Does leaving your ipad plugged in all day, 24/7 harm the battery or does the ipad know to basically charge the battery to full and then once the battery is full, divert power to power the ipad directly instead of charging the ipad all of the time to maintain it at 100%?
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leaving ipad plugged in all day
- Thread starter halfmonkey
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iOS 11.3 has this in its release notes:
- Maintains battery health when iPad is connected to power for prolonged periods of time, such as when it is used in kiosks, point of sale systems, or stored in charging carts.
I let mine charge at night and it stays plugged up till the next day and been doing it for years.
All is good. Apple put the technology in so you do not need to worry about it!
All is good. Apple put the technology in so you do not need to worry about it!
You generally want to unplug the cable once the charge is complete.
You can't hide from the fact that li-ion battery chemistry doesn't like fully charged batteries.
iOS 11.3 was updated to include charge management because there were reports from kiosk users and teachers (who use charging carts) seeing swollen batteries from iPads. It still keeps the battery slightly below 100%, but that's still not great for battery health.
You can't hide from the fact that li-ion battery chemistry doesn't like fully charged batteries.
iOS 11.3 was updated to include charge management because there were reports from kiosk users and teachers (who use charging carts) seeing swollen batteries from iPads. It still keeps the battery slightly below 100%, but that's still not great for battery health.
Was this a problem on IOS 10? Using a 2017 iPad as a point of sale, i'm figuring it would be wise to update it?
It was a problem all along, since day one. Li-ion doesn't like to be kept fully charged. Update to 11.3 as soon as you can.
The amount of time spent at extreme states of charge (100% or 0%) is what kills li-ion, along with heat.
It shouldn't affect the battery in any significant way.
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Yes, if you want to get very technical, li-ion batteries are most comfortable, so to speak, when kept between 40-80% charged, but from a practical standpoint my observations and those of others suggests that the extra wear is pretty insignificant.
*edit to add*
iPads in particular seem to exhibit excellent battery longevity. I teach as a school that still has 2nd gen iPads for student use. They are plugged in almost constantly, but when unplugged, still allow for several hours of usage.
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Yes, if you want to get very technical, li-ion batteries are most comfortable, so to speak, when kept between 40-80% charged, but from a practical standpoint my observations and those of others suggests that the extra wear is pretty insignificant.
*edit to add*
iPads in particular seem to exhibit excellent battery longevity. I teach as a school that still has 2nd gen iPads for student use. They are plugged in almost constantly, but when unplugged, still allow for several hours of usage.
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Serious question...From an engineering standpoint since this is the case wouldn’t manufacturers benefit from calibrating reported charge state as 100% when the battery is actually charged to a slightly lower but safer capacity that’s suited to long term use? I’ve seen people on the Android root scene installing mods that shut down charging at lower percentages and wondered ... hmmm, the designers already set limits on charging...wouldn’t said design limits already have a factor of safety applied and if so how much ?
I’m an engineer but not an electrical engineer, but I do practice the application of safety factors and contingency. I wonder how much contingency is already built into the charging circuits of mobile devices.
Batteries in smartphones and tablets are optimized for short term storage capacity rather than longevity.
Every millimeter of thickness counts on a smartphone and device replacement cycles are typically 2-3 years. As a result, the batteries in smartphones are designed to store and release nearly 100% of their design capacity. They have low tolerance to extreme states of charge.
Compare this with EV where the battery design is optimized for longevity. The Model 3 for example has 80.5 kWh pack but is electronically limited to 75 kWh. By default, a full charge stops at 80%. This allows for battery degradation and promotes battery health.
We use two iPads at work and one iPad mini. They are pretty much always plugged in and abused. They all work like a champ, with epic battery life when taken off the charger.
And these are not even running the latest software.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208710
iPad uses rechargeable lithium-ion batteries which are designed to be charged and then discharged over their lifespan. When they remain at full charge for prolonged periods of time, battery health can be affected.
You’ll always encounter anecdotes like “my grandfather smoked all his life and never got cancer” type of arguments. It doesn’t mean they’re worth anything.
iPad uses rechargeable lithium-ion batteries which are designed to be charged and then discharged over their lifespan. When they remain at full charge for prolonged periods of time, battery health can be affected.
You’ll always encounter anecdotes like “my grandfather smoked all his life and never got cancer” type of arguments. It doesn’t mean they’re worth anything.
You forgot to include the rest of the Apple statement:
"iOS 11.3 includes a charge management feature to help maintain battery health, which monitors iPad for use in these situations and, as required, reduces the maximum charge level. The battery indicator will display the charge based on the adjusted maximum battery level. The maximum charge level will revert back to the previous level when iPad is no longer connected to power for prolonged periods and as conditions and battery health allow."
In other words, apple knows this and takes care of it through their software.
do we unplug our toasters, TV, toothbrush, telephones and our nuclear enriching processors in the 40 watt range? no why should we unplug our iPads?
oh duh! we are told to keep iPads unplugged so apple can repair the battery and makes more money...silly me!
oh duh! we are told to keep iPads unplugged so apple can repair the battery and makes more money...silly me!
It says it helps maintain battery health. It doesn’t indicate it resolves this issue completely. Your best bet is to still unplug and discharge regularly.
OH JEEZ! Apple sells iPads to businesses all over the place who use iPads that are ALWAYS PLUGGED IN for obvious reasons. NO known problems. I know this for a fact BTW.
Your “facts” don’t carry much weight when actual battery researchers like Dr. Jeff Dahn of Dalhousie University, who works for Tesla have indicated Li-ion doesn’t like extreme states of charge.
How 'bout you don't leave your iPads plugged in all the time and thousands and thousands of businesses, schools, libraries, kiosks, work places and I will. OKAY?
I'm done here.
Thanks for your hand-waving arguments. Come back with facts next time.
I don't think that anyone is disputing this research. It is indeed a fact of the chemistry of Li-ion batteries. But You may be over stating the actual, rather than theoretical, effect. Many mobile device are kept at full charge for extended periods and yet their batteries remain healthy for years. It's more than a few anecdotal cases. It's quite normal for schools and businesses.
Battery health for iPads is difficult to determine because most users don't run battery health apps to determine actual capacity.
An iPad that lasts 7 hours instead of the 10 hours when new has taken a significant hit in capacity. However, most people wouldn't mind because most schools and businesses don't run 10 hour work days. An iPhone with similar degradation is immediately noticeable.