How-To: calibrate your battery

[Krew]

You guys, why would the battery damage if the phone turns off? I mean come on, they are meant to be either on or off! NO amount of data can convince me that turning off my phone kills the battery. If it did kill the battery, there would be no on/off button!

[alphawave7]

Originally Posted by Krew

You guys, why would the battery damage if the phone turns off? I mean come on, they are meant to be either on or off! NO amount of data can convince me that turning off my phone kills the battery. If it did kill the battery, there would be no on/off button!

This is normal use, no damage to the battery can result from turning off the phone, allowing the phone to turn itself off,etc. It actually takes deliberate 'abuse' to damage your battery, so quit worrying.

[alphawave7]

Originally Posted by keyplyr

Exactly

When I asked him last week, my student (who developed the Snapdragon processor at Qualcomm) thinks it is a very bad idea to completely drain the N1 battery in a vain attempt to "calibrate" the battery. He says there is no such thing as "calibrating" the battery and thinks these people are just attempting to sound knowledgeable when in fact they don't understand what they are talking about.

I think you (and he) misunderstand the intent behind draining and fully recharging a cell...we're not trying to 'calibrate' the battery per se, we're calibrating the phone's charging algorithm to the cell's depletion and peak voltage readings so the meter reports a more accurate representation of cell charge state. It's a diagnostic 'tool' when troubleshooting battery issues, and can rule out a misreading meter as a culprit when troubleshooting cell issues. This recalibration has NO impact on cell performance itself.

[keyplyr]

Originally Posted by alphawave7

I think you (and he) misunderstand the intent behind draining and fully recharging a cell...we're not trying to 'calibrate' the battery per se, we're calibrating the phone's charging algorithm to the cell's depletion and peak voltage readings so the meter reports a more accurate representation of cell charge state. It's a diagnostic 'tool' when troubleshooting battery issues, and can rule out a misreading meter as a culprit when troubleshooting cell issues. This recalibration has NO impact on cell performance itself.

I think the dynamic here is - do not completely drain the battery for *any* reason.

[alphawave7]

Originally Posted by keyplyr

I think the dynamic here is - do not completely drain the battery for *any* reason.

I reiterate-allowing the phone discharge to shut itself off is not 'completely draining' the battery..and falls under normal usage. It requires deliberate circumvention/neglect to completely drain the cell into the danger zone. As has been described above, there is a valid reason to discharge the cell to recalibrate the phone's charge reporting meter, especially when coupled with a full recharge after discharge. This results in the most accurate charge-state reporting by the phone.

[keyplyr]

Well, I think I'll follow the advice of a senior project developer at Qualcomm when he says not to do this

Google sends a plane for this guy when Qualcomm loans him out for consultation and he's been to HTC in Tawain many times. I'd think he'd know what's BS and what's not.

[alphawave7]

Originally Posted by keyplyr

Well, I think I'll follow the advice of a senior project developer at Qualcomm when he says not to do this

Google sends a plane for this guy when Qualcomm loans him out for consultation and he's been to HTC in Tawain many times. I'd think he'd know what's BS and what's not.

I take offense to your suggestion I'm spreading FUD/BS. You are free to believe as you wish.

[keyplyr]

Originally Posted by alphawave7

I take offense to your suggestion I'm spreading FUD/BS. You are free to believe as you wish.

Since you've chosen to take this personally (which it was not) you're also free to take offense as you wish

[aseems]

Originally Posted by AndroidIsTheTruth
"Yes I never let my battery drain less than 30% and only let it get that low if I'm in a situation where I'm not near a charger. At that point if it's before 20-15% I just shut it off."

1> • Discharging your LI Battery fully (or less than 2.4 Volt per cell) is bad for the battery. Every time you do that, it can be said that small part of your battery (some cells) dies (they forever lose their charge). Do not store your batteries depleted, there's a high chance they will die completely or will become very "weak".

2>• Worst LI Battery treatment is to keep it at 100% charge level at high temperature (think laptop/phone under direct sunlight, like car dashboard).

3> • Best LI Battery treatment, or LIBattery's "favorite" charge level - 40%. That's also the usual charge level you buy them with.

4> LIBs like frequent partial charges/discharges more than they like full charges/discharges.

[Fury]

I just found this:
What is your battery life on Nexus One? - Android Help

Ry Guy, a google employee, linking to a thread that says its good to 100% discharge your battery.

Thoughts?