battery life getting weaker

It is a chemistry issue. All batteries wear out with use and over time. There are some mitigation techniques to make it last a bit longer but eventually they all need to be replaced.

sounds about right. The G5 is a four year old phone at this point

Dave98 wrote: ↑ sounds about right. The G5 is a four year old phone at this point

Actually, my phone is only 1 year old, bought new, so there's a prb I guess?

That's kinda just what batteries do

Right out of the box it's pretty common for the battery on a brand new phone to only be ~95% of that advertised.

It will deteriorate over time. If you run accubattery it will tell you what your battery health roughly is.

tranquility922 wrote: ↑ Actually, my phone is only 1 year old, bought new, so there's a prb I guess?

It doesn't really matter when you bought it. Even battery not going under recycling will lost some durability especially if they lost all their charge during storage.

tranquility922 wrote: ↑I always leave the phone plugged in overnight so it's at 100% for a long time...is that what's making the battery weaker?

Yes. The ideal charge state for lithium ion batteries is 50%. The longer that it stays at either extreme (0 or 100, or even just close to those), the faster it will lose capacity. So using a lower-power charger just before going to sleep is better than using a high-power charger earlier in the evening an leaving it that way until morning. More hours fully charged wears it out faster.

Most people who use a lower power charger and drain off the top 20% during morning routines will have a better experience, simply because the phone spends all day closer to the ideal 50%.

Virtually all lithium ion devices ship with a half-charged battery specifically to provide the best shelf life until it's sold and put into service.

jackrabbit000 wrote: ↑ Just order a battery from eBay for ~$12 and change it out yourself.

Which, in the case of the G5 is a snap! (almost literally). One of the last phones designed with an easily- removed battery.

tranquility922 wrote: ↑ Actually, my phone is only 1 year old, bought new, so there's a prb I guess?

Actually it doesn't matter when you bought your phone. When was it manufactured and how long did it sit in a box before you bought it.

jackrabbit000 wrote: ↑Just order a battery from eBay for ~$12 and change it out yourself.

kr0zet wrote: ↑ Actually it doesn't matter when you bought your phone. When was it manufactured and how long did it sit in a box before you bought it.

So does this apply to a new battery that I buy, it may already be weakened (sitting in storage for X years) so why bother?

tranquility922 wrote: ↑ So does this apply to a new battery that I buy, it may already be weakened (sitting in storage for X years) so why bother?

You'd get another year out of it (that's how long you got out of your current one), or longer if you're more conscientious about your charging.

The bigger issue now, though, is finding a real OEM battery for the phone. You're much more likely to end up with either a counterfeit, or having to settle for buying a crappy third party one.