Basic recharging question

[PA452]

Recently picked up a Galaxy S7, coming from an S4. Given that the new Galaxys don't have removable batteries, I'm trying to give above average consideration to battery longevity.

So my question is, if my battery is at say 80% at the end of the day, having started the day at 100%, is it better for battery life longevity to charge each night back to 100 or let it drain down some the next day, say between 40-50% before topping it back off?

Thanks

 

[luke31]

Recently picked up a Galaxy S7, coming from an S4. Given that the new Galaxys don't have removable batteries, I'm trying to give above average consideration to battery longevity.

So my question is, if my battery is at say 80% at the end of the day, having started the day at 100%, is it better for battery life longevity to charge each night back to 100 or let it drain down some the next day, say between 40-50% before topping it back off?

Thanks

You will have a lot of battery nuts talk about the optimum level of when you should charge your phone, but the reality is that you will likely not notice a substantial difference over the life of the phone based on your charging methodology. I think the only thing you shouldn't do is let your phone die frequently. That's just my 2 cents.

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[djdonnyk]

I would say charge it every night no matter what the percentage is.

Sent from a device beyond your wildest dreams!

 

[20blks]

I think people are over thinking the battery charging of cell phones. I would just charge it every night and not worry about it. Samsung has an engineering department who I'm sure spent hours testing batteries before they released the product to the public.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[srkmagnus]

From what I understand, to increase the longevity of the type of batteries in mobile phones, including S7, you should not let it fully deplete. It should be re-charged as it nears less than 20% or so and charged back to full.

So my suggestions, is to charge it only as much as you need to, but not let it get to 0% or turn off because of the battery being depleted.

 

[scotiez]

I am the same as you are. I recharge my phone nightly regardless of what the battery percentage is. My previous phones have been iPhone, I charged them up every night. iPhone also has non removable batteries just like the Galaxy S7. I have never had a battery go bad in the iPhone's i have had. The only difference with the Galaxy S7 is i use a Fast Wireless Charger by Samsung to do my nightly charging instead of plugging it in. I leave it in Fast Charging mode while its charging. Reason for this is I tried shutting off the fast charging on my phone but during the charge it felt my phone actually got warmer then it did in Fast charging mode. In Fast charging mode the fan on the samsung fast wireless charger kicks on and i think it helps keep things cooler. The fan does not kick on while the phone has fast wireless charging turned off. Also the Fast wireless charger is suppose to talk to the battery and regulate how much power is needed to recharge the battery. I think this is better battery care then just slow charging all the time.

 

[cbreze]

Never had an L-ion go bad on me, now the old N-cad's were a different story. But I always charge once a day to full. No matter what is left in the tank. I prefer starting my day as full as possible. To add, I frequently let the battery drop to as low as 5 % or less, never till it shuts off. Never have, ever had an issue or needed a replacement battery ever. I think batteries on these devices are pretty fool proof these days. I never worry about battery. No need to. I just don't buy into the battery conditioning hype. Just enjoy your phone.

 

[LeoRex]

I follow a simple rule... 'charge early and charge often'. For me, its mostly a matter of need... You never know where life takes you and you don't want to be in a situation where you're sitting at 30% with no charger in sight. Now, the same approach also leads to the cells having the longest usable life, so its a added benefit.

The three most effective ways to depth charge a LiPo battery are (in order of worst down) 1) high temperatures (say, leaving it on your dash on hot summer day) 2) deep cycle charging.. 100 to <20 back to 100 constantly and 3) letting it sit on a charger at 100% for extended periods of time (where it basically goes through a series of quick drain/recharge cycles). The only device I ever had to replace the battery on was my old Nexus 7 that my daughter would always run down until it turned off. My outgoing Nexus 6, 13 months in, had very little capacity degradation... it held almost as much charge at nearly the same voltage that it did the day I first turned it on.

 

[anticlutch]

Like others have said, there's a lot of differing ideas (some more snake-oilish than others) but the general consensus is that you should avoid stressing the battery. Stress in this context would mean things like extreme temperatures (i.e. very hot or very cold), full discharges, physical shock (but in the event of physical damage of your phone, the battery will be the least of your worries), etc. People tend to measure longevity based on charge cycles, which are thought to be a full charge-discharge cycle (i.e. 100% ->0%->100%); charging partially would count as a partial cycle (50% to 100% would be 1/2 cycle). In my personal use I find that I don't need to charge my phone overnight as I usually end the day with more than enough for a couple more days, but like others have said, you never know what will come up so it's not a terrible idea to keep your battery topped up. The only thing I avoid is fast charging and wireless charging unless I absolutely need it, not because it's inherently worse for the battery but because I find that it creates more heat than a normal wired slow-charge does. Heat is always the enemy of any battery and minimizing it is probably the best thing you can do if you're super concerned about cell longevity.

 

[rdandy5875]

The speed at which you charge the phone will have a larger impact on future capacity than the levels which you charge at and to.

Those Rapid fast chargers will surely kill the battery faster, as more heat is produced. Heat is the enemy of lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries.

At night I use a wireless charging pad through a otterbox commuter case, and it charges pretty slowly, I'm fine with that as heat is reduced, and I don't need a fast charge anyways. When I can, I only use a 1amp charger, if I only have a 2amp or if I need a fast charge, I'll use a faster charger but then I always make sure it's not also baking in the sun my car, etc, rather preferably laying flat on a table. The cooler the phone stays while charging the better.

I also try to avoid using the phone WHILE charging, that is bad for heat on both ends, but again if have to will. Once it starts getting too hot though I take a break and put on on a cool surface.

EDIT: Pretty much what anticlutch said.

 

[LeoRex]

Those Rapid fast chargers will surely kill the battery faster, as more heat is produced. Heat is the enemy of lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries.

Heat is the enemy, but fast charging isn't the boogyman that it's sometimes made out to be. That Nexus 6 that went through over a year with little to no degradation? It was fast charged most of the time and there was never a heat issue. The QC process monitors things closely, including thermal data from the battery.

If you look at temperature data during a FC charge cycle, the heat isn't much different than standard charging, and well below a level that would be dangerous.

 

[dpham00]

Heat is definitely a killer, regardless of charging.