Swing up the lithium battery. What is a smartphone battery boost?

Almost every person who has bought a mobile phone at least once in their life has been told by a salon consultant that the mobile phone must be completely discharged immediately after purchase, and only then put on charge. You can find out why this is necessary and how to do it by reading this article.

What is “bleeding” a battery?

This procedure is mandatory.

The process of “pumping” a mobile phone is when it is completely discharged and then fully charged.

Each rechargeable battery has a memory, let’s say it is discharged by 40 percent, and after you put it on charge, it charges your battery to the remaining 40 percent, and when discharged during use, the battery will again discharge to this level and require it to be charged again. Accordingly, if you discharge and charge the battery completely, it will take longer to discharge.

The rhythm of our lives obliges a person to be constantly in touch due to various kinds of circumstances. That is why it is very important to always have a working phone with a good battery at hand. You can find complete information about phones and their technical characteristics on the website m.ua/kata/50/. There you can order the phone or accessory you are interested in or get advice from a specialist.

Stages of rocking a battery

Immediately after purchase, you must completely discharge the battery. You can play games or listen to music, it is important that the phone is completely discharged;
After the phone has completely lost all battery energy, it must be charged for 12 hours, no less. Do not disconnect the power from the network, even if the phone notifies you that it is fully charged;
Some experts recommend performing this procedure 3 times. When working with a phone at the stage of “pumping” it, never put it on recharge. Also, when charging for 12 hours, do not unplug it from the mains under any circumstances.

Of course, during this procedure, yours will be tied to its charging location for some time. You may not be able to use it fully at this time, but after you complete all the necessary instructions, you will receive a battery that will work at full capacity. A “pumped” battery will hold its charge for the longest possible time, and the service life of this battery will be much longer.

If, after purchasing, you find in the phone package several batteries, then perform the pumping process one by one for each of them.

Often these measures are not followed by everyone, which is an indication that the phone lasts much less. I think everyone will agree that there is nothing worse when, at the most inopportune moment, the phone runs out of charge and turns off. That is why this procedure does not require much effort, so do it when purchasing.

Modern smartphones without a battery cease to be mobile, being “tied” to an outlet. The reliable operation of the gadget depends on the condition of the battery. But there are ways to help boost and extend the battery life of your Android phone or tablet. How to find out the energy capacity of the drive on Android and calibrate it, which determines the service life, you will learn further.

The essence of the problem with the battery in the gadget

An ideal mobile device, while remaining turned on, should consume little energy - a maximum of a few milliamps of current per hour. The capacity of a modern battery is measured in thousands of milliamp-hours. This is how the simplest mobile phones work, in which there is nothing except calls, SMS and a system clock - such as, for example, the simplest children's phone "Beeline A100" or the ancient mobile phone Nokia 3310. A full-fledged gadget with the Android system, of course, cannot be compared with these mobile phones.

The essence of the gadget's energy consumption problem lies in self-starting Android processes and services. In second place in battery consumption are numerous programs independently installed by the user. An undeveloped version of Android can also affect battery consumption.

How to turn off unused features on Android

Be that as it may, the consumers of battery energy are the following hardware and software:

too frequent calls, long conversations on the gadget;
active movement of the subscriber within the network coverage area, switching between 2G/3G/4G networks;
SMS/MMS sent in batches per day;
backlight brightness;
Backlight levels help the device not waste energy on it
Frequent calls from third-party applications to GPS in the background; GPS services open by command: Settings - Location
auto screen brightness (light sensor activated);

Give the command: Settings - Screen and check if auto-rotate the image is enabled
auto-rotate the image on the screen (the motion sensor is activated);

The setting is also opened by the command: Settings - Screen
compass;
vibration feedback of the on-screen keyboard;
Go to Settings - Language & input - Keyboard settings
Internet distribution via Wi-Fi to other devices; Give the command: Settings - More - Modem mode - Access point
connecting other gadgets and accessories via Bluetooth;
Give the command: Settings - Bluetooth and check if the module is turned off
connecting computer equipment and accessories via an OTG/microUSB adapter.

All these consumers additionally load the processor and RAM, and use peripherals (controllers and wired and wireless communication modules of the mobile device).

How to check your device's power consumption

Give the command “Settings - Battery”.

A gap in the usage chart means the gadget is turned off when charging

When the device is turned off, it does not keep track of battery energy consumption - this is only possible when the gadget is active.

Video: how to check and disable power-hungry features in Android

Practical measures to overclock the battery

Mobile device batteries can be recharged or recalibrated.

Calibrating the battery on an Android smartphone

Calibrating the battery controller is necessary for the gadget to access 100% of the battery capacity. Before calibrating the battery, you do not need to do any additional actions (turning off Android animations, switching the device to airplane mode, etc.). The “swing” of the battery is as follows.

