Is non-usage an issue?

[sfrewins]

Hi I'm a newbie, so please be gentle. I bought a Moto G for my son today as a birthday gift, but I didn't realise that it had a non-removable battery. Normally I would just remove the battery and charge the phone the day before I wrap it and give it to him, but now I can't do that.

What is my best option? Do I have to keep the charging the phone until I give it to him? Or could it be left for two months and still charge up ok? Is there another option that is better?

Many thanks for your suggestions

 

[EarlyMon]

I'd give it a charge every week or so and keep it off.

Letting it sit a while fully depleted isn't always the best for lifetime.

Welcome to the forums!

And btw - pretty nice present!

 

[sfrewins]

Many thanks for your reply. That's what I would've thought as well. However, I posted my query up on the Motorola Mobility Customer Help site and the reply I got is posted below. Now I'm a bit unsure, what do you think?

Dear Simon ,

Thank you for contacting Motorola.

We would advise you to not charge the phone at all. As we know, it is a lot more fun to get a phone that is charged already when you receive it but it you are worried about the phone, not charging it would be best. However, if you already have charged it or want it to be charged when you gift it then simply charge it to full then turn it off. It will lose about 10% or so of the charge in two months but around 90% is more than enough to use the phone at the start. We hope that your son will like his present.

Kind regards,

Motorola Mobility UK Ltd.

 

[EarlyMon]

Yeah, the object is to avoid letting it sit in deep depletion (truly 0%).

If it's been fully charged, I can see it lasting for quite a while, harmlessly, June as they say.

My advice is based on The Dad Effect - and my picture is in the dictionary for that. It goes like this -

First, you don't know how long it's been on a shelf in a warehouse or store, so why chance another two months?

Second, my advice was to charge and keep it off. If it's your phone, you can count on it. If it's for a family member, you're going to get interrupted - even if no one knows you're doing it. Maybe especially if they don't know. I haven't figured that out yet. Anyway - chances are good it's going to get turned on and fool you in the process.

Third, it won't hurt anything to hedge your bets after wondering about the first thing and remembering the last time you went through the second thing. And that means if you're set for every week or so, it's going to go a month in there somewhere.

Three kids, seven grandkids later, I just chalk it all up to The Dad Effect.

But - if you have better luck than I, I definitely tip my hat! And if based on that, you want to go the way they said, well, I'd be sure to keep a printout of their advice so you're covered in case of mishap.

Two months is long after the return period and I don't think you want to hear my version of Dad's Credit Card Effect.

 

[kate]

If you have not yet charged it - don't charge it until the day before you give it to him. Phones/batteries sit on store shelves and in stock rooms for a few months all the time before their first charge.

If you already charged it - keep it powered off and occasionally check to make sure the battery isn't depleted. Batteries drain very slowly when powered off so if it's at a full charge now you probably wont need to charge it again until you give it to him.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Early. Return period is a good point, might be best to power it up and make sure everything works