Prolonging Cell Phone Battery Life.

[Sig]

Anyone here have a best practices guide to cell phone usage with the goal of prolonging the life of the standard batteries?

I have been killing these batteries way too fast and at 40 to 60 bucks a pop depending on your phone, it's not like just grabbing another couple AA's from kitchen drawer. Or, if you're old school .... from inside the refridgerator

 

[sabashioyaki]

How fast do you kill the battery? I usually get at least 1 year from mine and I don't do anything special to them.

 

[AndyH]

what types of phone do u have?
a tip for you: don't charge in the car
those car charger isn't that good for your battery cuz it gets hot real fast

 

[NSX-Racer]

Use NMH or Lithium Ion accus with the recommended home charger. They have no memory effect and will last much longer than NiCad batteries. I never killed one of those new tech accus.

 

[Sig]

what types of phone do u have?
a tip for you: don't charge in the car
those car charger isn't that good for your battery cuz it gets hot real fast

I have one of the LG phones that Verizon OEM's as their own brand. Last battery died in 8 months, the one before on a similar LG phone lasted about 9 months.

From a charging perspective, is it better to charge frequently charge to always keep a full charge OR only charge the battery after it has run down to low battery?

 

[NSX-Ster]

what types of phone do u have?
a tip for you: don't charge in the car
those car charger isn't that good for your battery cuz it gets hot real fast

This is true, I've also heard that you should let the battery run down as far as possible before charging. You can also take a pencil eraser and rub on the battery contat to clean them off. Don't know if that works or not.

 

[AndyH]

[B
From a charging perspective, is it better to charge frequently charge to always keep a full charge OR only charge the battery after it has run down to low battery? [/B]

It depends on what type of battery you have. If you have Li-on then you can charge anytime you want. If you have older Ni-Cd then you should only charge when it empty out.

another tip: Always initially charge your battery for 8-14 hours before initial use. This tip is actually really important with any Li-ON battery

 

[NSX~Kleine]

The LG phone is the answer to your question.
When we had LG, Ericson phones they would get so physicaly hot with extended use (more than 20 minute calls) they would be hard to handle. We 'toasted' several batteriesin the 2 years we had them.
How do you extend the life of an LG?
Simple:
Dont use it
If it helps we only use the standard chargers (no rapids and no car chargers). We learned to keep a charger at work, at home, in our overnight bag, and a spare one in the car in case we needed one in a restraunt.
I have never had such poor design quility in a phone since then. We did have a problem when we got our first Motorloa. It would drain in a matter of 4 or 5 hours! We took it back and gave us a new one. Everythings fine and it last for days (even with one bar on life!)
The Nokia give you A LOT of warning before they shut off (I miss my Nokia!)
The Motorola just beeps and dies.

 

[NSX_Dreamer]

Even with a Li-ion battery, it's a good idea to completely deplete it and recharge every once in a while.

 

[ajnsx]

This is true, I've also heard that you should let the battery run down as far as possible before charging

I heard this too. The battery when its recharged when not completely deleted has a residual memory so the recharging capacity becomes less and less.

I always wait until its completely out and i'm onto my second year with my mobile (they usually last a year i'm told)

 

[PHOEN$X]

Even with a Li-ion battery, it's a good idea to completely deplete it and recharge every once in a while.

Yes, this is good practice for recalibrating the batteries. Most of the time though, I prefer to let the battery run down to one bar (but not completely dead) before recharging. This is not because of any memory effect, but because lithium batteries have a lower number of charge cycles than NiMH or NiCd, so I want to maximize the time between charge intervals to preserve them for as long as possible.

You can read more about lithium (and rechargeable batteries in general) here:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone.htm
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone.htm
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-5.htm
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-31.htm

Here are some tips from http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm:

Simple Guidelines

• Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.)
  
• Although memory-free, apply a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges to calibrate batteries with fuel gauge. Running down the battery in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. The battery life will not be affected.
  
• Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.
  
• Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing date. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

 

[Si]

I just picked up the Sony P900 and the manual state a 15 hour talk time.

