What is Eco charging mode?

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There’s a short description in this article:

They state the following:

Speaking of battery: this offers a capacity of 3000mAh, can be easily replaced by the user and can also be quickly charged via Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0. If desired, the user can also use a so-called “Eco-Charge Mode”. This charges the device more gently and thus helps to extend the service life.

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Well… the only thing they explain about that mode is:

This is still not at all useful and explains nothing. It is exactly the same as stated in the FAQ. No technical details.

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As I said:

I said nothing about technical details… :yum:

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I just found some more infos about Eco-Charge Mode here:

https://www.androidauthority.com/fairphone-3-review-1023112/

Update: I asked Fairphone about “ecocharge”, a term the team used without a full explanation regarding extending battery life. Here’s Fairphone’s response in clarifying what ecocharge actually is:

“Fairphone created a charging mechanism that charges the Fairphone 3 to 85 % in 90 mins and then completes the full charge. This mechanism will help keep the Fairphone 3 battery in service for longer – typical fast charging systems can reduce the battery capacity by up to 60-70 % after 500 cycles (approximately 18 months of usage) Fairphone 3’s charging methods will extend the life of the battery well beyond the expected capacity. A FP3 battery will still be over 90% using the same 500 cycles – 18 month timescales.”

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This still does not explain the technical details, i.e. how they do so, but these are very interesting details anyway. Thanks.

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I read it like charge fast until 85%, the switch to slower and less stressful charging until 100%.

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I noticed that the linked support page doesn’t mention the eco charging mode any more - and can’t find any settings for it on my FP3, either. So does anyone know if this “nifty feature” has been dumped?

I was quite happy that I wouldn’t have to use an extra app like AccuBattery anymore to keep my battery alive for a longer time. But now I think, I should…

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Quite an interesting observation.
There seem to have been some modifications to the specs.
This eco charging-mode like the FM-radio, that initially was announced are really sad to see gone.
I really wish, that FP would be clear and open when dropping such features of the phone.
Even more so, since the homepages of some resellers don’t seem to reflect those new developments.
E.g.
Vireo states in the features list:

Qualcomm Quick Charge support: No

while the FP-support page (already mentioned above) features a parapgraph:

Quick charge

The FP3 supports Quick Charge. This means you can supply your battery with new energy quicker than before using a Quick Charge compliant USB Type-C cable. For quick charging, you will need charging equipment that enables this. It must be QC 3.0 with a maximum output of 3 Ampere and must be a USB certified brand.

Plus they sell the USB-charger stating this:

Fairphone 3 supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 to allow you to get the most out of your device.

@Monica.Ciovica
Maybe you could help to lift some of the fog around the FP3 feature list and make a final statement of what is and is not included as a blogpost or on the specs page.
Some explanation regarding changes to the feature list would be a most welcome extra. :wink:

Plus: FP should really check the homepages of the resellers for accuracy, since they happened to change the features list.

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Hi Bert, thank you for pointing this out! I’ll make sure to share this with the team so we are aligned on the information provided to customers. :slight_smile:

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Hello @Monica.Ciovica,
I asked a few questions similar to this before there was no clear answer (that I found, anyway) - and yes, I know these are off topic, but they are relevant to general point that @BertG made:

The Wifi certification (https://www.wi-fi.org/product-finder-results?sort_by=default&sort_order=desc&keywords=fairphone) does not list Miracast support but your website does. Which is correct?

Your press conference and many of the online articles say that the FP3 only supports Bluetooth 4.2, but your website and the certification (https://launchstudio.bluetooth.com/ListingDetails/91763) say that it supports Bluetooth 5.0. Which is correct?

Your website says the phone only supports USB 2.0 over USB-C, which is quite unusual. Please can you confirm if the FP3 supports USB 3.x?

Does the FP3 support any kind of TV-out over USB via an alternate mode? E.g. Displayport, HDMI or MHL?

Please can you provide full detail on which USB and NFC functions the FP3 supports?

Thanks.

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I got an answer from the Fairphone support - and it seems eco charging mode still exists:

About the eco charging mode, it is an FP3 feature. It is designed to handle the phone charging more efficiently and assures the quality of the battery. To reduce the impact batteries have on the environment, the Eco charging feature on Fairphone 3 offers customers an efficient use of energy and a longer battery lifetime, and it’s enabled on the phone by default.

Also, about an app, we don’t recommend to use apps to improve battery life because they can interfere with the normal functionality of the phone.

Good to hear.

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I think that on the eco mode charges the battery with 5 volt at 2A. When you charge the battery with more voltage (without eco mode), the battery’s lifetime decreases.
The battery cannot charge with more that 2A input, that’s why they choose this way (by increasing the voltage) to charge faster.

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The charge time of a battery is determined by the current, its voltage is basically fixed. If you use higher voltage for the device, it needs an internal circuitry which transforms high voltage and low current into low voltage and high current for the battery. However, high current causes more stress to the battery and usually decreases lifetime.

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Hi,
I was really interested in the “slow charging mode”. Any news about it? Is it really removed forever? :frowning: Thanks in advance.
Regards,

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Well, according to Fairphone (see this post: What is Eco charging mode?), the eco charging has been implemented into the FP3. The battery actually takes longer for the final few percents to load, which might be standard battery behaviour or deliberate “slow charge”. Only Fairphone knows for sure - and only time will tell if the FP3’s battery actually has a longer lifespan than the FP2’s.

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Here’s a question : How do you turn off eco-mode ? Because my FP3 charges in eco-mode all the time and when it’s discharged it sometimes takes like a full night before getting charged back up to 40%.
Or is there something else that is wrong with my phone ?

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From what I understood, the eco charging mode only makes an effect when the battery is a 80% or more.

So I’d say your problem has nothing to do with with eco charging mode.
Sound more like a cable/charger that is not compatible enough to support fast charging.

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Eco just means regular (i. e. slow) charging after reaching 90 %.

You are going to need a charger capable of Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and a cable which is USB IF certified - for example the official accessories from Fairphone - if you want yo quick charge your phone.

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Thanks for the answer !

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