Wonky battery?

[Therealm80]

When I wake up in the morning my battery is at 100% but drains really fast throughout the day. Sometimes it says that it's dead and then when I put it on the charger it actually has 40-ish percent. It's just very inaccurate. How do I fix this?

 

[VidJunky]

That is a 4 year old device, the symptoms you describe are typical for bad batteries. Dying batteries may appear to charge and discharge quickly, have percentages that appear to go up or down without charging or with very limited use, the device may turn off at random percentages above 15%. You could try calibrating the battery meter of the device. The procedure may be different for each device but for most that I've seen it is to charge the device to what is believed to be a full charge, then power off the device normally. With the device off, press and hold the volume buttons for up and down while holding the power button for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The device will power on and off several times. After a minute try powering on the device normally and monitor your use for a cycle. If the issues return or continue, it's probably time for a new battery.

 

[BergerKing]

I concur with @VidJunky, classic symptoms of a battery that's on its last stumps, because the legs are gone.

 

[DennisOS2]

That is a 4 year old device, the symptoms you describe are typical for bad batteries. Dying batteries may appear to charge and discharge quickly, have percentages that appear to go up or down without charging or with very limited use, the device may turn off at random percentages above 15%. You could try calibrating the battery meter of the device. The procedure may be different for each device but for most that I've seen it is to charge the device to what is believed to be a full charge, then power off the device normally. With the device off, press and hold the volume buttons for up and down while holding the power button for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The device will power on and off several times. After a minute try powering on the device normally and monitor your use for a cycle. If the issues return or continue, it's probably time for a new battery.

I'd like to find out what the calibrating procedure for the Gear S3, but unfortunately your method is more for phones.

 

[VidJunky]

I'd like to find out what the calibrating procedure for the Gear S3, but unfortunately your method is more for phones.

I tried looking up a calibration method for the Gear S3 and stumbled across this Readit thread that seems to indicate that a rapid drop after initial charge is typical with this device. They go on to say that the battery seems to preform normally after this initial drop, it just rapidly drops in the first few minutes after being taken off of the charger. There are no hard dates on the article but all entries say 1 Year ago.

You can view the article here... https://www.reddit.com/r/GearS3/comments/aj5may/battery_calibration/

I found another Readit article where they recommended a old fashioned "bump" charge. This is where you charge the device normally while it's powered on, unplug it, turn it off and immediately charge it for longer. In the early 2000's when I first heard of this method the reviews were all over the place and many took up sides on whether this was effective, worked or did anything. For some it obviously appeared to work, which may have been a perceived thing or it may have been real but not effective for all devices.

You can view that article here... https://www.reddit.com/r/GearS3/comments/9p6hoo/battery_calibration_for_the_gear_s3/

I also thought to look and see what the replacement process was. I mean after all it is a watch and I've had to change many batteries in watches over time. It really doesn't look that complicated, for the S3 model I found. Just a few screws, no adhesive or O-rings to replace, and again for the model I looked at, the cost was under $25. Many were actually under $20 and there were more than enough YouTube videos showing how to DIY it.

So if you think your battery is good and just the indicator is reading funny there would obviously be no reason to change the battery but if you think there may actually be an issue with the battery, replacing it yourself is something that seems completely possible. Even for the inexperienced.