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j.leson

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 8, 2010
51
0
Should I leave my ipad plugged in whenever possible? I've read so many conflicting advice, and would like some clarification. I've been leaving my ipad plugged in when using it at home, and letting it discharge to 10% once a month, before re-charging.

Thanks!
 

TheWheelMan

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2011
982
0
I would say no to your specific question. You shouldn't just leave it plugged in when you aren't using it unless you are charging it up. It's not going to drain while it's unplugged, so why would you? You also should not drain it all the way very often, like the other poster suggested.
 

j.leson

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 8, 2010
51
0
I would say no to your specific question. You shouldn't just leave it plugged in when you aren't using it unless you are charging it up. It's not going to drain while it's unplugged, so why would you? You also should not drain it all the way very often, like the other poster suggested.

I read that leaving it plugged in would prevent the ipad from needlessly using charge cycles (My ipod touch only holds ~70% charge).

I do a lot of gaming/and use ipad as my laptop, so if I do not leave it plugged in, I'd end up charging it once a day.
 

donnaw

macrumors 65816
Apr 19, 2011
1,134
6
Austin TX
I plug mine in every night before I go to bed. Sometimes it's at 80% sometimes it's at 20% or less. I like having it fully charged each morning.

However, this time of year we have a lot of storms and many times the electricity goes out so I'll probably keep it as fully charged as possible when the weather looks to get bad. Last year my iPad 2 saved me a few times from being stuck in the dark with no access to weather info. I do love the 3G/LTE for that if nothing else.

I have used mine while plugged in when the charge was low and I needed it. It does, however, get a bit warmer if I use it while plugged in. Not too warm, just enough to tell the difference.
 

TheWheelMan

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2011
982
0

I meant that it's not going to drain whenever he leaves it lying around , at least not unless he leaves it lying around for months, which is how I read his question. It has a battery for a reason, so I don't see why he would assume you should only unplug it when you have no choice.

I don't know if that will save charge cycles or not.
 

Insulin Junkie

macrumors 65816
May 5, 2008
1,184
0
Mainland Europe

he forgot to mention that he comes from the future, and is posting from an ipad 10th gen, those don't drain when they're not plugged in.

----------

I meant that it's not going to drain whenever he leaves it lying around , at least not unless he leaves it lying around for months, which is how I read his question. It has a battery for a reason, so I don't see why he would assume you should only unplug it when you have no choice.


that' simply not true. an ipad will drain battery on standby. every day.
 

TheWheelMan

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2011
982
0
he forgot to mention that he comes from the future, and is posting from an ipad 10th gen, those don't drain when they're not plugged in.

----------




that' simply not true. an ipad will drain battery on standby. every day.

A tiny bit, as I stated above. It will last a long time though. Are being intentionally dense just to harass me? I haven't said anything untrue.
 

Insulin Junkie

macrumors 65816
May 5, 2008
1,184
0
Mainland Europe
A tiny bit, as I stated above. It will last a long time though. Are being intentionally dense just to harass me? I haven't said anything untrue.

Initially, you said " It's not going to drain while it's unplugged, so why would you?" that is just plain out FUD. I'm not harrassing you, I'm pointing out your mistake. The statement you made initially is arguably false. If you get butthurt easily, don't go spreading FUD and expect people to pass up on it. Actually, there's been quite a few people complaining of excessive battery draining when the ipad's in standby mode, most I've seen say it's around 5% a day on standby. My ipad drains around 3-5% every day when it's not being used. Not "nothing" or "a tiny bit, will last for months" at any rate.
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
Ladies there is no need for this childish behaviour.

Anyway op. iOS manages your battery when plugged in and will allow the battery to hit 100% stop charging then recharge when it drops slightly. You won't kill your battery leaving it plugged in. Nor will you kill it if you charge from 10, 20, 60 or whatever % on a daily basis providing once every 4 weeks or so you run the battery down and recharge fully. Relax and enjoy your iPad!
 

iapplelove

Suspended
Nov 22, 2011
5,324
7,638
East Coast USA
What ever battery percentage it's on when I leave the house I can sure bet it will be the exactly the same when I get home, and I'm talking about after say a full days work.. 8-10 hours later. sometimes I'm even expecting it to be down a few notches but nope. If my iPad is on say 75% charged it will be 75% charged when I get home been like this since day 1
 

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,075
1,445
Should I leave my ipad plugged in whenever possible? I've read so many conflicting advice, and would like some clarification. I've been leaving my ipad plugged in when using it at home, and letting it discharge to 10% once a month, before re-charging.

Thanks!

The battery will not be affected by being plugged when not in use. You cant hurt the battery this way.
A once in a while run-down to 10% or 0% is not going to hurt the battery either.

