Best Battery Saving methods

Teracube 2e
#1

Hello I wanted to exchange on how best to charge and save battery.
I saw the posts from Dave Battery settings and functions and someone else (Limiting Battery Charge). But commenting function is off there (which is a pity) so I open a new Topic.

I was until now (and still using till i really have to say good-bye) with a Fairphone FP1 (the really first ones) which stopped updating Android at 4.2.2 version.
To extend battery life (which is at the moment really critical) I use since years the App BatteryDoctor. I regulary extending the battery life by killing background running apps. Its then notifying you that now you have xh ymin more battery timre left.

I realized this battery saving app is not anymore in GooglePLay store. Also the brands alternatives seems not good. So i first installed the Kaspersky App https://www.kaspersky.de/battery-life-saver. Now i saw several here posting screenshots of AccuBattery, so I swapped to it. But its seems not to show in days and hours and minutes left battery life till charge is needed (Kaspersky does). With the Kaspersky you could also identify background running apps and kill them. But i realized they keep coming back and it doesnt really seem to extend battery life. So I went on the web reading in general about using these apps on the ´modern´androids versions. Apparently now it is not going to do so because you would force apps stopping which for some reasons anyway need to run in background and will re-appear and by that the battery is being more put on pressure… I didnt entirely understood this. I cannot find the link to that other forum…

i would like to know from you all how to treat your phone best.

Also on my Avast protection App you can not only clear junk and boost RAM (which is then call killing as well?). Is that healthy for the phone? I always thought it is good …

Im sorry for maybe some simple questions, but I am really not a smartphone nerd. All i want is to know how to treat it so i can be happy with it for many years (and yes I would like to not change my phone again for 7 years).

In case of interest: Im using two messengar apps, one sociall media app and for taking videos when I exercise some sports tricks for self-analysis. I check things online when needed and no latop is available, and use Maps apps when i need to go somewhere. Besides I use it for calling and being called. No gaming, no big wandering on the internet or anything.

#2

Hi, I used to use the BatteryDoctor app, until I found something even better called AccuBattery. I find it so good, I upgraded to the paid for Pro version. It works very well on my 2e. The only thing that it’s missing is a low battery level alarm setting.

I generally try to keep my phone batteries in the range 30-40% to 80-90%, avoiding overcharging and running too low.

The whole “battery saving by killing background running apps” thing is a bit of a red herring, just to make it seem that the app is doing something, or you can feel that you’re doing something. Android is designed to keep the most frequently used apps in memory all the time, where they should use minimum power until they’re doing something. This saves the power, and time, taken to load the app into memory when needed.

If you kill the background apps, first, it takes a little power to just to the killing, and second, Android will use more power when it automatically loads the app again. So it’s not really worth doing this. Well written apps use very little power when loaded, but not active.

The best way to save your battery, in terms of the number of charge cycles you will get out of it, is to try to avoid the charge level going outside the limits I gave above, and avoid charging too fast. I usually charge my 2e from the USB port on my desktop computer, which seems to be limited to about 440mA. This isn’t too far off the rule of thumb recommended “10 hour rate” for a 4Ah battery. Whatever you do, don’t get a 1A or more “fast charger”, and then leave it charging all night!

Also, keep an eye on the battery level during the day. If it gets down to 50%, charge it as soon as convenient. If it gets to 40%, charge it now! If you can’t charge it straight away, and it drops to 30%, turn the phone off, unless you have an emergency.

I hope this will help you get many more years from your phone, and its battery. At least with Teracube, we have the option of easily buying and installing a new battery when we eventually need it! :slight_smile:

#3

Are you not using the charge-limiting feature in the 2e’s battery settings? If not, why not? I think it’s a fantastic feature and it was a pleasant surprise to find it in the 2e. I have my full-charge limit set to 70% and during the day I rarely get down much below 50% before I put it back on the charger overnight.

I’m monitoring battery health with AccuBattery Pro, which Sharad recommended. I’ve been using my 2e for four months and AccuBattery still reports my battery health at 100%. Battery wear and charge life were always the biggest problems on my Samsung and Motorola phones. The 2e has been a breath of fresh air, largely because of its charge-limiting feature.

I bought the 2e partly because I could replace the battery myself if, needed. But at this moment, I’m wondering if I will ever need to replace the battery.

I’m surprised and a little alarmed to learn that there are some chargers that somehow prevent the charge-limiting feature from functioning. I have used my 2e on 4 different chargers, two at home and two more in our cars. They all work with my 2e’s charge limiter. I hope the Teracube engineers are figuring out what the problem is. I assumed that it was the 2e that was effectively disconnecting the charger when the limit was reached. I can’t understand why some chargers can circumvent the 2e’s charge-limiter. Sharad, if you’re reading this, I’d love to get an explanation of what’s going on.

#4

Thank you so much for the tips. Espacially with charging via computer. This is really helpful. Seems like the teracube charger is even a 2A.

#5

Yes, I do, but I like to have some more info about the battery. It works well. Also when charging over laptop. Still I prefer also not to leave over night, because charger can also heat up to much and I know of someone who was lucky to wake up when the charger was overheating and starting to smoke. But anyway, I have only used smartphones with battries which can be switched, so I guess my happiness about that is bit less than yours :smile: but indeed its a great thing. Also when you might have a total break down of system and only cutting of electricity is helping (but fingerscrossed this will take still several years to be needed :D).

#6

Yes, good point about the built in charge limiter, I forgot to mention that!

#7

Loving it :heart: :smile:

Have you found a charger yourself or is there a reference on the forums?

#8

I was sure read about some chargers circumventing the 2e’s charge-limiter somewhere on this site. But I don’t remember where and now I’ve searched and can’t find it. If you haven’t heard anything, that’s good. Maybe I misread or misunderstood something. It didn’t make any sense to me and maybe that’s because it isn’t real. So I hope we can safely forget about it.

1 Like
#9

HI I realized that when the battery drops below 35% the light starts to blink. So there is a low battery warning :slight_smile: but maybe its from my additional app. Not sure how to check.

1 Like
#10

Which additional battery monitoring app are you using? Battery Doctor, AccuBattery, or something else?

#11

AccuBattery.