iPhone 8/Plus I'm forcing myself to stop being OCD about my battery life

[tonybarnaby]

Back in the good old days of flip phones, we had week long battery life. There was nothing to really drain the battery, since all you could do was make voice calls. Eventually texting came around, but it was several years before "smart" phones released.

The galaxy s4 was my favorite phone ever, but the battery life was laughable, and it got HOT with continuous use. I learned that when a battery heats up, it loses capacity. From then on, I was a battery life freak. I still enjoyed my phones, but I learned about the 40-80% guideline and all the other tricks. I would always buy 2-3 battery apps. The one I liked best on Android is called accubattery. It has built in alarms and takes a lot of data. Most important to me is it would alert you at any set charge % with an audible sound. I put it at 80%. My wife would laugh her ass off at me when I would get up off the couch because my phone was 80%. She charges hers whenever she wants, and always 100% while she sleeps. It's been years since I routinely charged overnight.

I'd even buy battery cases in order to make sure I could keep my phone at a reasonable charge %.

The funny thing is I NEVER keep a phone past a year, so all I am doing is keeping the phone new for the next owner. I know many people on here are battery OCD like me, but my days of that are now over. I know all the "rules", but I'm done caring. I charged my phone to 100% last night (lol) and sold my battery case to an actual power user at work who needed it to get thru his day.

Thanks to Newton's apple for helping me see the light lol.
[doublepost=1514485040][/doublepost]I still will not fast charge, wirelessly charge or use my phone while it charges. But charging overnight is too convenient to resist anymore. I'll give apple their $80 when it comes time.

 

[Hal~9000]

Anyone wanna set the over/under on this change by OP lasting more than 3 days?

 

[tonybarnaby]

Anyone wanna set the over/under on this change by OP lasting more than 3 days?

My wife has ridiculed me for years over it. I don't even know why it's important to me, since a replacement battery is chump change. A replacement s4 battery was like $20.. IDK how I got to this point, since I'm a very rational guy. There are tons of people out there like me. Must be something in the water.

 

[DevinNj]

WOW, I look at my phone and if it needs charging, I charge it. That simple. Nothing to stress over.

 

[tonybarnaby]

WOW, I look at my phone and if it needs charging, I charge it. That simple. Nothing to stress over.

OCD is a hell of a thing man.

 

[noobinator]

The only thing that matters is, can you phone make it through the day, and if not, do you have access to charge in the middle of the day?

All else is nonsense worrying.

 

[tonybarnaby]

The only thing that matters is, can you phone make it through the day, and if not, do you have access to charge in the middle of the day?

All else is nonsense worrying.

I'm beginning to realize this. I just hope I can get 2 years out of it in order to limit my frustration in having to get a new battery put in. I hate going to the apple store. It's always a sea of people.

 

[DevinNj]

OCD is a hell of a thing man.

I gotcha, being OCD myself (diagnosed) I've done quality control most of my life in various industries, I walk down the street and notice things most people do not. I'm definitely like you are, I can't stand scratches on my phone, my phone is as mint the day I sell it as it was new. It helps to get a better return. Now when it comes to charging, my wife plugs her iPhone at night and unplugs it in the morning with no issues at all. Has been doing that for years and never has had issues. She'll keep a phone longer than I do and there's never any noticeable difference. Not trying to rag on you at all, but these things really are non issues, especially with today's battery technology. I still have a 4s I use as a backup when needed and it gets proper battery life for its age/model. No need to worry about a 2 y/o battery, realistically, you'd probably never notice if the battery did degrade to 80%, most people wouldn't. Just use and enjoy your phone!

 

[naturalstar]

Haha! I went through this when I first came from Android as well. I would freak out once I saw my battery life get to around 60-70%. “OMG, where’s my charger?!!!!?”

I started forcing myself to resist charging just to get an idea of what the battery life would be in my iPhone and pleasantly surprised that I could get though a day most days and maybe only need a slight boost on heavy use days. I felt okay getting down to around 30% eventually, but I never let it get lower than 15-20%.

With my current phone, I charge overnight and will even skip a day if the first day was light usage. If I end my first day at 80% or better, I know I can get through the next day just fine. It’s a beautiful thing.

 

[Vermifuge]

I have never kept a phone in continuous operation long enough for this to be a concern. I don’t sell my phones, I retain them for testing... but once the phone is two years old battery life doesn’t impact my life.

 

[DevinNj]

@naturalstar, Totally, me too! The best thing to do is turn off the battery %. Just use the icon as reference. TRUST ME! It'll take a bit to adjust, but leave it off for a few days and it helps to not be so preoccupied by the percentage.

 

[Strelok]

I generally use my phones pretty heavily, so I always charge it at night. Sometimes on weekends I barely use my phone since I'm doing other things, so I might keep it off the charger for a day or even two. I don't worry about it anymore, worst case I have to use low power mode more often. I do also always get the Plus sized model though.

 

[Newtons Apple]

The only thing that matters is, can you phone make it through the day, and if not, do you have access to charge in the middle of the day?

All else is nonsense worrying.

Wise words indeed. To much to do without having to worry about your phone battery. If it last the day, move on!

