Rather an off top question

[Juste]

Hello,

Can anyone tell me what the downsides of keeping a cell phone plugged in would be ?
I would like to use it through OBiBT. Since I will use it remotely and it will be set up on somebody else's place, I will need it to work without my friends' intervention.

It probably won't be a smartphone (rather a low end Nokia) and will not use data, just voice.
I am wondering what the risks might be.

Thanks,

[Jackson]

I think you should be OK, as long as the phone's internals (charging circuit) are working properly.

That said there is a lot of info out there about the care and feeding of Li-Ion batteries.  With a laptop keeping it plugged in all the time does in fact prematurely age the battery pack (I keep mined pulled).  But a big part of that comes from the heat the laptop generates, though Li-Ions don't like to be fully charged at all times.

But in your case does battery health (the inability to hold a charge as long as when  new) really matter?  Seems you just want the phone to work.  It should.

I guess you could add a cheap timer, a 30 or 60 min hit every day should do it.  You can find them on eBay for ~$10.

[Juste]

Thanks for replying.

That's right, I don't care about battery's health as long as the phone works properly and nobody takes any risks. As long as it can work as autonomously as possible, I don't mind sacrificing the battery, the phone will only be used for this purpose.

Can you please elaborate about the timer ? What is that ?

Thanks again,

[giqcass]

I keep a dumb phone plugged in all of the time.  It stays paired with my Obi202 via BT 24x7.  If the power goes out everything just reconnects the second power returns.  I pay $10 every 3 months for the cell phone through pagepluscellular.com.  It provides a backup if all else fails.  I can't say how long the battery lasts since I almost never unplug it.  I can say it just works. Seven months without any intervention.  The phone is a Motorola W385.

[giqcass]

Can you please elaborate about the timer ? What is that ?

Thanks again,

I think all he means is you could plug the charger into a timer like this one.  That way the batterry won't overcharge too much.  I haven't done that myself and I haven't had any issues yet.

[Juste]

Thanks for both messages !