 

[Kinan]

One way to maximize life is to make sure your phone has a good strong signal to the receiver. The phone is transmitting to the base station even while its not in a call, although not constantly by any means.
There are 7 steps of power level for the transmiiter of your phone to operate at.
The better the signal your phone has, the less power it will use when "waking up" every so often to communicate back to the network.

One way to easily do this is to stand it upright vertical on end rather than laying down on a metal desk.

Another is set the phone with the top third (where the internal antenna is) has a clear view such as hanging off a notebook or something.

The worst place to keep it is in your pocket while driving etc.

Also make sure your keypad is locked so you aren't making "pocket calls" inadvertantly while your keys, change ettc are pushing the buttons for you.

 

[AndyH]

oh by the way it does help to turn off the "AUTO UPDATE TIME/DATE" feature. It saves battery

 

[PHOEN$X]

Good points. Another way to conserve battery life is to set the calling mode to digital only, for those phones that have analog roaming capability.

 

[FF Drifter]

Also don't keep it in your hot car, sweltering in the sun ~ or in your pocket the whole time up next your legs. Temperature affects battery life too.

 

[valenzul]

battery draining

Also,

If you have a digital phone. because of design, digital phones will try to increase signal strength when in a poor environment. So if you are inside and have bad signal strength, just turn it off, if you know you can't use it. Even with the Li-ion batteries, I charge mine with the home charger and take it off as soon as charge is complete. My wife and I have same phone and she does not practice charging it with the outlet charger and uses the car charger lots more than I have. Her battery after 1.25 years is now showing signs that it can't hold the charge. Mine is still in great shape. Motorola phone, btw.

-Val

 

[MF-DIF]

I just had to get a new battery for my LG phone. You can get new OEM batteries off ebay for about 10-15 a pop. When I initially got the phone it was great. The battery lasted like 2 days. But I kept charging it overnight, i think alot of people actually do. Its kinda natural to put the phone on the charger and go to bed. Now i am getting into the habit of coming home from work, and charging for no more than 3 hrs. My battery is more than full by then and gets me through the day no probs.

 

[PHOEN$X]

You can get new OEM batteries off ebay for about 10-15 a pop.

While I do think brand name batteries are overpriced, I've had bad luck with the cheapie OEM replacements from ebay. They typically don't last long or perform as well, and I end up tossing them prematurely. YMMV.

Another tip, avoid using the "vibrate" ring setting unless you are in a noise-sensitive environment. That can eat up battery juice pretty quickly too, if you get a lot of calls.

 

[ak]

Buy Motorola!!

 

[Kinan]

Here's some good Lithium Ion info:

Is lithium-ion the ideal battery?

For many years, nickel-cadmium was the only suitable battery for portable applications from wireless communications to mobile computing. In 1990, the nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion emerged, offering higher capacities. Both chemistries fought nose to nose, each claiming better performance and smaller sizes. Today, lithium-ion has won the limelight and has become the most talked-about battery. It's the fastest growing and most promising battery chemistry of today.
The lithium-ion battery

Pioneer work with the lithium battery began in 1912 under G.N. Lewis but it was not until the early 1970s when the first non-rechargeable lithium batteries became commercially available. lithium is the lightest of all metals, has the greatest electrochemical potential and provides the largest energy density for weight.

Attempts to develop rechargeable lithium batteries failed due to safety problems. Because of the inherent instability of lithium metal, especially during charging, research shifted to a non-metallic lithium battery using lithium ions. Although slightly lower in energy density than lithium metal, lithium-ion is safe, provided certain precautions are met when charging and discharging. In 1991, the Sony Corporation commercialized the first lithium-ion battery. Other manufacturers followed suit.

The energy density of lithium-ion is typically twice that of the standard nickel-cadmium. There is potential for higher energy densities. The load characteristics are reasonably good and behave similarly to nickel-cadmium in terms of discharge. The high cell voltage of 3.6 volts allows battery pack designs with only one cell. Most of today's mobile phones run on a single cell. A nickel-based pack would require three 1.2-volt cells connected in series.

Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, an advantage that most other chemistries cannot claim. There is no memory and no scheduled cycling is required to prolong the battery's life. In addition, the self-discharge is less than half compared to nickel-cadmium, making lithium-ion well suited for modern fuel gauge applications. lithium-ion cells cause little harm when disposed.

