iPhone 12 How long would an iPhone’s battery live without being used?

[Henners9]

I am curious to know how long an iPhone can go unused and uncharged before the battery has completely depleted and died?

iPhone batteries always feel like they’re excellent to me, I’ve only ever had good battery life and amazing experiences with the iPhone

 

[BotchQue]

I don't think a single concise answer is possible. Battery age, battery size vs iPhone model, what services you have turned on/off, etc will all have major effects on an "unused" phone (I'm assuming you still mean it hasn't been powered down).

I only use my iPhone SE (v2) when I travel, or have to scan a document, or I actually get a phone call (!) I have to charge it back up every 3rd or 4th day, but I just don't use it; I don't turn it "Off" completely.

I use my '20 iPad even less, have many more "background apps" disabled, don't fully power it down, and it seems to last about 10 to 14 days before requiring a recharge. Hope that helps.

 

[Fat_Guy]

I left my iPhone 4 with a new battery for years and was rewarded with a swollen battery that pushed out the glass ruining the phone.

 

[StaceyMJ86]

I turn my backup phones on every 3 months to charge the battery up, and give it a few minutes to connect to Wi-Fi, to update the software or any updates released during that time.

 

[BotchQue]

I left my iPhone 4 with a new battery for years and was rewarded with a swollen battery that pushed out the glass ruining the phone.

I worked on Minuteman III ICBMs from '92 to '95 in Grand Forks ND, and the secondary power backup was a bank of 10~12 batteries, each about the size of two gaming computers. They started bulging and had to be replaced, usually done by the normal maintenance teams but my "technical engineering" team were called in for a few Problem Childs. Kinda unnerving with a loaded solid-fuel 60' rocket, topped with three nuclear weapons, sitting on top, right behind you.

 

[asus389]

Last year I bought a new, sealed iPhone 8 Plus which at that point would have been 4 or 5 years old. The battery initially reported 100% health, but it degraded faster than I would expect a typical iPhone battery to do. It was down to about 90% after only a few months use.