Battery setting..

[noordzy77]

I've seen a recommendation to adjust the battery to only charge to 85%. I'm also finding the battery life(daily) to be a bit subpar for a high tier device. Are you concerned about battery life(overall)?

I'm debating just letting it charge fully.

 

[B. Diddy]

In general, if you plan to upgrade to a new phone within 2-3 years, then it really doesn't matter if you charge up to 100% regularly. Doing the 80-85% max charge thing is probably only beneficial if you intend to keep the phone for more like 4-5 years.

 

[Will_T]

For me, I decided it depends on your battery use. If you are having issues running low on battery don't give it a 2nd thought and just charge to 100% and save the worry. If, like me you found that, when charging to 100%, you always had 40 or 50% battery left at the end of the day, then go ahead and set it to 85%. I did that and when I am home on wifi I still find I can have 40% left at the end of the day. Even when out most of the day and in areas sometimes searching for service, I still never get below 20%. But for those that have their screens on for hours and hours or use it for games, etc. 85% may not work and I would say just go ahead and fully charge and use your phone.

When I buy one of these new phones, I am usually in sticker shock for a while so think I will be keeping the phone for at least 4 or 5 years. But once I get to about 2 years of ownership, that thought is long gone. I kept my Pixel 2XL for 4+ years, but that was more because of not finding a phone that I really wanted to replace it. I finally just bit the bullet and got the S22. Sure, it's not perfect, and later this year or next Samsung or some other will put out a phone that will make me think I should have waited longer, but that is a never-ending cycle. If I found I needed the 100% charge, I would not hesitate.

 

[jeetu4444]

Most ppl upgrade phones in a year or 2....
I won't make much difference in battery health...if u planning to keep your phone for 5 Years or more...then keeping at 85% is ok

 

[BlackZeppelin]

I've seen a recommendation to adjust the battery to only charge to 85%. I'm also finding the battery life(daily) to be a bit subpar for a high tier device. Are you concerned about battery life(overall)?

I'm debating just letting it charge fully.

For optimal battery health, the battery should not be regularly charged to full nor discharged too low either. Ideally, it should be maintained between 40 and 80/85%.

Are you out and about during the day where you don't have access to a charger? I for example take my phone to work and could charge it to full and have enough charge to last till I get home and continue using it. I don't do that. I charge it to only about 80% and it's no big deal to give it one charge before I leave work for my home use. It's just a lot better way of preserving the battery. Small regular charges within 40-80% are far better than one long charge at full.

Everyone is also saying it doesn't matter if you keep the phone for only 2 years. This is not the whole story. You're already saying your not happy with the battery life of a brand new phone. So imagine then in just a year when the battery has lost a bit of capacity. Poor battery charging habits means you'll quickly have a phone that you're even less happy with very quickly. Sure, you may decide to upgrade in 2 years. But that 2nd year if you haven't looked after your battery you'll be very unhappy with.

 

[RoseBud68]

Phones get charge every night. Our only concern is that we have enough battery to last us through the day. Phones are held for two years in my family. That is long enough to justify an upgrade.

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

Adding this option is certainly a good step from Samsung which will help those that want to use this in order to potentially extend the life cycle of their battery.

Time will tell I guess on that one.

Personally I've always charged to 100% overnight with the phone powered down as I've no need to leave it powered up.

In my mind powering down every night also refreshes the phone more regularly.

I then do not let my phone discharge to below 15%.

This rule of thumb seems to stand my phone in good stead.

Funny how we all have our own niche habits

In regards to how long I use my current phone as my daily driver depends on if the next release brings something new to the table that out surpasses my current phone that I want.

 

[anon(40376)]

I've always charged to 100% on any phone I have owned. And my two-year old Pixel 4XL still shows a strong battery and no noticeable decrease in battery usage. It has been replaced by the S22, but certainly not for the battery. And the 4XL was noted to use a weak battery.

I would suggest doing what you want to do, not what strangers are recommending. Just remember, the battery is replaceable and it is not that expensive to replace the battery if needed, and if you do it yourself, rather inexpensive. I have done a few for friends, just need to correct plastic tools. People spend too much energy overthinking the battery on a cell phone.

 

[VidJunky]

I've seen a recommendation to adjust the battery to only charge to 85%.

This has been a recommendation for years. Is it a good one? Wellll like most debatable things you'll find people on both sides. Along with those people you'll find testimonials for both ideas, it does nothing but limit your day, it extends the life of the battery, on and on. One thing that is less debated is the lifespan of the batteries these days is more decided by charge cycles. While no one can agree on what a charge cycle is, is it just plugging in the device even if you immediately unplug it? Is it 2 minutes or more, 20 minutes? The point is there is a limit so charging to 85% saves the stress of fully charging but because of the lower charge causes more cycles. So is it better or worse? That is for the user to decide.

I'm also finding the battery life(daily) to be a bit subpar for a high tier device.

