Phone not charging to 100%

[nomi1978]

In the last few days I would plug my phone to charge overnight and it would only ever hit 73%. In the morning I would charge while going to work and hit 100%.

Thought it could be the charger I was using last night used the charger provided in this box, put on charge at 11 pm and it was at 60% and 7 am only got to 88%.

Anyone else having this issue?

 

[Mooncatt]

The most common problem is a bad USB cable, so that's my go to first step. Replace that and see how it goes. It can also be anything from a defective charger, bad USB port on the phone, or the battery itself.

How's the battery life between charges, have you noticed it draining any quicker?

 

[nomi1978]

it had been draining quicker since 8.1.

I did change the charger and used a new cable last night. but as mentioned it's only overnight that it doesn't get fully charged. in the morning I can get it to 100%.

 

[Mooncatt]

I'd run a couple of overnight tests.

For one, charge to 100% before bed and leave it unplugged. In the morning, go into your battery usage stats and screenshot the usage graph and app list. Post the screenshots here and we can see if anything sticks out, like an app going rogue.

For the other test, install this monitor app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw

This will let you record the charging current with the screen off (something like Ampere doesn't record all the time and has no history stored). I would set it to record every couple of minutes or so and let it run while you charge overnight. Check the history for any erratic current drops and share those results here (not the entire history, as that would be a lot of screenshots. Lol). You can also compare that to the charging current when you top off in the mornings and other times when it seems to charge faster.

My guess is there's an app going rogue, like an email client trying to sync all night. I know you said seems to be draining quicker on 8.1. I don't have the phone to compare myself, so hopefully others can chime in to say if they have similar issues now. If others don't have similar charging problems, then I doubt that's the issue

On a side note, if you figure this out, I wouldn't suggest overnight charging anymore. Being fully charged will degrade a lithium battery quicker. Charging to full for immediate use isn't as bad because it doesn't stay above 75% near as long. When it comes to non-replaceable batteries, I would be more cautious with charging habits. For the best long term use, you'll want to keep it between 40-75%, even though it means more frequent, but shorter, charging.

 

[Mooncatt]

Oh, and something else to check. How's your cell signal in your bedroom? If that room has a poor signal, that can drain a battery quicker and cause slower charging because the phone is increasing the radio power to hunt for a good signal.

 

[nomi1978]

Cell signal is fine, this only started after this Monday. I will try your suggestions.