| Does how far you discharge your cell phone battery | | | | The phenomenon of "memory" in batteries refers to a |
| each time influence how long it lasts? You bet it does, | | | | behavior of the battery where if the battery is typically |
| but you should treat modern cell phone batteries the | | | | only partly discharged (perhaps 25%) before it's |
| opposite way from older-generation cell phone | | | | charged again, the battery will develop a chemical |
| batteries. Read on to learn why and how... | | | | layering effect internally and will begin to behave as if it |
| A lot has changed about cell phones and their | | | | is dead when it gets 25% discharged. |
| batteries since cell phones first came out, and getting | | | | For those early types of batteries, it was best to |
| the most out of your cell phone's battery these days | | | | occasionally discharge the battery completely (for |
| takes a different pattern of care and usage than it did | | | | instance until the phone shut itself off) before |
| in the time of the old analog cell phones. When cell | | | | recharging it. This tended to reduce the memory |
| phones first shrunk down to the point where a phone | | | | effect, and allowed the battery to last the longest, not |
| could fit in someone's pocket (the original analog | | | | only on each discharge cycle, but in terms of overall |
| Motorola flip phone), an "extended" battery, which | | | | life as well. |
| might allow an hour and a half of talk time on a | | | | Modern cell phone batteries are totally different. |
| first-generation flip phone weighed more than the rest | | | | Modern cell phone batteries are typically lithium ion |
| of the phone weighed. | | | | batteries. In contrast to nickel cadmium batteries, lithium |
| The shrinking of cell phones to pocket size caused a | | | | ion batteries don't have memory, and they don't like to |
| significant boom in demand. Less than a decade later, | | | | be deeply discharged. Lithium ion batteries are actually |
| when the first digital cell phones became available, the | | | | degraded much faster the deeper they are discharged |
| digital voice compression allowed cell phones to offer | | | | on each cycle. While a lithium ion battery might last 600 |
| both longer battery life, and cheaper air time. | | | | discharge cycles if it is discharged only half way each |
| One thing has remained constant. People want their | | | | time, it might only last 50 discharge cycles if you |
| cell phone batteries to last as long as they can on | | | | discharge it all the way every time to the point where |
| each charge, and people want their cell phone | | | | the phone automatically shuts itself off. |
| batteries to have as long a life as they can before | | | | A good rule of thumb if you want your cell phone |
| needing to replace the battery. Many people don't | | | | battery to last a long time is not to discharge your |
| realize it, but how you use your cell phone has a | | | | battery past the point where only one quarter of the |
| significant effect on how many months or years your | | | | battery's charge is left. Of course once your battery |
| battery lasts until it needs to be replaced, and how | | | | does eventually get to the point where it won't hold a |
| much talk time you will get on your phone each time | | | | decent charge, there is one more good thing to know, |
| you charge it. | | | | and that is where to get an inexpensive replacement. |
| There are different types of batteries, and each type | | | | My personal experience has been that the |
| needs to be treated differently to last a long time. | | | | replacement batteries sold through eBay stores work |
| Early-generation cell phones typically came with nickel | | | | just as well as the replacement batteries sold through |
| cadmium batteries. Many early nickel cadmium | | | | cell phone stores, at between half and a quarter of the |
| batteries were prone to develop significant "memory". | | | | cost. Happy calling! |