Despite its overall advantages, lithium-ion has its drawbacks. It is fragile and requires a protection circuit to maintain safe operation. Built into each pack, the protection circuit limits the peak voltage of each cell during charge and prevents the cell voltage from dropping too low on discharge. In addition, the cell temperature is monitored to prevent temperature extremes. The maximum charge and discharge current is limited to between 1C and 2C. With these precautions in place, the possibility of metallic lithium plating occurring due to overcharge is virtually eliminated.

Aging is a concern with most lithium-ion batteries and many manufacturers remain silent about this issue. Some capacity deterioration is noticeable after one year, whether the battery is in use or not. The battery frequently fails after two or three years. It should be noted that other chemistries also have age-related degenerative effects. This is especially true for nickel-metal-hydride if exposed to high ambient temperatures.

Manufacturers are constantly improving lithium-ion. New and enhanced chemical combinations are introduced every six months or so. With such rapid progress, it is difficult to assess how well the revised battery will age.

Storage in a cool place slows the aging process of lithium-ion (and other chemistries). Manufacturers recommend storage temperatures of 15°C (59°F). In addition, the battery should be partially charged during storage. The manufacturer recommends a 40% charge.

The most economical lithium-ion battery in terms of cost-to-energy ratio is the cylindrical 18650 (18 is the diameter and 650 the length in mm). This cell is used for mobile computing and other applications that do not demand ultra-thin geometry. If a slim pack is required, the prismatic lithium-ion cell is the best choice. These cells come at a higher cost in terms of stored energy.

Advantages

High energy density - potential for yet higher capacities.

Does not need prolonged priming when new. One regular charge is all that's needed

Relatively low self-discharge - self-discharge is less than half that of nickel-based batteries.

Low Maintenance - no periodic discharge is needed; there is no memory
Limitations


Requires protection circuit to maintain voltage and current within safe limits.

Subject to aging, even if not in use - storing the battery in a cool place and at 40% charge reduces the aging effect.

Moderate discharge current - not suitable for heavy loads.

Transportation restrictions - shipment of larger quantities may be subject to regulatory control. This restriction does not apply to personal carry-on batteries.

Expensive to manufacture - about 40 percent higher in cost than nickel-cadmium.

Not fully mature - metals and chemicals are changing on a continuing basis.

 

[Kinan]

....and some nickel based info ie. Ni-cad and NiMh:

The nickel-based battery, its dominance and the future

In this section we evaluate the strengths and limitations of various battery chemistries, beginning with the nickel. Each battery system offers unique advantages but none provides a fully satisfactory solution. With the increased selection of battery chemistries available today, better choices can be made to address specific battery needs. A careful evaluation of each battery's attribute is important. Because of similarities, both nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride are covered in this paper.

The nickel-cadmium battery

Swedish Waldmar Jungner invented the nickel-cadmium battery in 1899. At that time, the materials were expensive compared to other battery types available and its use was limited to special applications. In 1932, the active materials were deposited inside a porous nickel-plated electrode and in 1947 research began on a sealed nickel-cadmium battery.

Rather than venting, the internal gases generated during charge were recombined. These advances led to the modern sealed nickel-cadmium battery, which is in use today.

Nickel-cadmium prefers fast charge to slow charge and pulse charge to DC charge. It is a strong and silent worker; hard labor poses little problem. In fact, nickel-cadmium is the only battery type that performs well under rigorous working conditions. All other chemistries prefer a shallow discharge and moderate load currents.

Nickel-cadmium does not like to be pampered by sitting in chargers for days and being used only occasionally for brief periods. A periodic full discharge is so important that, if omitted, large crystals will form on the cell plates (also referred to as memory) and the nickel-cadmium will gradually lose its performance.

Among rechargeable batteries, nickel-cadmium remains a popular choice for two-way radios, emergency medical equipment and power tools. There is shift towards batteries with higher energy densities and less toxic metals but alternative chemistries cannot always match the superior durability and low cost of nickel-cadmium.

