Cell Phone Issues

[bookslover]

I noticed that my phone was losing its charge - all the way down to 0% - even while being plugged into the charger. I assumed the battery was dying, so I bought a new battery. But the same thing happened. My phone is less than 2 years old.

Back to the cell phone store (Cricket Wireless), where the guy said he figured it wasn't the battery, but the charger. I bought a new charger and it looks like I'm back to normal.

Cell phone chargers can go bad? Who knew?

Question: when a phone is fully charged, should I leave it attached to the charger or take it off? I think the man said something about phones and/or chargers being damaged by leaving the phone in the charger after it's fully charged.

 

[Taylor]

Question: when a phone is fully charged, should I leave it attached to the charger or take it off? I think the man said something about phones and/or chargers being damaged by leaving the phone in the charger after it's fully charged.

I mean, you don't necessarily want to perpetually leave the device plugged in; you want to let the battery discharge its own power. That is what it's made to do. However, there is really no worry about overcharging the battery. The charging circuitry we have today is far advanced from what it used to be. The devices can take good care of themselves. The only thing you want to avoid is letting the battery drain completely to 0%, if you can help it (obviously you couldn't in this instance with the charger failure).

I used to be very concerned about my mobile devices' batteries, but my best friend, who is an IT professional, assures me that our devices are much smarter than they used to be, and the batteries much more sturdy and less sensitive. Only avoid draining your battery to 0% (unless told by a professional), and if you ever store your device for a long period of time, do it at half-charge.

 

[ZackF]

Yep. Charger cables and heads wear out. At the end of the day it is metal against metal and cost wise we want the phones’ metal to win.

 

[psycheives]

I noticed that my phone was losing its charge - all the way down to 0% - even while being plugged into the charger. I assumed the battery was dying, so I bought a new battery. But the same thing happened. My phone is less than 2 years old.

Back to the cell phone store (Cricket Wireless), where the guy said he figured it wasn't the battery, but the charger. I bought a new charger and it looks like I'm back to normal.

Cell phone chargers can go bad? Who knew?

Question: when a phone is fully charged, should I leave it attached to the charger or take it off? I think the man said something about phones and/or chargers being damaged by leaving the phone in the charger after it's fully charged.

I've read many places to never leave your phone connected to the cable once fully charged. Not because it overcharges. But because your phone will use up 1% battery, then regard to 100%. Then use up 1% and recharge to 100%. You are engaging in useless short charges. So don't leave it plugged in at night.

Same theory goes for laptops. Can't tell u how many times one friend would not listen to me and kept leaving their laptops plugged in constantly. Their batteries died so fast. Must have lost 3-4 batteries, which go for almost $200 each. I've never had a laptop battery go bad. I unplug it to stop it from charging or pull out the battery when plugged in.

 

[Edward]

Cell phone chargers can go bad? Who knew?

Could be the converter; could be the cable.

And even if the charger is working, grab it occasionally while charging the device. If it's uncomfortably hot, toss it and buy a new one. USB chargers are cheap.

Question: when a phone is fully charged, should I leave it attached to the charger or take it off?

Take it off. Depending on the fine Chinese technology and manufacturing techniques, there may be some risk of fire. Best not to leave your device unattended while charging.

And finally, while not asked, check the output amperage on the charger to the input wants of the device. The output should equal or exceed the wants of the device.

 

[Edward]

And some trivia about chargers for infrequent travelers. Most (both tablet and laptop) will work with both American and overseas voltages. You'll need an adapter plug, but not a voltage converter. Check the label to make sure.

 

[bookslover]

Thanks for all the advice, guys (and Psyche). I'm learning a lot.

 

[Joshua]

In Soviet Russia, phone losing its charge notices you!

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Question: when a phone is fully charged, should I leave it attached to the charger or take it off? I think the man said something about phones and/or chargers being damaged by leaving the phone in the charger after it's fully charged.

I have had a hand in designing these things in my engineering days (Motorola, Intel). It is best to always use a factory replacement charger made for the actual phone model. The manufacturer's designs ensure that once the phone charge is topped off the charger will reduce it charging rate to a trickle charge level. Unless the charger's user guide says otherwise, leaving the device plugged in the charger will not damage the phone if you are using actual manufacturer parts, not just some off brand charger picked up at Best Buy.

If the phone includes a "battery cycle" function use that feature to deep discharge the battery and then charge it back. Most laptops have this built in by the way and you should use the feature from time to time, especially if you leave your laptop plugged in most of the time.

Nickel-metal Hydride or lithium-ion batteries do not suffer from the memory effects of cadmium batteries, so frequent draining of them and recharging is not needed nor advised.