iPad mini newbie to iPad, questions please.

[kenny1999]

Hi

Being a complete newbie to iPad, I have bought an iPad Mini with retina display (simple Wifi version only without 3G/Cellular) from the local apple store. Now I have some questions.

1. This is only a Wifi version. My mobile service provider allows sharing 3G data through Wifi with Personal hotspot setting. I think it's high time to buy a portable charger/battery for my iPhone (and iPad as well). There are a lot of such battery/charger in the market. (I am next to China) . I would like to know what do I have to take care of when buying such portable charger? They might range from 4000mAh to 20,000mAh battery size, is this number bigger always better? I still remember many years ago I had a HTC mobile device and I charged it with a bad charger and the battery became bigger and bigger and it was obviously abnormal and i threw it away.

Could the battery of iPhone or iPad overcharge or result in any disadvantages if they are being charged with unknown portable charger.

2. What is the best material of an iPad case if I don't want to invest on the original smartcover? Leather or Silicone? Could leather traps the heat and make the iPad too hot? Would Silicone be too tough to scratch the iPad? Thanks all


3. My iPad is still newly unboxed and has never been turned on. In order to conserve the battery and enjoy the device in the best way, I would like to know if there are such old school rumors like charging the battery for 10 hours or 24 hours for the first time or something like using up all the battery (to 0%) before re-charging it? Thank You

 

[v0lume4]

Howdy, Kenny! I couldn't be more happy for you and your new iPad. Congrats! Regarding your questions...

Those cool portable chargers you're talking about all have batteries of their own inside, and depending on which one you buy you can get a high capacity charger (like 20000mAh) or a lower capacity one (like 4000mAh). Those numbers, 20000 and 4000, are simply referring to the size of the battery inside the portable charger. Higher doesn't mean a greater chance of your phone battery exploding. The USB interface will take care of the rest for you, making sure no phone or iPad batteries are getting damaged. How big of a portable battery should you get, though? I can't recommend because I haven't the slightest clue, but keep in mind that, as a benchmark, the iPhone 5S has like a... 1100mAh battery in it. Or something. Somewhere around that number. The bigger portable battery you buy, the more times it'll charge your phone and iPad before you have to recharge the actual portable charger.

For the cases, don't worry about overheating at all. Truly. Probably 90% of your time using your iPad it won't even get remotely warm. The other 10% of the time, I guarantee it won't get past "warm." iPads don't have a long running history with just overheating. Well, except for the iPad 3. But we're past that.

Battery charging tips? There's really no urban legends about batteries these days. New devices use lithium-ion batteries, which don't suffer from overcharging or any of those weird problems from portables ten years ago. As a matter of fact, they say just to plug your phone or iPad up whenever you have the chance. I mean, if it's sitting at like 50% battery, and you're about to sleep and know you'll use it a lot the next day, charging it back up to 100% overnight won't hurt a thing.

Congratulations again!

 

[kenny1999]

Howdy, Kenny! I couldn't be more happy for you and your new iPad. Congrats! Regarding your questions...

Those cool portable chargers you're talking about all have batteries of their own inside, and depending on which one you buy you can get a high capacity charger (like 20000mAh) or a lower capacity one (like 4000mAh). Those numbers, 20000 and 4000, are simply referring to the size of the battery inside the portable charger. Higher doesn't mean a greater chance of your phone battery exploding. The USB interface will take care of the rest for you, making sure no phone or iPad batteries are getting damaged. How big of a portable battery should you get, though? I can't recommend because I haven't the slightest clue, but keep in mind that, as a benchmark, the iPhone 5S has like a... 1100mAh battery in it. Or something. Somewhere around that number. The bigger portable battery you buy, the more times it'll charge your phone and iPad before you have to recharge the actual portable charger.

For the cases, don't worry about overheating at all. Truly. Probably 90% of your time using your iPad it won't even get remotely warm. The other 10% of the time, I guarantee it won't get past "warm." iPads don't have a long running history with just overheating. Well, except for the iPad 3. But we're past that.

Battery charging tips? There's really no urban legends about batteries these days. New devices use lithium-ion batteries, which don't suffer from overcharging or any of those weird problems from portables ten years ago. As a matter of fact, they say just to plug your phone or iPad up whenever you have the chance. I mean, if it's sitting at like 50% battery, and you're about to sleep and know you'll use it a lot the next day, charging it back up to 100% overnight won't hurt a thing.

Congratulations again!

Hello Thank you for your very detailed explanation! I am highly appreciated!