Running it to zero all the time, however, is not advisable.
 

NewtonApple

macrumors member
Apr 29, 2012
58
0
Ellijay GA
Why not just use it and enjoy the experience and at the end of the day, depending on the battery remaining, plug it in before you go to bed.

I do not think I could stand to have it plugged in while using my iPad. They gave it a long lasting battery for a reason.

Just relax and enjoy!:)
 

TheWheelMan

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2011
982
0
Initially, you said " It's not going to drain while it's unplugged, so why would you?" that is just plain out FUD. I'm not harrassing you, I'm pointing out your mistake. The statement you made initially is arguably false. If you get butthurt easily, don't go spreading FUD and expect people to pass up on it. Actually, there's been quite a few people complaining of excessive battery draining when the ipad's in standby mode, most I've seen say it's around 5% a day on standby. My ipad drains around 3-5% every day when it's not being used. Not "nothing" or "a tiny bit, will last for months" at any rate.

I haven't seen any drain myself when in standby.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,598
7,768
I do not think I could stand to have it plugged in while using my iPad. They gave it a long lasting battery for a reason.

Exactly! Leaving iPad plugged in will so constrain the way it's used! iPad was designed to be a portable device, and it's not so portable if it's plugged in. Both my iPad 1 and 2 were used unplugged every day, and then charged overnight from whatever % they were at to full. After a year of this, neither showed any appreciable deterioration in battery life. Don't worry about the battery and just use it, then charge it while you sleep. If you plan to keep iPad for more than a year, buy Apple care. That way, in the unlikely event that the battery does deteriorate on you, you can get it swapped.
 

Alexjones

macrumors 6502
May 28, 2010
421
0
Leo laporte on iPad today says its ok to leave it on fully charged. When its fully charged, It is not running off the battery any more. Its actually better to leave it plugged in and let it drain once a month.
 

Ladybug

macrumors 68000
Apr 13, 2006
1,874
1,013
I bought the iPad for its portability and convenience. If I had to leave it plugged in all the time, then I would likely just use my desktop. When my battery does go bad for whatever reason, I will just have it replaced whenever that becomes an issue. Think of it as maintenance and just enjoy your device. Most likely by the time the battery is gone, you will want a newer iPad anyway. JMHO!
 

martosprint

macrumors 6502
Jun 1, 2010
337
15
Florida
I've had the original iPad for two years now and I've been keeping it plugged in to the electric when I am not using it. I've never had a problem and it still stays charged at 100% every time I unplug it. Why would you want to unplug it after a full charge if you are not going to be using it for awhile?
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,598
7,768
I've had the original iPad for two years now and I've been keeping it plugged in to the electric when I am not using it. I've never had a problem and it still stays charged at 100% every time I unplug it. Why would you want to unplug it after a full charge if you are not going to be using it for awhile?

Sure, I see no reason to unplug it if you're not using it, but the OP is saying he keeps it plugged in *whle using it* because he's afraid the battery would detgrade if he puts it through too many charge cycles.
 

kralnor

macrumors member
May 29, 2012
70
2
I cycle mine. Full charge down to around 10-20%, recharge, repeat.

i'm curious why you do this. knowing the battery has a limited number of cycles it can go through, why unnecessarily plow through them like that?
 

Dweez

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2011
1,248
10
Down by the river
i'm curious why you do this. knowing the battery has a limited number of cycles it can go through, why unnecessarily plow through them like that?

I prefer to let the battery drain and then fully charge it. I don't use the device all that much, so I end up plugging it in once per week on average.
 

Knowimagination

macrumors 68020
Apr 6, 2010
2,201
1,248
i'm curious why you do this. knowing the battery has a limited number of cycles it can go through, why unnecessarily plow through them like that?

I don't think you understand how charge cycles work. if every day you run down to 80% and then recharge and run down to 80% again and recharge and do this 5 total times equals 1 charge cycle (charging 20% x 5). If I run my battery down once and then charge it fully that is also 1 charge cycle so unless you are using it while plugged in frequently its really no different.

From Apple.com:
Standard Charging
Most lithium-ion polymer batteries use a fast charge to charge your device to 80% battery capacity, then switch to trickle charging. That’s about two hours of charge time to power an iPod to 80% capacity, then another two hours to fully charge it, if you are not using the iPod while charging. You can charge all lithium-ion batteries a large but finite number of times, as defined by charge cycle.

index_chargecycles20051011.gif

Charge Cycle. Using and recharging 100% of battery capacity equals one full charge cycle.
A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity slightly, but you can put notebook, iPod, and iPhone batteries through many charge cycles before they will only hold 80% of original battery capacity.
 
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