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Anyone else addicted to charging / is it really bad?

GaryNoine

GaryNoine

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2015
82
37
Atlanta
Not sure if this is a common problem, but my OCD often kicks in when it comes to my iPhone battery. If it drops below 50%, I get very worried and search for an outlet. I feel like I have to keep the battery in the 70-100% mark constantly.
My question is does anyone else do the same and is it really bad for the battery life to rarely let the phone drop below 50%?
 
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I was like that with my Samsung S5. I've broken that habit with my 6s, unless I know I'm going to be going off the grid for an extended period. Like, I'm going for a round of golf after work and plan on using my golf app or something. Otherwise, I feel pretty comfortable letting my phone go all day.

C
 
I'm in the same boat because I'm nervous. My 5S used to die so frequently.

But the 6S+ is a beast, and I have to control myself not to keep it plugged in all the time LOL
 
GaryNoine said:
Not sure if this is a common problem, but my OCD often kicks in when it comes to my iPhone battery. If it drops below 50%, I get very worried and search for an outlet. I feel like I have to keep the battery in the 70-100% mark constantly.
My question is does anyone else do the same and is it really bad for the battery life to rarely let the phone drop below 50%?
Click to expand...

I'd say if you're worrying at 50% and charging, thats pretty bad. I dont usually start worrying until I'm at about 10%.
 
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GaryNoine said:
Not sure if this is a common problem, but my OCD often kicks in when it comes to my iPhone battery. If it drops below 50%, I get very worried and search for an outlet. I feel like I have to keep the battery in the 70-100% mark constantly.
My question is does anyone else do the same and is it really bad for the battery life to rarely let the phone drop below 50%?
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. If it hits 70% I want to charge it. You never know when you will be stuck somewhere and need the battery power. :)

OT: Another Stern fan. :cool:
 
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I don't get worried per se, but once my phone goes below 50% while I'm out, I usually won't check my phone as often as I normally would. I'll keep it in my pocket rather than have it out on the table so I'm not too tempted to check it. Fortunately since I have the Apple Watch, I can respond to texts on there rather than on my phone.
 
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Coming from Android handsets I'm in the same position... iPhone 6 Plus here. I just can't believe how long the charge last.
 
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GaryNoine said:
Not sure if this is a common problem, but my OCD often kicks in when it comes to my iPhone battery. If it drops below 50%, I get very worried and search for an outlet. I feel like I have to keep the battery in the 70-100% mark constantly.
My question is does anyone else do the same and is it really bad for the battery life to rarely let the phone drop below 50%?
Click to expand...

I have owned every iPhone and always charge it at night while sleeping. Anything else is a waste of time and will make no difference. The only exception is if you live on your phone all day long having to charge in the middle of the day but for the vast majority your battery should last a full day with battery to spare.

habits are hard to break but if there is a real will to change . . . .:apple:
 
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Newtons Apple said:
I have owned every iPhone and always charge it at night while sleeping. Anything else is a waste of time and will make no difference. The only exception is if you live on your phone all day long having to charge in the middle of the day but for the vast majority your battery should last a full day with battery to spare.

habits are hard to break but if there is a real will to change . . . .:apple:
Click to expand...

I don't think people (speaking for myself, in particular) are concerned about babying our battery to make sure it lasts 3 years or anything. In my case, I'm stuck at a desk all day anyway. But in the evenings, I'm away from a charger more often than not. So letting my phone run down all day without charging COULD increase the chances of being caught short at night. But I always recharged overnight anyway. It was just a question of making sure I got to that point without my phone going dead.

C
 
CNeufeld said:
I don't think people (speaking for myself, in particular) are concerned about babying our battery to make sure it lasts 3 years or anything. In my case, I'm stuck at a desk all day anyway. But in the evenings, I'm away from a charger more often than not. So letting my phone run down all day without charging COULD increase the chances of being caught short at night. But I always recharged overnight anyway. It was just a question of making sure I got to that point without my phone going dead.

C
Click to expand...

So you are saying you phone will not last 24 hours? Or do you not know and feel a little scared when you are away from a charger? If you are sitting at your desk all day with your phone on the charger, you will be avoiding cycles. so if you want your phone to last 3 years, that might help.

