When using lithium batteries, it should be noted that the battery enters a sleep state after being left for a period of time, at which point the capacity is lower than normal and the usage time is shortened accordingly. But lithium batteries are easy to activate, as long as they undergo 3-5 normal charge and discharge cycles to activate the battery and restore normal capacity. Due to the inherent characteristics of lithium batteries, they have almost no memory effect. Therefore, the new lithium battery in the user’s mobile phone does not require any special methods or equipment during the activation process. Not only in theory, but also in my own practice, using standard charging methods from the beginning as a ‘natural activation’ approach is the best.
For the issue of “activation” of lithium batteries, many opinions suggest that the charging time must exceed 12 hours and be repeated three times in order to activate the battery. The statement that ‘the first three charges should be charged for more than 12 hours’ is clearly a continuation of nickel batteries such as nickel cadmium and nickel hydrogen. So this statement can be said to have been a misconception from the beginning. There is a significant difference in the charging and discharging characteristics between lithium batteries and nickel batteries, and it can be clearly stated that all the serious formal technical materials I have reviewed emphasize that overcharging and overdischarging can cause huge damage to lithium batteries, especially liquid lithium-ion batteries. Therefore, it is best to charge according to standard time and methods, especially not for over 12 hours of ultra long charging. Usually, the charging method described in the phone manual is the standard charging method suitable for the phone.
In addition, lithium battery phones or chargers will automatically stop charging after the battery is fully charged, and there is no so-called “trickle” charging that lasts for more than 10 hours with nickel chargers. That is to say, if your lithium battery is fully charged and placed on a charger, it will still be charged for nothing. And none of us can guarantee that the characteristics of the battery’s charge and discharge protection circuit will never change and the quality will be foolproof, so your battery will be hovering on the edge of danger for a long time. This is also another reason why we oppose long charging.
In addition, on some mobile phones, if the charger is not removed after a certain period of charging time, the system will not only not stop charging, but also start a discharge charge cycle. Perhaps the manufacturers of this approach have their own purposes, but it is clearly detrimental to the lifespan of batteries and mobile phones/chargers. At the same time, long charging requires a long time and often needs to be carried out at night. Based on the situation of China’s power grid, the voltage at night is relatively high and fluctuates greatly in many places. As mentioned earlier, lithium batteries are very delicate, and their ability to withstand fluctuations in charging and discharging is much worse than nickel batteries, which brings additional dangers.
In addition, another aspect that cannot be ignored is that lithium batteries are also not suitable for over discharge, which is also detrimental to lithium batteries.
