Is it bad to constantly top off your battery?

[mike208]

Note 7 is my first foray into wireless charging. I figured it would be useful at work for me as I can spend random amounts of time away from my desk throughout the day so when at my desk I can drop it on the charger and then grab it when I need to go. I just wondered if thats bad for the battery?

I already did a full drain and then full charge from there and even that I'm not sure if it's still beneficial to do. But with a non removable battery I want to make sure I'm not doing more harm than good and shortening it's life by having it on and off thw wireless charger often during the day. Thanks.

 

[imatts]

Its not bad, its actually recommended. Keeping the battery as high as frequently as possible will help in the long run.

Using it while its charging isnt so good though.

 

[AndroidSlave]

Its not bad, its actually recommended. Keeping the battery as high as frequently as possible will help in the long run.

Using it while its charging isnt so good though.

Recommended by whom? The magic dragon?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app

 

[hello00]

it can slowly reduce the lifespan of your battery..

 

[Ryland Johnson]

Its not bad, its actually recommended. Keeping the battery as high as frequently as possible will help in the long run.

Using it while its charging isnt so good though.

From my research into battery life what you write is incorrect. There are other threads on this very subject where I precise my findings.

Ryland

 

[hackdrag0n]

Apparently keeping the battery between 50-80% is the ideal scenario. It's probably ok to change to 100 but leaving it on the charger once it's fully juiced makes the battery heat up too much which is bad for it.

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[stas333]

There has been research that suggests it is better to charge the battery from around 40%-to about 95%, never full.

 

[mike208]

There has been research that suggests it is better to charge the battery from around 40%-to about 95%, never full.

I looked at some of the research people have mentioned and it does seem that between 40 and 80% is the sweet spot on the Lithium Ion batteries. It says not to charge to 100%, but that the phone is smart enough to stop charging ones full to prevent overheating. But regardless I suppose leaving it plugged in overnight isn't the best idea.

But in my case it sounds like multiple charges throughout the day isn't bad on the battery as long as it keeps it in the 40-80% range? I can manage that, just wanted to make sure multiple small(5-10%) charges throughout the day wasn't also shortening its life span.

 

[Corbitt74]

Hard to say I guess. I was the drain and fully charge guy. Never any issues. My wife is the opposite, she should constantly top it off or close and her battery would drain faster than mine. Eventually hers would die very early. So who knows.

Always been like this with all our phones

 

[Belimawr]

I know some firms in the past have built in charge counters in batteries so you could only charge the X amount of times, but that was a fair few years ago and things have moved on since.

but my phones I have charged them multiple times a day and my Xperia Z1 that I got on launch day is still in use by a friend and still has near perfect battery life despite being charged some time multiple times a day and always being left on charge overnight every night. (so thats for about 3 years now?)

my S6 I have ran on the wireless charger since I got the phone on release day, every time I went in the room I chucked it on the pad to keep it charged up, the phone still works and charges flawlessly, the Samsung charging pad unfortunately wasn't as up to the job as the phone was and died last week. but no big loss as I want a fast charging one after I get my note tomorrow.

 

[dermotti]

-The less you recharge your phone, the better
-Keeping your phone between 40-80% is the best theoretical solution for best health. But if you are running your battery down to 40%, and charging back up to 80% twice a day, that's still more wear than just leaving your phone at your desk plugged in at 100%.

Or say you keep it at your desk and you have to move around office 4 times that day. So every time you leave your desk and come back, you charge it back from 90% to 100%. 4 x 10% - 40% is still less wear then the guy doing the 40-80% x 2 a day. Less charging overall.

 

[matsuyamakaze]

http://techlife.samsung.com/tips-keep-smartphone-charged-1059.html

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---------- Post added at 05:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:52 PM ----------

According to Samsung.

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[Nitemare3219]

Its not bad, its actually recommended. Keeping the battery as high as frequently as possible will help in the long run.

Using it while its charging isnt so good though.

Wrong. Going above 80% is a "high stress" situation for lithium batteries. It isn't bad, but the best charging practice for absolute longevity is keeping it between 20%-80%.

Apparently keeping the battery between 50-80% is the ideal scenario. It's probably ok to change to 100 but leaving it on the charger once it's fully juiced makes the battery heat up too much which is bad for it.

Sent from my SM-N930F using Tapatalk

Leaving it on the charger doesn't heat up the battery. It just keeps the battery in that high stress state, and isn't good long-term. If you are doing intense activities with it plugged in, then yes that is a combo for high heat which is bad for the battery.

-The less you recharge your phone, the better
-Keeping your phone between 40-80% is the best theoretical solution for best health. But if you are running your battery down to 40%, and charging back up to 80% twice a day, that's still more wear than just leaving your phone at your desk plugged in at 100%.

Or say you keep it at your desk and you have to move around office 4 times that day. So every time you leave your desk and come back, you charge it back from 90% to 100%. 4 x 10% - 40% is still less wear then the guy doing the 40-80% x 2 a day. Less charging overall.

Not really. Leaving it at 100% all day is not the best idea. It'd be better to let it run down to 20% and recharge to 80%. Unless Samsung routes power directly to the motherboard when plugged in, instead of passing it THROUGH the battery first, it is absolutely better to not keep the phone at 100% and charging while using it, heating it up further, and it is still cycling the power/wear through the cells.

Does any of this matter? No. Unless you keep your phone for 2+ years, you aren't going to notice any difference. Charge it whenever and however you want. The battery isn't going to **** out on you because of how you charge it.

 

[hackdrag0n]

Thought the manufacturer warranty was two years anyway? Android phones are only guaranteed updates every two years so may as well upgrade every two years. If the battery craps out inside that time just warranty it. It's extremely unlikely though.

