Do new cell phone batteries last longer when you charge it to its fullest before turning it on?

Question

I plan to buy a new phone and service from metro pcs. Should i buy the phone then go home and charge it to its fullest first before getting the service? I'm afraid that they will turn it on when its not fully charged in order to get it service. So does it really matter if you turn it on when its not fully charged for the battery to last longer? Thanks.

Answer 1

You are talking about the activation of the phone. As long as the battery has sufficient power to run things, they can activate the phone, and then you go home and charge it fully if it was not that way in the store. The thing about newer batteries, NiMh and LiOh, is that they don't care what the charge state IS when you start to recharge the cells. They use a tightly controlled charging circuit which is smart enough to stop the charge when the battery is fully charged. They don't care what the charge level IS when you start to recharge. These newer batteries are rated in charge/discharge cycles. Typically, you can 800-1000 full cycles. This means 100% discharge followed by a 100% charge, which constitutes a full cycle. If you discharge to 50% and then recharge to 100%, you have used half a cycle. It takes 2 50% discharges followed by two recharges to 100% to use a cycle. The smarts in the phone will not let you do a 100% discharge as this would damage the cells internally, so they cut off the phone part when the battery is around 25% to reduce the load to whatever standby current it draws when not connected. If the set point is 25%, you only discharged it by 75% when it stops on low battery power, but that does NOT mean the memory forgets, it just means there is not enough to use the phone as intended. It simply will not turn ON, but it isn't DEAD. It is simply below the minimum threshold to turn ON.  A recharge of even a few minutes will raise the battery to above the minimum threshold and it will turn ON again and work as advertised.

Answer 2

Wow the other guys answer was long and complicated, but he is right as far as the specs are concerned.

The short answer is no you do not have to be worried about them messing up your phone by turning it on without a full battery charge.

Go ahead and buy the phone from Metro PCS and enjoy it with no worries.

Answer 3

If the chemistry of the battery is a lithium ion, no worry, you can turn it on regardless if it's fully charged. However if the battery chemistry in Nickel Cadium ( Ni-Cad ), then, you really need to charge the battery as indicated because this type of batteries have memory effect.

Check the battery, if it says Li-ion your safe, if it says Ni-cad Charge it up as indicated.