Battery myths. It is OK to leave your phone plugged in over night.

[natehoy]

It is one of the reasons I've preferred removable batteries. It means I can rest assured it's not gonna be an issue. I know most don't go through phones like I do but I really feel like it's not going to be a problem in the lifetime of most people's phones (1.5-2 years).

??????from the Note 4✒ ??????

True. A lot of it depends on your ownership patterns, but a non-removable battery can have pretty heavy impact on resale value in a couple of years, as well. As you can see from my signature, I'm a "bit" of a phone-hopper myself, but I think I'd heavily avoid a used phone with a glued-in battery.

 

[Haalcyon]

... but I think I'd heavily avoid a used phone with a glued-in battery.

Me too.

from the✒ Note Pro 12.2

 

[Greg P1]

If there was an option to keep the phone battery charged to 65%, the battery would last for many years. The lithium battery in the Plug-in Prius hybrid cycles between 40-70% for that very reason; and it's warrantied for 8-10 years (depending on state laws).

I understand that the "100% charge" level of the Samsung Note 4 is 4.33 volts, and the maximum recommended voltage is 4.2 volts. This means that the battery is getting an over-charge, which gives the phone a longer run-time, at the expense of battery life. This isn't a problem for the marketing department at Samsung, because they sell spare batteries anyway, but for the user who wants the battery to last a good long time, it means difficulty keeping it charged to within the "sweet-spot" of 50-80%, unless you are plugging it in and unplugging constantly.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I'm not going to dispute the points you've posted and really appreciate the time you've spent to help others, but the one time I did leave my note 4 connected to the fast charger overnight I got a notification to disconnect the phone...something to the effect of "battery at 100% disconnect from charger". I have not seen this when connected to my laptop or desktop. I don't think my phone will explode but isn't this some warning from Samsung related to their batteries, perhaps?

Since then I prefer to charge my phone in the morning as I get ready to leave. It charges up full quickly and doesn't stay on the fast charger past an hour at most.

Posted via the Android Central App

That notification isn't new, it did that with my N2 when updated and also with my N3.

 

[Wayne Sanders]

I have left my s5 on the charger over night, every night since July. And have no battery issues.

The same with my s3 i had for 2 years with no problems

Posted via the Android Central App

As with ever phone I have ever owned.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I generally unplug my N4 before falling asleep, but not always. I have kept all of my phones charging all night, except my N4 and never had a problem.

 

[sparksd]

If there was an option to keep the phone battery charged to 65%, the battery would last for many years. The lithium battery in the Plug-in Prius hybrid cycles between 40-70% for that very reason; and it's warrantied for 8-10 years (depending on state laws).

I understand that the "100% charge" level of the Samsung Note 4 is 4.33 volts, and the maximum recommended voltage is 4.2 volts. This means that the battery is getting an over-charge, which gives the phone a longer run-time, at the expense of battery life. This isn't a problem for the marketing department at Samsung, because they sell spare batteries anyway, but for the user who wants the battery to last a good long time, it means difficulty keeping it charged to within the "sweet-spot" of 50-80%, unless you are plugging it in and unplugging constantly.

But I think the majority of users would take the longer runtime over longer battery life. Nobody (or few) keeps a phone for many years any longer and at any rate, replacement batteries for the Note 4 from 3rd party vendors like Anker are relatively cheap.

 

[Nader Salem]

It's safe every time i sleep i keep my note 4 plugged

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[mumfoau]

While it's perfectly safe I still prefer to put some charge on mine, unplug, and fully charge In the AM while I get ready for work

 

[Kelly Kearns]

While it's perfectly safe I still prefer to put some charge on mine, unplug, and fully charge In the AM while I get ready for work

Generally when I unplug mine before falling asleep, it is between 95-97% when I get ready to leave in the AM.

 

[beh]

Can you say "much ado about nothing" boys and girls?

 

[natehoy]

Can you say "much ado about nothing" boys and girls?

In a forum for a phone with a sealed battery, this can become a very serious, and somewhat important, question.

Newer Lithium tech is a lot more durable than those of older pedigree, but they still suffer small amounts of damage from misuse and smaller amounts of damage from "normal" use (fully charging, discharging to shutdown, all of these things do very tiny amounts of capacity damage).