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[THS1989]

TOO MANY MISCONCEPTIONS. Let me clear them up !!!!

1) Lithium batteries like to sit around 50% for prolonged periods.

2) It will NOT hurt to keep your phone on the charger. The charging circuitry cuts off power once the Cell hits 4.35 - 4.4v

3) It will HURT THE BATTERY MORE to keep using it when it is depleted or near depleted. Lithium batteries DO NOT like to go below a certain voltage depending on specific chemistry formulation.

To expand on this. It is BETTER to keep the phone at 95% than it is to keep it at 5%. I personally would NOT want my battery falling low enough that it gives a low battery indication (usually around 15%)

4) High Charge and Discharge LOWERS battery longevity. Lithium batteries prefer to be charged slowly and discharged slowly.

You guessed it. AVOID high charge scenarios such as Fast Charge. AVOID fast discharge scenarios such as gaming with high brightness etc.

5) Lithium batteries do NOT like heat. Again, this is usually caused due to high charge or discharge scenarios.

It also ties in with Fast charge, wireless charge and especially wireless fast charge. Wireless charging is not efficient and energy as wasted as heat.

Personally I disable fast charge and do not use wireless charging. Good old USB Type C already charges quickly enough for me.

I might put this in a new thread.

 

[Spike96]

-The less you recharge your phone, the better
-Keeping your phone between 40-80% is the best theoretical solution for best health. But if you are running your battery down to 40%, and charging back up to 80% twice a day, that's still more wear than just leaving your phone at your desk plugged in at 100%.

Or say you keep it at your desk and you have to move around office 4 times that day. So every time you leave your desk and come back, you charge it back from 90% to 100%. 4 x 10% - 40% is still less wear then the guy doing the 40-80% x 2 a day. Less charging overall.

So basically what you are saying is you the more you use your phone, the more wear you will put on your battery.

100% to 0% drain (100% total) is still more wear on the battery than 80% to 40% 2x per day (80% total)?

 

[sebastianraven]

GUYS... Come on.

Wrong. Going above 80% is a "high stress" situation for lithium batteries. It isn't bad, but the best charging practice for absolute longevity is keeping it between 20%-80%.



Leaving it on the charger doesn't heat up the battery. It just keeps the battery in that high stress state, and isn't good long-term. If you are doing intense activities with it plugged in, then yes that is a combo for high heat which is bad for the battery.



Not really. Leaving it at 100% all day is not the best idea. It'd be better to let it run down to 20% and recharge to 80%. Unless Samsung routes power directly to the motherboard when plugged in, instead of passing it THROUGH the battery first, it is absolutely better to not keep the phone at 100% and charging while using it, heating it up further, and it is still cycling the power/wear through the cells.

Does any of this matter? No. Unless you keep your phone for 2+ years, you aren't going to notice any difference. Charge it whenever and however you want. The battery isn't going to **** out on you because of how you charge it.

Nitemare, you are right. Almost no one is keeping their phone here for 2 years.

Hey everyone... All we needed to do was a search: Here is the quick guide to these batteries. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3846897#post3846897

There's a more in-depth article here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=518861

Just an FYI. These articles are for 2009 but still hold true. battery tech may have gotten a bit better, but the same rules. Both posts have cited sites as well.

 

[dermotti]

So basically what you are saying is you the more you use your phone, the more wear you will put on your battery.

100% to 0% drain (100% total) is still more wear on the battery than 80% to 40% 2x per day (80% total)?

Basically yes...batteries have a finite amount of charge cycles.

Charging 2000mah into your battery, whether its all at once, or 500mah x 4, should be roughly the same amount of wear on the battery.

For me, only things i ever worry about is deep discharges and heat. Heat is the worst enemy imho.

Everything else is pretty minor when it comes to wear.



Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 10:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 AM ----------

TOO MANY MISCONCEPTIONS. Let me clear them up !!!!

1) Lithium batteries like to sit around 50% for prolonged periods.

2) It will NOT hurt to keep your phone on the charger. The charging circuitry cuts off power once the Cell hits 4.35 - 4.4v

3) It will HURT THE BATTERY MORE to keep using it when it is depleted or near depleted. Lithium batteries DO NOT like to go below a certain voltage depending on specific chemistry formulation.

To expand on this. It is BETTER to keep the phone at 95% than it is to keep it at 5%. I personally would NOT want my battery falling low enough that it gives a low battery indication (usually around 15%)

4) High Charge and Discharge LOWERS battery longevity. Lithium batteries prefer to be charged slowly and discharged slowly.

You guessed it. AVOID high charge scenarios such as Fast Charge. AVOID fast discharge scenarios such as gaming with high brightness etc.

5) Lithium batteries do NOT like heat. Again, this is usually caused due to high charge or discharge scenarios.

It also ties in with Fast charge, wireless charge and especially wireless fast charge. Wireless charging is not efficient and energy as wasted as heat.

Personally I disable fast charge and do not use wireless charging. Good old USB Type C already charges quickly enough for me.

I might put this in a new thread.

Pretty much covered it here. Good post.

And avoid high heat scenarios as much as you can.

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[zbms]

Somewhere in the samsung+ app for note 7, it says always keep the battery between 50 -90 for longevity.

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[Dodge DeBoulet]

My last phone, an HTC One M8, spent every single night on the charger for the last 2 1/2 years. I would also connect it to a charger in the car when I was driving for any length of time, and that was fairly often as I was traveling regularly. The battery life was not appreciably shorter when I retired it last week than when I first got it.

YM, as always, MV.