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4ppleg1rl

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 29, 2017
198
185
So I've never done this, I haven't really needed to charge my phone overnight but now we have wireless charging, I was wondering how good it was for the battery to be charging on the pad all night?

Now, I know Apple says the battery stops charging at 100% and it's 'impossible to overcharge an iPhone' BUT realistically, how true is that?

I don't want to damage the battery, but I also don't want to have to move the iPhone off the charging pad before I sleep - it's annoying.
 

MatthewWallis

macrumors member
Sep 20, 2016
39
10
I’ve always charged my iPhone overnight since my iPhone 3G I’ve had a battery issue once with my 7+ which I’m pretty confident was nothing to do with charging overnight
 
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Newtons Apple

Suspended
Mar 12, 2014
22,757
15,254
Jacksonville, Florida
So I've never done this, I haven't really needed to charge my phone overnight but now we have wireless charging, I was wondering how good it was for the battery to be charging on the pad all night?

Now, I know Apple says the battery stops charging at 100% and it's 'impossible to overcharge an iPhone' BUT realistically, how true is that?

I don't want to damage the battery, but I also don't want to have to move the iPhone off the charging pad before I sleep - it's annoying.

What do you mean by "how true is that" It is the truth and that IS that.

I have put my iPhone on the charger overnight for 10 years and all has been well. You battery will not be damaged.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,032
Phones handle being at 100% state of charge much better than they did 15-20 years ago. My iPhones spend the vast majority of their life at 100% or plugged in and they were within 5% of original life even after 250 cycles.

Now, if you're going to leave it plugged in all day all night ... it's recommended to exercise the battery a few times a month at least (draining to 40% or so).
 

Starfyre

macrumors 68030
Nov 7, 2010
2,905
1,136
Phones don't just handle 100% state of charge better, they are now so smart they literally know when to stop charging. Having it plugged in overnight will not do any damage to the phone. In fact, it is advised that you keep the phone as close to 100% as possible as charging with little sips is better than full cycles or near full cycles.

Just for the sake of example, say your phone was 99%, and you charge it to 100%. it is better than if you wait until your phone is 80% to charge to 100%. Which is even better than if its 50% to charge to 100%.

If your phone is low in power, say 10%, or you let it fully die and recharge... that is the worst way to charge your phone. Not that you can't do that, but your battery life will be shorter than someone who keeps it at say 80% and charges up their phone.

The first time you get your battery, you do want to do a full discharge and a full recharge to 100% for calibration purposes, but after that, keeping it at 100% will do you good for the life of the battery.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,032
Phones don't just handle 100% state of charge better, they are now so smart they literally know when to stop charging. Having it plugged in overnight will not do any damage to the phone. In fact, it is advised that you keep the phone as close to 100% as possible as charging with little sips is better than full cycles or near full cycles.

Just for the sake of example, say your phone was 99%, and you charge it to 100%. it is better than if you wait until your phone is 80% to charge to 100%. Which is even better than if its 50% to charge to 100%.

If your phone is low in power, say 10%, or you let it fully die and recharge... that is the worst way to charge your phone. Not that you can't do that, but your battery life will be shorter than someone who keeps it at say 80% and charges up their phone.

The first time you get your battery, you do want to do a full discharge and a full recharge to 100% for calibration purposes, but after that, keeping it at 100% will do you good for the life of the battery.

Very nice post :). The source for a lot of what @Starfyre is saying - http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries
 
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4ppleg1rl

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 29, 2017
198
185
Phones handle being at 100% state of charge much better than they did 15-20 years ago. My iPhones spend the vast majority of their life at 100% or plugged in and they were within 5% of original life even after 250 cycles.

Now, if you're going to leave it plugged in all day all night ... it's recommended to exercise the battery a few times a month at least (draining to 40% or so).

Phones don't just handle 100% state of charge better, they are now so smart they literally know when to stop charging. Having it plugged in overnight will not do any damage to the phone. In fact, it is advised that you keep the phone as close to 100% as possible as charging with little sips is better than full cycles or near full cycles.

Just for the sake of example, say your phone was 99%, and you charge it to 100%. it is better than if you wait until your phone is 80% to charge to 100%. Which is even better than if its 50% to charge to 100%.

If your phone is low in power, say 10%, or you let it fully die and recharge... that is the worst way to charge your phone. Not that you can't do that, but your battery life will be shorter than someone who keeps it at say 80% and charges up their phone.

The first time you get your battery, you do want to do a full discharge and a full recharge to 100% for calibration purposes, but after that, keeping it at 100% will do you good for the life of the battery.



Thank you! I guess I overlooked the fact that batteries became smarter as well!
 
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