Tips for charging Samsung Galaxy S4?

[looolllzzz]

Hello everyone.

I recently got a Samsung Galaxy S4. I've been charging it when it has 15-20% of battery left. It charges quite fast and usually gets to 100% in an hour. I was wondering if this is normal. Also, do you guys have tips on how long to charge it for and when to start charging it (specific battery percent)? I've been googling answers and there are mixed responses. Some say to stop charging right after it reaches 100% and others say to continue charging it after it reaches 100%.

Thank you for your help!

 

[jaleesag88]

I normally charge my phone when it reaches 20-30% (right around the time I get near a charger) and I just let it charge. When I notice it is at 100% I take it off, but I don't freak out if I don't get to it right when it hits 100%. Honestly, I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way to charge the phone. I've seen people comment that there are ways to "train" your battery, but I figure if I'm near a charger I will charge it, if not then whatever. I figure, the battery is replaceable for a reason. If I notice my battery life getting bad due to the battery and not some app or something, then I will replace it.

 

[skidoo]

Yeah, what he said. Great points about replace-ability too. And they're not that expensive. At any rate, if anything, these batteries seem to prefer being topped-off when they're not even that empty. At least if we're judging the milliamp hours they seem to actually give up. But I freely admit, that could be my imagination.

 

[looolllzzz]

Thank you so much guys!

Are there any ways to maximize battery life. I mean, I have googled it and I've done most of the things people recommend like turning off wifi and data when not in use and turning down the screen brightness.

 

[garublador]

You're better off leaving it on the charger when it gets to 100%, but it probably doesn't make much difference. I just charge mine overnight. I've done that with every phone I've had since 2001 and I've only ever replaced one battery. I agree that if you have a removable battery it's probably not worth worrying about. Charge when it's convenient.

 

[MODCASE]

I also just leave mean to charge overnight (turning on 'blocking' overnight so the vibration of fully charged notification doesn't wake me)
Haven't had any issues so far with the S4... have done this since I first owned a phone and only issue I had was with the iPhone 4, which I replaced the battery in after 2 years

If you ever notice even a slight decrease in battery life, even original samsung batteries are cheap on eBay and 2 seconds to replace. Brilliant

MOD-CASE

 

[Clair1413]

Is it bad to keep plugging in your phone? Cause I've charging when it reaches 70% . Or is it better to let the battery go down to 20%

- - - Updated - - -

Is it bad to keep plugging in your phone? Cause I've charging when it reaches 70% . Or is it better to let the battery go down to 20%

 

[MBSMD]

Is it bad to keep plugging in your phone? Cause I've charging when it reaches 70% . Or is it better to let the battery go down to 20%

- - - Updated - - -

Is it bad to keep plugging in your phone? Cause I've charging when it reaches 70% . Or is it better to let the battery go down to 20%

Not bad at all. Modern batteries can be topped off whenever you feel like it. While they're good for 300-400 charges, it really means 300-400 full charges. Charging from 80% to 100% only counts as 20% of a full charge. So you'd need to top it off 5 times to equal a full charge cycle.

Bottom line - modern batteries do not require the special care they did 10-15 years ago.

Posted from my Galaxy Note 8.0 via Android Central App

 

[Edible Walrus]

At the risk of necroposting. I just charged mine to where it said 100%, unplugged it and it was only 99%

 

[wtom]

Try Battery Doctor app (free) to help with charging. Best case scenarios are;
- charge with stock charger and cable always
- charge if under 80% and disconnect when 100%
- if under 20%, charge until 100% and keep it charging for another half hr to one hour (trickle charge)
- do above "power charge" once a month at the least

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

[Edible Walrus]

When it gets 10% or lower I charge and then wait for it too tell me to unplug it

Posted via Android Central App

 

[qxr]

Try Battery Doctor app (free) to help with charging. Best case scenarios are;
- charge with stock charger and cable always
- charge if under 80% and disconnect when 100%
- if under 20%, charge until 100% and keep it charging for another half hr to one hour (trickle charge)
- do above "power charge" once a month at the least

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

Hey thanks for the advice. I found battery doctor through the forums and have utilized it blindly. Thanks for your specific pointers.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[garublador]

At the risk of necroposting. I just charged mine to where it said 100%, unplugged it and it was only 99%

At the very high end of the battery charging the charging circuitry goes into "trickle charge" mode where it charges very slowly to avoid overshooting the max voltage. The battery monitor has to decide when to round from 99% to 100%. So if you unplug right when it says 100% it will immediately start discharging and could very easily drop right to 99% just because it wasn't charging very fast and the rounding was right between 99% and 100%.

Just keep in mind that when your battery is sitting on the charger at 100% you aren't using any charge cycles. It's the only time you aren't draining or using the battery while the phone is on. Taking it off right at 100% just means you're minimizing the time that you aren't using charge cycles.

 

[wtom]

At the very high end of the battery charging the charging circuitry goes into "trickle charge" mode where it charges very slowly to avoid overshooting the max voltage. The battery monitor has to decide when to round from 99% to 100%. So if you unplug right when it says 100% it will immediately start discharging and could very easily drop right to 99% just because it wasn't charging very fast and the rounding was right between 99% and 100%.

Just keep in mind that when your battery is sitting on the charger at 100% you aren't using any charge cycles. It's the only time you aren't draining or using the battery while the phone is on. Taking it off right at 100% just means you're minimizing the time that you aren't using charge cycles.

Case in point with this screen shot


Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

[sheri Van Meter]

Okay I have a gs4 and every time I go to work my phone is at 100% and by the time I get to go to lunch it is all most dead and but the time I go home it is completely dead. Does anyone have any ideas what can I do to save my battery I even put it on airplane mode and it still dies? Help
When I am home my battery last about a day and a half. And I replaced my battery once all ready.