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EmbraceTheOne

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 26, 2011
688
16
Do I need to fully charge it before I turn it onand use it? Or can I fire that sucker up? Everytime I see a review/unboxing of an iPhone, Everyone powers it on right away. Does this decrease battery life?

I've done some research on this, Some sites say yes, other sites say no. I know its an Li-on battery. But I don't know if it's better to charge it all the way, or let it die, then charge it.


Edit: I know it's going to have some juice in it. I just want to Maximize battery life.
 

GfPQqmcRKUvP

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2005
3,272
514
Terminus
I'm no electrical engineer, but I'm convinced it doesn't matter. That being said, they usually don't take that long to charge anyway so why not play with it while it's plugged in?
 

EmbraceTheOne

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 26, 2011
688
16
I'm no electrical engineer, but I'm convinced it doesn't matter. That being said, they usually don't take that long to charge anyway so why not play with it while it's plugged in?

Im convinced too.
But everyone I get a new Replacement phone (EnV Touch) It states Fully Charge it for 12 hours.

But then again, It's not Li-On.
 

forza69

macrumors 6502a
Jan 30, 2010
777
126
I remember reading somewhere that it's better to let your iPhone die completely then fully charge it. Not sure if it's true, but I'm going to do it anyway.
 

steve knight

macrumors 68030
Jan 28, 2009
2,735
7,180
I remember reading somewhere that it's better to let your iPhone die completely then fully charge it. Not sure if it's true, but I'm going to do it anyway.

it's silly and pointless. you can't fully drain the batteries (lucky you it would kill them) your going by peoples opinions on 10 year old battery data.
 

forza69

macrumors 6502a
Jan 30, 2010
777
126
it's silly and pointless. you can't fully drain the batteries (lucky you it would kill them) your going by peoples opinions on 10 year old battery data.

Meh, it doesn't really matter anyway. I'm sure once I unbox it, I'm going to want to play with it for a while so I'll need for it to be charging simultaneously. I just remembered where I read it from. It was actually a YouTube video by Jon Rettinger (jon4lakers). I know he's no tech guru, but he usually knows what he's talking about.
 

tahoeroscoe

macrumors regular
Apr 25, 2009
241
42
California
Doesnt matter on the newer lithium batteries. With old ni-cd batteries full cycles were important for battery endurance. Lithium batteries don't care.
 

theDUB

macrumors 6502a
Nov 15, 2008
564
0
SLT, CA
Here's everything you need to know: http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

When I get a new device, I always go through three full charge cycles when I first take it out of the box. That is, let it charge all the way, then use it until it shuts itself off and repeat 3 times. Yes, it's kind of inconvenient. Is it necessary? Probably not, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. One thing I can say is that my iPhone 3G, which I've been using since October of '08 still easily lasts 1+ day with normal use on a single charge.
 

mrsir2009

macrumors 604
Sep 17, 2009
7,505
156
Melbourne, Australia
What your supposed to do for max battery performance is don't charge your phone, instead use it until it completely dies from low battery. Then charge it overnight.
 

vitzr

macrumors 68030
Jul 28, 2011
2,765
3
California
"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)."

http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

Simple & easy, it works.
 

macinmac

macrumors member
Jul 30, 2011
68
0
Romania
I read an old post here on forum but I do not remember where..anyway I made an screenshot at that time, here it is:

iPhoneCharging.png
 

tahoeroscoe

macrumors regular
Apr 25, 2009
241
42
California
actually Li-on batteries do better of they are not drained as far as possible.

This for maximum battery longevity. And dont expose it to extreme temperatures.

All this draining and full charging business does nothing for battery life. Some people believe that if your battery % indicator is off then this will recalibrate it so the readout is more accurate, but it does nothing to actually extend the life of the battery.

It was true with ni-cd batteries of 10 years ago but modern lithium batteries don't need it.
 

steve knight

macrumors 68030
Jan 28, 2009
2,735
7,180
This for maximum battery longevity. And dont expose it to extreme temperatures.

All this draining and full charging business does nothing for battery life. Some people believe that if your battery % indicator is off then this will recalibrate it so the readout is more accurate, but it does nothing to actually extend the life of the battery.

It was true with ni-cd batteries of 10 years ago but modern lithium batteries don't need it.

very true topping them off works the best. But the fables about batteries still are though of as truth.
 

sddabrow

macrumors 6502
Oct 7, 2011
327
62
I am also not an electrical/materials engineer, but I am a mechanical engineer.

I listened in on a seminar regarding Lithium Ion batteries and how best to keep the earth 'green'. Per seminars with Professors who studied in these fields this was their response, which has proven true on the majority of my devices:

Do not keep a phone or laptop plugged in after it reaches 100% and do not let the battery drop below 20%. There is no need to cycle the power fully up and fully down, this was used on old technology to calibrate the sensors in the phone as well as the battery. If the charge is brought down to 0, the issue is the cells begin to slowly disperse/separate from one another causing degraded battery life.

Hope that helps - I found this to be true as my laptop batteries died so quickly from keeping them plugged in all the time.
 
Last edited:

Jimmy James

macrumors 603
Oct 26, 2008
5,488
4,067
Magicland
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forza69 said:
I remember reading somewhere that it's better to let your iPhone die completely then fully charge it. Not sure if it's true, but I'm going to do it anyway.

That was true fir NiMH and NiCad batteries. It's also the one thing you should avoid doing regularly with a lithium-based battery.
 
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