I called HTC about the battery charging issue

[FlyPenFly]

If that is the case. Then lets say I leave it turned on and plugged in for oh, 8 hours. Then I power it off. The light will still turn orange.

How fricken long does it take to get that last 5%?

The charging system isn't smart enough to know to keep charging hence why you have to trick it.

 

[Dewprism]

It's a DESIGN CHOICE.

The last 5-10% of a Lithium battery takes significantly longer to charge, especially LiPoly. They don't want reviewers/people to think their phones take significantly longer to charge than the competition so they give you the green light to go when most of it is full since it will take much longer to finish off the last 5% than say the first 5%.

I have the luxury of turning off my phone at night and letting it charge for about 8-10 hrs total. Even after a full night charge in the phone when I turn it on I too still drop about 12% of the battery in the phone within the first ten or so minutes of turning it on. So how much longer of a charge do I need to leave it plugged in for, for it not to do this then?

 

[paimon.soror]

LiPoly batteries must be charged carefully. The basic process is to charge at constant current until each cell reaches 4.2 V; the charger must then gradually reduce the charge current while holding the cell voltage at 4.2 V until the charge current has dropped to 10% of the initial charge rate, at which point the battery is considered 100% charged.
Balance charging simply means that the charger monitors the voltage of each cell in a pack and varies the charge on a per-cell basis so that all cells are brought to the same voltage.
The charge should not be terminated on reaching a cell voltage of 4.2 V because the capacity reached at that point is only 70% of full capacity; charging at the reducing current necessary to hold the cell voltage at or very near 4.2 V must be continued until the charge current drops to 10% of the initial charge rate.
It is important to note that trickle charging is not acceptable for lithium batteries; Li-ion chemistry cannot accept an overcharge without causing damage to the cell, possibly plating out lithium metal and becoming hazardous.[4] Most manufacturers claim a maximum and minimum voltage of 4.23 and 3.0 volts per cell. Taking any cell outside these limits can reduce the cell's capacity and ability to deliver full rated current.
Most dedicated lithium polymer chargers use a charge timer for safety; this cuts the charge after a predefined time (typically 90 minutes).

Quoted from Wiki

 

[sunthas]

The charging system isn't smart enough to know to keep charging hence why you have to trick it.

Again this takes us back to the concept of an actual battery/logic issue or at the very least a lot of confused customers.

If the green light means now the phone is no longer charging beyond what is needed to maintain current usage, then that last 5% is near impossible to get while the phone is powered on. Do we think we get it when its powered off? Simpler circuitry?

 

[jamor]

Who wants to play Green Light / Red Light?

 

[BzB]

has anyone actually tested whether you get longer battery life with this charging method?

you might be surprised to find out there's virtually no difference in how long the battery lasts.

 

[Hand76]

It's a DESIGN CHOICE.

The last 5-10% of a Lithium battery takes significantly longer to charge, especially LiPoly. They don't want reviewers/people to think their phones take significantly longer to charge than the competition so they give you the green light to go when most of it is full since it will take much longer to finish off the last 5% than say the first 5%.

I was sooooo close to agreeing with you but here is why what you wrote doesn't add up.

I could understand the green light coming on to fool you into thinking the phone charges faster than it does (if that's what HTC intended) BUT that doesn't mean the battery should stop charging at that point.

It doesn't matter how long it takes the last 5-10% to charge, you can leave the phone plugged in for a month, but without shutting it down or unplugging it it will never truly get to 100%.

 

[jamor]

has anyone actually tested whether you get longer battery life with this charging method?

you might be surprised to find out there's virtually no difference in how long the battery lasts.

Do share.

 

[Hand76]

has anyone actually tested whether you get longer battery life with this charging method?

you might be surprised to find out there's virtually no difference in how long the battery lasts.

There is a 100% noticeable difference.

When the phone is charged (while on) and the light turns green, when you take it off the charger you drop to about 93% in 5 minutes. Sometimes less if you are doing stuff.

While when letting it charge for another 30 minutes (when the phone is now powered off) the % decreases at a MUCH slower rate. Took about 20-30 minutes for me before dropping to 93%

 

[cdodge]

has anyone actually tested whether you get longer battery life with this charging method?

you might be surprised to find out there's virtually no difference in how long the battery lasts.

Yes i have, and I almost tripled my battery life.

I know its hard to believe but it is the truth.

I do have a seido and a replacement phone coming so hopefully that fixes it.

 

[mobilehavoc]

Yes i have, and I almost tripled my battery life.

I know its hard to believe but it is the truth.

I do have a seido and a replacement phone coming so hopefully that fixes it.

You've tripled your battery life based on what? From 100% to when it turns itself off or based on the battery reading? If you're saying you took it off the charger and used it the same exact way both times until it powered off due to low battery but one was 3 times more than the other, I'd be shocked. You put too much weight in the battery readings.

 

[sillyrabbitt123]

There is a 100% noticeable difference.

When the phone is charged (while on) and the light turns green, when you take it off the charger you drop to about 93% in 5 minutes. Sometimes less if you are doing stuff.

While when letting it charge for another 30 minutes (when the phone is now powered off) the % decreases at a MUCH slower rate. Took about 20-30 minutes for me before dropping to 93%

I agree it works better just a pain in a__s to do imho.

