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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > Is it bad to always have iPhone plugged in?

Is it bad to always have iPhone plugged in?
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DeeKat
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Aug 7, 2009, 04:16 PM
 
How the Lithium ion battery behaves? I read that an Li battery not only doesn't have a memory so it allright to charge it whenever possible? Is it true? Deep depleting the battery is apparently bad, as we did with older types of battery.

I want to make sure I dont screw up my new iPhone's battery right off the bat.

Thanks
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Big Mac
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Aug 7, 2009, 06:28 PM
 
This question has been answered many times over, so you may want to do a forum search next time. Continuous charging is not a good thing to do because it wears the battery cells out (depleting the recharge cycles available) and exposes the battery to greater heat than it would otherwise endure.

Apple - Batteries - iPhone
( Last edited by Big Mac; Aug 11, 2009 at 01:19 AM. )

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SSharon
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Aug 9, 2009, 08:56 PM
 
My first gen iphone is now over 2 years old. I have plugged it in overnight every single night since I bought it and the battery still lasts me through a full day of heavy use.

I don't expect a cell phone to last as long as a laptop and so I don't care about being extra careful with the battery. I use it in a way that is the most convenient for me and that's it.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
ort888
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Aug 10, 2009, 12:42 PM
 
My understanding is that you are best of leaving it plugged in all the time.

If it's sitting on your desk at 100% then there is no wear on the battery at all.

I've been told to not worry about it at all. I always charge everything without a care in the world and I never notice any problems with anything.

My laptop batteries usually go bad after about 3 years, but my phones and iPods always stay the same. They always go obsolete or break for other reasons way before the batteries ever act up.

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DeeKat  (op)
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Aug 10, 2009, 08:13 PM
 
Originally Posted by Big Mac View Post
This question has been answered many times over, so you may want to do a forum search next time. Continuous charging is not a good thing to do because it wears the battery cells out (depleting the recharge cycles available).

Apple - Batteries - iPhone
Appel never says, in that link, that continuous charging is bad. Do you have any other references?
     
DeeKat  (op)
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Aug 10, 2009, 08:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
My understanding is that you are best of leaving it plugged in all the time.

If it's sitting on your desk at 100% then there is no wear on the battery at all.

I've been told to not worry about it at all. I always charge everything without a care in the world and I never notice any problems with anything.

My laptop batteries usually go bad after about 3 years, but my phones and iPods always stay the same. They always go obsolete or break for other reasons way before the batteries ever act up.
I read the same thing on other forum. continuous charging is apparently ok. It doesn't damage the battery.

If any of you guys have a link to an article that states otherwise please post. I'm very courious to know the bottom line on this.
     
AKcrab
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Aug 10, 2009, 08:23 PM
 
If you continuously charge, you'll never do this:
Use iPhone Regularly
For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).
Which is in the article posted by Big Mac.
     
Big Mac
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Aug 11, 2009, 01:13 AM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
My understanding is that you are best of leaving it plugged in all the time. If it's sitting on your desk at 100% then there is no wear on the battery at all.
That advice is wrong, but thank you for playing.

Here's another link on the subject:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007..._batteries.php

Keeping a battery plugged in continuously will reduce the charge capacity of the battery over time. Take the battery off A/C every so often if you want to follow Apple's guidelines.
( Last edited by Big Mac; Aug 11, 2009 at 01:24 AM. )

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Simon
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Aug 11, 2009, 02:25 AM
 
Although keeping it plugged in all the time does not cost you cycles, it's still bad per Apple's guidelines because it doesn't "keep the electrons flowing". If you keep it plugged in all the time to avoid cycles, you should still cycle it at least once a month. That is actually Apple's advice.

Keep in kind that cycling it once a month means it'll take 8 years to reach just 100 cycles. I doubt you'll be using the same iPhone in eight years from now. And the battery will definitely last 100 cycles and keep a decent charge if otherwise handled properly during that time.
     
DeeKat  (op)
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Aug 11, 2009, 10:15 AM
 
Thanks Big Mac, I've been receiving so much contradictory info on this it's amazing. Most of the iPhone owners I know don’t agree between themselves!

I guest it's my fault, I didn't express myself clearly enough. I don't intent to leave the iPhone on the charge all the time, day in, day out. Like a laptop used as a desktop replacement.

In my line of work, l'm at my desk most of the time, leaving office for some punctual stuff. I was basically thinking of leaving iPhone on it's dock while at my desk. This would mean that the iPhone would be on charge 70% of the time, not all the time. I started this thread because It's very counter-intuitive for me to put on charge an electronic device that still at, let say, 70% of it’s charge. Being drilled by the older, «memory» battery, even when i’m at my desk, so far I leave the iPhone depleting itself fearing that if I plug it, I will ruin my battery. Of course I would cycle it a couple of times a month so the electrons flow properly...

So, knowing all that, would it be fair to assume that my usage is alright?
     
ort888
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Aug 11, 2009, 11:42 AM
 
Originally Posted by Big Mac View Post
That advice is wrong, but thank you for playing.

Here's another link on the subject:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007..._batteries.php

Keeping a battery plugged in continuously will reduce the charge capacity of the battery over time. Take the battery off A/C every so often if you want to follow Apple's guidelines.
My advice is not wrong. Give me a break. I do a full cycle every so often.... who doesn't with an iPhone? I'm just saying that worrying a lot about it or always doing full discharges is dumb. Maybe I should have made that more clear.

My dad is so worried about hurting his battery that he NEVER charges it until it's empty. He goes from full charge to empty every time he charges... and he's so paranoid about running out of battery that he leaves his phone off all the time. I know other people who do the same. It's just not worth the headache.

Charge it up. Don't sweat it. If it starts acting flakey, just do a complete cycle to reset it.

It's just not worth worrying about at all. That's my opinion. Save your time and brain power for something more important.

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SSharon
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Aug 11, 2009, 08:06 PM
 
Originally Posted by ort888 View Post
My advice is not wrong. Give me a break. I do a full cycle every so often.... who doesn't with an iPhone? I'm just saying that worrying a lot about it or always doing full discharges is dumb. Maybe I should have made that more clear.

My dad is so worried about hurting his battery that he NEVER charges it until it's empty. He goes from full charge to empty every time he charges... and he's so paranoid about running out of battery that he leaves his phone off all the time. I know other people who do the same. It's just not worth the headache.

Charge it up. Don't sweat it. If it starts acting flakey, just do a complete cycle to reset it.

It's just not worth worrying about at all. That's my opinion. Save your time and brain power for something more important.
Agreed. And this is basically what I said above.

It's a cell phone - accept that it has a rather finite life and use it accordingly. There is no reason to baby the battery or to keep it in a waterproof and shock proof case. Cycle it monthly and don't worry about anything else.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
   
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