[EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wfrandy:
No, lithium Ion batteries only have a 2-3 year life, whether they are used or not. they actually start dying the day they are manufactured. The reason the manufacturers design the charge circuit to work the way it does is it is the only safe way to do it. Do you really seriously believe that the manufacturer doesn't know how to charge the battery properly at the maximum possible rate, or that they would not design the charging circuit to give the consumer the maximum battery life possible?

I for one am not saying that at all. What I am saying is that the way the manufacturer designed the charging cycle on the battery, is the proper way to do it. The way it is done in these kernels is not.

From what you say here, it looks to me like the reason the charging current drops to 0 mA at 4205 mV is because the battery protection circuit detected a charging failure and kicked in to keep the battery from failing, as that is about the voltage level where it should do so. In other words, what these kernels are basically doing is overriding the charge protection built into the software and now you are relying on the over voltage circuit in the battery to protect the battery from self destruction. The battery protection circuit is not designed to be used that way, it is only supposed to work if something fails in the charging circuit. The way the battery protection circuit works is that when the voltage reaches what the battery manufacturer considers the maximum possible voltage before failure, a switch (usually an FET) opens stopping the current flow. So instead of the charging circuit in the phone cutting off the charge at the safe operating voltage, now the protection circuit in the battery is cutting off the current flow at it's maximum level before failure.

Then this kernel you are using continuously trickle charges the battery to keep it full. Lithium ion batteries cannot tolerate that. By doing that every charge cycle you can cause plating of the metallic lithium which eventually leads to rapid battery failure. And yes that failure can include thermal run away causing the pressure inside the battery to exceed 150 psi, resulting in the battery venting in the least case, or the battery exploding in the worst case scenario. In either case the battery, or even the phone could be destroyed.

If you want proof just do a Google search for exploding cell phones. I have seen the pictures when I was doing research regarding the cheap replacement batteries. Which, whether you believe it or not, often have an inadequate charge protection circuits, which would be a potential disaster in the making when used with the way you guys are now charging your batteries.

And for those that are wondering, I have been involved in the electronics design and manufacturing business for over 30 years.

I wouldn't even respond to this if it weren't for the fact that the vast majority of people here haven't got a clue how these things work. They just see a kernel that is claimed will give them a few minutes more battery life and start flashing away. I personally have no problem with someone doing this, but think that folks should have every opportunity to make an informed decision. Especially when it is something they might seriously regret doing later.