An update on the Farphone's battery
far.computer
far.computer
In short, far phone is the phone which powers far computer which is in turn served from https://far.computer
No actually, it is a Fairphone after all.
The name likely comes from “fairphone” with the “i” scraped off - see the photo: https://far.computer/
Accept, not what the power supply can supply. Cell phones aren't being made with massive laptop-sized 100W accepting circuitry.
Surprisingly they are, supervooc goes up to 120w now (which is insane), there is also a Motorola phone which also does 68w via PD standard
https://m.gsmarena.com/oneplus_15-review-2898p3.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_stylus_5g_(2025)-13...
As for past through charging, it's actually apparently more common then I knew.
Google does it as part of their "adaptive" charging (hits 80% then does pass through) and the OnePlus etc also do it with a settings for gaming.
(Older article confirming this https://www.androidauthority.com/phones-with-bypass-charging...)
What I cant figure out is how to detect power usage from the PMIC when in that configuration. ie seems to still assume power draw happens via a battery.
On the other hand, I have seen cheap 18650s spontaneously start smoking even when they weren’t plugged in to anything…
I doubt the traffic hitting it would be sufficient to drain the battery overnight.
Over years, this can accumulate enough charging cycles so battery gets worn down.. And old batteries have even higher self-discharge, so the cycle accelerates. If you are lucky, the battery lasts long enough. If you are unlucky, you end up with "spicy pillow". If you are super unlucky, and charger's temperature sensor fails (or was never installed), or battery gets punctured - you got a fire.
As, somehow it managed to turn all four cells in the pack into pillows. Which indicates a shockingly flawed balancing system
i may have a case to buy a kindle then
any model recommendations?
It's been in there for 5 years now, always plugged in.
OK, but "fire" is right there, in the name.
95%+ of people would report “zero problems here, all concern is overblown”.
Safety doesn’t work that way?
I noticed a few months ago that the battery has started to significantly swell pushing the back panel apart, but I haven't worked up the motivation to try removing it yet. From what I can ascertain from user experiences, it actually does boot sans battery but haven't confirmed, it would be awesome if that worked and would probably give me 5+ more years of usage.
So in my case, data point is that 3 years of 24/7 use/charging of an old laptop/tablet was enough to push it over the edge and finally swell. It's really a shame how so many otherwise usable devices that could be wall mounted turn into e-waste because they won't run without a battery. With USB-C PD a well-designed device should be able to get whatever power is needed on demand but manufacturers don't really have any incentive to future proof for the .01% of users like me who would benefit.
On older devices the controller might make some assumptions that holds true with a new battery, but very much doesn't with an old and worn one.
My Macs have all been sensible about it, but I've seen Windows machines with batteries that just died from being plugged in all the time not even 10 years ago. Even if that specific instance was just a bad battery and not due to a charge controller, I have no faith in Random Windows or Android OEM Number 582 doing this correctly.
For devices that are fixed, I'd prefer to eliminate the potential of there even being a problem in the first place.
Where things go off the rails is situations where extreme heat can be present (shoving phone in direct sunlight in window with hot climate is a bad move) another thing they don’t tolerate well and people don’t talk enough about this is deep discharging the batteries frequently. This causes a breakdown of the SEI membrane and makes it so future recharging generates more heat and gas. This will cause expansion and might cause a short/failure if poorly designed (galaxy note 7).
Ostensibly they contain charge controllers and temperature sensors, yet they're unable to prevent this outcome when the ambient temperature exceeds 110F day after day while the device stays on in a hot attic w/usb-c pd connected.
Fortunately I haven't had any burst into flames yet, but after a few years of seeing this pattern repeatedly I stopped deploying anything containing LiPo batteries at the property.
YMMV - but IMHO it's prudent to exclude these batteries from such unattended, powered 24x7 devices.
It worked as a stop-gap but I've since replaced it with a GL.Inet X300b ruggedized hotspot without any batteries.
There's no UPS for now... if I went the route of wanting uninterrupted power at the property I'd probably put a battery bank underground outside to power the entire building. It's not worth risking anything rechargeable inside the place given how hot it can get, and how long I sometimes go without visiting.
The situation is far more complicated for folks in apartments or high density housing.
These mobile LiPo-using rechargeable devices simply aren't ideal for being left powered while unattended, day after day, year after year. All it takes are some sunny days with normally closed blinds left open and you may slowly be cooking that device you forgot about that Just Works but is a ticking time bomb after the 10th day it spent an hour in direct sunlight while charging.
AIUI the high temperatures are particularly damaging to the SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interface) layer, which is the layer preventing dendrite growth. If that layer breaks down enough for dendrites to grow, you're in internal short / fire-risk land.
What roasts the lifetime of my laptop batteries is compiling with gentoo, but again never an issue with catastrophic failure and I have 20+ years of experience with that as well.
I'd guess it would have more to do with heat, though.
Nowadays if I want to leave a device plugged in I crack it open, remove the battery cell, solder on a power supply and capacitor, and then do the nonsense with rooted Android to keep it from shutting itself down.
e.g.: MacBooks discharge the battery down to 80% by using the battery even if it's plugged in by citing "Rarely used battery", and keep the battery at 80% for at least half a day, then charge it again.
Li-ion is an adversarial chemistry. You need to take care of it or the battery bites back by puffing up or losing capacity very fast, or becoming an indoor firework.