WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.090 --> 00:00:01.950 In this lesson we're going to talk about 2 00:00:01.950 --> 00:00:03.900 mobile power issues. 3 00:00:03.900 --> 00:00:06.180 This includes things like poor battery health, 4 00:00:06.180 --> 00:00:09.030 charging issues, and swollen batteries. 5 00:00:09.030 --> 00:00:12.360 Now by design, batteries are designed to be charged up 6 00:00:12.360 --> 00:00:13.950 and then use the power within them 7 00:00:13.950 --> 00:00:15.270 until they become discharged, 8 00:00:15.270 --> 00:00:17.610 at which point you would charge them again. 9 00:00:17.610 --> 00:00:19.830 Now, unfortunately, over time, the health 10 00:00:19.830 --> 00:00:21.840 of the battery will deteriorate. 11 00:00:21.840 --> 00:00:23.940 For example, if you have a brand new laptop 12 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:25.980 with a new battery and you fully charged it 13 00:00:25.980 --> 00:00:27.750 and it will last about 12 hours, 14 00:00:27.750 --> 00:00:29.910 well over time, after a year or two, 15 00:00:29.910 --> 00:00:32.190 you may find that it's only going to last 10 hours, 16 00:00:32.190 --> 00:00:34.950 or eight hours, instead of that initial 12. 17 00:00:34.950 --> 00:00:37.110 This is because the batteries will deteriorate 18 00:00:37.110 --> 00:00:39.900 in health over time and certain parts of the battery, 19 00:00:39.900 --> 00:00:43.620 which are known as cells, can die off and become unusable. 20 00:00:43.620 --> 00:00:46.080 This is just a normal fact of life when it comes 21 00:00:46.080 --> 00:00:49.020 to batteries, and if this becomes a major issue 22 00:00:49.020 --> 00:00:50.790 you will have to change out that battery 23 00:00:50.790 --> 00:00:52.980 with a known good replacement. 24 00:00:52.980 --> 00:00:55.200 For example, I've had some laptop batteries 25 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:57.480 after three to five years, that will no longer 26 00:00:57.480 --> 00:00:59.760 hold a charge more than about 30 minutes, 27 00:00:59.760 --> 00:01:03.030 even though they used to hold 10 to 12 hours of charge. 28 00:01:03.030 --> 00:01:05.460 In this case, the battery is said to have poor health 29 00:01:05.460 --> 00:01:08.010 and it should be replaced with a new one. 30 00:01:08.010 --> 00:01:10.980 When it comes to phones, tablets, and laptops, 31 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:13.830 some batteries are considered a replaceable item, 32 00:01:13.830 --> 00:01:17.100 while others are considered a non-removable item. 33 00:01:17.100 --> 00:01:19.740 In the case of batteries that are soldered into the device, 34 00:01:19.740 --> 00:01:22.170 this is considered a non-removable battery, 35 00:01:22.170 --> 00:01:23.490 and this is something that would be considered 36 00:01:23.490 --> 00:01:25.710 beyond the scope of what an A plus technician 37 00:01:25.710 --> 00:01:27.183 would be expected to fix. 38 00:01:28.110 --> 00:01:30.330 The second type of power issues you may experience, 39 00:01:30.330 --> 00:01:33.000 are what are known as improper charging. 40 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:34.980 Now, when it comes to improper charging, 41 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:37.710 there are a couple of different sources of problems here. 42 00:01:37.710 --> 00:01:40.320 The first is when you're not following a proper charging 43 00:01:40.320 --> 00:01:43.560 routine. Now, modern batteries, including those made 44 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:46.410 of lithium-ion, are considered to have a memory 45 00:01:46.410 --> 00:01:48.330 of their charge pattern in them. 46 00:01:48.330 --> 00:01:50.400 Now, if you start charging your battery using 47 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.010 an improper routine, you can actually shorten the life 48 00:01:53.010 --> 00:01:56.520 of that battery, causing it to have poor battery health. 49 00:01:56.520 --> 00:01:59.100 For example, if you have a mobile device 50 00:01:59.100 --> 00:02:01.980 and it's at 100% and it goes down to 80% 51 00:02:01.980 --> 00:02:04.080 and then you recharge it back to a 100%, 52 00:02:04.080 --> 00:02:05.820 and you keep doing this repeatedly, 53 00:02:05.820 --> 00:02:07.890 over time, that battery is going to learn 54 00:02:07.890 --> 00:02:10.860 that 80% is considered its empty point, 55 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:13.020 and so essentially you're going to reduce your battery 56 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:17.250 from 100% down to only having about 20% capacity. 57 00:02:17.250 --> 00:02:19.890 Conversely, you also don't want to fully discharge 58 00:02:19.890 --> 00:02:23.130 your battery regularly when you're using lithium-ion devices 59 00:02:23.130 --> 00:02:25.860 because this will reduce the battery life as well. 60 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:28.530 Instead, you really want to be able to get your battery down 61 00:02:28.530 --> 00:02:30.570 to about 20 to 30%, 62 00:02:30.570 --> 00:02:32.910 and then recharge it back to a 100%. 