Can any of you guys offer some tips on maximizing and preserving battery life on the Nevos? I'm getting the queasy feeling lately that one of my Q50s is either not taking or holding a charge as well as it used to. It can't quite get through a full day of use without a little extra quality time in the charging cradle. :(

So, I'm looking for somebody who knows more about these batteries than I do (that's probably all of you!) to offer advice on things like:

1. Should the battery be allowed to fully discharge occasionally?
2. Should the battery only be charged when it gets low?
3. Are short "booster" charges between nightly charges detrimental? (It goes on the cradle all night, every night.)
4. Are there any settings or usage suggestions that are best for battery performance?

One thing I noticed today was that the charge gauge would fluctuate a bit. It would show about 50% then go to 80% then back to 50% within a span of a minute or two. I've never seen this on the other Q50, but then that one doesn't get used nearly as much. Any thoughts on what this means?

Hi,

I look at a battery as a throw away item so in my opinion charge it whenever you like. It is no use having a awesome remote and not using it 100% because you are worried about a $50? (don't know the price) battery.

I have mine set to turn off after 2min and back light off after 15sec.

With average use I get 2-3 days from one overnight charge.

What settings are you using?

Dan.

Wow...you get 2-3 days? I get one full day normally, but with heavy use (on weekends, for example), we get the dreaded BEEP in the evening. This is why I have started putting it back in the cradle during the day whenever it sits idle.

I have it set to turn off after 5 min, and the backlight off after 15 sec. I'll try lowering the power off to 2 min and see if that makes a difference.

Are the batteries in the Q50 TRULY not field-replaceable? I'm pretty good at things like disassembly & assembly and working with electrical components, etc., so I'd be more comfortable thinking of the battery as a throwaway item if I knew I could just replace it myself. It's not the cost that bothers me, but the potential inconveniences of sending my remote back to Nevo.

As always, thanks for your reply.

is it under a year old?
maybe get the entire remote replaced by dealer?

Yeah, it is under a year old. I'm not claiming that the battery defective. But we've all had the experience with rechargeable batteries that their performance eventually deteriorates. I think that is part of the technology and can't really be considered a defect.

But I was just seeking advice on charging techniques or patterns that might be best for the particular batteries in the Nevos. I accept that I'll have to replace the battery at some point, and I won't change my actual usage of the remote to put that off, but I also don't want to unknowingly accelerate its deterioration through improper charging.
.........
As an aside, it does kind of surprise me that sydinstaller gets 2-3 days on one charge. If that's typical, it makes me wonder a bit more about whether mine is normal..... :(

Hi,

I should clarify my usage.

M-F TV viewing at night only. 4-5hrs medium surfing.
S-S On and off during the day a bit at night.

On average I get 2 days. I do get 3 days but that is only because I didn't use it as much the day before. Normally when the remote gets to 25% (hard to see on the small indicator) I chuck it in the charger.

Because the Z-Wave is "instant on" there is no need to keep the remote alive for long periods of time.

Also check your screen brightness, mine is at 40% on battery.


D