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iPod touch How can I test battery on iPod touch?

Poogis

Poogis

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 2, 2006
66
2
London, UK
Hello.

I am having trouble charging my iPod touch.

But before I send it back to Apple I'd like to know if there is a set method of testing the battery on a touch.

Thanks in advance.
 
If you have a JB Touch, you can load a useful app called Battery Info. Get it at Trejan.com. It give capacity, Voltage, S/N, etc. Charging or discharging.
 
Poogis said:
Hello.

I am having trouble charging my iPod touch.

Before I send it back to Apple I'd like to know if there is a set method of testing the battery on a touch.
Click to expand...
Have it start playing music. Make sure it's on shuffle with a long list of songs to play through. Set it down so the screen will time out. Turn off wifi. The let it play until it stops. Mark both the start time and the end time. Subtract start from the end and you'll have a great idea of whether your Touch comes close to Apple's estimate of play time on a charge.

Sorry if this seems to obvious. It works, and it's a nice excuse to spend time with your music. I recommend having the Touch plugged into some self-powered speakers so you don't have to be tied to it via earbuds.

4D
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

Mine isn't jailbroken so I guess I'll go with the option of leaving it playing. Apple states 22 hours on the tech specs part of the touch website but I was wondering if the iPod had to be set to certain other conditions like turning of the EQ, et., when leaving this playing.

I'm a bit disappointed as I've had five different versions of the iPod and four of those I had to send back for repair (or straight swap from Apple) because of the battery not holding the charge.

Thanks anyway.
 
Poogis said:
Thanks for the suggestions.

Mine isn't jailbroken so I guess I'll go with the option of leaving it playing. Apple states 22 hours on the tech specs part of the touch website but I was wondering if the iPod had to be set to certain other conditions like turning of the EQ, et., when leaving this playing.

I'm a bit disappointed as I've had five different versions of the iPod and four of those I had to send back for repair (or straight swap from Apple) because of the battery not holding the charge.

Thanks anyway.
Click to expand...

1. Turn off Wifi
2. Turn off EQ
3. Turn off Sound Check
4. Set volume to 50%

This should give you a good idea how long your battery lasts.
I did the same recently, as I was a bit surprised how quickly the battery ran out using the screen, wifi, EQ, etc...I had it running for 12 hours with barely a change in the battery icon, so I assume that it will get the Apple benchmark easily.
 
Hello again.

WiFi is permanently off as I don't have a use for it so I can rule that out.

The problem is when I hook it up via USB to my MBP (and my G5 at work) the battery seems to drain. In fact, I have been home half an hour and in that time it has gone from being half way full to the 'battery is less than 10%' message.

Should it display a message when fully charged, by the way?
 
Poogis said:
Hello again.

WiFi is permanently off as I don't have a use for it so I can rule that out.

The problem is when I hook it up via USB to my MBP (and my G5 at work) the battery seems to drain. In fact, I have been home half an hour and in that time it has gone from being half way full to the 'battery is less than 10%' message.

Should it display a message when fully charged, by the way?
Click to expand...

I don't think it displays a message; I think the battery (when the iPod is locked) is just completely green when it is at 100%. You can also tell in iTunes because the "charging" symbol (battery icon with a lightning bolt) becomes a "plugged-in" symbol (battery icon with a plug).
 
I'm no expert on the iPod touch, but my girlfriend has one.

I know that there's a glitch, where the iPod won't mount in iTunes until you dismiss the 10% warning on the ipod screen. Not sure if this would prevent the iPod from charging.

However, unless music is playing without the headphones plugged in, I see no reason that the battery should drain while plugged in, especially that fast.

Have you perhaps left the iPod in a hot car for an extended period of time? Extreme heat is the #1 to damage a battery.

If not, call apple, it's most definitely defective.
 
Thanks for all your responses.

I have no car, just my coat pocket so that would rule overheating out.

I have brought my touch back to work, used another USB cable, plugged into my G5 and left it. I now have the 'plug' symbol indicating full capacity - but it took about five hours to get there from a third full.

It definitely wouldn't charge from my MacBook Pro (2.2 SR) last night using this same USB cable. It was just stalling at about 1/3.

Very strange but it seems to be working again, from work anyway.

Thanks everyone.
 
Poogis said:
Thanks for all your responses.

I have no car, just my coat pocket so that would rule overheating out.

I have brought my touch back to work, used another USB cable, plugged into my G5 and left it. I now have the 'plug' symbol indicating full capacity - but it took about five hours to get there from a third full.