Yes, but I still remember the time when I bought my first laptop computer in the year of 2000, the laptop used Lithium-ion battery already at that time. I think those urban legends and wired rumour was coming up later than that. Do you mean Lithium-ion is expensive so they are only extensively used in recent years

So
1. I have two iPhone 4S and one iPad Mini with retina display to carry with me. Could a piece of 10400mAh portable charger be a very sufficient backup for my two iPhone 4S and one iPad for one full day and I don't have to worry too much when I use my iPhone 4S as personal hotspot or doing GPS or watching video with maximum brightness and I don't have to worry about the battery by the end of the day? (One full day means 8-10 hours)

2. Once I've decided the size of batteries like 10400mAh, is it already ok to pick any brand and are they more or less the same stuff as long as they are 10400mAh

3.There are still some comments on the web saying that in order to conserve the battery we should not discharge our iPhone or iPad to 0% before recharging. And since there are, though not exact, but limited number of charging and discharging cycles for a battery so we should not charge the battery when the battery is still 50% or 40% full because it would waste a cycle, and thus lowering the lifespan of the battery. We should use our iPhone/iPad, discharging the iPhone or iPad as much as we can before next connecting it to USB charger again. Are these bu11shit too? It sounds make-sense. I don't know.

THanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Night Spring]

I haven't used a portable charger, so I can't help you with your questions about that. But I can tell you that the iPad's battery should last all day without recharging. If you are able to charge it every night, you don't have to worry about a portable battery for the iPad. Just worry about how to make your iPhone last you all day.

As for battery cycles, the way I understand it is if the battery is at 50% and you charge it to 100%, that is one half a cycle. In other words, no need to worry about "wasting" a cycle, just top it off whenever you are near a power outlet.

 

[HEK]

A few battery tips garnered from many places. First check out battery university to better understand Li batteries. Also since most of us upgrade to new devices after two to three years or sooner, most any way you decide to charge and use your device will give you a usable lifespan. So no need to get OCD over your battery.

The batteries are rated for about 500 100% discharges and still have 70-80% of full capacity. Note that five 20% discharges equal one 100%. So you only use one cycle when charging 20% five times.

Li battery chemistry hates heat. So avoid high temperature situations as much as possible. If your device gets hot during charging or intensive processor use, try to allow contact with cooler surfaces to draw away heat when in these situations. Never leave your device in a hot car, even turned off.

Li batteries will fail if overcharged or if allowed to fall below a threshold voltage. Use only Apple chargers and cords as the device in conjunction with these is designed to prevent over and undercharge conditions. You may be lucky and use third party charger/cords without incident, but you really want to risk hundreds of dollars to save twenty bucks?

If you want to be kind to your battery, consider usually charging when you reach 30% and ending charge at 80%. This is a sweet spot for the chemistry of Li batteries. When it's convenient, and I reach 30-40% I connect the charger for short time, like 30 minutes and take it back into low 80% range. Charging in the middle range is faster. Li batteries do not take a set, so charging this way is actually ideal. Plus I don't obsess over 100% mark. Of course when I know I need to for being on the go, I charge to 100%. I may be deluding myself, but have noticed increase in duration since I got my iPhone and iPad following this protocol. About very six weeks I will drain to 10% and charge to 100% to recalibrate the percent meter. Doesn't do anything for battery, just adjusts the range of the meter to improve accuracy.

I leave you with this to ponder. Toyota in their Prius Hybrid has the Li battery pack cycle between 60% low and 80% high. Since the battery pack is $10,000 and needs to last the life of car, five years plus. They use this conservative charge cycle programmed into the controller to maximize battery longevity.

Enjoy your devices, and don't be too stressed over your battery.

 

[kenny1999]

A few battery tips garnered from many places. First check out battery university to better understand Li batteries. Also since most of us upgrade to new devices after two to three years or sooner, most any way you decide to charge and use your device will give you a usable lifespan. So no need to get OCD over your battery.

The batteries are rated for about 500 100% discharges and still have 70-80% of full capacity. Note that five 20% discharges equal one 100%. So you only use one cycle when charging 20% five times.

Li battery chemistry hates heat. So avoid high temperature situations as much as possible. If your device gets hot during charging or intensive processor use, try to allow contact with cooler surfaces to draw away heat when in these situations. Never leave your device in a hot car, even turned off.

Li batteries will fail if overcharged or if allowed to fall below a threshold voltage. Use only Apple chargers and cords as the device in conjunction with these is designed to prevent over and undercharge conditions. You may be lucky and use third party charger/cords without incident, but you really want to risk hundreds of dollars to save twenty bucks?

If you want to be kind to your battery, consider usually charging when you reach 30% and ending charge at 80%. This is a sweet spot for the chemistry of Li batteries. When it's convenient, and I reach 30-40% I connect the charger for short time, like 30 minutes and take it back into low 80% range. Charging in the middle range is faster. Li batteries do not take a set, so charging this way is actually ideal. Plus I don't obsess over 100% mark. Of course when I know I need to for being on the go, I charge to 100%. I may be deluding myself, but have noticed increase in duration since I got my iPhone and iPad following this protocol. About very six weeks I will drain to 10% and charge to 100% to recalibrate the percent meter. Doesn't do anything for battery, just adjusts the range of the meter to improve accuracy.

I leave you with this to ponder. Toyota in their Prius Hybrid has the Li battery pack cycle between 60% low and 80% high. Since the battery pack is $10,000 and needs to last the life of car, five years plus. They use this conservative charge cycle programmed into the controller to maximize battery longevity.

