New battery = amazing new life for my Nexus 5!

jgordon00

Senior Member
Jun 15, 2010
91
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(cross posted to Nexus 5 subreddit)

So I've had my N5 since it was first available (ordered it the first day it was on Google Play). Over the last 6 months or so, I've had absolutely atrocious battery life, which I attributed to the upgrade to Android 5. Most recently, the battery life has been so bad that I could be at 98% and after 10 or 15 minutes of playing a game with GPU usage, the phone just shut down. After a reboot, the phone said my battery was at 1%. Then I'd keep the phone off, leave it for 20 or 30 minutes and when I turned it on again, it told me the battery was at 40%. Super strange.

Long story short, I decided that my battery had some real problems. So I took a chance and ordered what looked like an ok battery replacement off of Amazon (link below) as well as some tools from iFixit.com (link below) and decided I was going to try to install a new battery.

Well, it's been about a week since I did the battery replacement (link below to the YouTube video that was helpful) and my phone feels like a brand new device. I get a real, full-day use of the phone now, which for me is having it on and using maps, Gmail, texting, Chrome, Facebook, Play Music, and a few other key apps. Some games here and there. I also obviously have the phone off during the day when I don't need it. Before the battery replacement, my phone could easily be dead with a mix of screen on and off time in 2 hours or less. Now I'm getting 13-14 hours easily. Really amazing.

So I thought this was important enough to share with everyone. If you're in the same boat that I was, you might give this a shot too. Here's everything you need to do what I did:
BATTERY (ships from Chicago, NOT China! this was key!): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LD7S6YQ
iFIXIT TOOLS (if you don't already have these): https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Plastic-Opening-Tools/IF145-000-1
YOUTUBE TUTORIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlmKLfgUtBQ

Here's some additional info about my setup that may be helpful: ROM: Cataclysm latest stable build (built off 5.1) KERNEL: Elemental X 2.11. Also using Greenify to hibernate unnecessary background apps

Feel free to ask any other questions. I'm really pleased with how things have gone with this new battery (at least for this first week, which I know is not tons of time). For the moment, it feels like I have a brand new phone! ;)
 
Last edited:

jalex9

Member
Mar 19, 2007
14
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0
Madison
I was just starting to look for a replacement for my N5. This one doesn't get the greatest of reviews. I've wasted $13.50 on worse though. You still recommend it?
 

jgordon00

Senior Member
Jun 15, 2010
91
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I was just starting to look for a replacement for my N5. This one doesn't get the greatest of reviews. I've wasted $13.50 on worse though. You still recommend it?
I do! Granted, I've had this for just about a week so it's not the best assessment of long term performance but the difference between the dead stock battery I had and this new one is night and day. I can go all day with this new one. I could barely go an hour with the old one before it shut off. Worth a shot -- and to your point it's only $13.50. :)
 
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sss2sssss

Senior Member
May 7, 2012
304
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Great thread!
But I think my battery still no dead, can get 3.5 hours of SOT with like near to 2 hours gaming, and it can still standby for at most whole days with such usage
Now in stock 5.1 with elementalX kernel
 

Aras Bekar

New member
Apr 19, 2015
1
0
0
ONLY fresh year battery to buy

I hope for a long battery manufacturing. Unfortunately, the design of batteries is that they are prone to aging. Even if they are in a store, they begin to lose capacitance over time. It is necessary to carefully examine what year battery you want to buy
 

UZ7

Senior Member
Apr 25, 2012
1,064
328
0
Florida
Hmm, also considering replacing my battery...

One day my phone was going haywire and I took it apart (easier than I thought) replugged the battery cord and worked fine after that.

Probably anal but right when I unplugged my phone from the charger just now it went from 100% -> 99% instantly.. dun dun dun! lol I've had my phone since December 2013 so yeah you can tell how long I've had my phone for! haha
 

Evo_Shift

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2011
2,347
482
0
I ordered one from etradesupply that will arrive tomorrow. I hope it has a fairly recent manufacturing date and isn't some extra stock from 2013. I know I am paying more due to shipping but buying batteries on ebay makes me so nervous about fakes and the quality. At least it looks super easy to swap out.
 