Discharge the battery to 0% so that the smartphone or tablet turns off on its own.
Wait after discharge for up to 5 minutes. This will allow the battery to “settle”.
Charge the battery with a standard charger to 100%. Do not turn on the gadget until it is charged.
Wait again up to 5 minutes after charging. It is allowed to disconnect the battery during this time (if it is removable). Before removing the battery from the gadget, turn off the charger.
Repeat the above steps until the battery is calibrated. Most often, 2-3 full discharge-charge cycles help.

Manufacturers also recommend maintaining the first charge for up to 12 hours, without resorting to downtime between discharge and charge. But this recommendation is not entirely correct - it is a deliberate violation of calibration technology so that people change batteries more often.

After calibrating the battery, you can use your mobile device as usual.

Video: calibrating a non-removable battery in an Android tablet

How to “boost” a battery

Battery boosting is done to ensure that it reaches its maximum resource - and lasts as long as possible. Modern devices use lithium-ion (Li-Ion) or lithium-polymer (Li-Polymer) batteries, which, although devoid of the “memory effect” (unlike previously used nickel-based batteries), can be “boosted” again .

Before connecting the charger to your smartphone or tablet, it is useful to make several attempts to completely discharge the battery. Often in Android devices, when you try to turn on a discharged gadget again by holding down the power button, a vibration signal is briefly triggered up to two times per second. Hold the power button (or hold it down with something) until the vibration signal in the gadget starts to sound less and less often - and soon it stops for a long time. This will cause the voltage on the controller to drop to the minimum threshold perceived by the device.

Old, “worn out” batteries last for years and beyond if they are not loaded with unnecessary Android programs and functions.

Do the following.

After disconnecting, try turning on the gadget again.
Make several attempts to turn on until the device display stops responding.
Remove the battery from the device for a couple of minutes and let it build up the voltage a little (without recharging!).
Insert the battery back and hold down the power button again until the vibration signal emitted when you turn on the gadget completely stops.
After making several such attempts to completely discharge the battery, connect the charger to the gadget and let it charge. The device itself must be turned off.

The build-up is achieved by reducing the lithium metal crystals in the working layer of the battery under the influence of fluctuations in battery voltage in the maximum permissible range of values (from 2.5 to 4.2 volts). Do not overdo it - discharging lithium-ion batteries too deeply (up to 0–2.5 volts) and leaving them without recharging in this state will lead to an irreparable loss of their capacity.

If necessary, repeat the calibration of the battery controller according to the instructions above.

Video: how to restore a Li-Ion battery from a video camera or smartphone

Difficulties encountered during battery operation

Some manufacturers, in the interests of their own commerce, resort to additional tricks.

Firstly, it wears out the battery as quickly as possible. Little-known Chinese companies or completely underground manufacturers especially save on materials.

A “disposable” controller in the battery itself behaves as follows. After 3-4 years (or up to 1000 discharge-charge cycles), it may one day turn off forever, generating, for example, a “breakdown” pulse and thereby self-destructing (if the controller itself is something special), but without causing harm to the device itself. The battery and, possibly, the gadget itself will need to be redesigned. Fortunately, this measure is one of the last resorts.

“Setting” the battery on glue, from which it is difficult or impossible to remove it, is sometimes used in the most expensive smartphones and tablets with Android. This is reminiscent of gluing the battery in the iPhone 5x/6(s).

Additional locks, cables and other “tricky” devices make it much more difficult to remove/replace the battery.

The service life of a battery cell without a controller (this requires reworking an outdated gadget using a soldering iron) can stretch for 10 years or more until the battery is somewhat reminiscent of a capacitor, capable of holding only a very small charge - 1-2% of its original capacity. Such elements are useful only in all sorts of homemade products that are unlikely to have anything to do with cellular communications and mobile data transmission. They require slow discharge-charge according to a special algorithm, unattainable in conventional chargers that have not undergone any modification, and regular monitoring of the condition of such batteries.

Completely “dead” cells that do not respond to attempts to recharge them (this is due to the steady aging of the electrochemical material of the battery), stubbornly showing 0 volts on the multimeter, are disposed of in accordance with local legislation and environmental protection requirements.

How to extend the battery life on an Android phone or tablet

Ways to save battery power are purely software. They do not apply to interference with the “stuffing” of the gadget (for example, pulling out some of the display backlight LEDs, removing the vibration motor, etc.). Most of these settings are found in the main Android settings menu and have been discussed above.

Optimizing Energy Saving in Android

Don't keep apps you don't use on your device.

Close programs that are not currently in use - this will clear up your RAM.

Unnecessary applications are closed by swiping to the right

Turn off unused functions (unnecessary Android applications, processes and services, “unnecessary” wireless communications, bright lighting at night, built-in sensors, etc.). Root access will also help to permanently block unnecessary applications.

