Bulging iPhone 5

[skyperbon]

I recently noticed that my iPhone 5 had developed a slight bulge near the volume rockers but not on the other side. It's been in a case since day 1 and no drops or anything.

I took my phone to the Apple Store where they said it might be due to battery bulge and that they have to check the phone to confirm (it's at the service center now waiting for a check up).

My iPhone is still under warranty(Apple Care) and I wanted to know if I would be charged for the replacement of the battery or would I get another replacement handset or what?

 

[deluxeshredder]

Battery bulging is generally covered under warranty.

Apple is doing away with device replacements more and more now.

 

[rablat]

However if the case is deformed due to the bulging I would think a whole new device would be needed.

 

[skyperbon]

I got my iPhone back. They just replaced the old battery with a new one.

Told me it was because of over-charging.

I didn't have to pay anything for it, as it was still under warranty.

 

[Charadis]

I got my iPhone back. They just replaced the old battery with a new one.

Told me it was because of over-charging.

I didn't have to pay anything for it, as it was still under warranty.

Good to hear it all worked out for you. I'm surprised they didn't just offer an exchange, but as long as they got it fixed.

This really concerns me though, because I routinely leave my phone attached to the charger at the end of the day, and I'll usually use my iPad's higher wattage wall charger. I'm wondering what they mean by overcharging? Sent from my iPhone 5.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Good to hear it all worked out for you. I'm surprised they didn't just offer an exchange, but as long as they got it fixed.



This really concerns me though, because I routinely leave my phone attached to the charger at the end of the day, and I'll usually use my iPad's higher wattage wall charger. I'm wondering what they mean by overcharging? Sent from my iPhone 5.

That's really not a good idea for any sort of phone. It's always best to charge til full then unplug it from the charger.

 

[marioman38]

I leave mine plugged in a lot too, on the nightstand next to my bed.

Ideally it shouldn't matter how long its plugged in because the charger can detect the voltage and will trickle charge or stop charging and simply not allow "overcharging".

 

[Mlrollin91]

I leave mine plugged in a lot too, on the nightstand next to my bed.

Ideally it shouldn't matter how long its plugged in because the charger can detect the voltage and will trickle charge or stop charging and simply not allow "overcharging".

This.

You can't really overcharge the iPhone. Once it reaches 100% it will stop charging, then once it drops down to 98-99% it will charge back up to 100% and so on. For the last 6 years of owning iPhones, I've always left it plugged it on the nightstand all night when I was sleeping. Never experienced any of my batteries bulging.

 

[ZipZap]

That's really not a good idea for any sort of phone. It's always best to charge til full then unplug it from the charger.

Says who?

Lithium batteries cannot overcharge. That genius was wrong. The problem was a bad battery.

Keeping your phone on the charger causes no issues unless the phone fails in some way.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Says who?



Lithium batteries cannot overcharge. That genius was wrong. The problem was a bad battery.



Keeping your phone on the charger causes no issues unless the phone fails in some way.

Never said it overcharges but it does cause degradation over time. I wouldn't leave mine on the charger when it's already topped off.

 

[ZipZap]

Never said it overcharges but it does cause degradation over time. I wouldn't leave mine on the charger when it's already topped off.

You base that belief on nothing. It's your preference, still it cannot hurt the phone or battery to leave it on the charger.

 

[chambone]

You base that belief on nothing. It's your preference, still it cannot hurt the phone or battery to leave it on the charger.

It's based on facts, not preference. The more time li-ion batteries spend on 0% or 100%, the faster they will degrade.

 

[Max(IT)]

You base that belief on nothing. It's your preference, still it cannot hurt the phone or battery to leave it on the charger.

He's right and you are wrong. Lithium battery has to stay around 0% and around 100% the less time is possible.
It's not overcharging, but it will stress the battery.

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It's based on facts, not preference. The more time li-ion batteries spend on 0% or 100%, the faster they will degrade.

Correct.

 

[rablat]

It's based on facts, not preference. The more time li-ion batteries spend on 0% or 100%, the faster they will degrade.

Let's see those facts then.

 

[T5BRICK]

Never said it overcharges but it does cause degradation over time. I wouldn't leave mine on the charger when it's already topped off.

It's based on facts, not preference. The more time li-ion batteries spend on 0% or 100%, the faster they will degrade.

He's right and you are wrong. Lithium battery has to stay around 0% and around 100% the less time is possible.
It's not overcharging, but it will stress the battery.

Taking it off the charger as soon as the battery is full causes unnecessary cycles on the battery, which in turn causes degradation over time.

Leaving it on the charger overnight isn't going to cause any problems. You're really only going to run into problems if you leave it on the charger for days or weeks at a time.

 

[Max(IT)]

Taking it off the charger as soon as the battery is full causes unnecessary cycles on the battery, which in turn causes degradation over time.

Leaving it on the charger overnight isn't going to cause any problems. You're really only going to run into problems if you leave it on the charger for days or weeks at a time.

You are wrong mate ... Battery is stressed at full capacity.

 

[Dontazemebro]

You are wrong mate ... Battery is stressed at full capacity.

Exactly, lion batteries are actually at their most efficient between 20 - 80%. It's even more dangerous to discharge it all the way to zero and then try to charge it up again.

 

[gretafour]

It may be true that Li-Ion batteries are stressed above and below a certain range, but what none of us knows is whether percentage showing in the status bar is an absolute one, or if 0-100% corresponds to, say, 10-90% in the actual battery.

 

[T5BRICK]

You are wrong mate ... Battery is stressed at full capacity.

Exactly, lion batteries are actually at their most efficient between 20 - 80%. It's even more dangerous to discharge it all the way to zero and then try to charge it up again.

I haven't seen anyone here post any documents that say fully charging your iPhone is bad for it, so I shall post some information.