Enjoy your devices, and don't be too stressed over your battery.

Hello, I don't have any comments about your words except the one you say - use Apple original chargers. I forget where I saw but it looks like a lot of people and articles stating that Apple devices will not overcharge and it has the mechanism to stop further charging once the battery reach 100%. But what you said looks like to be a contradiction to that. Doesn't Apple devices stop charging when it has been fully (100%) charged?

I really possibly won't think about an Apple charger because Apple device already costs me an arm and a leg but if it's that important i think i will think about it.

I started using my current iPhone 4S in Oct 2012 and now Dec 2013 only. The iPhone already has problems, it could occassionally turn off itself when the battery is around 10% and shows up the logo to ask for charging. After some charging with USB then the device turned on itself and shows that there are 10% or 15% battery. I never Jailbreak or now using iOS 6.01 never upgraded to updated iOS. I don't use iPhone case and it sometimes accidentally dropped to the ground.

 

[Michael CM1]

I would recommend finding a case with a nice microfiber inside like the Smart Case has. When my dad had a first-generation iPad, he had one of the Apple-branded cases that was just some sort of cloth cover. Fingerprints and smudges got all over the screen and took a cleaning. Since Apple added a microfiber lining to the inside of the Smart Cover and Smart Case, I have had very limited trouble with any of that.

I don't think any material will harm the iPad when it comes to heat unless you leave it in an area that gets too warm -- such as the inside of a car.

For the first time, charge it up all the way and then run it down as much as you can. I had a car dock that i used for my iPhone 4s that always charged it when plugged in. I'm convinced that harmed the battery life over time. Now I have a dock that's just a holding device and play music through a Bluetooth adapter. When I need to charge in the car, I have an extra USB to Lightning cable that plugs into the Bluetooth adapter, which is plugged into the car power outlet. My iPad's battery is still awesome, probably because I don't charge it unless it's needed. I rarely top it off for a few minutes.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

Hi

Being a complete newbie to iPad, I have bought an iPad Mini with retina display (simple Wifi version only without 3G/Cellular) from the local apple store. Now I have some questions.

1. This is only a Wifi version. My mobile service provider allows sharing 3G data through Wifi with Personal hotspot setting. I think it's high time to buy a portable charger/battery for my iPhone (and iPad as well). There are a lot of such battery/charger in the market. (I am next to China) . I would like to know what do I have to take care of when buying such portable charger? They might range from 4000mAh to 20,000mAh battery size, is this number bigger always better? I still remember many years ago I had a HTC mobile device and I charged it with a bad charger and the battery became bigger and bigger and it was obviously abnormal and i threw it away.

Could the battery of iPhone or iPad overcharge or result in any disadvantages if they are being charged with unknown portable charger.

2. What is the best material of an iPad case if I don't want to invest on the original smartcover? Leather or Silicone? Could leather traps the heat and make the iPad too hot? Would Silicone be too tough to scratch the iPad? Thanks all


3. My iPad is still newly unboxed and has never been turned on. In order to conserve the battery and enjoy the device in the best way, I would like to know if there are such old school rumors like charging the battery for 10 hours or 24 hours for the first time or something like using up all the battery (to 0%) before re-charging it? Thank You

For batteries, check this out. It's pretty good and Mophie has a pretty good reputation.

 

[HEK]

Hello, I don't have any comments about your words except the one you say - use Apple original chargers. I forget where I saw but it looks like a lot of people and articles stating that Apple devices will not overcharge and it has the mechanism to stop further charging once the battery reach 100%. But what you said looks like to be a contradiction to that. Doesn't Apple devices stop charging when it has been fully (100%) charged?

I really possibly won't think about an Apple charger because Apple device already costs me an arm and a leg but if it's that important i think i will think about it.

I started using my current iPhone 4S in Oct 2012 and now Dec 2013 only. The iPhone already has problems, it could occassionally turn off itself when the battery is around 10% and shows up the logo to ask for charging. After some charging with USB then the device turned on itself and shows that there are 10% or 15% battery. I never Jailbreak or now using iOS 6.01 never upgraded to updated iOS. I don't use iPhone case and it sometimes accidentally dropped to the ground.

The Apple chargers do work with the Apple phones and iPads to prevent overcharging. With that said, the sweet spot for the batteries still is between about 30 and 80 percent. Batteries do wear out. The chemical reactions become weaker as some of the molecules take a set and no longer cycle. The Apple chargers drop to a lower charge rate at 100% cycling on and off. While this prevents immediate overt battery damage, lithium ion chemistry still does not like being at such a high charge state continuously. Most USB ports do not put out a lot of current, so charging from them will take a very long time. Dedicated Apple charger is best.

Once a month it is good to let the phone or pad run completely down, then plug in, best using charger, and let it go to 100 percent. What this does is reset the percent charge meter to give more accurate readings. According to Apple this won't harm battery. I suspect that your device going out at 15% is simply the built in percentage meter is mis-calibrated.