Run the battery down?

[Greymarch]

To help improve battery life, should EVO 4G owners run the battery to empty when they first get the phone? Anyone have a definitive answer on this?

I got my EVO 4G from the Google IO conference. I am not trying to make commentary on the battery. I simply want to know for certain if running the battery down is a good idea.


- Greymarch
I write about technology, especially the Android OS at my website:

 

[Aragorn]

Running the battery to empty isn't going to make it last any longer. What it might do is improve the accuracy of the battery meter.

Batteries don't actually report how much charge they have remaining. That's simply not a number that can be directly measured. But, Li-ion batteries do change their voltage output as they're discharged. So, there's a predictable curve of voltages as you go from 100% to 0% charge.

Each battery will be slightly different so modern smartphones will actually adjust their battery meters based on the actual voltage output of your specific phone's battery. So, until the battery meter has seen the battery's full voltage curve it won't be 100% accurate on how close it is to being fully discharged.

But, this is simply a reporting bug. The battery will last however long it's going to last, regardless of what the meter reports.

 

[lyons238]

Running the battery to empty isn't going to make it last any longer. What it might do is improve the accuracy of the battery meter.

Batteries don't actually report how much charge they have remaining. That's simply not a number that can be directly measured. But, Li-ion batteries do change their voltage output as they're discharged. So, there's a predictable curve of voltages as you go from 100% to 0% charge.

Each battery will be slightly different so modern smartphones will actually adjust their battery meters based on the actual voltage output of your specific phone's battery. So, until the battery meter has seen the battery's full voltage curve it won't be 100% accurate on how close it is to being fully discharged.

But, this is simply a reporting bug. The battery will last however long it's going to last, regardless of what the meter reports.

+1. even though i usually drain then fully charge the battery a couple times when i first get it out of habit. but it is good to fully discharge and charge your battery a couple times of month to keep it calibrated with your meter.