If the screen is off and the phone is powered up and plugged into a charger, press the top power button (quickly) to light up the unlock screen. The charging and battery status should be displayed there. If the phone is off and plugged into the charger, do the same thing, and a battery charging status bar will display.
Note that if you plug the phone into the charger while it is powering up and the LG logo is displayed, you will reset the phone and blow out any of your settings. I avoid plugging my Elite into the charger while it is powering on or off.
I hope this helps.
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