It definitely wouldn't charge from my MacBook Pro (2.2 SR) last night using this same USB cable. It was just stalling at about 1/3.

Very strange but it seems to be working again, from work anyway.

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Was your MBP plugged in? I think I read somewhere that USB devices may not charge from a laptop that isn't plugged in. Don't know if it's true, though.
 
When you say "using another USB cable", is it from another recent iPod? Make sure that you are using a USB 2.0 cable.

Personally, if my iPod wouldn't charge using the cable that came in the box, I would send it back, if for no other reason than to get a functioning cable.

If you're feeling adventurous, you might try purchasing the iPod AV component cables (which let you plug your ipod into a TV for video playback, slideshows, etc.). The AV Cable set comes with an AC wall charger, which most definitely SHOULD charge your iPod...and it's more convenient than having to tether it to your computer.

Alternatively, you could just buy a wall charger, but I think the price difference between the wall charger alone and the AV Cable set is only about $10.
 
I have tried three USB 2.0 official Apple cables plus an older Apple iPod Firewire cable and I am now back to the same problem - plugged it into my MacBook Pro and it is stuck at a quarter full and not moving.

The last thing I did was sync my Podcasts since a successful charge at work. Could a 'dodgy' podcast or music file cause a problem? Maybe a re-install of iTunes of, more drastically, the OS? Maybe the MacBook Pro?

I'm convinced it isn't the iPod (for once).
 
Poogis said:
Could a 'dodgy' podcast or music file cause a problem? Maybe a re-install of iTunes of, more drastically, the OS? Maybe the MacBook Pro?

I'm convinced it isn't the iPod (for once).
Click to expand...
If it charges, with the cable supplied by Apple, on your computer at work...it's definitely your Macbook Pro.

However, I think it's HIGHLY unlikely that the problem would be resolved by a software reinstall of iTunes or OS X. And I would rule out altogether that a podcast or music file is causing the problem.

I just thought of another solution to what may be causing the problem.

The USB ports on the Macbook Pro only receive power while the computer is awake. If you are plugging the iPod in with the computer closed, the iPod will not charge. Also, even with the screen open, the computer may still be going to sleep after a period of time.

I suggest the following. In system preferences, you can set different "energy saver" preferences for the laptop while plugged in, and while not plugged in.

Change the preferences so that while plugged in, the computer never goes to sleep (it will still sleep when closed). Hope this helps!
 
sfroom said:
I suggest the following. In system preferences, you can set different "energy saver" preferences for the laptop while plugged in, and while not plugged in.

Change the preferences so that while plugged in, the computer never goes to sleep (it will still sleep when closed). Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks.

The MacBook Pro is fully running with energy saving turned off when I'm charging it - and never closed or asleep. I've plugged in in to my PS3 and it the green indicator stays at about three quarters charged.

I have read of people having iPhones that don't display the correct charge so maybe I have the same problem.
 
when i use the battery app to check my battery, it says it's at 39% but when i plug my ipod into the computer, the green battery on the lockscreen shows 50%. do i need to calibrate my battery or something? also, in the battery app, it says the battery voltage is 3958. is that good? because i noticed my battery life dropped considerable recently for no apparent reason.
 
Poogis said:
Thanks.
The MacBook Pro is fully running with energy saving turned off when I'm charging it - and never closed or asleep. I've plugged in in to my PS3 and it the green indicator stays at about three quarters charged.

I have read of people having iPhones that don't display the correct charge so maybe I have the same problem.
Click to expand...

I am truly vexed by this problem! You seem to have quite a cheeky iPod. It boggles me that it wont charge on your PS3 or MBP...and yet it decides to charge on your G5!

At this point, I would think it could only be two things, 1) The MBP's usb port is malfunctioning and not providing enough power (...I don't know if the PS3 usb port is powered, as I don't have one), or 2) you have a defective iPod.

If you can determine with any certainty that the usb port on your MBP is providing power (perhaps another usb accessory, or an old iPod), then I would say send the touch in on warranty.
 
dagored said:
If you have a JB Touch, you can load a useful app called Battery Info. Get it at Trejan.com. It give capacity, Voltage, S/N, etc. Charging or discharging.
Click to expand...

snap-134238-thumb1.jpg


I know this is an old post, but I want his! I have iphone4, does this still exist??

Battery Info is one of the best app that I missed so much during good old 1.1.4 days. The best is it does show the battery voltage if it's on external power (charging). I want this back.

http://www.trejan.com/projects/ipod/

Not sure what to do.
 
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