[zerog46]

How to prolong lithium-based batteries

[Cory Scheuer]

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.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

* Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.

* Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

* Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)

* Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

* If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.

[greggebhardt]

Originally Posted by TheBigNewt

He said he goes 5-7 days with WiFi/3G/BT turned off. That's quite possible. The Bold battery is bigger than mine (8100 with 1200 mAh extended battery). I go 4-5 days always before I recharge (at 20% usually). I turn mine off at night, use magnet pouch. 20 emails read/txt very little browsing, talk 10-15 min maybe (or not). The Bold will do better than that with 2G only.

Well I will give the poster one thing he has it set to 2G becasue he is using a Bold on T-Mo where the 3G will not work.

You can get better milage out of a car by doing 25-35 mph all the time but that is not how most drive. The Bold used in a normal manner will not go but about two days, three days tops. 5 days no!

[TheBigNewt]

I suspect that because in many places 3G isn't that strong the Bold uses extra battery searching for a 3g signal &/or switching back and forth to 2G/3G. That's gotta be tough on a battery. Maybe once 3G signals improve in the US that will change. But the dude from England (3G since 2002-3) said his signal still comes and goes.

[foner]

Sigh...

[Cory Scheuer]

foner, why must you always do that? seriously... if you dont have anything good to say then dont say it... "sigh" what a pointless post!

[bbstalker]

Originally Posted by TheBigNewt

I suspect that because in many places 3G isn't that strong the Bold uses extra battery searching for a 3g signal &/or switching back and forth to 2G/3G. That's gotta be tough on a battery. Maybe once 3G signals improve in the US that will change. But the dude from England (3G since 2002-3) said his signal still comes and goes.

I think there are 2 reasons: first 3G consuming more power that 2G; secondly, exactly as you said, network lookups take relatively big chunk of power.

[BBSwany]

Originally Posted by foner

Sigh...

Look! Look! I can thread crap too! Ugh.. HaHa, just kiddin foner!

Originally Posted by bbstalker

I think there are 2 reasons: first 3G consuming more power that 2G; secondly, exactly as you said, network lookups take relatively big chunk of power.

Well, we can always do what Apple recommends to they're iPhone 3G owners. "Turn off your 3G for better battery life (Thank you for buying a 3G device that we recommend you use in 2G mode)"

[Insurgent]

Battery life is relative to usage, and especially TYPE of usage. I think it is unreasonable to give everyone blanket advice when it comes to prolonging battery life because people's requirements are different. Some business people cannot afford to let their phone completely die before they decide to recharge it for example, its just not worth missing those vital calls/emails/sms'.

For me, the most blanket advice that can be given when it comes to being efficient with battery life is to only enable the features that are REQUIRED. The simple "do not waste" principle, not necessarily a battery-life specific point. If I were not going to be using 3G and do not need it, I turn it off, same with bluetooth and WiFi. If I knew I could use the phone perfectly well with a lower screen brightness then I turn the brightness down because I prefer not to use surplus to requirements.

For example, if I know POINT BLANK that I do not need my phone to be on and I'm NOT going to be answering any phone calls REGARDLESS of how important they were, for example: in an exam, driving test, plane then I turn it OFF completely, not silent or "flight mode" as its not REQUIRED and it saves battery life.

The idea is not to WASTE battery life. For me that's more sensible and more common sense that trying to change the charge procedures to allegedly "optimize" it.

[prescottspies]

bbswany, I'm not a professional user, but your point is nonetheless valid. Why buy a blackberry and turn off connectivity options? Isn't the whole idea of a blackberry to have always on connectivity in your pocket?

I do wonder if the admins should delete this thread as telling people to train a Li-ion battery is misleading and may damage the battery.

[bbstalker]

Originally Posted by prescottspies

bbswany, I'm not a professional user, but your point is nonetheless valid. Why buy a blackberry and turn off connectivity options? Isn't the whole idea of a blackberry to have always on connectivity in your pocket?

I do wonder if the admins should delete this thread as telling people to train a Li-ion battery is misleading and may damage the battery.

Man, take it easy

[mobile_pheen]

my 2 cents:
lithium ion or newer do not need to be trained. and i havent had to "train" a battery since my NI-Cad batteries in the 90's

[BBSwany]

Originally Posted by prescottspies

bbswany, I'm not a professional user, but your point is nonetheless valid. Why buy a blackberry and turn off connectivity options? Isn't the whole idea of a blackberry to have always on connectivity in your pocket?

Ouch.. Take this for a read. Should clear things up.

Sarcasm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You would still get all the connectivity even running on EDGE. Just not simultaneous voice and data.

[bbstalker]

Originally Posted by mobile_pheen

my 2 cents:
lithium ion or newer do not need to be trained. and i havent had to "train" a battery since my NI-Cad batteries in the 90's

Then my 2 points to your 2 cents: training a multi-cell lithium battery (BB Bold) helps to:

• balance the cell capacity between interconnected cells
• calibrate the 0% & 100% charge levels of the battery

For details, check the links (Wiki & BatteryUniversity) provided in the discussion above.

[TroyDBrown]

From BlackBerry.Com

Extend battery life
Try performing the following actions:
Set your BlackBerry® device to turn on and turn off automatically.
Charge your device regularly.
Keep your battery connections clean. Every few months, use a cotton swab or dry cloth to clean the metal contacts on the battery and the device.
Set backlighting to remain on for a shorter period of time and lower its brightness.
Turn off the connection to a wireless network when you are not in a wireless coverage area.
Switch your vibrating notifications to sound notifications or LED notifications, lower the volume of your sound notifications, or select a shorter ring tone.
Delete the original message when you send a reply.
Send a message to multiple contacts using Add To, Add Cc, or Add Bcc.
Turn off the flash in the camera.
Close third-party applications from the application menu when you are finished with them.
Change your browser options for animated graphics so that they repeat less often on web pages.

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/deliver...e_26349_11.jsp

[bbstalker]

Originally Posted by TroyDBrown

From BlackBerry.Com
...
Delete the original message when you send a reply.
...

How does this help?

[bbstalker]

To those who was doubting in the length of my current battery life. I left the device fully charged yesterday night. Today at the same time it show that the battery is 91% full. So, about 9% for 24 hours. 3G, WLAN, Bluetooth were all the time OFF. The phone was ON in the night. Through this time received one short call, one SMS, sent a few.

[JSanders]

It helps in that you are sending less data in the message.

And, by the way, the "person" who wrote the Maximum Battery Life - BlackBerryFAQ does know what he is talking about. .

I would recommend reading: Battery Use Tips for your Maximum Battery Life | BlackBerryNews.com

[test54]

So from this thread - don't use your phone and it gets great battery life? no surprises there.

And for Battery advice check the Blackberry FAQ, not this thread.

[zerog46]

I use mine 24-7, so I just hooked up a car battery and strap it on my back, LOL.