows the drain of battery life slower.

Btw, here's an updated screen shot.

 

[Deke218]

At least on my phone, my working theory is thst the battery itself is not adversly affected by the cold weather, but that the phone misreads the remaining capacity of the battery. It normalizes when the phone warms up, but instead of adding a percentage back onto the capacity, it simply shows the drain of battery life slower.

Try resetting your device after the it warms up. It would be interesting to see if the battery percentage returns to normal.

 

[jimd1050]

Try resetting your device after the it warms up. It would be interesting to see if the battery percentage returns to normal.

Agree... I'd like to see "smcd7741650" try that as well once the phone warms up instead of charging it! It could be just an inaccurate reading and NOT the battery!

 

[ahiqar]

Good suggestion on the reset. I restarted my phone this morning after I got inside and warmed up. It was at 82 % before the restart. When it came back on it was still at 82. But it didn't move from 82 for over an hour, even with extended use.

 

[smcd7741650]

Agree... I'd like to see "smcd7741650" try that as well once the phone warms up instead of charging it! It could be just an inaccurate reading and NOT the battery!

jimd1050:

OK, after my walk tomorrow, I will try letting the phone warm up and then reboot it. We'll test out whether this a sensor issue or a battery issue.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

I googled it. It's the battery, but not specific to note 8.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/13/tech/mobile/cold-weather-phones/index.html

 

[ahiqar]

That's helpful. Thanks. But my experience has been not that the battery life gets worse, but that the indicator for battery life is possibly incorrect because of the cold. At the end of the day today, my battery life is much the same as a day was when it was warmer even though I experienced that 17 percent drop in just over an hour this morning.

 

[o4liberty]

Extremely cold or hot weather will drain a battery on anything very normal.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

That's helpful. Thanks. But my experience has been not that the battery life gets worse, but that the indicator for battery life is possibly incorrect because of the cold. At the end of the day today, my battery life is much the same as a day was when it was warmer even though I experienced that 17 percent drop in just over an hour this morning.

I know, but reading what I underline here leads me to believe that cold could cause faulty readings, just my thought.

 

[Soundman72]

all batteries are affected by the cold not just phone batteries my advice is possible keep them on the inside of your coat near your body as this will help keep a good temperature.

 

[jjinal]

all batteries are affected by the cold not just phone batteries my advice is possible keep them on the inside of your coat near your body as this will help keep a good temperature.

Yep, cold weather has been killing batteries since the invention of the battery.

 

[smcd7741650]

I agree, it is a battery issue and not a problem with the sensor. I tested the sesor theory again today and confirmed that it is definitely the effect of cold weather on the battery.

I went for a one-hour walk at lunch today. It was about 22 degrees outside. My batteries charge was at 100% when I started and about 83% when I completed my walk. I listened to an audible book during my walk. When I went back inside I did not charge the phone. I put my phone in a shirt pocket and let it warm up for an hour. The battery did not increase in charge, instead it decreased by about 2% in that hour. When I did put it back on the charger the battery rapidly regained its charge.

It's just physics. The chemicals in the battery that allow it to store electrical potential work less efficiently in cold weather. Apparently it's not just me that gets sluggish when it's cold outside. It's now Friday evening and I am now done with this thought problem and will put my limited mental capacity to better uses.

 

[LuxuryTouringZone]

Just the way it seems to be when you live in a cold country - or in your case, a cold part of the country.

 

[jimd1050]

I agree, it is a battery issue and not a problem with the sensor. I tested the sesor theory again today and confirmed that it is definitely the effect of cold weather on the battery.

I went for a one-hour walk at lunch today. It was about 22 degrees outside. My batteries charge was at 100% when I started and about 83% when I completed my walk. I listened to an audible book during my walk. When I went back inside I did not charge the phone. I put my phone in a shirt pocket and let it warm up for an hour. The battery did not increase in charge, instead it decreased by about 2% in that hour. When I did put it back on the charger the battery rapidly regained its charge.

It's just physics. The chemicals in the battery that allow it to store electrical potential work less efficiently in cold weather. Apparently it's not just me that gets sluggish when it's cold outside. It's now Friday evening and I am now done with this thought problem and will put my limited mental capacity to better uses.

Thank you for running the test and have one for me please?

 

[ahiqar]

I agree, it is a battery issue and not a problem with the sensor. I tested the sesor theory again today and confirmed that it is definitely the effect of cold weather on the battery.

I went for a one-hour walk at lunch today. It was about 22 degrees outside. My batteries charge was at 100% when I started and about 83% when I completed my walk. I listened to an audible book during my walk. When I went back inside I did not charge the phone. I put my phone in a shirt pocket and let it warm up for an hour. The battery did not increase in charge, instead it decreased by about 2% in that hour. When I did put it back on the charger the battery rapidly regained its charge.

It's just physics. The chemicals in the battery that allow it to store electrical potential work less efficiently in cold weather. Apparently it's not just me that gets sluggish when it's cold outside. It's now Friday evening and I am now done with this thought problem and will put my limited mental capacity to better uses.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help me think through this and for your experiments.