63 00:02:32.910 --> 00:02:35.280 This is what is considered a best practice when it comes 64 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:37.797 to recharging your lithium-ion batteries. 65 00:02:37.797 --> 00:02:39.690 Now remember, as batteries age, 66 00:02:39.690 --> 00:02:41.670 the maximum charge that they're going to be able to hold, 67 00:02:41.670 --> 00:02:42.930 is going to decrease, 68 00:02:42.930 --> 00:02:45.720 and so you should expect a shorter battery life over time. 69 00:02:45.720 --> 00:02:48.540 But by following good battery charging procedures, 70 00:02:48.540 --> 00:02:50.310 you can extend the life of that battery, 71 00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:52.230 and put less strain on the battery 72 00:02:52.230 --> 00:02:54.930 in terms of charging and discharging it. 73 00:02:54.930 --> 00:02:57.240 Another thing to consider when charging your batteries 74 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:00.750 is whether you're going to use a slow charge or a fast charge. 75 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:03.600 Some batteries will support a fast charge, where you can get 76 00:03:03.600 --> 00:03:06.840 about 50 to 75% of that battery charged, 77 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:08.880 in under about 30 minutes. 78 00:03:08.880 --> 00:03:11.280 Now, while this is great from an operational perspective, 79 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:13.560 it does put additional strain on the battery, 80 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:16.170 and it can lead to reduced battery life over time. 81 00:03:16.170 --> 00:03:19.200 Instead, a slow trickle charge is considered better 82 00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:21.360 for the health of your battery long term, 83 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.310 although it does take much longer to fully 84 00:03:23.310 --> 00:03:25.380 charge your battery this way. 85 00:03:25.380 --> 00:03:27.240 Another issue when it comes to charging, 86 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:30.480 is when you have a device that simply won't take a charge. 87 00:03:30.480 --> 00:03:33.180 For example, if you've connected an AC adapter 88 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:35.460 between your laptop and a wall outlet to charge up 89 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:36.780 the battery in your laptop, 90 00:03:36.780 --> 00:03:38.370 but the battery is not charging, 91 00:03:38.370 --> 00:03:41.160 you need to identify why is that happening. 92 00:03:41.160 --> 00:03:43.080 There are several reasons for this. 93 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.870 One, is it could be the AC adapter itself is not 94 00:03:45.870 --> 00:03:47.250 properly connected. 95 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:49.710 In this case, you want to make sure the AC adapter 96 00:03:49.710 --> 00:03:51.990 is connected securely in three places. 97 00:03:51.990 --> 00:03:53.610 First to the laptop. 98 00:03:53.610 --> 00:03:55.050 Second, between the cable going 99 00:03:55.050 --> 00:03:57.420 from the laptop and the power transformer, 100 00:03:57.420 --> 00:03:59.790 which is the large rectangular device that is connected 101 00:03:59.790 --> 00:04:01.800 in the middle of your power adapter, 102 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:03.990 and third into the wall outlet. 103 00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:06.000 If all three of these are securely connected 104 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.320 and you're still not getting a charge 105 00:04:07.320 --> 00:04:09.660 on your laptop battery, you may want to replace 106 00:04:09.660 --> 00:04:11.550 the adapter with a known good one, 107 00:04:11.550 --> 00:04:13.380 to verify if it's the adapter 108 00:04:13.380 --> 00:04:15.420 or the battery that's having issues. 109 00:04:15.420 --> 00:04:18.360 In addition to the adapter or the battery having issues, 110 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:19.380 you could also have issues 111 00:04:19.380 --> 00:04:21.720 with the connector on the motherboard itself. 112 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:24.390 These charging ports are a common area that will degrade 113 00:04:24.390 --> 00:04:26.130 over time or become broken 114 00:04:26.130 --> 00:04:27.540 because you're constantly plugging 115 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:29.070 and unplugging the power cable 116 00:04:29.070 --> 00:04:31.530 into the laptop using these ports. 