At what percentage % do you charge your battery? (to help your battery lead a longer life)

[Aquila]

The ideal is to keep it between 40% and 80% for as much as possible and to lean towards going above 80% rather than below 40% if there is a choice. It's better to leave it on the charger bouncing near 100% than to go below 20%, but not by much. Anything below 20% should be avoided with all reasonable measures and, even though some people will still recommend "conditioning" a battery, you should not do this - ever. Conditioning is letting it go from 100% to 0% and then recharging it, sometimes multiple times. This is very close to the worst thing you can do to a battery.

 

[ClintRo]

The ideal is to keep it between 40% and 80% for as much as possible and to lean towards going above 80% rather than below 40% if there is a choice. It's better to leave it on the charger bouncing near 100% than to go below 20%, but not by much. Anything below 20% should be avoided with all reasonable measures and, even though some people will still recommend "conditioning" a battery, you should not do this - ever. Conditioning is letting it go from 100% to 0% and then recharging it, sometimes multiple times. This is very close to the worst thing you can do to a battery.

Ironically "conditioning the battery" used to be the best way to run back when we had Ni Cad batteries...LOL

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Usually 20%.

I'm not the type of guy who babies his phone for the absolute best battery life, though.

 

[Jaycemiskel]

I don't even really see how charging at 80% versus charging at 40% makes a difference in the number of cycles. If I use 3600 mah of power a day. Whether I run my phone down to 0 before charging or charge around 60%, I'm still gonna use the same amount of power that day so overall the amount of cycles is the same.

 

[libra89]

This thread is very interesting. Right now, if I'm at around 35-40% and I have a workday ahead (or busy night), I will charge my phone a bit.

 

[Morty2264]

Not sure about official charging protocol/unwritten rules, but I usually slap my phone on a charger before bed; when it's usually between 15-45% (but usually, it'll be between 15-35%, because I Netflix before bed very often).

And yup! Most phones will stop charging when they reach 100% as a safety measure. Which is great, because when I let my phone charge overnight, it's not like I wake up when it immediately reaches 100%!

... Well, actually, that's sort of a lie. Sometimes that "fully charged" beep does wake me up.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[chanchan05]

I don't even really see how charging at 80% versus charging at 40% makes a difference in the number of cycles. If I use 3600 mah of power a day. Whether I run my phone down to 0 before charging or charge around 60%, I'm still gonna use the same amount of power that day so overall the amount of cycles is the same.

If I understood correctly its about how much you stress the ions and their charge holding capacity. A good example would be, allowing it to discharge from 100 to 0 then back to full would give you 500 charge cycles. However, charging it at 50% always gives you 1500 cycles, instead of the 1000 cycles you would expect. So even if you charge twice a day, it would still allow the battery to last longer than draining it.

 

[Jaycemiskel]

If I understood correctly its about how much you stress the ions and their charge holding capacity. A good example would be, allowing it to discharge from 100 to 0 then back to full would give you 500 charge cycles. However, charging it at 50% always gives you 1500 cycles, instead of the 1000 cycles you would expect. So even if you charge twice a day, it would still allow the battery to last longer than draining it.

Ah ok. So even though you're using the same number of cycles, the battery just lasts for more cycles. That makes sense.

 

[bigoldthor]

Charge with impunity and enjoy your device.

 

[anon(5719825)]

I charge every phone I have at around 5-10% but usually when they hit that 5% warning when the display dims.

 

[ClintRo]

Not sure about official charging protocol/unwritten rules, but I usually slap my phone on a charger before bed; when it's usually between 15-45% (but usually, it'll be between 15-35%, because I Netflix before bed very often).

And yup! Most phones will stop charging when they reach 100% as a safety measure. Which is great, because when I let my phone charge overnight, it's not like I wake up when it immediately reaches 100%!

... Well, actually, that's sort of a lie. Sometimes that "fully charged" beep does wake me up.

Posted via the Android Central App

I sleep right through that... and my alarm quite frequently...LOL

 

[ClintRo]

I charge every phone I have at around 5-10% but usually when they hit that 5% warning when the display dims.

5%-10% wow... living on the edge... LOL

That would drive me crazy, but then again I have wireless chargers at work (2 for some reason) one as my car dock and 2 at home... one bedside and one in the living room so often it just sits there whether it needs it or not.

