How many times should I condition the battery?

[CannedBullets]

I conditioned the battery last weekend by draining it until 10%. Right now my battery is 15% so I'm going to wait until it's at 10% to condition it. How many times should I condition it and do I have to charge it with the phone off?

 

[GNex Girl]

Do these batteries really need to be conditioned? I thought that was a myth?

 

[CannedBullets]

Do these batteries really need to be conditioned? I thought that was a myth?

I dunno. I just heard a lot of people recommend conditioning. My Dad says frequently charging the battery when it's not near empty is bad, is this true?

Also Gizmodo recommends conditioning.

 

[GNex Girl]

I dunno. I just heard a lot of people recommend conditioning. My Dad says frequently charging the battery when it's not near empty is bad, is this true?

Also Gizmodo recommends conditioning.

You sound just like me, I don't know so I just did it in case, lol! I think it depends on the type of battery and these new batteries don't need it, but I did it anyhow.

 

[fatboy97]

I dunno. I just heard a lot of people recommend conditioning. My Dad says frequently charging the battery when it's not near empty is bad, is this true?

Also Gizmodo recommends conditioning.

That is a Myth... false... those were the old days.

 

[CannedBullets]

That is a Myth... false... those were the old days.

Really? Any source?

 

[PeteK01]

People often confuse Li-ion and NiCad batteries and try to condition Li-ion batteries by charging/discharging them 4-6 times. Trying to condition a Li-ion battery like it is a NiCad battery (i.e. charging/discharging the Li-ion battery 4-6 times) hurts the Li-ion battery more than helps it.

Tip: Condition your new cell phone’s battery to make it last longer (but be sure to condition it properly) | dotTech

 

[MA2GA28]

The thing you actually 'condition' is the battery memory the phone keeps track of. The battery, itself, is good to go. But, your phone keeps a record of the battery use and size, and over time uses that to 'optimize' the use of the battery. So, if you always charge your phone when its at, say, 50%, you're telling the phone it doesn't need to worry about the other 50%, so the battery won't be optimally used.

Once in a while, its good to let to phone get down to the 10% area and then charge it full. But otherwise, use and charge as you see fit. But, keep in mind that charge cycles are what 'kill' a battery over time too. So, in the long run, you're probably better off draining the battery to 10% all the time and charging it full from there.

 

[Paul627g]

I'm probably not the best example here but I have never worried about conditioning my batteries. First initial charge out of the box I went to 100% while playing with it plugged in of course From there on out I've never worried about discharging my battery down to a certain percentage before recharging and I leave my phone on the charger for hours, over night and never worry.. My battery life seems on par with anyone else concerning run time and also life of the battery (1 yr + and counting....)

My only rule of thumb I have is normally when I start getting down to around 30% I make sure it gets to the charger soon rather than getting caught running out the door with a low battery.

YMMV....

 

[GNex Girl]

the battery memory

I thought these newer batteries don't have memory.

 

[fatboy97]

Really? Any source?

Well known facts over the last 5+ years that I've owned smartphones don't need sources. Before then, you might have needed to do that... but not now... back in the old RAZR thin phone/non-smartphone days you had to condition your batteries, but even with some of my old BB Curve and Bold smartphones did not have to condition a battery, nor my last 3 Android phones have I had to condition a battery.

I've seen and read all those old articles about battery... and have had absolutely NO need to bookmark them.

 

[PeteK01]

The thing you actually 'condition' is the battery memory the phone keeps track of. The battery, itself, is good to go. But, your phone keeps a record of the battery use and size, and over time uses that to 'optimize' the use of the battery. So, if you always charge your phone when its at, say, 50%, you're telling the phone it doesn't need to worry about the other 50%, so the battery won't be optimally used.

Once in a while, its good to let to phone get down to the 10% area and then charge it full. But otherwise, use and charge as you see fit. But, keep in mind that charge cycles are what 'kill' a battery over time too. So, in the long run, you're probably better off draining the battery to 10% all the time and charging it full from there.

Do you have any documentation that the phone keeps a record of battery use? anf that it uses this record to 'optimize' battery use? I'd like to read this document....never heard of any device that optimizes battery used based on previous history....

 

[GNex Girl]

I you read the article, the Li ion batteries don't have memory and if you let them fully discharge, you hurt them. The important thing to do with a Li ion battery is to fully charge it the first time you use it.

 

[MA2GA28]

Do you have any documentation that the phone keeps a record of battery use? anf that it uses this record to 'optimize' battery use? I'd like to read this document....never heard of any device that optimizes battery used based on previous history....

No, but if you root your phone, there are ways to 'clear' this in-phone memory (the battery doesn't have memory, its the phone that keeps track, GNex Girl) via an internal screen, or at least has been the case for previous Android phones. If you charge a lot, clearing the history improved the battery life, so the phone is definitely using it for something. I mean, on some level, the phone obviously tracks battery and usage (otherwise, you'd get no battery monitoring).

 

[socarwolverine]

Once in a while, its good to let to phone get down to the 10% area and then charge it full. But otherwise, use and charge as you see fit. But, keep in mind that charge cycles are what 'kill' a battery over time too. So, in the long run, you're probably better off draining the battery to 10% all the time and charging it full from there.

None of this is actually true with Li-ion batteries. The "charge cycle" doesn't kill the battery, the over-all cycle is what kills the life. That cycle is a total 100% drain, whether the phone was on the charger or not. For example, if you let the battery drain to 50%, put it on the charger then drain it another 50% then the phone experienced one cycle not two.

This link does a good job of explaining it, the fourth paragraph explains the charge cycle but it's an informative article overall.

Ask Ars: What is the best way to use a Li-ion battery?

 

[dahacker]

Do you have any documentation that the phone keeps a record of battery use? anf that it uses this record to 'optimize' battery use? I'd like to read this document....never heard of any device that optimizes battery used based on previous history....

Determining the State of Charge (SOC) of a lithium-ion battery is not a trivial matter. It is done with a combination of Voltage, charge current, and what is called Amp Hour Integration. It is easy for the phone to determine 100% and 0%, but in between can be difficult. Most phones use PAST charging and discharging performance to HELP determine the SOC of a battery. This is why people are discovering a full discharge (to the 2-3V voltage cutoff) and charge makes their SOC indicator more accurate.

 

[MA2GA28]

None of this is actually true with Li-ion batteries. The "charge cycle" doesn't kill the battery, the over-all cycle is what kills the life. That cycle is a total 100% drain, whether the phone was on the charger or not. For example, if you let the battery drain to 50%, put it on the charger then drain it another 50% then the phone experienced one cycle not two.

This link does a good job of explaining it, the fourth paragraph explains the charge cycle but it's an informative article overall.

Ask Ars: What is the best way to use a Li-ion battery?

In context, the first part of my statement was correct (even the battery article states that letting the battery get low once in a while is fine/recommended by manufacturers). But, it appears I was mistaken with the second half of my explanation.

 

[Clemsonpablo]

How many times do you need to turn the crank on the front of your car before trying to start it?

New rechargeable batteries are a completely different technology than the ones in the past. You can't compare the two.