Mobile battery life - switch off at night or not

judderman62

Hi all

done a quick search and didn't find this discussed anywhere.

Just wondering what is the perceived wisdom and more importantly any personal experience on the best for battery life - should one switch off our mobile phones when we go to bed and then switch on again in the morning or if it is idle does it not save much and is one just as well leaving it on ?

I have a Sony Ericsson K510i (just got it today and liking it)

look forward to opinions and thanks in advance

Judders

rev_henry

Tbh new batteries are cheap as chips, especially off ebay, like £2 - £3, so personally I wouldn't be too worried about the service life of the battery, if thats what you're talking about. I leave my n95 on overnight and it lasts 1 to 2 days with fairly heavy use. But then again I do get texts/calls throughout the night occasionally so its kinda necessary!

Viper_7

Lots of factors here.
How long would it be left overnight?
How long does the startup take - how long till the back-lit light goes out?
Even with the phone off, the battery will drain even when not used.
Type of battery
Current draw of phone.

but all in, turn it off!! do you really want to be woken at 3 am by some random text/call?

judderman62

rev_henry wrote: »

Tbh new batteries are cheap as chips, especially off ebay, like £2 - £3, so personally I wouldn't be too worried about the service life of the battery, if thats what you're talking about. I leave my n95 on overnight and it lasts 1 to 2 days with fairly heavy use. But then again I do get texts/calls throughout the night occasionally so its kinda necessary!

no didn't mean battery long term life - more how long before I need to recharge - I have a sharp which needs re charging every 1.5 days - a joke and has been relegated to a drawer, a Samsung which tends to give me 3-4 days between charges and just today got the SE K510i.

Don't use my phones much and what use they do get is prob 80-85% texting , rest calls - though this Sony looks good in the organiser stakes so may start using those sort of features more.

So any more opinions /feedback much appreciated and thanks for your reply above

Viper_7

Make sure you leave it on charge for 16+ hours for the first charge. If you don't and interrupt it then you'll never have the full capacity of the battery.
Newer NIMH cells are not as particular but it still matters.

Many people are too eager to use it and just charge it initially for an hour or two.
bye bye battery!

Vipes

judderman62

Thanks Viper

Viper_7 wrote: »

Lots of factors here.
How long would it be left overnight?

From approx 2200/2300 - 0630

Viper_7 wrote: »

How long does the startup take - how long till the back-lit light goes out?

Ah good question only got it today - so not sure on start up - backlight goes out VERY quickly indeed[/quote]

Viper_7 wrote: »

Even with the phone off, the battery will drain even when not used.

Viper_7 wrote: »

Type of battery
Current draw of phone.

don't know on either of these counts

Viper_7 wrote: »

but all in, turn it off!! do you really want to be woken at 3 am by some random text/call?

tend not to get em tbh and phone will be in lounge when I'm in bed

thanks again Viper :beer:

judderman62

Viper_7 wrote: »

Make sure you leave it on charge for 16+ hours for the first charge. If you don't and interrupt it then you'll never have the full capacity of the battery.
Newer NIMH cells are not as particular but it still matters.

Many people are too eager to use it and just charge it initially for an hour or two.
bye bye battery!

Vipes

ah the manual didn't say that and said 2.5 hours - I did it for a little under 3 hours :eek::eek:

TAG

I've got a Nokia flip phone. No idea which one though. Anyway, I charge mine once a week and it lasts me all week as well. I use it most days, and as an alarm clock everyday. I also try to let the battery run out completly before charging too.

bargains83

The 16 hours+ thing for the battery isn't true, certainly not for current battery technology. If you don't do 16 hours for the first charge it doesn't mean you'll never get the full capacity of the battery. It just means that the first discharge will probably give nothing like the manufacturers specified run-time.

Rechargeable batteries these days, both Li-Ion and NiMh have no memory effect unlike older Ni-Cd's (these aren't used in phones/laptops anymore) which means you don't essentially need to fully charge/discharge them where as you do with Ni-Cd's otherwise they can be permanently damaged very quickly. However all rechargables generally need 3 - 4 full charge and discharge cycles to achieve their full capacity/run-time.

You should NEVER let a Li-Ion battery run completely flat or store it without a charge otherwise it will likely be ruined permanently. Most mobile phones use this type of battery today, so if your storing an old phone charge it up first before you do or if your phone runs completely empty/switches itself off. Charge it up as soon as you can.

NiMh batteries don't have this problem but are slightly inferior to Li-Ion because they aren't as powerful. These are used in older or low spec mobile phones.

With all rechargeable batteries it is best to charge fully and discharge fully before recharging. Avoid 'top-up charges' to prolong the lifetime of any rechargeable battery.

judderman62

and what is your opinion on my original question ?

thanks

bargains83 wrote: »

The 16 hours+ thing for the battery isn't true, certainly not for current battery technology. If you don't do 16 hours for the first charge it doesn't mean you'll never get the full capacity of the battery. It just means that the first discharge will probably give nothing like the manufacturers specified run-time.

Rechargeable batteries these days, both Li-Ion and NiMh have no memory effect unlike older Ni-Cd's (these aren't used in phones/laptops anymore) which means you don't essentially need to fully charge/discharge them where as you do with Ni-Cd's otherwise they can be permanently damaged very quickly. However all rechargables generally need 3 - 4 full charge and discharge cycles to achieve their full capacity/run-time.

You should NEVER let a Li-Ion battery run completely flat or store it without a charge otherwise it will likely be ruined permanently. Most mobile phones use this type of battery today, so if your storing an old phone charge it up first before you do or if your phone runs completely empty/switches itself off. Charge it up as soon as you can.

NiMh batteries don't have this problem but are slightly inferior to Li-Ion because they aren't as powerful. These are used in older or low spec mobile phones.

With all rechargeable batteries it is best to charge fully and discharge fully before recharging. Avoid 'top-up charges' to prolong the lifetime of any rechargeable battery.

ka7e

I have an old-style SE phone (W550i) and find it actually seems to recoup a little battery power if switched off overnight. I always put it onto charge when I get the low battery warning (at 4%) and it recharges in a couple of hours. On the few occasions I've let the battery completely drain (because I've been in the middle of a call and not within reach of the charger), it takes a bit longer to charge up.