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iPhone 14 Pro Max Bottom line, is leaving your iPhone/Apple Watch charging overnight, bad for the battery?

Do you leave your iPhone/Apple Watch on charge overnight?

  • Total voters
    154
The Cockney Rebel

The Cockney Rebel

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Original poster
Jul 17, 2010
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I know there’s optimised battery charging & all that, but really, is this practice (overnight charging) really bad for the battery?

Also, is overnight wireless charging any worse?

Real world responses would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
The idea is to reduce the amount of time spent in extreme states of charge, hence the 80/20 rule. Many manufacturers suggest users reduce charge when possible, whether it's a notebook computer or EV.

I like how you can choose both yes and no in the poll.
 
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I plug my phone in every night, a few seconds before I turn it off. So I don't even get the help of the "up to 80%" feature.

iPhone 11, used every day since Oct 2019, battery health 81% "Peak Performance Capability".
 
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Built in battery management in the last few years have reduced the effect of overcharging. Generally if you never use the full battery it will restrict maximum charging to 80% which is apparently optimal. My ipHone 14 Pro Max is still showing 100% on battery condition and it is charged every night on a mag connector compatible Belkin charger. My 11 Pro Max is at 93% and is charged via a Qi compatible charger every night. So I do not think it is an issue these days.
 
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Doesn't hurt the iphone. I stupidly (long story) forgot to take my iphone on a 4 day trip and forgot to take it off the charger. No change in battery health.
 
JPack said:
Not dumb, but Apple doesn't mind charging $99 to replace the battery. They buy the part from Sunwoda and Desay for less than $10. If Apple can convince you to buy a new iPhone, even better.
Click to expand...

It’s apples choice to become a second tier phone, if they choose to self destruct their phones it won’t turn out well for them

They already got spanked once for slowing down older iPhones with bloat ware “updates”
 
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The Cockney Rebel said:
I know there’s optimised battery charging & all that, but really, is this practice (overnight charging) really bad for the battery?

Also, is overnight wireless charging any worse?

Real world responses would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
It's probably one of those scenarios where convenience trumps physics. I just want to wake up and have all my devices at 100% before I get ready for work, and not have to worry about any of them running out before the end of the day.

My iPhone 13 Pro Max is currently at 86% battery health (I charge it via magsafe every night). Might using a lightning cable and a lower watt charger improve its battery health by a few percentage points? I doubt it would be enough to make a difference, especially if you intend to have the battery replaced eventually.
 
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I don’t have evidence for either of these arguments, only my own experience.

I used a 12 PM for 2 1/2 year before I sold it and bought an S23.
Anyhow, I did charge my iPhone every night, sometimes every other night, with a
5W charger, because heat is not good for your battery.
When I sold the iPhone it was on 87% in battery health, after 2 1/2 year.

So imo I don’t think leaving the iPhone charging overnight is bad for the battery.
 
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I charge my iPhone 12 mini every night with Apple’s old 5W wired charger. Current battery health is shown at 84%. I also have an optimised charging enabled, so when it is plugged to the car and it is hot iPhone would not charge over 80%.
 
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The Cockney Rebel said:
I know there’s optimised battery charging & all that, but really, is this practice (overnight charging) really bad for the battery?

Also, is overnight wireless charging any worse?

Real world responses would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Not bad, but it is better* to charge it daytime for two reasons:

1. Charging it to only 80 percent will greatly increase the battery's lifetime. With an alarm app, you can do this.
2. Charging overnight is an unnecessary fire hazard.

I used to charge overnight but I don't do that anymore. Charging to 80 percent is great, my more than a year old 13 mini has almost 100 percent battery health.

*Some don't care, of course.

dump.png

PS. This is the same case for every iPhone, not only the 14 Pro Max.
 
iPhone 13 mini and Apple Watch Series 6. Both charge wirelessly overnight, every night.
iPhone battery health is at 93%. Apple Watch at 81%.

I’ve tried other arrangements, like charging the watch when I shower, and find it’s not worth it. Too easy to forget, or not let it charge long enough, etc. I will continue charging overnight.
 
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I am leaving my phone connected to a charger quite often. Have been doing that ever since my first iPhone and never had any problems with it.
My launch day iPhone 14 Pro Max for example is still reporting 100% battery health.

My opinion is: heat is the main problem for battery health. As long as the phone is not heavily used during charges, leaving it on a charger for a longer period of time (=night) is no problem for the battery’s lifespan.
 
Charging iPhone and Watch nightly, and wirelessly. iPhone 14 Pro Max is 100% battery health, Watch S8 is 96%, both launch date purchases. I’m not worried 😊
 
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Matsamoto said:
I don’t have evidence for either of these arguments, only my own experience.

I used a 12 PM for 2 1/2 year before I sold it and bought an S23.
Anyhow, I did charge my iPhone every night, sometimes every other night, with a
5W charger, because heat is not good for your battery.
When I sold the iPhone it was on 87% in battery health, after 2 1/2 year.

So imo I don’t think leaving the iPhone charging overnight is bad for the battery.
Click to expand...
My iPhone 12 Pro is almost 3 years old in September and I too am at 87% battery health and I leave mine on a mag charger with 15w. I don’t bother worrying about it since I purchased every 2 to 3 years new anyway. I just enjoy the phone and don’t worry about the silly 40%/80% rule.
 
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Don’t let your phone or other electronics dictate your life. Just put it on your MagSafe charger at night and begin using it with full charge in the morning like a regular person.

If you’re so concerned about your battery health, go into your settings and turn on the “Optimised Battery Charging” setting so you can leave it charging all night without it reaching 100%.
 
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I voted no. I’ve charged my iPhones over the years overnight and haven’t had any problems. I charge my Apple Watches in the morning before I shower and at night before bed, so that I can track my sleep. The only iPhone I’ve had with the worst battery life was the 12 Pro Max. I only used it for 2 years and it was 82% before I started using my 14 Pro Max. I’ve been using the 5w brick overnight for every iPhone and I use the Apple Watch part on my Belkin 3-in-1 or Magsafe Duo.
 
Charging it 80% and recharging at 20% may slightly increase your battery life.
It might make the difference between changing your battery at about 3 years and at 2.5.
It's going to vary a bit with use but it's sure that at some point you are going to either change the phone or get a new battery and there's no getting away from that
On the other hand, it will definitely reduce your daily autonomy from 100% of the available battery to 60%, every single day you use it and that means you'll be running out of juice before the day is out for most people.
Just use it as it works for you and don't waste your life worrying about a few months' battery life.
 
I just had to change my vote.

I voted NO based on "is leaving your iPhone/Apple Watch charging overnight, bad for the battery?" and have now changed it to YES as the question is actually "Do you leave your iPhone/Apple Watch on charge overnight?".

Not the best way to run a poll :)
 
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