I am at my office maybe 20-30% of the day and out in the field visiting customers and dealing with business. My phone comes off the charger at 3:30 and goes back on around 8-9pm and still have around half the battery left on my S+.
 
Newtons Apple said:
So you are saying you phone will not last 24 hours? Or do you not know and feel a little scared when you are away from a charger? If you are sitting at your desk all day with your phone on the charger, you will be avoiding cycles. so if you want your phone to last 3 years, that might help.

I am at my office maybe 20-30% of the day and out in the field visiting customers and dealing with business. My phone comes off the charger at 3:30 and goes back on around 8-9pm and still have around half the battery left on my S+.
Click to expand...

I'm saying my S5 would not last a full day, that is correct. My old iPhone 4 wouldn't last a day. And because I knew I would likely be more mobile in the evenings, as well as using more power hungry apps (like a GPS golf app), I'd want to make sure I had a fairly full battery before disconnecting to go home.

With my 6s, it's mostly a non-issue, although I'm still getting used to it. Right now, I'm 3/4 of the way through my workday, and I've still got 60% of my battery left. It probably also helps that I'm not able to do 18 holes of golf after work, as that was a worst case scenario.

C
 
CNeufeld said:
I'm saying my S5 would not last a full day, that is correct. My old iPhone 4 wouldn't last a day. And because I knew I would likely be more mobile in the evenings, as well as using more power hungry apps (like a GPS golf app), I'd want to make sure I had a fairly full battery before disconnecting to go home.

With my 6s, it's mostly a non-issue, although I'm still getting used to it. Right now, I'm 3/4 of the way through my workday, and I've still got 60% of my battery left. It probably also helps that I'm not able to do 18 holes of golf after work, as that was a worst case scenario.

C
Click to expand...

Sounds like you past phones had a worn battery. Glad you 6S is lasting longer. Keeping it plugged in while at work will avoid cycles and a few years down the road you might notice that. I change phones yearly so it does not matter to me. I keep a cable in the SUV for an Armageddon emergency but so far we are good.
 
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GaryNoine said:
Not sure if this is a common problem, but my OCD often kicks in when it comes to my iPhone battery. If it drops below 50%, I get very worried and search for an outlet. I feel like I have to keep the battery in the 70-100% mark constantly.
My question is does anyone else do the same and is it really bad for the battery life to rarely let the phone drop below 50%?
Click to expand...

No, it's fine. The battery won't be harmed by what you're doing.

Why not just grab a portable charger? Then you don't have to worry. You can run the battery down as much as you like, and if it really does power down on you, you can just plug the portable charge in, no outlet needed, and top up.
 
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scaredpoet said:
No, it's fine. The battery won't be harmed by what you're doing.

Why not just grab a portable charger? Then you don't have to worry. You can run the battery down as much as you like, and if it really does power down on you, you can just plug the portable charge in, no outlet needed, and top up.
Click to expand...
Are you people living in the jungle somewhere where there are no outlets. I don't see a problem with someone sitting at their desk and they have the opportunity and they simply plug their phone in for 10, 20 minutes or an hour, whatever to charge up. Doesn't harm the phone, you're going to trade in a year or two anyways so what's the big deal. And if you don't do it also no big deal.
 
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meh...I just charge whenever. I don't worry about it even if it goes to 20%, since it will ask if I want it in low power mode.
 
I don't worry about it. Lithium Ion batteries are supposed to be cycled up and down.

I will moderate my use of data-heavy apps over cellular if my battery goes below 20%, because I want to always have some reserve for voice calls and SMS.
 
leesweet said:
This is true. And as was said, there is no way your battery will die in a year. And how many of us keep our phones much over a year? :)
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They do deteriorate for heavy users in the 12-18 month region but nobody should see much of a performance drop in the first 12 months.
 
Right, I guess my point was: even if you flat discharged your phone daily, it would last a year before the battery needed to be replaced. Most Li-ion batteries have over 300 full cycles in them. And most of use never do a full cycle a day.
 
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