mobile Top 3 battery myths (Li-Ion, Li-Po)

[Kepar]

Since a lot of people have their theories about batteries I decided to go through them and say the facts. There are 4 main type of batteries for phones, cameras etc. There is Li-Ion(Lithium-Ion), Li-Po(Lithium-Polymer) and old Ni-Mh(Nickel-metal hydride) and very known Ni-Cd(Nickel-Cadmium). Differences between Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries is that Lithium-Ion battery have a higher energy density and it costs less to manufacture and most of the companies use them in their products and Lithium-Polymer are sleeker and thinner so not big differences because both batteries lose less than 0.01% per month of their storage life and they hold up to 300-400 charging cycles with charging them to 100%. So here comes the myths. As you can assume I will be talking about Li-Ion and Li-Po myths.

 

Myth #1- When you buy a new battery with your phone or a camera you need to let it drain itself to 0% and than you have to charge over night for about 16 hours aka Priming.

 

NO You can use it right out of the box and when its empty just charge it normally and when its charged you can just unplug it and use it without any problems.

 

Myth #2- You need to unplug your device as soon as its done charging to avoid overcharging and damaging the battery

 

NO Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries are in a way smart because they have built in circuits so when your device is fully charged they cut the power so thats why you can sometimes see on your phone that battery goes from 100% to 97% but those 3% will charge back again. Only problem could be overheating if you use you device in a really hot enviroment but that rarely happens.

 

Myth #3- Batteries needs to be calibrated what means that you always have to drain your battery to 0% and charging it again to 100%.

 

NO These type of batteries have the same performance level at any time so if you unplug it at 39% or start charging it at 39% you won`t damage your battery but it can sometimes be true RARELY it just depends on the software of the device itself so just do it every 1 year or so. 

 

 

All these myths are ONLY for Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries for older Nickle based Ni-Mh or Ni-Cd everything its exactly opposite you do need to Prime them and calibrate them.

Feel free to ask anything! 

 

                                                                                                                   =Kepar=

Edited March 16, 2014 by Kepar

[Vanaraud]

Was looking into this lately also and I remembered from past when Ni-MH batteries dominated that discharging was compulsory but for LI-ion batteries not anymore. They don´t have "memory" and can be charged at any time and stopped charging also when needed.

Read somewhere that Li-ion batteries last longer if they are not fully charged and work at 30%-70% range. But I doubt anyone wants to charge their battery on smartphones in every 12h, so I charge it still to 100% so it lasts longer without charging.

[Kepar]

I also do charge to 100% even thou it would be better not to charge it fully, but people are still scared to do it because they think they will damage the battery wich is not true at all its just like a glass of water you wont damage the glass if you have only 1/2 of it full.

[A. Pirate]

For those of us that use cell phones with changeable batteries (Samsung Galaxy series, etc), the batteries are cheap to buy, that battery maintenance has become a thing of the past. I could fuss over the battery charging level every day and make the battery last as long as the phone -- OR -- I could just charge it when I want and buy a replacement for $5 when that battery wears out.

[Kepar]

Well its not just damaging battery as I already said if you use your phone in really hot enviroments battery can get overheated and damage you phone so I wouldnt relay just on replacing it.

[Xernicus]

Here's a fun fact about Li-Po batteries: they like to explode.

As long as you don't buy any budget (aka 3rd party) batteries, you should be good however- as the danger comes from overcharging.

[Kepar]

Here's a fun fact about Li-Po batteries: they like to explode.

As long as you don't buy any budget (aka 3rd party) batteries, you should be good however- as the danger comes from overcharging.

You are right here but if the battery came in a device already you should be pretty safe because they are safer then Li-Ion batteries thats why Li-Ion batteries cost less to manufacture. And this is one really important tip: ONLY BUY BATTERIES THAT ARE SAME AS THE OLD ONE. Edited March 18, 2014 by Kepar

[Cptwalker]

does rubbing the battery actually work???

[Kepar]

That definatly doesnt work because it cant get enough electricity.