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New to iPhone World - Should I charge the phone daily?

E

enivree

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 25, 2015
33
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Just got the iPhone 6s and this is my first iPhone. Previously were using the Nexus series, which their battery is total garbage. With Nexus 5, I need to charge my phone 3 times a day without doing much. It was so bad to the point that I basically plug it in at home at work or bring a charge with me at all time.

Now with 6s I realize I only use about 30~35% of the battery a day. Should I plug in and charge at night though it is still 70% full or should I wait till it is almost dead? Now sure how it will impact the battery health.
 
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enivree said:
Just got the iPhone 6s and this is my first iPhone. Previously were using the Nexus series, which their battery is total garbage. With Nexus 5, I need to charge my phone 3 times a day without doing much. It was so bad to the point that I basically plug it in at home at work or bring a charge with me at all time.

Now with 6s I realize I only use about 30~35% of the battery a day. Should I plus in and charge at night though it is still 70% full or should I wait till it is almost dead? Now sure how it will impact the battery health.
Click to expand...

Most people would say to at least run it down until it turns off by itself from time to time to keep normal battery health. Personally, since I switch out every two years, I rarely see enough of a battery difference to say if that's what you normally should be doing. I'm sure others will have their opinions, but I think through normal use, you should be fine recharging nightly.
 
If it's lasting you throughout the day and the day after you are near a charger just charge it the next day

My phone has 58% left now as I'm in bed so will just charge it tomorrow
 
enivree said:
Just got the iPhone 6s and this is my first iPhone. Previously were using the Nexus series, which their battery is total garbage. With Nexus 5, I need to charge my phone 3 times a day without doing much. It was so bad to the point that I basically plug it in at home at work or bring a charge with me at all time.

Now with 6s I realize I only use about 30~35% of the battery a day. Should I plug in and charge at night though it is still 70% full or should I wait till it is almost dead? Now sure how it will impact the battery health.
Click to expand...
I plug my phones in at night, no matter the charge and have been doing so since the first iPhone. I like to start my day on a full charge. Lithium batteries work on charge cycles for life span and for the battery it does not care if you charge from 80% to 100% each time you only used 20% of a cycle. If you want to run it down, you can. I read sometime back its not good to run lithium all the way down and charge all the way up often but won't hurt if you do it occasionally.
 
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I charge mine every night regardless of what percentage of battery remains. However, I do about once a month run it down till it shuts off and then charge it back up fully. I think this helps keep the battery calibrated and it also keeps the battery in top shape. You will find others say that isn't necessary and some will say it shouldn't be done as it's bad for the battery. In all the years I've been running these phones the way I do it has served me well and I've never had battery issues. Remember the phones will NEVER really run the battery to full depletion as they are designed to stop this from happening. So when you've run it down till it cuts off the battery isn't really fully depleted. It maybe close, but not fully!

There are those that run their phones to this point daily and generally do not suffer any consequences so I don't buy that this should never be done.
 
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The Genius Bar recently recommended to me that I run it down at least once per month and also power it off from time to time (best case: 1-2x per week but at least 2-3x per month) for a few minutes. You can also call Apple Support (as long as you're within warranty or have AppleCare+) and they'll run a diagnostic and they'll tell you how your battery is holding up.
 
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I would definitely charge it every night. Battery usage can swing wildly depending on what you are doing. For example if you need to use the GPS a lot one day, you may find that you run it down. I always like to start the day at 100%. I've had a few cases where I didn't and got burned.
 
convergent said:
I would definitely charge it every night. Battery usage can swing wildly depending on what you are doing. For example if you need to use the GPS a lot one day, you may find that you run it down. I always like to start the day at 100%. I've had a few cases where I didn't and got burned.
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Suppose it depends where you are going to be the next day
 
My 3 year old iPhone 5 is still going strong - I did not baby-sit that battery. I never intentionally let my battery run down to 0%; it happens on occasion when I am out and about without my charger or when I am traveling/ camping etc. When I am home, I just charge it every night regardless of what percentage of my battery life remains.
 
enivree said:
Now with 6s I realize I only use about 30~35% of the battery a day. Should I plug in and charge at night though it is still 70% full or should I wait till it is almost dead? Now sure how it will impact the battery health.
Click to expand...