117 00:04:31.530 --> 00:04:33.420 Because of this, these charging ports 118 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:35.520 can often become broken and the only way 119 00:04:35.520 --> 00:04:37.710 to replace them is a take apart the laptop, 120 00:04:37.710 --> 00:04:39.270 desolder them from the motherboard, 121 00:04:39.270 --> 00:04:42.060 and then solder a new power connector. 122 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:43.530 Now the final thing we want to talk 123 00:04:43.530 --> 00:04:45.510 about is swollen batteries. 124 00:04:45.510 --> 00:04:47.460 Now, if you find a battery that is swelling 125 00:04:47.460 --> 00:04:49.290 or has already become swollen, 126 00:04:49.290 --> 00:04:53.010 this indicates a fault, physically, with that battery. 127 00:04:53.010 --> 00:04:55.230 Now, most often you'll see this where the battery 128 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:56.730 compartment starts bulging. 129 00:04:56.730 --> 00:04:59.130 If you try placing the device on a desk, 130 00:04:59.130 --> 00:05:01.440 it is now deformed because this device 131 00:05:01.440 --> 00:05:04.320 has now swollen and expanded in size. 132 00:05:04.320 --> 00:05:05.910 This is a really dangerous thing 133 00:05:05.910 --> 00:05:07.200 and you don't want to just try to 134 00:05:07.200 --> 00:05:09.900 squish the battery back into the compartment. 135 00:05:09.900 --> 00:05:11.850 Instead, you should stop using 136 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:14.610 that mobile device immediately because otherwise, 137 00:05:14.610 --> 00:05:17.550 you could have damage to the device or yourself. 138 00:05:17.550 --> 00:05:19.680 Now, when it comes to a swollen battery, 139 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:21.960 this often happens because the battery has become 140 00:05:21.960 --> 00:05:24.600 overcharged because the circuitry inside of it, 141 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:27.450 that's supposed to protect it from overcharging, has failed. 142 00:05:27.450 --> 00:05:29.910 In either case, if you have a swollen battery, 143 00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:32.880 you should immediately take that device out of service, 144 00:05:32.880 --> 00:05:34.110 and if you can remove the battery 145 00:05:34.110 --> 00:05:35.490 because it's a removable part, 146 00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:37.590 you should remove it from the mobile device. 147 00:05:37.590 --> 00:05:39.810 At that point, you can then replace that battery 148 00:05:39.810 --> 00:05:41.730 with a new battery into that device, 149 00:05:41.730 --> 00:05:43.380 and return it to service. 150 00:05:43.380 --> 00:05:46.140 If the battery is considered a non-removable part, 151 00:05:46.140 --> 00:05:48.330 you should immediately stop using that mobile device 152 00:05:48.330 --> 00:05:50.100 and send it back to the manufacturer 153 00:05:50.100 --> 00:05:54.360 for them to repair or replace the device with a newer model. 154 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:56.370 Now, anytime you're handling a swollen battery, 155 00:05:56.370 --> 00:05:57.480 you always want to do this 156 00:05:57.480 --> 00:05:59.760 using the proper safety precautions. 157 00:05:59.760 --> 00:06:01.890 This includes making sure you have a mask, 158 00:06:01.890 --> 00:06:04.830 goggles, and gloves on, because that swollen battery 159 00:06:04.830 --> 00:06:06.630 could be releasing hazardous chemicals 160 00:06:06.630 --> 00:06:10.260 onto your skin as you touch it, or it could actually burst 161 00:06:10.260 --> 00:06:12.870 because of the extended pressure from that swelling, 162 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:14.820 and in those cases, that hazardous chemical 163 00:06:14.820 --> 00:06:16.470 could be going towards your eyes, 164 00:06:16.470 --> 00:06:19.290 which is why you want to have goggles on as well. 165 00:06:19.290 --> 00:06:21.420 Once you remove that battery from the device, 166 00:06:21.420 --> 00:06:23.190 you do want to properly dispose of it, 167 00:06:23.190 --> 00:06:26.250 and remember you cannot discard it using standard recycling 168 00:06:26.250 --> 00:06:28.770 options at this point because those batteries 169 00:06:28.770 --> 00:06:30.390 are now in a hazardous state. 170 00:06:30.390 --> 00:06:32.910 So, you need to check your local rules, and laws, 171 00:06:32.910 --> 00:06:35.310 and regulations, on how to dispose of that battery 172 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:37.320 properly and safely. 173 00:06:37.320 --> 00:06:40.230 So remember, when it comes to mobile power issues, 174 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:42.900 there are three main issues that you're going to come across. 175 00:06:42.900 --> 00:06:44.730 This includes poor battery health, 176 00:06:44.730 --> 00:06:46.923 charging issues and swollen batteries.