 

[Hand76]

You've tripled your battery life based on what? From 100% to when it turns itself off or based on the battery reading? If you're saying you took it off the charger and used it the same exact way both times until it powered off due to low battery but one was 3 times more than the other, I'd be shocked. You put too much weight in the battery readings.

I am pretty sure he meant trippled his battery life from 100%-93%

But getting almost another 30 minutes of battery life out of your device is nothing to sneeze at. I think at this point we are all looking for way to make every minute count.

 

[cdodge]

You've tripled your battery life based on what? From 100% to when it turns itself off or based on the battery reading? If you're saying you took it off the charger and used it the same exact way both times until it powered off due to low battery but one was 3 times more than the other, I'd be shocked. You put too much weight in the battery readings.

I actually tripled my total battery life. Before i could barely squeeze 10 hours out of the battery with doing absolutely nothing.

If i do the charging trick 4 times there are times when i squeeze 30 hours out of my battery life which is way more than I expected.

I am not a very heavy user. I average 10 minutes a month of calling and maybe a few hundred texts. I don't surf the net that much on it either. Most of the time was me obsessing about the battery life.

I know it is hard to believe and I would tell people that they were full of crap to if they told me the same thing.

That

 

[AdmSuvvuk]

And this does NOT prove anything except for the fact the LED cycles.

It may not, but since I started doing this my battery life went from 6 hours or less to about 14 with ZERO change in usage habits. If anything I've *INCREASED* usage of the phone since I know I won't have to look for a place to plug in. Placebo effect? Perhaps, but the difference was *DRAMATIC* so it's difficult to put it down to being in my mind.

 

[unclemetz]

There is a 100% noticeable difference.

When the phone is charged (while on) and the light turns green, when you take it off the charger you drop to about 93% in 5 minutes. Sometimes less if you are doing stuff.

While when letting it charge for another 30 minutes (when the phone is now powered off) the % decreases at a MUCH slower rate. Took about 20-30 minutes for me before dropping to 93%

+1. It happens both with the stock battery and my new Seidio 1750. And each battery also lasts much longer (not 3x for me) when I "top it off" with the phone powered down.

 

[nightfishing]

It may not, but since I started doing this my battery life went from 6 hours or less to about 14 with ZERO change in usage habits. If anything I've *INCREASED* usage of the phone since I know I won't have to look for a place to plug in. Placebo effect? Perhaps, but the difference was *DRAMATIC* so it's difficult to put it down to being in my mind.

In all likelihood your battery life would have continued to be extended with or without trying to circumvent the OS/SW controlling the charge. AN increase of 130% battery life cannot be attributed to an extras ~5% juice in a battery.

 

[Bundy]

I actually tripled my total battery life. Before i could barely squeeze 10 hours out of the battery with doing absolutely nothing.

If i do the charging trick 4 times there are times when i squeeze 30 hours out of my battery life which is way more than I expected.

I am not a very heavy user. I average 10 minutes a month of calling and maybe a few hundred texts. I don't surf the net that much on it either. Most of the time was me obsessing about the battery life.

I know it is hard to believe and I would tell people that they were full of crap to if they told me the same thing.

That

 

[Humpa]

Obviously there is something up with charging/battery issues on the Incredible.

This much buzz and info and related issues cannot all be placebo or imagination. Obviously we have people on either end of the issue (300% increase in battery life to the non-believers - but we can use a Bell curve and throw that data out ). But it is difficult to ignore the sheer volume. Which is just what we want - we want HTC to have to take notice and at least address this.

 

[cdodge]

A replacement phone and an extended battery for what? Only using it for 10 minutes of calls and a few hundred texts you should be using a Jitterbug phone.

Between the battery life and the dust behind my screen it made me want replacement. Listening to how some people get 20 - 30 hours without having to do the charging trick makes me think i have a defective phone.

I am not exaggerating either, I really only get about 10 hours with the phone just sitting in front of me without me touching it. There was one time when I only got 3 hours from it but i was playing with it constantly so that is to be somewhat expected.

I wiped the phone and did not load any software on it and i go the same results so i know it’s not any app causing it.

If i do the charging trick i get 20 - 30 hours. So if some people don’t have to do the charging trick it makes me think mine is defective.


This is my 7th smart phone and i have never had this type of experience.

 

[cp1]

How do you guys know that you're not overcharging the battery?

 

[unclemetz]

How do you guys know that you're not overcharging the battery?

Don't know for sure, but I gotta believe the lower-level battery circuit is preventing that. It'd be silly for HTC to make a phone that only safely charges when it is on.

 

[Humpa]

How do you guys know that you're not overcharging the battery?

Same way we know with any other device that charges our various device batteries. We hope that the charging circuitry works appropriately.

So, we're assuming that with the phone on, it undercharges, and with the phone off it charges correctly. The people with battery cradles/chargers report the same thing - batteries charged in the external cradle last longer than if charged in the phone with the phone on.

What we're lacking is actual data - but we do make up for that a bit just because so many people report similar results. It would be nice if someone had some real battery test equipment and could compare the same battery being charged by the phone (both on and off) and by a separate cradle.

 

[Haelous]

How do you guys know that you're not overcharging the battery?

Hmm.

Would it be sufficient to just: Spare Parts > Battery info and make sure Battery voltage is under 4235 mV while it's still plugged in?

 

[cp1]

But what if it's like filling your gas tank? You can always keep clicking the nozzle and it will add a little more each time before cutting off again, but each time you're over filling your tank.