iPod touch Okay to leave iPod touch plugged in 24/7?

[george-brooks]

I recently set up my mom's multimedia system with a 4th gen. iPod touch. She leaves is plugged into power all the time. Is this okay? Are there any concerns regarding the battery (explosion, decreased longevity, etc.)?

Thanks

 

[Intell]

There is no need for concern with it being plugged in constantly. It may degrade the battery's life.

 

[BrettApple]

Shouldn't be an issue.

Might want to take it off the charger once a month and drain it down so it can go through at least one charge cycle on occasion to keep it healthy.

I've got a 2008 iPod touch 2G that lives 90% of it's life on an iHome for music and Pandora streaming. It still holds a great charge too, surprisingly. When I use it on the battery it will last somewhere around a week and a half with a few hours of use per day. Around 30-35 something hours easily.

I also have a stock 2006 80GB iPod video that is the complete opposite and runs off battery all week long and gets charged once a week. It plays music in my truck through the aux input. Clickwheels are so much easier to change songs with when driving than a touch screen. And my audio system is stock, with no iPod input. So it works great there. No need to keep it plugged in because it goes so long.

There's something to be said about iPod batteries, they can be tougher than most for whatever reason. But YMMV, I've had two iPod touch 4G models with terrible batteries a couple years in, and defective iPhone 4s and 5 batteries. But the older iPods keep ticking.

But if it's plugged in the whole time anyway, and not used much off the charger, I would worry about it at all. Even if the battery did crap out, it's on a charger

 

[Outrun1986]

Okay to leave iPod touch plugged in 24/7?

I have had 2 iPod touches and both were not usable after 1 1/2 to 2 years of use due to losing most of their battery life to where they lasted 2 hours or less per charge.

This does not give me a good impression of Apple batteries.

 

[wrinkster22]

I have had 2 iPod touches and both were not usable after 1 1/2 to 2 years of use due to losing most of their battery life to where they lasted 2 hours or less per charge.

This does not give me a good impression of Apple batteries.

How much did you use them during those two years? Batteries are finite and only last for a certain amount of cycles. On the other hand my laptop that is over three years old still lasts the whole day.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Actually, I'd recommend letting the battery run down almost completely every so often. Personally, I wouldn't leave it plugged in, all of the time.

Although I have a 2010 iPod Touch, I rarely leave it plugged in for days on end. Instead, I play it until the battery runs down somewhat (or a lot).

Other times I may forget about it, and may then notice (after several weeks) that the battery may have run down even though I haven't played it. At that point, I will then plug it in, and charge it fully, leaving it of maybe a day or so, plugged in.

After four years, it still holds a decent charge and works perfectly.

 

[richwoodrocket]

Won't matter if it's plugged in all the time. Battery will degrade but it will be charging so it won't matter. A 4th generation will be at the end of its like soon anyways battery wise.

 

[mangomind]

With these Lithium-ion batteries nowadays, excessive heat near the battery can degrade it (hot car, processor intensive tasks, bright screen on for extended periods of time). And storage at low (<20% battery) and high (>80% battery) levels will degrade it.

Plugged in all the time, you might have heat issues, and you will absolutely have degradation by storing it at 100% battery.

 

[26139]

Uhhh...

I have had 2 iPod touches and both were not usable after 1 1/2 to 2 years of use due to losing most of their battery life to where they lasted 2 hours or less per charge.

This does not give me a good impression of Apple batteries.

1.5 to 2 years of constant use and that's not enough for you?

You're asking a lot of batteries.

 

[QuantumLo0p]

I have had 2 iPod touches and both were not usable after 1 1/2 to 2 years of use due to losing most of their battery life to where they lasted 2 hours or less per charge.

This does not give me a good impression of Apple batteries.

Any device, that is not capable of smarter charging, will lunch batteries and most brands love to sell consumers more product; not less. IMO, follow general recommendations for battery usage but if your mom's pod runs out of juice and she becomes frustrated it may be worth reduced battery life to keep her happy.

You mentioned a "system" for your mom; as in not portable? If she is never going to use it as a portable device then I'd leave it plugged in.

 

[Meister]

It will actuallly be good for your battery.

 

[iolinux333]

It will actuallly be good for your battery.

This is the correct answer. If you feel like it you can Google around for several hours and eventually come to this same conclusion. It's a PITA to sift through all the misinformation out there though.

 

[JoeShades]

With these Lithium-ion batteries nowadays, excessive heat near the battery can degrade it (hot car, processor intensive tasks, bright screen on for extended periods of time). And storage at low (<20% battery) and high (>80% battery) levels will degrade it.

Plugged in all the time, you might have heat issues, and you will absolutely have degradation by storing it at 100% battery.

100% you have no idea what you are talking about

 

[Snorlaxx]

I've done this one mine for 5 years and still charges like day one

 

[saudor]

With these Lithium-ion batteries nowadays, excessive heat near the battery can degrade it (hot car, processor intensive tasks, bright screen on for extended periods of time). And storage at low (<20% battery) and high (>80% battery) levels will degrade it.

Plugged in all the time, you might have heat issues, and you will absolutely have degradation by storing it at 100% battery.

Yes and no. while 50% is ideal, keeping it plugged in at 100 is still better than actually using the cycles. Just be sure to drain it every now and then

 

[charlituna]

I recently set up my mom's multimedia system with a 4th gen. iPod touch. She leaves is plugged into power all the time. Is this okay? Are there any concerns regarding the battery (explosion, decreased longevity, etc.)?

Thanks

Batteries are meant to be used. If they aren't then yes it can degrade them. And yes once it starts degrading there is a risk of swelling etc. But it will take time for either of these to happen. As long as someone is checking the iPod for display splitting (classic sign of the battery swelling) periodically you should be fine. Just make sure there is nothing on the iPod that would be a tragedy to lose if it shuts off and refuses to come back on (like photos that aren't also on computer etc)

 

[mangomind]

Yes and no. while 50% is ideal, keeping it plugged in at 100 is still better than actually using the cycles. Just be sure to drain it every now and then

I definitely agree. What I meant to say before was that many others who use it while plugged in, do this in order to run a processor intensive game or task that would drain the battery quickly.
And many times these processor intensive tasks that quickly drains the battery will create much heat, and heat can severely degrade the battery.

However, using the processor lightly with light programs while keeping it plugged in would not harm the battery as much as cycling the battery. This is what you said, and is what would happen in this situation.

 

[venomgt95]

I can say that from personal experience, it hurts the battery. I just bought a 4th gen off my friend and she kept it plugged in basically 24/7. now, the battery is very messed up. If you use wifi it'll kill it within 20 minutes. Then itll boot right back up if you turn it on, but itll say it has like half a battery! I figured that maybe if i drain it completely, it might fix the issue, so i kept killing it and rebooting it till the very low battery screen kept coming on. So, i plugged it in, ans when it booted up, it said it was halfway charged! And it doesnt like the cold eiither. if it gets a lil cold, itll glitch out and not turn back on till you plug it in. If you dont use wifi or play games (basically just listening to music), it lasts an OK amount of time. Even in standby mode, itll lose power. I hope a restore will fix it, but if not, the battery is fried.

 

[26139]

Well...

Sans the extremely unlikely possibility of the battery swelling, does it matter at all if the battery life decreases on something that's plugged in all the time?

It would likely take years for this to be an issue, so when that happens, either replace the battery or sell it to something who can.