If you watched any reviews at all, this was something that almost every reviewer mentioned. It has the same battery size as last year but the new hardware is putting a bit more of a demand on that battery resulting in slightly worse battery life. This really shouldn't have been a huge surprise. Then again battery life is subjective. I actually think I'm getting better battery life out of this model than I did my S21U. Maybe I was seeing a slight decline from a one year old device or maybe something in my usage habits has changed? I cannot really say. The two things I can say are I know I'm playing with this device wayyyy more than I played with my S21 if for no other reason than because it is new and has some new features but I still feel like I'm getting as good, maybe slightly better life. At the same time when are we ever more than a second away from a charger?

Are you concerned about battery life(overall)?

I'm debating just letting it charge fully.

Me personally, I am not overly concerned about the overall life of my battery. I have taken to using the limiter on my days off when I don't have big plans. I do full charges on days that I work just because I know it is going to be a long day. Does it make a difference vs fully charging my device everyday? Maybe, maybe not. I can do it without a huge impact on my life and it shouldn't hurt the battery and if along the way it helps, yay. As you can see from the responses everyone has their own spin and their own methods but at the end of the day it is whatever you want to do. Whatever doesn't cause you grief, if you know what I mean.

Best wishes

 

[BlackZeppelin]

A charge cycle btw is the amounts of charge either in one continuous cycle or multiple cycles, that you reach 100%.

So charge from 0-100%, that is obviously 1 charge cycle.

Your phone is at say 50%. And you use it and recharge multiple times say back to 50%. The first time you charge 30% extra, (to 80%), then 20%, then 40%, then 10%.

30+20+40+10=100%=1 charge cycle.

Use your phone constantly and recharge a small amount every hour and charge 10 times at 10% extra, that's again 1 charge cycle.

 

[J Dubbs]

If you run your battery way down low every night, then charge it up to full plugged in all night, that's one full charge cycle plus the wear of keeping it topped off at 100%... which will give it the shortest lifespan. If you top it up during the day and don't let the charge swing way down then back up that's a partial charge cycle, which will extend the lifespan more. If you don't leave it plugged in all the time you'll get a little more life. If you can charge to 85% and not run it below 40% even more life.

As you can see basically if you're a power user you're not going to be able to get the same battery lifespan as a very light user, no matter the tricks you try, because you're just using and charging your battery more, and usage is the ultimate decider of a battery's lifespan (not counting a battery that is stored and never used, that presents it's own degradation problems).

The best thing you can do is use the tricks above that will comfortably work for you, to get the best life you can out of your battery for your particular type of usage

 

[BlackZeppelin]

There seems to be a lot of resistance to many people in avoiding plugging their phones for a charge. I just don't get it.

So many people charge to full and run the phone all the way down during the day to avoid giving it intermittent charges. As if it's a big deal. I understand if you're out and about, but I'm estimating most people are not in that category, and are near power points and chargers at work, home, second or holiday home, friends and family homes etc.

As I said before, I could charge to full and use my phone casually at work, come home and continue to use and use and then do a big recharge at the end. It's no big deal however to charge it to about 80%, use it at work and give it a recharge an hour before leaving.

Each to their own I suppose.

One other thing I've noticed with all my Galaxy phones is the battery percentage is not completely accurate. Sometimes I've charged to about 80% and used the phone and the battery has lasted ages. And when I recharge back to the same amount, the battery lasts less, using the phone the same.

I also notice that once you hit about 60%, the battery seems to last longer again. Go from 80 to 70%, and then go from 60 to 50% using the same amount and the battery use seems different. It's to do with the fact the battery percentage isn't completely accurate.

 

[sweetypie31]

It's too many rules. Lol I just charge my phone whenever I can to 100 and go about my life. With the way I switch phones every 6 months to a year I won't have time to worry about battery health in the long run.

At the end of the day it just depends on you. If you feel comfortable doing that charging to 85 stuff do it. If you want a full charge, do that. Only you can determine what will work for you. Everybody and their habits are different.

 

[Mr Segundus]

I don't understand only charging it to 85%. Not sure why anyone would gimp their phone like that to make the battery last a little longer. But I only keep my phone for 6 months to a year and so battery longevity isn't something I worry about.

 

[holz75]

I don't understand only charging it to 85%. Not sure why anyone would gimp their phone like that to make the battery last a little longer. But I only keep my phone for 6 months to a year and so battery longevity isn't something I worry about.

Exactly. Like another poster said... Unless you're planning on keeping your phone for more than 2 years, just use your phone and don't worry about the battery. I've always charged to 100%, let it run down to 25-30%, then charged it back to 100%, and my battery life has rarely suffered. I previously had a Pixel 4 XL for 2.5 years before my S22+, and the battery life was still outstanding.

 

[htcrazy]

Exactly. Like another poster said... Unless you're planning on keeping your phone for more than 2 years, just use your phone and don't worry about the battery. I've always charged to 100%, let it run down to 25-30%, then charged it back to 100%, and my battery life has rarely suffered. I previously had a Pixel 4 XL for 2.5 years before my S22+, and the battery life was still outstanding.

I couldn't agree more. Just forget all the battery apps and just enjoy your phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

FYI, a lot of what is referenced comes from Battery University, namely this page: https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries

 

[VidJunky]

Nope.