Here is a summary of the advantages and limitations of nickel-cadmium batteries.
Advantages

Fast and simple charge, even after prolonged storage.

High number of charge/discharge cycles - if properly maintained, nickel-cadmium provides over 1000 charge/discharge cycles.

Good load performance - nickel-cadmium allows recharging at low temperatures.

Long shelf life - five-year storage is possible. Some priming prior to use will be required.

Simple storage and transportation - most airfreight companies accept nickel-cadmium without special conditions.

Good low temperature performance.

Forgiving if abused - nickel-cadmium is one of the most rugged rechargeable batteries.

Economically priced - nickel-cadmium is lowest in terms of cost per cycle.

Available in a wide range of sizes and performance options - most nickel-cadmium cells are cylindrical.
Limitations

Relatively low energy density.

Memory effect - nickel-cadmium must periodically be exercised (discharge/charge) to prevent memory.

Environmentally unfriendly - nickel-cadmium contains toxic metals. Some countries restrict its use.

Relatively high self-discharge - needs recharging after storage
The nickel-metal-hydride battery

Research on the nickel-metal-hydride system started in the 1970s as a means of storing hydrogen for the nickel hydrogen battery. Today, nickel hydrogen is used mainly for satellite applications. nickel hydrogen batteries are bulky, require high-pressure steel canisters and cost thousands of dollars per cell.

In the early experimental days of nickel-metal hydride, the metal hydride alloys were unstable in the cell environment and the desired performance characteristics could not be achieved. As a result, the development of nickel-metal hydride slowed down. New hydride alloys were developed in the 1980s that were stable enough for use in a cell. Since then, nickel-metal hydride has steadily improved.

The success of nickel-metal hydride has been driven by high energy density and the use of environmentally friendly metals. The modern nickel-metal hydride offers up to 40% higher energy density compared to the standard nickel-cadmium. There is potential for yet higher capacities, but not without some negative side effects.

Nickel-metal hydride is less durable than nickel-cadmium. Cycling under heavy load and storage at high temperature reduces the service life. nickel-metal hydride suffers from high self-discharge, which is higher than that of nickel-cadmium.

Nickel-metal hydride has been replacing nickel-cadmium in markets such as wireless communications and mobile computing. Experts agree that nickel-metal hydride has greatly improved over the years, but limitations remain. Most shortcomings are native to the nickel-based technology and are shared with nickel-cadmium. It is widely accepted that nickel-metal hydride is an interim step to lithium-based battery technology.

Here is a summary of the advantages and limitations of nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Advantages


30-40% higher capacity than standard nickel-cadmium. Nickel-metal-hydride has potential for yet higher energy densities.

Less prone to memory than nickel-cadmium - fewer exercise cycles are required.

Simple storage and transportation - transport is not subject to regulatory control.

Environmentally friendly - contains only mild toxins; profitable for recycling.
Limitations

Limited service life - the performance starts to deteriorate after 200-300 cycles if repeatedly deeply cycled.

Relatively short storage of three years. Cool temperature and a partial charge slows aging.

Limited discharge current - although nickel-metal-hydride is capable of delivering high discharge currents, heavy load reduces the battery's cycle life.

More complex charge algorithm needed - nickel-metal-hydride generates more heat during charge and requires slightly longer charge times than nickel-cadmium. Trickle charge settings are critical because the battery cannot absorb overcharge.

High self-discharge - typically 50% higher than nickel-cadmium.

Performance degrades if stored at elevated temperatures - nickel-metal-hydride should be stored in a cool place at 40% state-of-charge.

High maintenance - nickel-metal hydride requires regular full discharge to prevent crystalline formation. nickel-cadmium should be exercised once a month, nickel-metal-hydride once in every 3 months.
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Created: April 2003, Last edited: July 2003


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About the Author
Isidor Buchmann is the founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics Inc., in Vancouver BC.
Mr. Buchmann has a background in radio communications and has studied the behavior of rechargeable batteries in practical, everyday applications for two decades. Award winning author of many articles and books on batteries, Mr. Buchmann has delivered technical papers around the world.
Cadex Electronics is a manufacturer of advanced battery chargers, battery analyzers and PC software. For product information please visit www.cadex.com.