[Q] Strange Battery voltage reading

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vkk178

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2012
756
137
Bangalore
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
I am getting strange battery voltage readings while the battery is fully charged . Ideally the peak voltage should not cross 4.2 volts for Li-ion batteries ,IMHO . Also I saw the Moto G review on Anandtech where the battery voltage is given as 3.8 V . But my battery reads a voltage of more than 4.3 volts . So I'm a bit worried about the long term reliability of this battery or my battery in particular . Has any one else checked this on their Moto G . You can see this info by using the secret dial code *#*#4636#*#* ( Lots of other interesting stuff under this menu )

I have a dual SIM variant of this phone .
 

neu - smurph

Senior Member
May 14, 2013
276
89
Google Pixel 4a
I am getting strange battery voltage readings while the battery is fully charged . Ideally the peak voltage should not cross 4.2 volts for Li-ion batteries ,IMHO . Also I saw the Moto G review on Anandtech where the battery voltage is given as 3.8 V . But my battery reads a voltage of more than 4.3 volts . So I'm a bit worried about the long term reliability of this battery or my battery in particular . Has any one else checked this on their Moto G . You can see this info by using the secret dial code *#*#4636#*#* ( Lots of other interesting stuff under this menu )

I have a dual SIM variant of this phone .

I don't think it's an issue, mine peaks at 4.325 as it approaches full charge (it's above 4.2 from about 80% up when charging), it will then 'relax' to 4.194 once at 100% (even if still plugged). Other devices I own do similar. 3.8v is the nominal ideal voltage when the battery is least stressed (about 55% capacity) and perfect for long time battery storage.

If you wanted to be utterly anal about preserving your battery for eternity the strategy is never let it discharge below about 30% and never let it charge above around 70%. Lions will last for years and years and tens of thousands of charge cycles in those circumstances with no loss in capacity.
 

vkk178

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2012
756
137
Bangalore
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
I don't think it's an issue, mine peaks at 4.325 as it approaches full charge (it's above 4.2 from about 80% up when charging), it will then 'relax' to 4.194 once at 100% (even if still plugged). Other devices I own do similar. 3.8v is the nominal ideal voltage when the battery is least stressed (about 55% capacity) and perfect for long time battery storage.

If you wanted to be utterly anal about preserving your battery for eternity the strategy is never let it discharge below about 30% and never let it charge above around 70%. Lions will last for years and years and tens of thousands of charge cycles in those circumstances with no loss in capacity.

I own another droid device and the removable battery is rated 4.2 V 1500 mah. During charging it peaks to slightly under 4.2 V and reaches about 3.8 V at about 50 % .So it is safely under the 4.2 voltage limit. . Also many articles on battery university talk about 4.2 V being the peak . Hence the query

Is this the same observed by other Moto G owners ?
 

jaspreet997

Senior Member
Jul 15, 2013
566
175
Maybe Its the moto g's secret of extra long battery life.....dangerously overcharging enabled by default (Also called bump charging)
Bump charging is known to destroy battery life
And since battery is internal...more profits for moto when people come to get them replaced WIN WIN!!
 

vkk178

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2012
756
137
Bangalore
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
Hey I guess some users have had this phone for a week . Can some onecheck and post the peak battery voltage ? Mine has reduced from 4.33 to about 4.25 .Also looks like the battery life has reduced a bit

Also how does one reset the battery calibration . Is it by keeping the power button pressed and letting reboot twice?
 
Last edited:

An0obis

New member
May 12, 2014
4
0
Sorry for 3 months old bump, but I've got a response from Motorola and saw this thread.


X: Hi, my name is X. How may I help you?
(unknown): Hello, my name is [Me]. I want to ask you a question about Moto G.
X: Hello, [Me]. I will be more than happy to assist you on this.
(unknown): I used CPU-Z to look at a few details about Moto G's hardware and noticed that the battery voltage is 4.3V when fully charged. Is this normal?
(unknown): I've read on the internet that Li-Ion batteries shouldn't exceed 4.2v
X: Let me check on my resources. Please hold on.
(unknown): Thank you.
X: No problem. Do you already have our Moto G or you're planning to buy one?
(unknown): I already have one, just checked the voltage with an app (the default android hardware info menu has the same values so it's correct) and I was wondering if it's a bad thing.
(unknown): Is Moto G's battery of higher quality?
X: Okay and yes, it is.
//

I said something about higher quality because I read this: learn.adafruit.com/li-ion-and-lipoly-batteries/voltages

"Nowadays you may also be able to purchase 4.35V cells! These are the latest chemistry, they have a little more power as indicated by the voltage being higher than 4.2V. They tend to be cylinder lithium ion's used for laptop batteries, and lights so its not terribly likely you'll just run into one unless you're looking for it."

So does this mean we shouldn't worry about it?