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daern

Senior Member
Jun 28, 2005
243
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Coincidentally, I came to the same conclusion yesterday and ordered a new battery. It appears to be something of a minefield and you can pay between £8 and £30 for what seems to be the same battery!

In the end, I went with a mid-price battery from a reputable seller and hopefully all will be well...quite excited for it to arrive :)
 
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dan-fish

Senior Member
May 27, 2011
1,940
423
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My new battery just arrived today! I'll get it fitted and update with how it is. I've got some screens of battery life at the moment. Hopefully it improves
 
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Evo_Shift

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2011
2,347
482
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My etradesupply battery arrived yesterday. It looks exactly like the stock battery and shipped from Texas. Manufacture date is September of 2014... Can't remember the exact date but it for sure september of 2014 which is older than I'd like but we'll see. It was at 47% charge which is about what it should be for storage.

I haven't had a chance to do a full cycle yet. I just charged it to 100% once so far. My screen on time is 2 hours 15 minutes with 34% battery left. I don't do anything special to conserve battery and use automatic brightness set to 50% or whatever stock is. That's a mix of games and browsing.

I am not sure if a new battery has to go through a full cycle to get calibrated or anything like that. I've read laptops should be drained completely once in awhile (not often) to recalibrate something with how the battery life is measured. I feel battery life is better than the battery it replaced so far which is what matters to me. If I can get 3+ hours SOT consistently I'll be happy. I was getting down to around 2 hours SOT on my old battery.
 
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AndrasLOHF

Senior Member
Jan 7, 2013
2,875
2,065
0
I've been contemplating getting a new battery for a while. I have a launch week device so my battery is sitting around 18 months old. I'm not getting terrible battery life but it's not as good as it was either. My usage patterns have changed since then and I also keep a lot of apps installed and have everything turned on as opposed to when I first had the device I had a script remove most everything from the phone and kept most things turned off. I'd say an average work day I'll see 2-2 1/2 hours screen on time with about 1 1/2-2hours bluetooth music playback. I'm looking for a charger around 6pm when I get home.
 
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dan-fish

Senior Member
May 27, 2011
1,940
423
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Where did you order from?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
i see you're in the US so not sure if I'll be of much help. I ordered off ebay, just checked to make sure there was plenty of feedback for the battery. Just using up the battery of my current one so will change tonight and hopefully update tomorrow!
 
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zerosum0

Senior Member
Feb 7, 2015
690
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Every one knows batteries need to empty and fill a good few times to reach peak holding. I replaced mine with a genuine OEM, from Amazon, and it took a good few days then it made a huge difference longevity. Never buy cheap batteries. They are fake and can't be told from the real thing until you use it AND findout. Go by the reviews and who is selling

Sent from my Nexus 5

---------- Post added at 08:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:28 PM ----------

Just my luck. I get the one battery that doesn't charge ? have to wait on a replacement now
Thought the whole world knew don't but batteries of eBay!!! Sorry to hear that. Get one of Amazon. My fiancee sent mine from the states from Amazon.

Sent from my Nexus 5
 

boyz211

Senior Member
Dec 14, 2013
249
25
0
Battery Replacement in India

Where can I get the battery in India. My battery too draining like hell..
Can anyone suggest where I can get battery in India.. Online website is fine
 

moraytadroidz

Senior Member
Oct 20, 2014
57
35
0
Manila
I have my old battery replace at the official LG service center here in Manila and all i can say is that my 5's battery life is just like brand new. After a year with the old battery, sot max is just 1.5 hours, after the replacement, 4.5 hours.
 
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!n0x

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2012
394
86
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BCD
I have my old battery replace at the official LG service center here in Manila and all i can say is that my 5's battery life is just like brand new. After a year with the old battery, sot max is just 1.5 hours, after the replacement, 4.5 hours.
where exactly did you get it replaced? mine's not dying yet, but I would like to know just in case :D