Mmm. Don't do this with Li-Ion batteries. Let me reiterate that: do _NOT_ do
this with Li-ion batteries.

If you took the battery apart and spot-charged each cell individually for a
short period it probably still wouldn't work and you might set fire to your
house.

Worth the extra 15 quid (or whatever) trade-in? No.

Plus you'd have no chance of trading in the resultant mess anyway even in
the remote possibility that it did actually produce something that worked.

You might manage to get a replacement battery but that'll probably cost more
than the trade-in value.

G

I did read somewhere that if you place the battery in a freezer bag and
stick in the freezer compartment for 24 hours this can pro long battery life
or kick start it. As a general rule you should store battery's de-charged
and in a cool place when not used for any length of time. Maybe someone will
confirm the first bit.

I would suggest writing to the team at Brainiac here:-
http://www.skyone.co.uk/programmes/brainiac/

Could make an interesting programme - especially if they try to promote
the battery life with the help of explosives.

If it is a NiCd battery (e.g. in a very old phone) then you might try
to "unfuse" the metallic whisker growth that sometimes forms inside
old NiCd cells and causes internal shorts.

Google can probably find suitable references but the basic idea is to
apply a larger charge current then usual (an amp or two I think), for
just a second or so, directly to the battery (i.e. off the phone) from
something like a car battery charger.   Then attempt to charge the
battery normally in the phone.

This isn't guaranteed to work but if the battery is shagged you have
nothing to lose.

Dunno if NiMH cells suffer the same internal shorting effect. Anyone?