Apple doesn't have any information that backs up what is being said:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/
http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

Additionally, here is some info from battery university in case a 3rd party is appreciated:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

“Should I disconnect my laptop from the power grid when not in use?” many ask.

Under normal circumstances this should not be necessary because once the lithium-ion battery is full the charger discontinues charge and only engages when the battery voltage drops. Most users do not remove the AC power and I like to believe that this practice is safe.

The main thing you need to worry about is too much heat while the battery is charging or at 100%. In normal usage, an iPhone sitting on a nightstand overnight at 100% is going to be in standby and generating very little heat.

The extra charge and discharge cycles introduced by unplugging the device as soon as it reaches 100% likely cause more battery degradation than plugging it in to a charger overnight.

 

[Max(IT)]

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

Li-ion does not need to be fully charged, as is the case with lead acid, nor is it desirable to do so. In fact, it is better not to fully charge, because high voltages stresses the battery. Choosing a lower voltage threshold, or eliminating the saturation charge altogether, prolongs battery life but this reduces the runtime. Since the consumer market promotes maximum runtime, these chargers go for maximum capacity rather than extended service life.


Next time take a better look at what you linked

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It is well written in the article YOU linked, mate:

Lithium-ion suffers from stress when exposed to heat, so does keeping a cell at a high charge voltage. A battery dwelling above 30°C (86°F) is considered elevated temperature and for most Li-ion, a voltage above 4.10V/cell is deemed as high voltage. Exposing the battery to high temperature and dwelling in a full state-of-charge for an extended time can be more stressful than cycling. Table 3 demonstrates capacity loss as a function of temperature and SoC.


And more:

Most Li-ions are charged to 4.20V/cell and every reduction of 0.10V/cell is said to double cycle life. For example, a lithium-ion cell charged to 4.20V/cell typically delivers 300–500 cycles. If charged to only 4.10V/cell, the life can be prolonged to 600–1,000 cycles; 4.00V/cell should deliver 1,200–2,000 and 3.90V/cell 2,400–4,000 cycles.

The best thing to do is to charge it until 90-95% and then disconnect the charger. You could almost DOUBLE the lifespan of your battery if you doesn't keep it at 100%

 

[T5BRICK]

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

Next time take a better look at what you linked

Not the same link, possibly even written by a different author.

It is well written in the article YOU linked, mate:

Lithium-ion suffers from stress when exposed to heat, so does keeping a cell at a high charge voltage. A battery dwelling above 30°C (86°F) is considered elevated temperature and for most Li-ion, a voltage above 4.10V/cell is deemed as high voltage. Exposing the battery to high temperature and dwelling in a full state-of-charge for an extended time can be more stressful than cycling. Table 3 demonstrates capacity loss as a function of temperature and SoC.

If I'm reading the chart right, the extended time that the battery was left at full charge is 3 months. This is much different than the 8-10 hours that we're talking about here.

And more:

Most Li-ions are charged to 4.20V/cell and every reduction of 0.10V/cell is said to double cycle life. For example, a lithium-ion cell charged to 4.20V/cell typically delivers 300–500 cycles. If charged to only 4.10V/cell, the life can be prolonged to 600–1,000 cycles; 4.00V/cell should deliver 1,200–2,000 and 3.90V/cell 2,400–4,000 cycles.

The best thing to do is to charge it until 90-95% and then disconnect the charger. You could almost DOUBLE the lifespan of your battery if you doesn't keep it at 100%

Again, they're talking about a capacity loss after 3 months of being kept at a constant 100% charge. This is more of a concern for laptop batteries, because I don't know of many people who never unplug their iPhone.

 

[Max(IT)]

Not the same link, possibly even written by a different author.




If I'm reading the chart right, the extended time that the battery was left at full charge is 3 months. This is much different than the 8-10 hours that we're talking about here.




Again, they're talking about a capacity loss after 3 months of being kept at a constant 100% charge. This is more of a concern for laptop batteries, because I don't know of many people who never unplug their iPhone.

No, table 3 is the only one showing recoverable capacity after three months.
Table 4 shows expected life cycles related to charged voltage ...
Do whatever you want with your battery, but you asked for documentation and I gave you that.
Batteries suffer from fully charged condition, this is a fact.

Li-ion should not remain at the high-voltage ceiling of 4.20V/cell for an extended time. When fully charged, remove the battery and allow to voltage to revert to a more natural level like relaxing after exercise.


8-10 hrs EVERY SINGLE DAY can ruin your battery.
Once in a time, it's not a big problem, but a systematically habit of overnight charging reduce battery life.

Btw tech enthusiasts (like me) usually change phone before the battery ends its life cycle

 

[RoboWarriorSr]

Apple doesn't allow devices to be "fully" charged. When the marker is at 100%, really only around ~95% is charged. This enables longer lasting battery and helps those that charge their devices overnight so that their battery doesn't become a dud so fast.

 

[T5BRICK]

Btw tech enthusiasts (like me) usually change phone before the battery ends its life cycle

So, you've been arguing for no reason because you swap out devices before your perceived problem can occur?

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Apple doesn't allow devices to be "fully" charged. When the marker is at 100%, really only around ~95% is charged. This enables longer lasting battery and helps those that charge their devices overnight so that their battery doesn't become a dud so fast.

I'm interested to know where you heard about this.

 

[RoboWarriorSr]

Bulging iPhone 5

So, you've been arguing for no reason because you swap out devices before your perceived problem can occur?

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I'm interested to know where you heard about this.

It was on this site I think. I remember seeing this information spread around a lot last year on a few other tech sites too. I also remember speaking to several prominent ROM creators (HTC Desire HD/Samsung Captivate) over at XDA about batteries whether calibrating them while flashing ROMs is necessary so that's where I might have first heard it.