How do I force my phone to ignore (faulty) battery level - not shut down?

[AC Question]

Force phone to ignore (faulty) battery level - not shut down

I know for a fact that my battery level is incorrect. It's a 2500mAh battery, and yet after a couple minutes of heavy use, the battery level will drop to zero and the device will shut itself off.

Weirdly enough, I have this same issue with my MacBook, and I've figured out (at least on the MacBook) what the problem is: the machine isn't calculating the remaining time/percent correctly. If I don't use it to do power-instensive tasks, it will be fine up until the battery truly drains. But if I run, say, high-graphics video games, it will detect the battery's getting used very quickly, somewhere along the line it will freak out thinking that this battery drain is leaving it with seconds to spare, and will shut down. If I press the power button to start up, it won't, only displaying the 'out of battery' symbol on the screen. But, in actuality, there's usually about 30-50% battery left in there. How do I know? If I apply the charger for a bit, even for two seconds and then detaching, forcing the machine to recalculate the remaining battery, it will turn back on and have 30-50% left for me to use.

Here's the thing, though: with my phone, I usually don't have anywhere to charge it. So I'll unplug it in the morning to last me all day, hop on a bus to explore the city, forget about this issue and launch a graphics-intensive game, and then only realise what I've done four or five minutes later when it shuts down on me, thinking the battery's completely depleted.

So here's my question: How can I force the phone to ignore the battery level, and keep sucking juice from it whilst there's juice to be had? I know, I know, it shuts down for my own good, to make sure it has enough battery so that it can power back on again later. But right now, this usually-helpful feature is rendering my phone virtually useless. Any advice?

Thanks.

 

[gaytheist]

Anyone?

 

[Mooncatt]

Re: Force phone to ignore (faulty) battery level - not shut down

I've never heard of a way to force a phone to stay on. From my understanding, it's a hard set point to protect the battery. If it drains too low, it won't accept a charge at all. (0% on the battery gauge isn't fully discharged, only the lower limit that still allows the battery to still take a charge).

The way you worded it, it sounds like you plug in at night and unplug in the morning. That's actually harmful to the battery and can shorten its capacity. It's best to unplug the phone once it's full and not leave it plugged in so long after. So it's possible your battery actually is showing signs of damage and isn't able to keep up with the demands of intense use.

 

[gaytheist]

I've never heard of a way to force a phone to stay on. From my understanding, it's a hard set point to protect the battery. If it drains too low, it won't accept a charge at all. (0% on the battery gauge isn't fully discharged, only the lower limit that still allows the battery to still take a charge).

There has to be a way. Shutting down before the battery runs out, by definition, is a matter of software, not hardware. If this was a hardware issue, there's a chance nothing could be done. But software, software can always be modified.

The way you worded it, it sounds like you plug in at night and unplug in the morning. That's actually harmful to the battery and can shorten its capacity. It's best to unplug the phone once it's full and not leave it plugged in so long after. So it's possible your battery actually is showing signs of damage and isn't able to keep up with the demands of intense use.

I've had it for, like, a week. This isn't a matter of longevity.

 

[Mooncatt]

There has to be a way. Shutting down before the battery runs out, by definition, is a matter of software, not hardware. If this was a hardware issue, there's a chance nothing could be done. But software, software can always be modified.

If it is purely software based (or more likely, firmware), then it's probably buried pretty deep in the system. I wouldn't be surprised if you have to flash a custom Rom to have that kind of system access.

I've had it for, like, a week. This isn't a matter of longevity.

Then something is defective and I'd suggest a warranty claim on it. Even if you could force the phone to stay on and essentially ignore the battery level, you wouldn't be able to trust whatever reading it's giving you to know when you really do need to charge it.

Someone else may have other ideas, but I'd personally not try to bypass the cutoff and would go the warranty route.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I am inclined to agree with the idea that the battery is faulty. I would contact the OEM or the retailer you got it from for an exchange.

 

[gaytheist]

I am inclined to agree with the idea that the battery is faulty. I would contact the OEM or the retailer you got it from for an exchange.

It's YotaPhone. They haven't been exactly accommodating, unfortunately. I'd rather not put as much time, effort, and money as it'd require dealing with them internationally to get my phone too them, evaluated, and fixed/replace.