Battery Notifier BT 2020 now available at Google Play

After having been removed because it had an unacceptable word in the title, the new version of our 2020 app which you don't have to pay for and which is optimized for Android 10 and up, is once again available at Google Play for you to download.

Non-Pro version of 2020 app removed by Google

Recently, the version of our 2020 app that you didn't have to pay for was removed by Google because it had the four letter word starting with F and ending with REE in its title.  Apparently, this is a new policy with Google banning any "promotional" words despite...

1. It not being a promotion (You didn't have to pay for it from the start) and...

2. There still are lots and lots of apps currently on Google Play with that word in the title or image of their app, including Tubi, Xumo, Redbox, LG, and more.  Just search for that word at Google Play and you will see all the apps there are with that word as of 11/27/2021.

We appealed, but we were rejected.  Anyone who has appealed a decision by Google or YouTube before knows how far that gets you.

We are currently in the process of updating and uploading a compliant version of the app without that awful word in the title or in any of the images, and in the meantime, if you wish to support the little guy instead of the Tubis, Xumos and Redboxes of the world who all seem to be exempt from Google rules for some reason, we encourage you to purchase Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 at what we consider a very reasonable price.  :-)

Will original Battery Notifier work on Android 10 and up?

If you install either Battery Notifier Pro BT (For Android 9 and under) or Battery Notifier BT Free (For Android 9 and under) on a device running Android 10 or higher, you may get a notice that says "This app was built for an older version of Android and may not work properly.  Try checking for updates, or contact the developer".

Even though Battery Notifier Pro BT and Battery Notifier BT Free are meant for devices using Android 9 or under, it still may work on Android 10 and higher on some devices if you still want colored notifications in the status bar.  After buying an Onn tablet from Walmart with Android 10, and after downloading the original Battery Notifier BT Free from Google Play, the colored battery level numbers show up just fine.  The only way to know for sure if it will work on your device if you still want to see green, as well as blue, orange and red numbers as the battery level drops is to try it.

Unfortunately, mainly because a lot of devices like Samsung have their own special tweaks to Android including their own UI or overlays, some devices will either show nothing in the status bar or a white square.  For these devices you need to use the 2020 version with white only notifications, either Pro or free, which is 100% compatible with Android 10 and up.

IF YOU BOUGHT BATTERY NOTIFIER PRO BT, GET THE 2020 VERSION FREE!

Because Google did not let us update our current app for Android 10 and up and keep colored numbers in the status bar, we created a new app with white only notifications and one that was 100% compatible with Android 10 and up. Since it is a new app, if you previously bought Battery Notifier Pro BT, you will be asked to purchase the 2020 version.  We do not feel this is right.  So if you previously bought Battery Notifier Pro BT, before buying the 2020 version, send us an email from within the app (Send feedback) so we can verify your purchase, ask for a promo code, and we will send you a link with a promo code to download Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 for free.

Inaccurate Battery Readings / No Full Battery Alarm

One issue we keeping getting is when someone emails us and says his or her battery level readings are way off, or the full battery alarm never goes off even when it reads 100%.  Since the typical charger applies less and less charge to the device as it approaches 100% (sometimes down to a trickle) so as to not overcharge the battery, it may sometimes take a bit longer (20 minutes or more) after the battery level reads 100% until the device reads the battery as being full and the full battery alarm finally goes off.  This is why it is generally safe to leave the device on the charger overnight.  However, there are sometimes when the full battery alarm NEVER goes off.  Or the battery level reads that you have a significant amount of charge left, right before your device turns itself off because in reality it is completely drained.  I am going to address those issues in this post.

The problems mentioned above usually occur with two types of batteries.  One that is either very old, in which case it can no longer reach the 100% threshold it recognizes in its current batterystats.bin file it has been saving over the years during the battery's life, or in the case of a new battery and a new device, in which case not enough information has been collected yet in the batterystats.bin file for the device to determine exactly what percentage it thinks the battery is at.

Batteries these days come in various different sizes, so without charging the battery to 100% and then completely draining the battery to zero until the device turns itself off, there is no way for the batterystats.bin file to have enough information to accurately tell you what exactly the remaining battery level percentage is.  This is called calibrating the battery.  This should be done at least once when getting a new device, and when you have an older battery and you suspect the information in the batterystats.bin file has been corrupted because you are getting wildly inaccurate readings.

The following link gives an excellent guide on how to recalibrate the battery in case of a new or old battery that is giving you inaccurate battery level readings, or where the full battery alarm won't go off.

https://www.nextpit.com/how-to-calibrate-the-battery-on-your-android-device#without-root

The rest of the page is also worth a read, but the link above takes you directly to the method you should use to recalibrate the battery.

The very first smartphone I ever had was a Samsung with a replaceable battery, where after a few years the battery would never reach 100%, and would get to maybe 96% or 97% at most, and the full battery alarm would never go off.  The simple solution at the time was to just replace the battery.  However, if this is not an option, recalibrating the battery may be a solution.

Recently, I bought a refurbished Onn Android 10 tablet from Walmart which was considerably cheaper than a new one.  After charging the battery to 100%, the full battery alarm did not go off.  When going into the general Android battery settings, it said "100% charging" and not "100% full" which is what it should say, and which is probably why the full battery alarm never went off.  Both in the battery settings and in the Battery Notifier dashboard it should eventually say "Full" and not "Charging" when showing 100%.  Even more odd, when I unplugged the charger, it said "Last full charge 0 minutes ago" so I guess the device was confused.  That's what I get for buying a "refurbished" device I guess.

After carefully following the instructions for recalibrating the battery, my "refurbished" device still didn't read the battery as being full when reading 100%.  Fortunately, if you are stuck with a device like mine, there is a workaround if you have the Pro version of the app, either Battery Notifier Pro BT or Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020.  In the Pro version of the app there is a feature called "Custom full charge %".  Simply check that box and leave it set to 100%, and you will now get the battery alarm when it reaches 100%.  This is because the "Custom full charge %" option looks for the battery percentage to trigger the alarm and not to get a proper signal from the device that the battery is full.

Tips when recalibrating the battery...

If you have to drain the battery from 100% to zero multiple times, it can sometimes take forever to drain the battery to zero.  Here's what I do to speed up the process...

1) Make sure you are connected to the Internet.

2) Turn the brightness on the screen up as high as it will go.

3) Play a 10 hour long video on YouTube or watch a live streaming broadcast.

Suggested if you will be away from the device: LUCASTA live 24/7 rain video or Danny Louis 10 hour long videos of rain

Another method I found which also works really well to run the battery down faster is to use a live wallpaper.  One I found that is totally free and has no ads and no extra permissions is Blox Free: Live Wallpaper" by Fabmax.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.fabmax.blox.free

To speed up the process to drain the battery even faster, go into the settings for the Blox live wallpaper.  Under "Appearance" for "Animation speed" turn it up from 2.0 to 10.0.  Under "Effects" check the box for "Dynamic shadows".  Under "Performance" for "Performance presets" change from "Medium quality" to "High quality".