Battery Charging Question.

"TP" <xdvdstore@btopenwprld.com> wrote in message
news:bls9k6$jbm$1@titan.btinternet.com...
> Ok...this may sound like a totally dumb question! But when you charge a
new
> battery for the first time is it better to switch the phone off or leave
it
> on? Or does it make no difference?
> I always thought it made no difference, but my mate is adamant that you
> switch it off!

The charger gives out a given current which is applied to the battery by the
charging circuit built into your phone. If the phone is switched off (and
hence the phone isn't drawing power) then there is slightly more power
available to charge your battery. Having said this, the amount of power your
phone uses is tiny compared to the charging current and I would doubt you
would notice any significant difference.

However, lets assume that it's an older phone with a non-regulated charging
circuit and the phone uses loads of power. I would argue that your mate's
wrong as it's better to charge the batteries more slowly (i.e. with your
phone switched on) as this puts the Lithium Ion/Polymer matrix under less
stress and you will get a few more usable charge discharge cycles out of it.
This would also apply to the older NiMh and NiCd batteries. As with most
things it's a trade-off between charging speed (most people don't want to
wait 2 days for their phone to charge) and battery life (the more slowly you
charge the battery the more times you can charge/discharge it before it
doesn't work any more).

Your mate is probably thinking of the kind of general rule which is
contained in the instructions with many rechargeable devices -my electric
toothbrush and cordless drill are two such examples, where it states that
you should fully charge the device for X hours before first use (i.e.
switched off). This is for two reasons: Firstly, it takes longer to charge
these devices than it does to run them down through use, so you can't charge
them and use them at the same time - they'd stay uncharged, but more
importantly (second) it's a good idea to *fully* charge and discharge new
batteries a few (3) times before you begin charging them randomly. If you
don't do this your battery will never be able to hold its maximum charge.
This basically means that when you get your new phone you should fully
charge it (but you can do this with it switched on or off) then don't charge
it again at all until it turns off due to the batteries running flat, then
repeat 2 more times. After that you can charge it whenever you want as often
as you want (again, with or without the phone switched on).

Adam

"John C. Rymer" <unlockingireland@spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:wUhgb.478$1Q3.1426@news.indigo.ie...
>
> "TP" <xdvdstore@btopenwprld.com> wrote in message
> news:bls9k6$jbm$1@titan.btinternet.com...
> > Ok...this may sound like a totally dumb question! But when you charge
a
> new
> > battery for the first time is it better to switch the phone off or
leave
> it
> > on? Or does it make no difference?
> >
> > I always thought it made no difference, but my mate is adamant that
you
> > switch it off!
> >
> >
>
> Makes no difference

Personally, I'd leave it off, but that's just me. I charge my batteries on
a desktop charger off the phone anyway, so it makes no difference to me,
but the main thing you need to remember is that it is *vital* for the
first charge (and a good idea for the second and maybe third charges) to
ignore the "charge complete" indication and to leave the battery well
alone for a *minimum* of 16 hours, preferably 24.

Ivor

"Adam Greatrix" <extorian@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:blscjh021k1@enews3.newsguy.com...
> "TP" <xdvdstore@btopenwprld.com> wrote in message
> news:bls9k6$jbm$1@titan.btinternet.com...
> > Ok...this may sound like a totally dumb question! But when you charge a
> new
> > battery for the first time is it better to switch the phone off or leave
> it
> > on? Or does it make no difference?
> > I always thought it made no difference, but my mate is adamant that you
> > switch it off!
>
> The charger gives out a given current which is applied to the battery by
the
> charging circuit built into your phone. If the phone is switched off (and
> hence the phone isn't drawing power) then there is slightly more power
> available to charge your battery. Having said this, the amount of power
your
> phone uses is tiny compared to the charging current and I would doubt you
> would notice any significant difference.
>
> However, lets assume that it's an older phone with a non-regulated
charging
> circuit and the phone uses loads of power. I would argue that your mate's
> wrong as it's better to charge the batteries more slowly (i.e. with your
> phone switched on) as this puts the Lithium Ion/Polymer matrix under less
> stress and you will get a few more usable charge discharge cycles out of
it.
> This would also apply to the older NiMh and NiCd batteries. As with most
> things it's a trade-off between charging speed (most people don't want to
> wait 2 days for their phone to charge) and battery life (the more slowly
you
> charge the battery the more times you can charge/discharge it before it
> doesn't work any more).
>
> Your mate is probably thinking of the kind of general rule which is
> contained in the instructions with many rechargeable devices -my electric
> toothbrush and cordless drill are two such examples, where it states that
> you should fully charge the device for X hours before first use (i.e.
> switched off). This is for two reasons: Firstly, it takes longer to charge
> these devices than it does to run them down through use, so you can't
charge
> them and use them at the same time - they'd stay uncharged, but more
> importantly (second) it's a good idea to *fully* charge and discharge new
> batteries a few (3) times before you begin charging them randomly. If you
> don't do this your battery will never be able to hold its maximum charge.
> This basically means that when you get your new phone you should fully
> charge it (but you can do this with it switched on or off) then don't
charge
> it again at all until it turns off due to the batteries running flat, then
> repeat 2 more times. After that you can charge it whenever you want as
often
> as you want (again, with or without the phone switched on).
>
> Adam
>
>
>
Thanks Guys!