How are consumers affected by NiMH and Li-ion cell voltage reversal?

Series diodes do not make charging impossible, but it would be counter-productive to install them in a pack, due to the voltage drop already mentioned.

The whole discussion, while interesting, does not apply to most consumer devices - they use packs, not individually accessible cells. Most consumers do not have the knowledge, interest or capability to treat the individual cells that make up the pack. I'm reflecting back on your original post that discussed conditioning the cells and specified that you could acces them individually.

Real world, the consumer takes what he gets, and it usually survives the warranty period. What would be interesting is some hard engineering facts indicating how much the average life of packs could be extended if they were conditioned prior to assembly versus what it would cost. My expectation is that it would be a net loss to the consumer if cells were conditioned prior to assembly.

Ed

They don't?

Of course not. Just connect them the right way.

Discharging? Who said this was required...