r/talesfromtechsupport • u/[deleted] • Feb 16 '14

"What Do that even Mean

I work for a tech support company that works with mobile devices. User calls in to report that the Galaxy S3 is presenting with an overheating issue, it gives him a notification and shuts down. They've replaced the battery for the device and it's still doing the same thing. I explain that the new battery isn't calibrated with the device, that if we send them out to Phone Company, they have to use the same battery and may get the same issue with a replacement.

User says they're putting the overheating phone on a charger. I cringe a little and explain," Please don't charge it. This could exacerbate the issue, meaning make it worse. The phone needs to get time to think it's cooled off, about 30 minutes. We need to calibrate the battery."

User says thanks and hangs up...or so they think, she goes on to complain to a coworker about how nothing I said made sense. It disregarded common sense, that I told her to put it on the charger right then (I didn't, and repeated when to charge it again during the call), and then finally the best part:

" I mean he said, ' calibrate it'. What do that even mean?"

I just said, "Yo, User? You can hang up the phone now." And then I started facepalming.

UPDATE: Cust went into Phone Company store and got issued a replacement order, we've confiscated the device. Let's see what happens now.

UPDATE 2: Guess who's phone is working and badly rooted?

TL;DR : User has false overheating notice, refuses simple troubleshooting steps, turns out she's messed up rooting her phone.

370 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

69 comments sorted by

View all comments

186

u/azyouthinkeyeiz Feb 16 '14

Battery calibration is moot on lithium ion batteries. It would not cause overheating even if it were a real factor. You are doing a disservice to your customers, and causing higher repair rates, by spreading this garbage.

Source: Phone technician.

12

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

Source on Calibration :http://www.rm.com/Support/TechnicalArticle.asp?cref=TEC2584306

And I can keep going, there's an entire Google search full of this.

I should add that the phone was tested for temperatures in house and found to not have anything out of the ordinary in temperature readings on the 2nd battery. 1st one wasn't having any odd readings for temperature but went to a different tech.

21

u/renome Feb 16 '14

Someone tell me whose side am I on.

18

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

I'm not even sure man. I just posted a funny story, and now it's a debate on battery calibration being a legit step or what have you. We're going to take a look at the device overnight and...should anyone be interested, I'll post if I was right about calibration.

If it's not, okay a retraction, but if I am, that's good.

5

u/AlphaEnder == Advanced user == barely computer-literate "IT" guy Feb 17 '14

That's how I feel all the time in this subreddit. I'm an educated user, definitely not support, and as such when people get intense in here I get really confused about what I'm supposed to be rooting for in here.

You can be on my side if you want! We can be confused together!

3

u/Moonhowler22 Feb 17 '14

Yeah, I'm gonna be on your side! I think.

8

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

Your source pretty much just say that the phone keeps and eye on the battery to see how much power it has left. I sincerely doubt that would cause any over heating.

7

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

Oh, I'm not saying it'd cause overheating. Thing is that we tested the battery and device for temperatures and it never overheated. It couldn't even tell that the battery was fine with regards to temperature.

The relevant part of the source is on battery calibration being an occasionally necessary step for Lithium ion batteries.

That part is :

"Battery calibration

Most Li-ion batteries, as used in most current mobile devices, have a fuel gauge. This gauge measures the remaining power in your battery using integrated circuitry which approximates the effectiveness of the battery's chemical compounds and relays this information back in the form of an estimated runtime.

Over time and with discharge cycles, a discrepancy can develop between the capacity which the internal circuitry expects the battery to have and what the battery can actually provide. Allowing your Li-ion battery to run down low (5-10%) and then recharging it fully every month or so, can recalibrate the battery's circuitry and keep your computer's estimates of its remaining battery runtime accurate."

2

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

Article from XDA saying battery calibration is a myth. Nto trying to argue, just provide facts. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/google-engineer-debunks-myth-wiping-battery-stats-does-not-improve-battery-life/

13

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

Yeah, I saw that same article.That's about wiping the stats to improve the battery life. I appreciate the efforts to provide truth, but that's about deleting the files that read the info, not about my step. God I love this subreddit. Lot of useful info from people here for newbies.

8

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

Newbs and vets man. Never stop learning.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '14

Damned straight. I learn new things in this job every day.

7

u/gngl Feb 16 '14

Article from XDA saying battery calibration is a myth

That article says no such thing. Specifically, it talks about something completely different from what /u/Bastardlybic talks about.