Remember that batteries will only charge a certain number of times over its life. If the battery is down to 50%, then if you charge it back to 100%, you'll only use half of one if its charges out of the however many it will take over its lifespan.

So I charge mine every night.
 
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Charges now a days know when you're full, and go into trickle mode to pretty much just replace what is being lost by being on overnight.

I always throw my phone / watch on the charger when I go to bed. Then every quarter or so, not really on a schedule, I let it drain until it's dead and do a full charge just for battery health.
 
enivree said:
Just got the iPhone 6s and this is my first iPhone. Previously were using the Nexus series, which their battery is total garbage. With Nexus 5, I need to charge my phone 3 times a day without doing much. It was so bad to the point that I basically plug it in at home at work or bring a charge with me at all time.

Now with 6s I realize I only use about 30~35% of the battery a day. Should I plug in and charge at night though it is still 70% full or should I wait till it is almost dead? Now sure how it will impact the battery health.
Click to expand...
My phone goes on charger as my nightstand alarm clock around 11pm to midnight each day. It goes off the charger at 5:45 am during the week and does not return to a charger until the previously mentioned time. Only, if there is heavy use for some particular purpose will I charge during the day.

With my iPhone 5 I got down to about 25%. With my 6+ and my 6s+ I'm putting my phone back on the charger anywhere from 75 to 85% of charge.

I have followed this same pattern since 2009 when I got my first smartphone. My screen is on all night with the clock I use so I prefer to have my phone on it's charger at night. The screen is mainly off during the day except for the occaisonal email, text, or social use so it balances out.
 
Instabux said:
Some people think if you charge overnight when you already have near 100% battery you'd be overcharging your phone and thus wearing out the battery/the battery won't last as long
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No no no.....charge whenever you want. The phone regulates the amount of current it draws from the charger depending how full battery is. The phone automatically goes to trickle charge when it is full. And cycles charging on and off. Will not harm battery to have charger on all night.

The batteries are good for like 500 cycles, before they get to 80% capacity, well over a year. If you charge four times at 75% that equals one charge cycle. It's addative to 100%. Partial charges do NOT reduce the amount of full cycles.

Also if you want a faster charge use iPad charger. Approved by Apple for use on iPhones. Again the phone will only draw current it needs, larger charger at 95% will provide same current as smaller charger. But when you at 0-70% the larger charger will deliver one percent increase per minute. Then it ramps down till trickle when full. Apple has made it idiot user proof.
 
digitard said:
Charges now a days know when you're full, and go into trickle mode to pretty much just replace what is being lost by being on overnight.

I always throw my phone / watch on the charger when I go to bed. Then every quarter or so, not really on a schedule, I let it drain until it's dead and do a full charge just for battery health.
Click to expand...
Actually does nothing for battery health. What that does is set the software so it reads o% to 100% accurately. Apple has engineered the battery and charging system such that you never will take the Li ion battery to either to low a voltage or too high a voltage, where it would be damaged. Zero is not as low as battery can go, it's when software shuts down phone to prevent going undervolt.
 
mtneer said:
My 3 year old iPhone 5 is still going strong - I did not baby-sit that battery. I never intentionally let my battery run down to 0%; it happens on occasion when I am out and about without my charger or when I am traveling/ camping etc. When I am home, I just charge it every night regardless of what percentage of my battery life remains.
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Only way you could damage battery is if you went to zero, phones shuts itself off and you don't charge for 6 months or more. Then battery might go under voltage and normal charging would no longer work.

The battery is completely safe going to zero % and shutdown. Apple designed it that way to protect the battery.
 
I like to have 100% in the beginning of the day, and see what time in the day I would actually need to charge it again. Unless you're a heavy user, shouldn't be a problem and the battery will last you all day!
 
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