 

[Dan TheMan86]

In this day and age of leased phones like T-Mobile's Jump On Demand program, Keeping a phone for a few months let alone 2 years makes battery longevity concerns none existent. If you're buying the device out right then you best have insurance, which will cover the battery as well. My point is, I use my devices as they were designed to be used, I don't cripple their functionality to eek out a few extra minutes of screentime, and I sure don't waste my time pondering what the perfect percentage point would be to recharge my phone. I have multiple wireless chargers throughout my home, office, and car. No matter whether the phone needs it or not, it will depending on usage end up on one of those chargers 1-4 times a day.
When the next Note is released, I get a new battery. If something should happen before then, I have insurance that will take care of it ...

Thank you so much for your meaningful contribution to the thread!!!

 

[Android Adenoid]

AC published an article on Future Battery technology in Jan 2015. Well worth a read if you haven't done so.
Smartphone Futurology, Part 1

The author, Shen Ye, seems to be well versed in battery technology. In the article he makes these recommendations.

[h=3]Tips for improving lithium battery longevity[/h]

• Lithium batteries do not require conditioning, where you have to charge the battery for 24 hours on first charge.
• Leaving your phone on the charger after it’s charged won’t cause overcharging, except in very rare cases where the charging circuit malfunctions. Leaving a battery at 100% for long periods is not advised.
• Use fast charging sparingly where possible, higher temperatures quickens deterioration.
• Avoid charging at temperatures below freezing as subfreezing charging can cause irreversible electroplating of metallic lithium on the anode[16].
• Avoid discharging to 0%, it’s bad for the battery’s lifespan.
• Store lithium batteries at ~40-50% to reduce deterioration, also disconnect them from the device if possible.

 

[Morty2264]

I sleep right through that... and my alarm quite frequently...LOL

LOOL! That happens! I once slept through an alarm too... That kinda traumatized me for a while, and that was when I started setting multiple alarms!

 

[Aquila]

AC published an article on Future Battery technology in Jan 2015. Well worth a read if you haven't done so.
Smartphone Futurology, Part 1

The author, Shen Ye, seems to be well versed in battery technology. In the article he makes these recommendations.

Tips for improving lithium battery longevity

• Lithium batteries do not require conditioning, where you have to charge the battery for 24 hours on first charge.
• Leaving your phone on the charger after it’s charged won’t cause overcharging, except in very rare cases where the charging circuit malfunctions. Leaving a battery at 100% for long periods is not advised.
• Use fast charging sparingly where possible, higher temperatures quickens deterioration.
• Avoid charging at temperatures below freezing as subfreezing charging can cause irreversible electroplating of metallic lithium on the anode[16].
• Avoid discharging to 0%, it’s bad for the battery’s lifespan.
• Store lithium batteries at ~40-50% to reduce deterioration, also disconnect them from the device if possible.

Shen Ye makes the Sunbeam live wallpaper

 

[coolkenny13]

thank you for all the replies. there's clearly people who care about their battery and people who want to just 'enjoy' using the phone as is. there are some people that are not part of a t-mobile program and don't have such services in their countries to get new phones every 1 year or 2 years. some of us want to use the phone for longevity. every phone that i use i want to make it last for around 4-5 years for me as i don't have money to waste for minor upgrades each year. the iphone 5 lasted me brilliantly for 4 years before i switched to s7

 

[Not Quite Right]

Thank you so much for your meaningful contribution to the thread!!!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fTT9xlgZ9CU/S4X-kKnERjI/AAAAAAAAkEE/r7--fY8-DBg/s400/Smug+Alert.jpg

My bad ... I forget there are people who truly enjoy beating a dead horse.

My contribution was simply addressing the folks who like to worry about things they really don't need to worry about.

 

[Not Quite Right]

every phone that i use i want to make it last for around 4-5 years for me as i don't have money to waste for minor upgrades each year. the iphone 5 lasted me brilliantly for 4 years before i switched to s7

If you're getting phone batteries to last 4-5 years then keep on doing what you're doing, you've figured this all out ...

 

[dannyar11]

The iphone 5 hasn't even been out 4 years....

thank you for all the replies. there's clearly people who care about their battery and people who want to just 'enjoy' using the phone as is. there are some people that are not part of a t-mobile program and don't have such services in their countries to get new phones every 1 year or 2 years. some of us want to use the phone for longevity. every phone that i use i want to make it last for around 4-5 years for me as i don't have money to waste for minor upgrades each year. the iphone 5 lasted me brilliantly for 4 years before i switched to s7