Root will help disable unnecessary programs and services

Avoid places where mobile phones do not receive reception or constantly lose the network (long distances between populated areas, basements and underground garages, shielded rooms in secret laboratories and radiation diagnostics/therapy departments in hospitals, sensitive areas, etc.). Try to use one communication standard, for example, 3G.

Give the command: Settings - More - Mobile networks

If the charging device displays incorrectly on the screen or the device turns off prematurely due to battery wear, recalibrate the battery using the above method.

Maintenance of the battery and the device itself

Give the battery serial “runs” with a full discharge and charge - at least once every six months in order to “boost” the battery capacity and calibrate its controller.

The internal battery controller must be matched to the charging voltage. If the element itself is charged at a voltage greater than 4.2 volts, it is regularly recharged and gradually swells. This is noticeable after one or two years of intensive use of the battery. Over time, such a battery will no longer fit in the gadget and will bulge the back cover (it will no longer close and its latches will come off). If there is a significant discrepancy between the output voltage of the controller and the element itself, the battery simply explodes. In the 2000s, when the Chinese smartphone market was just beginning to develop rapidly, swollen batteries were a common occurrence. Over the years, Chinese manufacturers have become more precise in “tailoring” controllers to Li-Ion cells - but from time to time defective batteries are produced. Change such a battery as quickly as you can.

Dirt on the battery contacts and terminals of the device, although they are gold-plated (gold does not oxidize), is an additional electrical resistance, from which the charge may be displayed incorrectly by the gadget. Clean such stains with medical alcohol.

Try not to unnecessarily pull the battery out of place, even if the SIM card and/or memory card slot is located underneath it.

It is permissible to use chargers with lower power - but not vice versa. Charging too powerfully will cause significant heating of the battery and the gadget itself. Do not expose the battery to prolonged heat above human body temperature (36.6). At 40 degrees or more, modern controllers turn off the charging current until the battery cools down again to an adequate temperature - elevated temperatures accelerate battery wear.

If the microUSB connector is dirty, battery charging may be “drip”, intermittent, or the charging current may not flow into the battery at all. Most often this happens if the gadget is used carelessly and in polluted air for several years. Clean the microUSB socket with a toothpick, a sharpened match, or blow with a vacuum cleaner turned on at maximum power.

Video: how to pump up and calibrate the battery

Proper battery care will extend its service life. But if no restoration helps the battery, replace it.

Anecdotes about Android users not leaving the power socket are no longer relevant. Modern smartphones have finally learned to work at least the whole day. But we still remember the era of Nokia 3310, which could work these very days on the last division! How to get acceptable battery life from your smartphone?

One of the obvious ways is to “boost” the battery so that it runs on one charge for as long as possible.

Is it necessary to boost the battery?

The world of technology has as many myths as any other. Real wisdom becomes a myth, losing its basis. Thus, modern ideas about batteries and chargers developed in the era of NiCd and NiMH batteries. They were indeed subject to the “memory effect”: if during the last charge-discharge cycle only part of the capacity was used, in the next the battery releases only that part that was used last time. Therefore, they really needed to be “rocked” in full cycles, discharging to zero and charging to one hundred percent.

But modern batteries are usually lithium polymer and lithium ion. They do not have the “memory effect” of nickel-cadmium ones. Should we apply the same measures to modern batteries as to their ancestors?

Answer: Yes, certain procedures help increase battery efficiency.

If you need to pump up the battery

Pre-buildup

By and large, this is done “just in case.” It is carried out in the same way as the owners of the first Ericksons and Siemens taught us. In the first days of use, try to discharge the device until it is completely empty, then charge it until it is fully charged. And so three or four times.

Calibration

This is a much more useful tool, by calibrating you achieve the most complete use of the charge. To calibrate the battery, you must perform the following procedure:

Discharge your smartphone to zero.
Charge it to one hundred percent without turning it on. After that, leave the phone on charge for about the same time.
Remove the battery.
After a while, insert the battery back and connect the charger without turning on the smartphone. There is a possibility that the charge indicator will not show 100%, but a lower value (say, 95% or lower).
Recharge to 100%.
Repeat the procedure until the difference in level is reduced to zero.

This way, you can use its entire capacity. On average, the increase in autonomy can reach 10-30%. Of course, this only applies to devices with removable batteries. Owners of smartphones with unibody bodies, which have become popular recently, can try to do the same without disassembling the device. But effectiveness is, of course, not guaranteed.

Alternatives to swinging

Before you do anything, remember why you are doing it. The author of these lines was once planning to buy the latest model of Sony PlayStation. Then I thought: why? I realized that it was more for watching movies than for playing games. I began to consider buying a Blu-ray player instead of a set-top box (HDD media players were not yet in use at that time). And then he realized that he already had a TV next to his computer, and achieved the same goal by buying an HDMI cable and a wireless mouse. And in the end I was able to watch movies on TV in high quality, just sitting on the couch.

