Why am I obsessed with batteries suddenly?
Last week, I realized that my battery was swelling. In fact, it has been swelling since some months ago? Just that I only confirmed it when I saw my sister's flat battery.
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| The flat battery |
After knowing that I have a swollen battery, I began to feel scared over the potential danger of charging my phone. Anyway, the warranty (1 year) for my S3 has expired. The warranty for the battery (6 months only) is also long over. I searched online for information on swelling batteries. Apparently Samsung phone batteries seem to have more of such swells, and one article I read stated that Samsung would provide a replacement battery if swelling occurs? Not sure.
So I went down to the Samsung
service centre at Plaza Singapura the next day, potentially "risking my life" as I charge the phone. Thankfully, there weren't many people
and I didn't need to wait for long. My number was called within a minute. I explained my problem and told her that I have no more warranty. Then, she said that I have to buy a new battery because if I continue charging, there is a chance that the battery would explode. (Nooooo, not even my fault that it swelled, why you no give me free replacement, I thought.)
The battery costs $59. She told me that swelling may be caused by excessive charging- for example we tend to charge for a few minutes before we go out to top up the percentage. That is not good because we should only start charging when the battery level is low like 15% or less. It is also best to charge your phone while it is off. Non Samsung portable charger should also not be used. Since I can't be using the faulty battery, I decided to buy one from them. I think I may be able to buy from any Samsung store instead of going down to the service centre. (My sister has bought her new battery from a second hand shop at $35, but I think it is better to top up a little bit to get a confirmed authentic one.)
At the other counter, I purchased the battery from another lady. I was told to let it drain to 0%, den charge up to 100%. There was 50% power stored in the battery already and it lasted me at least 8 hours :). Back home, I wanted to charge with the original Samsung cable (I use Lg cable all along) but it took way too long. 40 minutes to charge 4%!? That was the reason why I didn't use their cable from the start. I suspect it is faulty. I am so going to switch brands when I can.
But anyway the new battery is considered pretty good. 12 hours on battery is not a problem now. Compared to the previous 6 hours only and the battery is dead. I wanted to preserve it as much as possible. Bf told me that batteries has this memory in them, so it's best to drain them and charge all the way so that the battery know their real capability. I found it interesting and went to do some research. The memory capability is only applicable for older phone batteries that are nickel based. Currently, most phone batteries are lithium ion. Here are 2 things I found out about lithium ion batteries-
Lithium ion battery doesn't like to be drained
I think I read that it gets unstable at low levels like 0%. By going from 100% to 0% actually damages the battery more. Also, lithium ion batt has no memory, so it doesn't need to remember any range.
Lithium ion battery doesn't like to be 100% charged too
It is suggested to keep the battery level 40%-80% if you can. For me, I think I will go for 30%-90% to maximize the time I can get out of the battery outside of home. For those who charge their phone overnight, it will definitely spoil the battery. Although I think the charger itself has some capability to stop the charging. S3 will beep or vibrate when it is full and plugged in. It should be silent if the phone is on silent mode, but there should still be a notification.
From this information, I think it is safe to charge often as it doesn't really matter to lithium ion battery. Just don't get the battery level too low or too high if you really want to extend the shelf life of the battery. This is of course, contrary to what the Samsung staff said. To be honest, I don't even think a normal battery would swell in like less than a year even with all the bad habits. I charged the same way with iphone 4 last time and it's fine. Damn S.
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These two articles can help us to understand better.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2352232/The-best-ways-stop-smartphone-battery-running-AVOID-fully-charging-dont-let-drop-50-sun.html
http://lifehacker.com/5875162/how-often-should-i-charge-my-gadgets-battery-to-prolong-its-lifespan
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