And with smartphones approaching the thousand dollar range, it's a fairly serious thing to consider. A 20% loss in capacity, which is a perfectly normal thing to have happen over a year or so, could turn your all-day smartphone into something you need to charge mid-day. And for some, that means needing to change the battery out to get their day out of it again. Except with a sealed battery, you can't.

So for something with a glued-in battery, the question "does recharging this to 100% overnight every night result in an additional loss of capacity above and beyond normal wear and tear" is a very serious one. And with the dizzying arrays of technology and charging patterns that mean different answers to that question for each phone, I'm relieved to say, "who the heck cares? Enjoy your device, and in a year, buy a $20 battery."

 

[Roo_thless]

God reading some of the people in this thread, of course you can leave it plugged it without damage...jesus

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Alex Wetzel]

I'm not going to dispute the points you've posted and really appreciate the time you've spent to help others, but the one time I did leave my note 4 connected to the fast charger overnight I got a notification to disconnect the phone...something to the effect of "battery at 100% disconnect from charger". I have not seen this when connected to my laptop or desktop. I don't think my phone will explode but isn't this some warning from Samsung related to their batteries, perhaps?

Since then I prefer to charge my phone in the morning as I get ready to leave. It charges up full quickly and doesn't stay on the fast charger past an hour at most.

Posted via the Android Central App

That's your phone reminding you to unplug it from the charger when it's fully charged. You can still leave it plugged in overnight.

 

[Victor Suarez]

FYI...this is from Samsung customer service group:
I would like to inform you that Samsung does not recommend you to charge the device for the whole night, as this may case battery draining and battery issues with the device. Charging the device for long time even after battery full notification will effect the performance of the device.

We recommend you to unplug the device from charging after the device is completely charged to 100%.

 

[LegalAmerican]

Jesus, you have no clue what you are talking about and blatantly misleading people here.

You completely ignore the laboratory test results with real, precise measurements, and based your false statement on your own " Research, experience with Hobby grade Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries/chargers. "? Jee, with your method, who need science?

Even if those laboratory results are accurate, after the 18 months that it will require to degrade my battery 1%, i'll just buy a new one for $25 and go on with life. That sure beats waking up at 1:23 every morning to unplug my fully charged phone for fear of eventual degradation.

 

[Rukbat]

FYI...this is from Samsung customer service group:
I would like to inform you that Samsung does not recommend you to charge the device for the whole night, as this may case battery draining and battery issues with the device. Charging the device for long time even after battery full notification will effect the performance of the device.

We recommend you to unplug the device from charging after the device is completely charged to 100%.

Then, as someone who has worked in the battery industry designing the things, I have to inform Samsung that they're not making their phones correctly. A properly designed lithium charger will stop charging once the battery reaches 100% charge without any charging voltage with a normal load (IOW a real full charge, not the fake "terminal voltage under charge" "full" charge). But, since that would prpbably cost them 20 cents per phone, they're not going to do it. (I have a lithium battery (It happens to be a Samsung, BTW) that's been sitting on a correctly designed charger for about 22 months now, I test it about once a month, and it's at about the same condition as right after it was conditioned. All night? All month is safe - if the charging circuit is properly designed.) Wireless charging is another matter - the heat decreases the battery life a little, so it should be taken off as soon as it's fully charged - the receiver doesn't shut off then, it keeps drawing current and warming the battery.

The only reasons to "recommend" removing the battery from the charger when it's fully charged (and that's about half an hour AFTER you get the warning - have some of you battery engineers test some of your batteries for actual, chemical, State of Charge under various "full charge" scenarios) is to lessen the possibility of thermal runaway by a fraction of a percent. OR because the charging circuit is designed for cheapness, not for best-for-the-battery operation. A cheap charger can destroy a battery in less than 24 hours.

 

[gorgalis]

I have always done this every night for any phone I have ever had with no issues at all.

Granted with the Note 4, I use my BlackBerry charger which is not the "fast charging" one, but no issues with battery life at all.

Same... been using the same BlackBerry charger every night since 2008!

 

[Double Tap]

Sorry to bring back such an old thread, however today I replaced the battery in my 3 year old Nexus 4. The Tech that did it for me showed me the old battery. It is bulging quite substantially but didn't burst. His question to me was do you keep the phone charging all night? My answer was every night for 3 years.

In 2 Days I will be replacing the battery of my wife's Nexus 4. If it too has a bulging battery that will be enough evidence for me that constantly charging is detrimental for the battery.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Dustoff-00]

Please keep us posted on the result of your wife's battery...