I have one small question about my 30GB 5G iPod. I've noticed the little battery symbol in the corner can be in the 'red' region while the light is on, but then jump back up to the 'green' region as soon as the light is allowed to turn off. Also, it doesn't seem to accurately represent how long the battery lasts. Is this normal?
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iPod Battery Question
- Thread starter Sathos
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Maybe calibrate your iPod's battery. Completely discharge it until it won't turn on, then plug it in and charge it completely up until it's full and discharge it again afterwards.
BTW, I know earlier iPods (4G and earlier) needed an actual wall charger (not the computer) to get that first bit of charge on when they'd been completely flattened so maybe don't try this if you don't have the power adaptor.
BTW, I know earlier iPods (4G and earlier) needed an actual wall charger (not the computer) to get that first bit of charge on when they'd been completely flattened so maybe don't try this if you don't have the power adaptor.
So, should I discharge the battery until it can't turn on, and then not charge it until I'm able to get a wall charger? I just got it today, figured out how to put the music/videos on etc, but I'm not sure on how to charge the thing, or what I should or shouldn't be doing On average, how much do wall chargers cost?
On average, how much do wall chargers cost?
Well, a charger costs CA$39 or so. If you have access t one, see if you can borrow it momentarily. It's only the first few seconds that it needs the computer for. FWIW, it'll probably work on the computer anyway (charge from the computer) although USB isn't the greatest charging medium and it'll be trying to sync at the same time which will take up valuable cable bandwidth so I'd turn iTunes off first.
Don't completely discharge it until you have a means to charge it again.
As for battery indicators, they generally are adaptive which means they account for how much battery you are using instantaneously and then predict how much time you have left according to current usage. This could be why the indicator goes back into the green when the light turns off.
Don't completely discharge it until you have a means to charge it again.
As for battery indicators, they generally are adaptive which means they account for how much battery you are using instantaneously and then predict how much time you have left according to current usage. This could be why the indicator goes back into the green when the light turns off.
mad jew said:Well, a charger costs CA$39 or so. If you have access t one, see if you can borrow it momentarily. It's only the first few seconds that it needs the computer for. FWIW, it'll probably work on the computer anyway (charge from the computer) although USB isn't the greatest charging medium and it'll be trying to sync at the same time which will take up valuable cable bandwidth so I'd turn iTunes off first.
Don't completely discharge it until you have a means to charge it again.
Ok, thank you for the help. I'll keep an eye out for a wall charger, as it seems useful anyways. One more question - iTunes seems to pop up when I plug the iPod in. Is it supposed to do this? How do I get it to charge? I have it set to manually update songs, so it doesn't try to automatically update, but it only says 'Do Not Disconnect' on the iPod with a red circle with a line through it, until I eject the iPod.
In the iPod preferences within iTunes, there's a box labelled Open iTunes When iPod Attached or something like that. Uncheck it.
Alright, I think I get it now. Sorry for all the stupid questions Just to clarify, fully discharging my iPod and then using the computer to fully recharge it won't kill my iPod, right? I do intend to buy a wall charger soon, but for the moment the computer is all that's available to me. Other than that, I think I'm done with my stupid questions
Just to clarify, fully discharging my iPod and then using the computer to fully recharge it won't kill my iPod, right? I do intend to buy a wall charger soon, but for the moment the computer is all that's available to me. Other than that, I think I'm done with my stupid questions
Okay, if you intend to buy a wall charger then don't discharge the iPod yet. The problem is that in my experience, the computer doesn't charge up a completely flat iPod because it is using the same cable to both try and charge, plus sync music. Whilst completely flattening the battery won't harm your iPod directly, it may mean that you cannot charge it again until you get the adaptor. I recommend calibrating the battery (this technique of flattening then charging) once you have an adaptor.
Sorry if this isn't making much sense, I had far too much Christmas cheer yesterday.
Sorry if this isn't making much sense, I had far too much Christmas cheer yesterday.
mad jew said:Okay, if you intend to buy a wall charger then don't discharge the iPod yet. The problem is that in my experience, the computer doesn't charge up a completely flat iPod because it is using the same cable to both try and charge, plus sync music. Whilst completely flattening the battery won't harm your iPod directly, it may mean that you cannot charge it again until you get the adaptor. I recommend calibrating the battery (this technique of flattening then charging) once you have an adaptor.
Sorry if this isn't making much sense, I had far too much Christmas cheer yesterday.
Thank you, it's making sense
Okay, I won't fully discharge it. However, can I still recharge it on the computer without discharging it? I'd like to bring it out shopping with me tomorrow, and my battery is fairly low already I think, so if I could let it charge for a while without any damage, that would be great.
Yeah, generally speaking the computer is an iPod charger but for various reasons, it will not charge a completely discharged iPod. It's perfectly fine to charge from the computer though. I barely use my charger, I just leave the iPod in the Dock connected to the Mac.
mad jew said:Yeah, generally speaking the computer is an iPod charger but for various reasons, it will not charge a completely discharged iPod. It's perfectly fine to charge from the computer though. I barely use my charger, I just leave the iPod in the Dock connected to the Mac.
Okay, thank you so much for all your help! Looks like I'll be heading to the Apple store tomorrow to look for a wall charger
Brilliant. Remember to tell them you've got a 5G because even though an older Firewire adaptor will probably work, I think a USB one is a safer bet.