Sony DS3 Battery Life care questions

I couldnt find consistent information about this and i just got a new ds3 and i havent opened it yet so before i do i wanted to ask a few questions if you dont mind

1. i dont plan on using it anytime soon cuz i dont have anyone to play with (how sad huh?), will the battery's life diminish after a certain point? in other words, if i keep it in the box for a few months lets say, will the battery have less "life" potential if i never charge (till a certain point of course)? or is it already like in a frozen dormant state where no "harm" will come?

2. when i do open it, should i charge it fully without using it for its first charge to have it last longer or can i begin to use it immediately durin the first charge?

3. what is the optimal care for the battery? ive read so many different opinions that i really dont konw which is true. some say recharge when its low, some say 50%, some say wait till its dead, and another said dont take off the usb cable/power unless you need to and then put it right back? i dont know much about battery's so but i always felt it was best to fully charge, unplug right away, then use it till its totally dead and then repeat...in other words, no half charges at all..

4. if you leave it plugged in to the ps3 while playing a game (and charging obviously) does that kill some of the life potential since its both being used and charging simultaneously or is it fine to play (use power) while charging?

5. if you dont plan on using the controller at all for a few days/weeks while on vacation, is it best to leave it fully charged, fully dead, or with a little charge in it?

6. as for the controller that ive had since i got my ps3 (january), what is the best way to prolong its life?

so basically, how do you keep the ds3 at its optimal/most prolonged life?

yeah i know it sounds funny talking about it as if it has a life expectancy, but since they are so expensive, i just want to know how to make it last as long as possible, (and i know if it dies, i can always replace the battery or plug it into the usb, but im asking to avoid that) i read one post where a guy had it since 2006 or something (whenever they first came out) and it still charges and lasts like the day he first got it, so.....

please answer if you know. thanks

[quote name='chrislisting']I couldnt find consistent information about this and i just got a new ds3 and i havent opened it yet so before i do i wanted to ask a few questions if you dont mind

1. i dont plan on using it anytime soon cuz i dont have anyone to play with (how sad huh?), will the battery's life diminish after a certain point? in other words, if i keep it in the box for a few months lets say, will the battery have less "life" potential if i never charge (till a certain point of course)? or is it already like in a frozen dormant state where no "harm" will come?

---- Not really sure - mine was fully charged. I immediately opened it when I bought the ps3.

2. when i do open it, should i charge it fully without using it for its first charge to have it last longer or can i begin to use it immediately durin the first charge?

---- See above

3. what is the optimal care for the battery? ive read so many different opinions that i really dont konw which is true. some say recharge when its low, some say 50%, some say wait till its dead, and another said dont take off the usb cable/power unless you need to and then put it right back? i dont know much about battery's so but i always felt it was best to fully charge, unplug right away, then use it till its totally dead and then repeat...in other words, no half charges at all..

---- I leave mine plugged in since I'm only a few feet from my TV. I unplug it when necessary.

4. if you leave it plugged in to the ps3 while playing a game (and charging obviously) does that kill some of the life potential since its both being used and charging simultaneously or is it fine to play (use power) while charging?

---- It's fine to do this. The battery regulates the power intake / outtake.

5. if you dont plan on using the controller at all for a few days/weeks while on vacation, is it best to leave it fully charged, fully dead, or with a little charge in it?

---- Does not matter. The power should not drain since nothing is taking power from it.

6. as for the controller that ive had since i got my ps3 (january), what is the best way to prolong its life?

---- Try not to drop it. I also always wash my hands with soap and water, dry them on a clean towel, then play (I hate oily controllers). Buy a glove on amazon to protect them in case you drop them. Pretty much it.

so basically, how do you keep the ds3 at its optimal/most prolonged life?

yeah i know it sounds funny talking about it as if it has a life expectancy, but since they are so expensive, i just want to know how to make it last as long as possible, (and i know if it dies, i can always replace the battery or plug it into the usb, but im asking to avoid that) i read one post where a guy had it since 2006 or something (whenever they first came out) and it still charges and lasts like the day he first got it, so.....

please answer if you know. thanks [/QUOTE]

There you go

If you don't use a fully charged controller for a while, the controller will lose the battery over time.

You don't need to take extra cares of the DS controllers, i almost always throw the damn thing on the sofa, no problems.

[quote name='Serpentor']If you don't use a fully charged controller for a while, the controller will lose the battery over time.

You don't need to take extra cares of the DS controllers, i almost always throw the damn thing on the sofa, no problems.[/QUOTE]

Never lost battery before

Listen to him on this though.

thanks for the thorough answer pixi and thanks for the extra "not to worry" serpent

you know whats funny (well not so funny really) as for rule #6 pix, the day i got my new DS3 which was 2 days ago, i dropped my old ds3 pretty hard...no visible damage, no button cracks/damage, but man was i pissed (i have wood floors) cuz i was like i just got a new one and wanna hold on to the old one as long as possible, and now might have to crack it open....

but as u guys both said, its durable apparently, the controller seems to be totally fine. i havent noticed any problems with it at all. kinda jinxed myself, but hey, whatever i always have this brand new one.
-------------------------------------------
last thing:

if what u say is true (in reguards to the controller bein charged outta the box and not leaving a fully charged controller unused at full capacity) should i just open it, drain it, and then keep it safely in the box after its dead then?

and again, do you think investing in a glove/sleeve/case is a definite must or at least a really good idea?

thanks again guys, great info there for anyone with a DS3

PS killa Queens repasent, big up to lil egypt... steinway all day lol

The problem with lithium ion batteries (which I am pretty sure is in the DS3) is it's really bad for them to be left fully charged OR full drained. They last best at 40% charged. I don't know if the DS3 has any ongoing drain when not in use (probably a small amount to keep it awake enough to turn on without a physical switch).