 

[fs454]

I'm beginning to realize this. I just hope I can get 2 years out of it in order to limit my frustration in having to get a new battery put in. I hate going to the apple store. It's always a sea of people.

But you'll inconvenience yourself day in and day out adhering to battery superstitions that don't ultimately matter over the course of ownership? To save yourself (or literally not even yourself if you sell it) one trip to the Apple Store a year and a half after the original purchase? It's very likely your battery will reach EOL at a similar time anyways.


Just plug your phone in when you want, and use it however your life dictates. There's no time in life to worry about minute things like that.


Besides, if you're on any sort of carrier upgrade program or Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program, when you trade your phone in the battery is replaced with a fresh one before resale, regardless of its condition.

 

[eyoungren]

I got my first smartphone in 2009. Coming from flip phones it was a rude shock realizing that good battery life meant a day of use at most.

But once I figured that out I stopped caring. Since 2009 my phone goes on charger at night with the screen on for a clock app I use and stays that way until I wake up.

Once I get up it goes off-charger until it's time to go to bed. I do have cables at work should I need a charge. Otherwise the phone sits on my desk all day.

HTC Touch Pro, iPhone 5, iPhone 6+ and iPhone 6s+, they have all been handled this way.

My 6s+ is now over two years old and I still go to bed with no less than 70% of battery each night. Less than 300 cycles.

 

[tonybarnaby]

Just an update. Im still over my battery ocd. I charge to 100% every day. I usually finish my day at 65% or so, so i don't NEED to charge to 100%. It feels good to not babysit my phone anymore.

Bought 12/17 and still showing 100% capacity.

 

[Hal~9000]

Just an update. Im still over my battery ocd. I charge to 100% every day. I usually finish my day at 65% or so, so i don't NEED to charge to 100%. It feels good to not babysit my phone anymore.

Glad to hear it worked out for ya

Always better to simply use a phone as intended and not worry about the battery. I make sure to not have the percentage showing in my status bar so I don’t even think about it and just charge it at the end of the day like yourself.

Also on the bright side, you’ll only need to pay Apple $29 for a new battery (instead of $79) if you get it done before 2019.

 

[se1000]

Charging overnight to 100% isn't nearly as bad as many other things people do regularly. From my experience, deep discharging, physically high temperatures and discharging extremely fast are far worse for battery wear. Modern wireless charging is also a lot more efficient and doesn't cause the heat problems we saw years ago.

I've had my iPhone 8 since launch day, overnight charge using wireless charging every single night and my battery health shows 100%. Sample size of 1 but a data point.

 

[tonybarnaby]

Glad to hear it worked out for ya

Always better to simply use a phone as intended and not worry about the battery. I make sure to not have the percentage showing in my status bar so I don’t even think about it and just charge it at the end of the day like yourself.

Also on the bright side, you’ll only need to pay Apple $29 for a new battery (instead of $79) if you get it done before 2019.

Assuming my battery is around 96-97% at the end of the year, it’s probably pointless to change it out. If I keep it long term, maybe I’ll consider it. $29 is dirt cheap.

 

[Banglazed]

I'm not gonna lie but I use to have this OCD that I did a test on battery after a year it doesn't drop as much. None, actually went below 85% though. I use to charge it overnight and iPad charger until I realized that these actually contribute to more heat and probably cause the battery to degrade.

Now, I only use the supplied adapter and frequently top up between 10-89% to avoid less full charge. For better understanding, I think of the battery as a stomach so when you're starving or overfull, basically you're just stressing it. By topping it up once in awhile, you avoid adding too many full charge to the cycle. I charge my phone up to 80-89% before I sleep and the next day it would last me up till 6pm and still may have 10% to spare. It actually last much longer than I thought.

I have the X since launch and still have 100% capacity and SE just down 16Mhz.

 

[addey]

This thread is like therapy. Thank you.

I’ve turned off the battery percentage as previously suggested and no longer care about battery drain...

I can do this.

 

[Reno Raines]

I also recharge the phone at night and usually that is it. If I am going on vacation or somewhere that I know I will be using it a lot I just bring a battery case with me and that alleviates any issues with it dying on me.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Just an update. Im still over my battery ocd. I charge to 100% every day. I usually finish my day at 65% or so, so i don't NEED to charge to 100%. It feels good to not babysit my phone anymore.

Bought 12/17 and still showing 100% capacity.

I believe you are cured and you did it all by yourself.

Enjoy!

 

[tonybarnaby]

I believe you are cured and you did it all by yourself.

Enjoy!

Thanks man. Kind of pitiful for a 35 year old man to babysit a phone battery. It feels good to be free!
[doublepost=1523112659][/doublepost]

This thread is like therapy. Thank you.

I’ve turned off the battery percentage as previously suggested and no longer care about battery drain...

I can do this.

It gets easier. I woke up today and my phone was 95%. My first inclination was to charge it to 100%, which is the opposite of how I used to be.

 

[SnyG]

Got my 8+ the day after launch. I generally finish the day (when I go to bed around 10/11pm) between 50 - 60% but I’ll put it on to charge overnight anyway, just because it’s what I’m used to and it’s what’s most convenient for me. I don’t have my battery percentage indicator turned on, I don’t worry about it at all, and my battery health is still at 100%.