Battery not lasting on 3 HUAWEI mobile WiFi E5573 ?

Bleating Lamb

Hi all,
Am not the most technically savvy so apologies in advance for any silly questions;)
Basically got Three Mobile Broadband to use with phone and computer at home.
Purchased HAUWEI Mobile WiFi E5573 dongle with plan.The dongle charged fine initially for me but am finding now that it is only holding the charge for around an hour at a time:(.

Only have it a few months and it's not even used that often and has not been dropped/damaged in any way so am a bit disappointed with its performance.
In the ' Quick Start' guide that came with the Dongle regarding charging all it says to do if mobile wifi has not been used for a long time or battery is fully depleted is to 'please charge the battery 'for a while' before attempting to power on the mobile wifi'........vague terminology!

It's meant to stay charged for at least 5 hours, when charging I was always mindful that say with a mobile phone they say not to leave them charging for too long eg overnight....so would have charged Dongle until the fully charged green light came on....usually around 4 hours.

So is this a faulty Dongle and will I have a good case for a free replacement if I return it to the 3 shop I bought it in?
Would really appreciate any feedback from anyone on this problem,
Thanks.

Ps- Sorry for long post:)

Bleating Lamb

Really appreciate any feedback on this,thanks.

ED E

Basically got Three Mobile Broadband to use with phone and computer at home.

Why have you got a mifi device when its fixed position? Grab a 4G router from Huawei and use that, no charging at all.

Bleating Lamb

ED E wrote: »

Why have you got a mifi device when its fixed position? Grab a 4G router from Huawei and use that, no charging at all.

Maybe I misnamed the device,....it's the small rectangular shaped black plastic device with 3 logo on it that you can charge up and use ' on the go'.

ED E

I know what it is. But if you want to use it A. At home and B. Not constantly plugged in then its the wrong device for you.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-Unlocked-Mobile-Wi-Fi-Router/dp/B013P15G4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449591009&sr=8-1&keywords=Huawei+B315

Thats much more suitable.

Bleating Lamb

ED E wrote: »

I know what it is. But if you want to use it A. At home and B. Not constantly plugged in then its the wrong device for you.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-Unlocked-Mobile-Wi-Fi-Router/dp/B013P15G4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449591009&sr=8-1&keywords=Huawei+B315

Thats much more suitable.

Didn't intend to indicate you didnt know what I was talking about;)...as I mentioned I'm not most techie savvy,my basic question was shouldn't the dongle be holding its charge properly for 5 hrs+ without been plugged in considering its only a few months of age?

So is it more than likely a bit of a dud dongle??

Bleating Lamb

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Didn't intend to indicate you didnt know what I was talking about;)...as I mentioned I'm not most techie savvy,my basic question was shouldn't the dongle be holding its charge properly for 5 hrs+ without been plugged in considering its only a few months of age?

So is it more than likely a bit of a dud dongle??

Once fully charged it shouldn't need to be plugged in at all.

ED E

Theyre designed for use in a car or a campsite etc, not permanent access.

But yeah, it should be better assuming you arent in a shít coverage area.

Bleating Lamb

ED E wrote: »

Theyre designed for use in a car or a campsite etc, not permanent access.

But yeah, it should be better assuming you arent in a shít coverage area.

Thanks for replies.....how would the quality of the broadband coverage in an area affect how long the modem/Dongle stayed charged for as a matter of interest?

ED E

Good coverage = happy cellular modem = few pings out to look for new towers.
Bad coverage = unhappy... = more pings = battery burn.

editorsean

Unlike lead acid batteries (as used in cars), Lithium Ion batteries as used in laptops and mobile phones including dongles and laptops don't like being kept at 100% charged as the high voltage causes stress on the battery. The same goes with elevated temperature above 30C. This is the main reason Lithium Ion batteries are supplied partially charged as this minimises deterioration between the time the battery is manufactured and when it reaches the end user.

A MiFi heats up while in use, particularly in bad coverage areas where it needs to use elevated transmission power to communicate with the cell tower. By keeping it plugged in around the clock makes matters worse as the battery in turn gets warm from the device in operation and the power regulation circuitry gives off additional heat while plugged in. This maintained heat in addition to keeping the battery at high charge voltage will deteriorate it much quicker than cycling it and switching the device off when not in use.

The following article goes in to more detail about how Lithium Ion batteries deteriorate and how to prolong them:
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

It would be worth going to the Three shop to see if they will exchange it or replace its battery if it's still under warranty, considering it's just a few months old.