The best thing to do is charge it fully when you first get it, try to run it down to around 50% or so, then store it... check on it occasionally and do the same thing.

Lithium ion batteries really suck for trying to take care of them.

(read all about it at batteryuniversity.com)

Absolutely no reason to get any sort of protective glove/etc unless you're really careless with your controllers.

thanks very much for that very informative response and link, useful for new laptop battery too

[quote name='Justin42']The problem with lithium ion batteries (which I am pretty sure is in the DS3) is it's really bad for them to be left fully charged OR full drained. They last best at 40% charged. I don't know if the DS3 has any ongoing drain when not in use (probably a small amount to keep it awake enough to turn on without a physical switch).

The best thing to do is charge it fully when you first get it, try to run it down to around 50% or so, then store it... check on it occasionally and do the same thing.

Lithium ion batteries really suck for trying to take care of them.

(read all about it at batteryuniversity.com)

Absolutely no reason to get any sort of protective glove/etc unless you're really careless with your controllers.[/QUOTE]

This is the most accurate one, btw. Leaving modern li-ion devices plugged in doesn't do any harm. The circuitry inside is good enough to act basically as if the battery wasn't in there, when it's fully charged. There's probably leakage current, but it'd be so small that it's probably insignificant even compared to self-discharge.

thanks for the confirmation, always good to hear a +1 when it comes to technical matters

[quote name='elessar123']This is the most accurate one, btw. Leaving modern li-ion devices plugged in doesn't do any harm. The circuitry inside is good enough to act basically as if the battery wasn't in there, when it's fully charged. There's probably leakage current, but it'd be so small that it's probably insignificant even compared to self-discharge.[/QUOTE]

Leaving it plugged in will still do some damage since charge will never go below certain amount (usually 90-95%). I had to change my Apple Powerbook battery 2 times in 3 years because it was just parked at my desk while I used netbook for travel.

[quote name='laaj']Leaving it plugged in will still do some damage since charge will never go below certain amount (usually 90-95%). I had to change my Apple Powerbook battery 2 times in 3 years because it was just parked at my desk while I used netbook for travel.[/QUOTE]

Typically, that happens due to the heat, not due to it being plugged in. When you leave laptops plugged in, it's advised that you remove the battery once it's fully charged.

Ive had my ds3 for awhile now and it still works as good as the day I bought it.

I bought a cheap usb to mini usb 10 foot cable off ebay for a couple bucks so I could lay back and play while it charges. When its charging the light on it blinks and when its full it just stays solid. So when its solid it isnt charging it and just using the usb power to run like normal. Its only when you unplug it that its running off the battery. So using it while the cable is plugged in and fully charged is fine. I never did it for long periods of time but its never effected my battery life.

Basically mine has been left for weeks on end fully charged, half charged, dead and so on and when I come back to it I just plug in the cable when the low battery warning pops up on the screen.

Ive never done anything special with mine. I use it till the warning comes up saying battery life is low and I plug in the cable and play while it charges and when its done I unplug it.

Really with most modern rechargeable batteries you dont have to do anything out of the normal to keep them at optimal useage. Back when rehcargeable batteries were first out you had to do certain things to make sure it lasted it didnt shorten its life, but anymore your pretty much safe. But all rechargeables regardless of what you do will eventually start getting less and less time per charge out of them and eventually not hold a charge. Atleast the upshot is a ds3 you can have a dead battery and play fine with the cable till you replace it.

I bought mine new when they first came out and its been working like a champ since then, and its used quite alot with me.

[quote name='gargus']Really with most modern rechargeable batteries you dont have to do anything out of the normal to keep them at optimal useage. Back when rehcargeable batteries were first out you had to do certain things to make sure it lasted it didnt shorten its life, but anymore your pretty much safe.[/QUOTE]

This is only true because most things use Li-ion, not for any other reason. If you buy something new with NiCd, you still have the same issues as 5 years ago, where you'd have to charge it to full before first use or else it may lose significant capacities, etc.

The differences are in the different battery technologies.

NiMH are also more or less replacing NiCd. If you have rechargeable Energizers or Duracells from the past few years, they're NiMH, which are less fickle than NiCd.

update, the battery was totally dead just like my ps3, so at least in ny they ship them out without charging...and thsi ds3 feels different than my other one, but its a sony so who cares....

not much special care, just don't let it overcharge... I usually charge mine when there's 1 bar (out of 3) left. battery life is still strong after a year+ on all of my DS3 controllers. if it's low on battery, you can play while it's charging, just remove the cable after an hour or so.