How to correctly charge lithium polymer battery

[zxcv106106]

I posted this on XDA website too. Just trying to get as much information as possible on how to correctly charge a lithium battery.

I don't know if the article I found correctly indicate the fact. Here is my way to charge my nexus 4 or 7

1. I never let my battery drain to zero or shut itself down. I usually charge when it's 10% or over 5% (How's your view about it? too low?)

2. I rarely fully charge my phone to 100%. I usually get it done around above 95.

3. I "turn off" the device while I'm charging. In this case, I turn off Nexus 4 and 7 when I need to charge them.

4. I rarely charge my phone overnight...( any second opinion on this?)

Any views and suggestions are all welcome. I just try to find the best way on how to "correctly" charge our nexus 4 lithium polymer battery.

Here is an article I read as an example How to Properly Charge your Cell Phone Battery | ChargeAll

Few questions here.

1. Can you charge as often as you want? Since Lithium battery doesn't have "memory"..? Is this true that you can charge whenever you want?

2. Can you charge your phone overnight?

 

[frenziedfemale]

Yes you can charge whenever you want, but you should not let your battery fully discharge. Lithium batteries do best if kept above 20 -30% and below 80%. There is no need to "cycle" the battery by draining it fully and charging it fully, this is actually bad for these batteries as they go into a sleep type mode when discharged for prolonged periods of time and you will probably find yourself unable to charge it at all using the normal charger.

Yes you can charge overnight. Lithium batteries don't like heat, but they have thermal switches built in to stop charging when your battery is charged or when over heated.

Advantages & Limitations of the Lithium-ion Battery - Battery University

Ofcourse this is my opinion, based on what I have been able to hunt down info wise.. with regular use and regular charging your battery should be fine.

 

[zorak950]

Everyone seems to have their own theory about proper battery maintenance, and they're often contradictory. Honestly, I think that unless you're going to hang onto your phone for more than three years, it's unlikely you'll wear your battery out almost no matter what you do (within reason, of course).

 

[Old school player]

I've got a 2004 iRiver H10 (20 Gb) that the battery run time dropped to 50 minutes (on hard drive) after fully charging.
I just replaced the 9 year old battery with a replacement from "NewPower99.com" ($36.00 CDN including shipping), and now getting about 14 hours on the new battery (that came with a 1 yr warrenty).
I was in the habit of "running completely down to shut off" but trying to determine if this is the right course of action.
Any comments?

Osp
20130808

 

[Billy Bob Jimmy Joe]

I always charge my phone when I sleep and unplug it when I wake up. That's a good 7 hours charge everyday and my battery is still in great condition.

Posted from my Nexus 4 via Android Central App

 

[Tall Mike 2145]

Well... strictly speaking, only nickel-cadmium batteries have a real memory issue. That's why you have to always either deplete them or use a full-cycle charger to charge them.

Nickel-metal-hydrate batteries don't have memory issues but have much lower capacities and tend to discharge fairly quickly.

Lithium-Ion batteries (and their many variants) are as has been described above: they either directly incorporate, or the charging system they are connected to incorporates the means to keep them stable, and they don't require full-cycle charging.

I don't think "one-off" instances of taking the battery out-of-bounds is harmful, however.