Hey guy's just a quick question I have two P4 batteries that are fully charged and have been for 14 days now and when I check the level they both still show all 4 bars. Aren't they supposed to discharge to 65% after 10 days? Its looking as though my bird will be back this coming week from a repair with DJI but I'm worried that these batteries are getting damaged and don't know why they aren't discharging. I never set the discharge setting up in the Go app but thought they would still default to 10 days. So I was just curious will they discharge and still show 4 bars? Also if they aren't do you think 20 days will cause damage? Thanks you!
Phantom 4 battery
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msinger
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By default, they will start to auto discharge down to 65% after 10 days. That discharge process usually takes between 2-3 days to complete. If you press the button on the battery, the 10 day period will be reset and/or the battery will stop discharging it if has already started to discharge. So, don't keep checking it 
Ok thank you for the quick response I appreciate it! I was wondering if that was what I was doing by checking it, I was just hoping I actually had to turn it on to reset it but that makes sense. Do you think 20 days will be to long fully charged? Also is there anything certain I can look for once I get it back to see if there is damage would the voltage be off or something? I just read some of these stories about the battery cutting out in the air and don't know enough yet on what all to look for. Thanks again!!By default, they will start to auto discharge down to 65% after 10 days. That discharge process usually takes between 2-3 days to complete. If you press the button on the battery, the 10 day period will be reset and/or the battery will stop discharging it if has already started to discharge. So, don't keep checking it
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Only time will tell.
Look for anything odd. For example, check if it's puffy on the sides, if it discharges too quickly, and if any of the battery cells are extremely out of balance.
Batteries rarely cut out in the air. Make sure you always keep an eye on the voltage while flying and you should be fine.
I changed my discharge time to 2 days in the hopes of extending the longevity of my batteries. How long do most people use?
I would say the average is about 3 days.
It would be better to use the battery on the drone, and then top it to 50% rather than let it auto discharge.
I have the DJI 3 slot battery charger, although pricey, it works extremely well for this of charging the batteries to 50%.
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It would be better to use the battery on the drone, and then top it to 50% rather than let it auto discharge.
I have the DJI 3 slot battery charger, although pricey, it works extremely well for this of charging the batteries to 50%.
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Discharging your batteries for storage is good and I let them go the full 10 days before they self discharge. Lipo batteries life is dependent on how many charge/discharge cycles it does. If you use these cycles up discharging often thinking you are helping battery life you are only using up life cycles with no fly time. The amount of power it can produce in its life is finite. It can take more cycles of 50% discharge than 80% discharge but in the end it is the close to the same amount of power output thru out its life time.
I get the impression from what I've read that more degradation happens by leaving the batteries fully charged. My normal procedure is to fly down my batteries to 30% and then use the hub to charge them back to 50% for storage. Next time I fly, I use the hub to top off the batteries back to 100%. The only time I use the hub to discharge is if my flight plans get cancelled and I'm stuck with 100% batteries.
I find the contradicting information about battery treatment a bit disconcerting. Some early articles swore that you had regularly drain the battery to 8% which I'm pretty sure prematurely ages the battery. Later articles say this heavy drain is to reset the gauge for estimated charge. I have three batteries so hopefully cycling them between 30 and 100 will give them a long life. Time will tell.
I find the contradicting information about battery treatment a bit disconcerting. Some early articles swore that you had regularly drain the battery to 8% which I'm pretty sure prematurely ages the battery. Later articles say this heavy drain is to reset the gauge for estimated charge. I have three batteries so hopefully cycling them between 30 and 100 will give them a long life. Time will tell.
Yep Mike, it's a complex thing with many factors so you might want read this;
Battery Life and How To Improve It
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Battery Life and How To Improve It
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The Phantom manual used to recommend this be done too. DJI has removed all traces of that recommendation in their most recent manuals though.
Yep Mike I believe this (your) procedure would help to increase battery life. I would also make sure to let the battery rest before flying after the 100% top up
Excellent point from Erised, battery cells must cool down before recharging. Not specific to DJI batteries.
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My batteries do not heat up while charging, only when discharging. Is it really necessary to rest them after topping off?
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A short rest period after charging permits the chemical transformations that occur when charging to stabilize. I leave mine about 30 minutes, more is better if you can.
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