What is this example for? Perhaps your goal is not to drain your smartphone’s battery, but to extend its battery life. There are other means for this:

Buy an external battery. Today, a huge number of batteries of different sizes and capacities are available, compatible with absolutely all smartphones.
Install an optimizer that kills unnecessary processes, disables interfaces and unloads the system. The usefulness of such applications is periodically discussed. We recommend GO Battery Saver from the highly acclaimed GO Dev Team.
Use automatic brightness adjustment.
Buy a smart watch that will perform the alert function. All you need from your smartphone is Bluetooth turned on, but it consumes little energy.
After all, buy a smartphone with a powerful battery - like the Lenovo S660!

Or tablets - batteries. Their charge is barely enough for a day, which worries many device owners. But often we ourselves ruin the battery on our phone just after we start using it. Partly because we don’t know how to properly charge a new battery for a smartphone or other gadget. This is easy to do, but not everyone is aware or neglects these rules.

We have all heard that there is some special way of charging for the first time in order to “boost” the battery. But everyone presents different ways. First, it’s worth understanding what types of batteries are generally used in gadgets.

Nickel

Today it is a thing of the past, especially with regard to telephones. And there are several reasons for this. Firstly, resource intensity. It is lower than that of modern analogues. And secondly, it is further reduced due to the fact that these elements have a so-called memory effect. It is enough not to fully charge a new battery several times, and after that the capacity will begin to decrease.

Lithium

Almost everyone has come across the name “Li-ion”. This is the type of battery on your laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. They have a higher energy capacity compared to nickel and are used in almost all modern devices. The memory effect on lithium energy cells is practically not noticeable. This is the ideal phone battery today.

Rocking up

Overclocking or rocking is a special way to properly charge the battery on a smartphone. You need to pump up the battery to get around this very memory effect.

“However, why do this then if lithium batteries are free from such ailment?” - you ask. Then, it’s still worth charging a new phone battery in a different way, since this will help increase the usable capacity even with modern batteries. And also increase the service life. You don’t want to change the battery on your mobile phone in a year?

The same can be said about calibration. You need to know not only how to overclock the battery, but also how to calibrate it. It allows the device to access the entire amount of energy. In this way, you can make the most of your device’s battery.

The "overclocking" process

So, how to boost your smartphone battery? This is done both when purchasing a new battery and when purchasing a new device.

We reduce the battery to zero percent from the moment we start using it.
We charge to full 100%. It is also recommended to look at the instructions for charging the device and keep the device connected to the network for the same amount of time, adding a couple more hours.
Do this 3-4 times.

This is, in fact, the whole process that is designed to “rock” the battery. After this, experts do not advise discharging it to zero each time and keeping it on the wire up to a hundred. It is enough to allow a balance of 15–20% to start charging and end it when the mobile phone shows 80–90%.

Calibration

The process is less significant, but experts also advise carrying it out. It is enough to do calibration once every one to two months. It’s worth warning right away: owners of devices with built-in batteries are relieved of this obligation.

The time comes, and the batteries of our mobile phones, having worn out, begin to “hold” a charge for little time. Our article will tell you how to boost your phone battery.

It should be remembered that not every cell phone battery can be “swinged”. A lithium-ion battery is most suitable for this procedure. We will talk about them later. There are, of course, cases when the phone battery has completely lost its capacity and then there is only one answer to the question of how to boost the battery - no way. You need to purchase a new one. But, fortunately, in most cases, a lithium-ion battery lends itself to such a “buildup”.

The process of "building up"

First, you need to completely discharge the phone's battery (so that the device does not turn on). To do this, the battery must be installed in the phone. To completely discharge the battery, load your phone with any energy-intensive programs, such as games or music. You can just press buttons. If your phone does not have energy-intensive applications, then turning on Wi-Fi and searching for Wi-Fi networks, as well as repeatedly turning off and on the device, will do the job of completely draining the battery. After all, when searching for an operator’s network, the phone also spends a huge amount of its energy.
So, the battery is completely discharged and the phone does not turn on. Now you need to put the device on charge. Charging must be done until the battery is fully charged. After one “discharge-charge” cycle, your battery will restore its previous capacity, but not to the maximum of its possible capacity. To achieve the best result, you need to repeat this cycle several times (2-3 times). In the future, this procedure will need to be repeated after approximately 60-100 battery charges.

You should also remember that under no circumstances should you squeeze or knock on the battery. After all, this is fraught with damage to the battery, and it, at best, fails, and at worst, it can behave in an unknown way during charging and operation. It might even explode! In the future, you should not expose the battery to sudden temperature changes, because this also harms the battery.

Now you know how to properly boost your battery!