How to get the most out of a new battery

[rachie29]

Hi there,

I was having problems with the battery in my s4 and it was getting increasingly worse. I contacted Samsung via the chat facility on their website and was asked to do a battery test. Place the battery on a flat surface, does it wobble or are there any noticeable lumps or bumps. My battery wobbled. They said I had a faulty battery and two days later i've received a brand new battery in the post.

My question is, how do I get the most out of it? What's the best way to use it so to speak!? Do I let it run down every day then charge it back up? Or do I charge it intermittently? Should I do a full charge then run down to empty for the first one? I'm not sure.

I really like the phone but the worst thing about it is the battery, so I want to try and treat this one correctly!!!

Thanks for your help

Rachael

[guinea19833]

I have a galaxy s5,pretty sure battery be similar.i have had same battery for nearly a year.i charge mine up every time it gets to below 10% but never let battery go completely flat. I use my phone everyday and I get at least a day and half of use before charging.takes approx hour and half to fully charge and last.

[hrym]

Don't let the battery go flat.   This will shorten its life and, in some circumstances, may even make it impossible to charge.  Lithium-based batteries are generally happier with regular top ups, though this isn't always feasible if you're out and about.  However, it's best to be frugal if it gets as low as 20% and have a firm turn-off policy at 10%.   There's no need to exercise it, either to condition it when it's new or to remove any memory effect - lithium cells don't have this.

If you treated your last one well, the poor life may have been down to a faulty batch.   Samsung have been having a bit of trouble in that area lately, which is why they're so liberal with their replacement policy!

Your battery should have a charge-cycle life of between 1000 & 2000 times and partial top-ups are pro rata (ie double the figure if you always recharge at 50%).   Charge life will shorten as it gets older, but you should only start to really notice a drop off when it's getting near to its final curtain.