Mother-in-law and mobile phone (Long)

[Mishi]

Backstory: My mother-in-law is not that bright, but figures if she repeats herself often enough, then everything will be fixed to work the way she wants. She's overwhelmed by modern technology, but at the same time is ALWAYS right because she's 'older'. Also, she wants everything for free or at the lowest possible price, which is why she won't admit that her mobile phone (that we gave her) is broken.
= Mother-in-Law
R= my husband
Mishi/me = me

This story takes place over 3 days.
Day 1:
Hey Mishi, send R over will you? I need him to swap my SIM card into a different phone right now because this one is playing up. I charged it and it got hot so now I'm using a different phone.
Me: Well he has to drop the munchkin off at kindy, then go to work so he'll have to do it this afternoon.
So he'll be here in a few minutes then? Great!

I handed the home phone off to R, who had to explain several times why he couldn't fix the phone right that instant, then handed it off to his younger brother who starts work a little later.

Afternoon of Day 1:
Yeah, I only had it charging for 12 HOURS, then it got really hot so I took it off of the charger, then sort of waited sorta like 10 minutes, then it wouldn't turn on. I sorta waited a while, until it was cool, then I tried charging it for 4 hours, then it got hot and didn't even sorta say it was like charging.
Me: 12 hours???
Yeah, and it's stupid because I sorta only bought the new battery a coupla months ago, so I'll take it back and get them to change it. It's their fault for selling such a bad product, right? And I'll make sure I gets a discount too!
Me: Ummm okay, good luck with that!

Day 2:
I received a call about how to fix the texting ability on her borrowed phone so that the words are right, because it's broken. (Auto-spell) I fail to explain it correctly over the phone and get told that she's take it back to her sister because she obviouly knows more.

Day 3:
*sitting at the table, phones in front* Stupid people, gave me ANOTHER bad battery, my old one usta last for a week and this one don't even last for sorta two days!
R: How long did you charge it for?
They said it was charged! But its not charging and it just gets warm!
R: *Picks up phone, rattling sound comes out* I think its broken Mum.
Hang on, I'm fixing that *pulls apart other phone* here give me that, I wanna put this battery in that phone.
R: But it's a different model from a different brand!
Still a mobile phone though, you'd think they'd make it so it'll fit. *Tries to insert battery* Stupid phone companies, trying to rip everyone off! *Tries again*
Everyone: Leave it alone!
I'll just go to the place they gave me a card for, they said the bloke there would fix it. See? *shows R the card*
R: Mum, we have that store down the road!
But they said he could fix it! So I'ma gonna go ask him, make sure he does it for cheap too!

Am I the only one that thinks that the battery store is sending her to someone in the chain that they hate? Kudos to them for separating her from her beloved phone for a night of testing! Tomorrow we get to explain that it is stuffed and she needs a new one, oh joy

[Aut]

That's sorta messed up.

[HYHYBT]

I'm a bit confused about the part about charging it, though. Every rechargeable device I've ever seen has been designed to stop charging when it's full, so there is nothing wrong with leaving it plugged in for as long as you like. If it's getting hot, something's wrong with either the phone or the battery... or maybe I'm misreading the whole thing.

[Mishi]

I'm a bit confused about the part about charging it, though. Every rechargeable device I've ever seen has been designed to stop charging when it's full, so there is nothing wrong with leaving it plugged in for as long as you like. If it's getting hot, something's wrong with either the phone or the battery... or maybe I'm misreading the whole thing.

Don't quite know how to explain it, but when this phone is left on while charging, it starts heating when it has gotten to the full mark. I've seen other (older) phones do it, they finish charging, stop showing that it is charging, use a teeny bit of battery, then start charging again - repeating this over and over until you take it off. She also tend to leave it on her bed to charge, or sometimes a tea towel in the kitchen, not sure of the point behind this but I'm afraid to ask.

[phantasy]

When I got my first phone, I used to charge it when I went to bed. So, it would charge for a good 6 or 7 hours before I wake up. After about 3 months, my phone went up, but it was under warranty so I took it back to the store. They told me that I had overcharged it, and explained that when the phone is done charging, about an hour or two and it's still plugged in, the charger starts to "forcefeed" the charge into the battery, and eventually starts to damage the battery, and the phone. I ended up getting a replacement.

A phone battery should always be perfectly flat. A damaged/overcharged battery will seem swollen, a little bit fat. Once the battery is damaged, the phone is likely to be damaged too. (After all, you wouldn't know the battery is damaged until the phone starts acting funky)

Anyway, she sounds like oodles of fun! *sarcasm*. Good luck with her.

[TheSHAD0W]

Modern charging circuitry will usually prevent damage to the battery. I haven't had problems with overcharging on my regular cell phone in the last 5 years, even though it sometimes sits connected to the charger for a few days straight. I do have a couple of emergency phones, which I keep plugged in at certain locations, which have had battery problems like you describe. It takes over a year for that to appear though.

[Flying Grype]

She also tend to leave it on her bed to charge, or sometimes a tea towel in the kitchen, not sure of the point behind this but I'm afraid to ask.

Aaagh. Get her a newer phone that doesn't heat up like that, so that she doesn't set the house on fire!

[Mishi]

She's getting a new phone today, and planning to charge it for a minimum of 12 hours to "make sure the charge sticks to the battery" WTF?

[HYHYBT]

Every new rechargeable device I've had recommended an extra-long charge the first time; I think it's usually 24 hours.

If a modern device or battery gets that hot just from being plugged in, no matter how long you leave it, there is something wrong with either it or the charger.

[Chromatix]

I'm extremely surprised that any phone made recently cannot stop charging when the battery is full.

I have an eight-year-old basic Nokia phone that can - whether it had the original NiMH or the new Li-ion battery in it. This is extremely useful, as I can leave it on charge semi-permanently with a British SIM card in it, and just pick it up when I go there to avoid roaming charges. Since it's very frugal, I often don't even have to take the charger with me.

[Shalom]

I have an eight-year-old basic Nokia phone that can - whether it had the original NiMH or the new Li-ion battery in it.

Nokia phones, which I've owned since my first 5180 all the way back in '98, if you plug them in when they don't need to be, will show you an icon of a stop sign and the words "Battery full". (I've also seen "Not charging".) It then proceeds to ignore the charger; at least I've never had one get warm from that.

(I do have an old cordless phone with NiCd batteries which will overcharge and overheat if you leave it on the base too long. I haven't seen NiCd batteries in cell phones in years, though.)