Recently I got a Galaxy S3 smartphone, and I'm interested in prolonging its battery life. After charging it overnight and using it for a day, the battery usually starts running low in the evening. This doesn't seem bad to me since I use it a lot, primarily for web browsing, GPS navigation, and playing games (all CPU intensive tasks), which I do more of than talking or texting.

From the research I've done, it seems like there are at least three ways to prolong battery life:

1. Use power saving mode, which limits the maximum CPU performance, reduces the screen frame rate and lowers the brightness, and disables the vibrate function. I've turned this setting on.
   
2. Get a battery that will last longer (7000mAh Li-ions are available on eBay that can replace the standard 2100mAh one). I probably won't do this, but I do want to get a car charger so that using the GPS won't drain the battery so much.
   
3. Calibrate the battery. I'm not sure how to do this, or even if I should, because I've read different things about it. One article I read said you should fully drain the battery first, but another one said you shouldn't because that's bad for your phone. Yet another said that calibrating the battery is unnecessary because it happens naturally over time as you use your phone and recharge it.

So that's why I'm asking: Do you think I should calibrate my cellphone battery? If so, what is the proper method?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by 'calibrate' in this context? Calibration normally means taking one or more measurements for comparison with a reference. How does that relate to extending battery life?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by 'calibrate' in this context? Calibration normally means taking one or more measurements for comparison with a reference. How does that relate to extending battery life?

Here are some questions (on StackOverflow) that may help explain what I mean by battery calibration:

• http://android.stackexchange.com/qu...a-consistent-answer-about-battery-calibration
• http://android.stackexchange.com/qu...r-flashing-a-new-rom-really-neccessary-and-if
• http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/10692/is-battery-calibration-important-for-android-phones

The first question is basically the same as my own, but it wasn't answered definitively as far as I can tell.

 

Recently I got a Galaxy S3 smartphone, and I'm interested in prolonging its battery life. After charging it overnight and using it for a day, the battery usually starts running low in the evening. This doesn't seem bad to me since I use it a lot, primarily for web browsing, GPS navigation, and playing games (all CPU intensive tasks), which I do more of than talking or texting.

From the research I've done, it seems like there are at least three ways to prolong battery life:

1. Use power saving mode, which limits the maximum CPU performance, reduces the screen frame rate and lowers the brightness, and disables the vibrate function. I've turned this setting on.
   
2. Get a battery that will last longer (7000mAh Li-ions are available on eBay that can replace the standard 2100mAh one). I probably won't do this, but I do want to get a car charger so that using the GPS won't drain the battery so much.
   
3. Calibrate the battery. I'm not sure how to do this, or even if I should, because I've read different things about it. One article I read said you should fully drain the battery first, but another one said you shouldn't because that's bad for your phone. Yet another said that calibrating the battery is unnecessary because it happens naturally over time as you use your phone and recharge it.

So that's why I'm asking: Do you think I should calibrate my cellphone battery? If so, what is the proper method?

Discharging a lithium battery below a certain voltage is just as bad (but not as dangerous) as overcharging it - the phone should have a UVLO shutdown to prevent over discharging.

 

I suppose the answer to the first StackOverflow question I linked to is accurate:

There are slightly different opinions around on this topic. To fully understand the issue, one needs to first understand how LiIo batteries work (which goes a little too far for our site, so please read details on Wikipedia).

1. Lie Ryan is absolutely right: LiIo batteries don't take it well to be fully discharged.
2. It shouldn't be done too often. I'm not sure what a double-take should improve here.
3. Usually there's no need to do that "explicitly". If you think of how often you end up with an empty batterie (as it doesn't last long enough), calibration is already done as a side-effect (if you then fully charge). It's widely agreed that it should not be done more often than once in 60..90 days, so Logas might have mistaken the term.
4. See previous point I never saw reason to calibrate any of my devices' battery, though.
5. It certainly cannot hurt to do it with the device turned off, as then it's not being charged and discharged at the same time. I doubt it's really necessary, but it does no harm

So basically, it seems like it's not really necessary to explicitly calibrate batteries, since it will happen as a side effect. Because the long term effects of doing so are disputed, it's probably safer not to as well. Am I correct?

 

I suppose the answer to the first StackOverflow question I linked to is accurate:

So basically, it seems like it's not really necessary to explicitly calibrate batteries, since it will happen as a side effect. Because the long term effects of doing so are disputed, it's probably safer not to as well. Am I correct?

It was common for nickel cadmium batteries to improve with the occasional total discharge - with lithium, the opposite is true.

The less deeply they're discharged the better.

 

I'm calling, "B.S."
Link in post #3 leads to complete debunking of the alleged purpose of battery calibration, which is supposed to have some effect on the battery monitor app, which does not do what somebody thinks it does.

ian_field finished the thread.

 

@tjohnson I have a Galaxy S3. The original Samsung battery was never very good and a Samsung replacement was worse. I replaced it with a compatible one from Anker and it's great. I get at least two days of full use (calls, internet, Pandora etc.) with no particular thought to conservation and still have some battery left.

 

just turn off the gps (now called location)

you don't get lost that often do you?

 

just turn off the gps (now called location)

you don't get lost that often do you?

Right now I get lost easily, because my family moved just a few weeks ago and I'm still getting used to the area.

Even if that wasn't the case, I'd still want to leave the GPS on, so that I can use Where's My Droid to locate my phone if l ever lose it.

 

So I understand that this calibration stuff is nonsense, but I have another related question. I remember reading somewhere that it's good to always keep a cellphone battery between 20% and 80% charged, and I've read different opinions about whether or not it's good to leave a battery charging after it's reached 100%. What would you say about this?

 

I'm calling, "B.S."
Link in post #3 leads to complete debunking of the alleged purpose of battery calibration, which is supposed to have some effect on the battery monitor app, which does not do what somebody thinks it does.

ian_field finished the thread.

Some laptops have a "fuel gauge" chip embedded in the battery pack, sometimes they're also called Coulomb counters.

A quick look at a typical LiPo datasheet shows a figure for a minimum permitted cell voltage - I'll assume for the purposes of this discussion that anything with as much smarts as a Coulomb counter, will also have a UVLO to shut everything down when the minimum voltage is reached.

There may well be intelligent Coulomb counters that remember how much energy the cells gave from the last charge, but in the past the counter has got more optimistic as the cells wear out.

 

So I understand that this calibration stuff is nonsense, but I have another related question. I remember reading somewhere that it's good to always keep a cellphone battery between 20% and 80% charged, and I've read different opinions about whether or not it's good to leave a battery charging after it's reached 100%. What would you say about this?

When battery reaches 100% inside circuitry shut downs the charging circuit.

 

*#*#4636#*#*
This code can be used to get some interesting information about Samsung Galaxy S3 and battery. It shows following 4 menus on screen:
* Phone information
* Battery information
* Battery history
* Usage statistics

more info
https://mobilespecs.net/phone/codes/Samsung/Samsung_Galaxy_Note_8_Exynos.html

 

Welcome to AAC!
Tarrass, this thread is over 4 years old! It's better to start your own thread.