This post is to make an attempt at giving the best new battery start up advice based on research. The battery calibration is well know and should be followed either here, here, or of course here. After days of reading about how lithium ion batteries are stored and charged and also reading actual confidential battery datasheets (not available on sites like Battery University), and installing 5 different 3500mAh batteries in the same phone, have drawn up this checklist:
1. Obtain a charger and length of charging-cord combination that allows 0.2 C to 0.5 C charging currents based on your testing. (You may want to do this on the old battery to avoid multiple new battery mini charge sessions.)
To be strictly by the book to the manufacturer, limit charge to the 0.2C to obtain 100% capacity. Other sources state charging doesn't matter up to 1C but I don't think this is true for most smartphone batteries and not affecting capacity at least by 5% if not more.
2. Verify new battery is adhered to phone and plug connector is seated firmly. Let phone sit at 23 degreee C to 25 degree C for an hour.. Turn phone on 1st time.
3. Install AccuBattery if not done previously
4. Increase charge or decrease charge to get to 70%. Attempt to keep battery temp around 23 C during this initial run.
5. Use the phone or don't (screen off, powered up) until battery hits 55%.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for a week. The goal is to have less than 0.3 cycles of daily wear on the battery initially. Use battery wear graph in AccuBattery to keep track. We are slowly waking up the battery and not hitting it with 100% capacity or long charges yet. It had sat dormant for at least 3 months if not much longer. Why charge it fully just yet?
Note 1 for step 6: Try to keep battery at 23 degrees C if possible during charge. After a couple days I think a higher temperature is ok as long as the charge % is consistent with previous days.
Note 2 for step 6: A few days in the initial week which drops lower or charges higher isn't a problem....just try to keep the battery wear low. You will notice, even without calibration yet, the AccuBattery capacity estimate is getting better and better each day using the same charge sessions and % start and stops....so this is a good sign. I've tanked new batteries with 1 full maybe even 1.8 cycles per day and the capacity estimates go down, not up doing that.
7. Take battery to 80% the following week. Discharge to 20% is ok but shorter charges are always better. Anything 20% to 80% is fine. Keep battery wear 0.6 cycles or less.
8. Now it's time for a baseline capacity charge test. Let battery down to 15% and charge it to the full 100% +1 hour at 100%. Note the capacity estimate and also the full mAh for that session.
9. Wait one day.
10. Perform calibration (try to spread it over two days to make it easier on the battery)
11. Repeat step 8 and see if capacity goes up or down. If down, go back to step 4 and 5 for a week then retest. If it's better, it proves that high cycle count on battery is a short term capacity killer.
Note 3 for steps 1 to 11: always charging at 0.3 to 0.5 C rate.
12. Using a fast charger (2.4 A to 1C) charge the battery as done in step 8. See if capacity goes up or down. If down, it proves fast charging is a killer of short term capacity. If up, it may prove the voltage during charge is higher and CV is a bit higher during end of charge. Remember most packs can take CV 4.35 volts but most android phones won't allow more than 4.300 volts. Mine quits at 4.296 V.
1. Obtain a charger and length of charging-cord combination that allows 0.2 C to 0.5 C charging currents based on your testing. (You may want to do this on the old battery to avoid multiple new battery mini charge sessions.)
To be strictly by the book to the manufacturer, limit charge to the 0.2C to obtain 100% capacity. Other sources state charging doesn't matter up to 1C but I don't think this is true for most smartphone batteries and not affecting capacity at least by 5% if not more.
2. Verify new battery is adhered to phone and plug connector is seated firmly. Let phone sit at 23 degreee C to 25 degree C for an hour.. Turn phone on 1st time.
3. Install AccuBattery if not done previously
4. Increase charge or decrease charge to get to 70%. Attempt to keep battery temp around 23 C during this initial run.
5. Use the phone or don't (screen off, powered up) until battery hits 55%.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for a week. The goal is to have less than 0.3 cycles of daily wear on the battery initially. Use battery wear graph in AccuBattery to keep track. We are slowly waking up the battery and not hitting it with 100% capacity or long charges yet. It had sat dormant for at least 3 months if not much longer. Why charge it fully just yet?
Note 1 for step 6: Try to keep battery at 23 degrees C if possible during charge. After a couple days I think a higher temperature is ok as long as the charge % is consistent with previous days.
Note 2 for step 6: A few days in the initial week which drops lower or charges higher isn't a problem....just try to keep the battery wear low. You will notice, even without calibration yet, the AccuBattery capacity estimate is getting better and better each day using the same charge sessions and % start and stops....so this is a good sign. I've tanked new batteries with 1 full maybe even 1.8 cycles per day and the capacity estimates go down, not up doing that.
7. Take battery to 80% the following week. Discharge to 20% is ok but shorter charges are always better. Anything 20% to 80% is fine. Keep battery wear 0.6 cycles or less.
8. Now it's time for a baseline capacity charge test. Let battery down to 15% and charge it to the full 100% +1 hour at 100%. Note the capacity estimate and also the full mAh for that session.
9. Wait one day.
10. Perform calibration (try to spread it over two days to make it easier on the battery)
11. Repeat step 8 and see if capacity goes up or down. If down, go back to step 4 and 5 for a week then retest. If it's better, it proves that high cycle count on battery is a short term capacity killer.
Note 3 for steps 1 to 11: always charging at 0.3 to 0.5 C rate.
12. Using a fast charger (2.4 A to 1C) charge the battery as done in step 8. See if capacity goes up or down. If down, it proves fast charging is a killer of short term capacity. If up, it may prove the voltage during charge is higher and CV is a bit higher during end of charge. Remember most packs can take CV 4.35 volts but most android phones won't allow more than 4.300 volts. Mine quits at 4.296 V.
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