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Let your phone go dead or constantly charge it to full.

Posted on 2/12/20 at 9:45 pm
Posted by strohmile126
New Orleans
Member since Jul 2008
425 posts
Posted on 2/12/20 at 9:45 pm
I have an iPhone X. I’ve seen some subreddits that suggest letting the battery basically die and recharge from there. Is there any benefit to doing that or charge as you go is preferred?
Posted by MightyYat
StB Garden District
Member since Jan 2009
25029 posts
Posted on 2/12/20 at 10:30 pm to
So the general rule with the batteries in the newer iPhones is you want to try to keep it around 80% most of the time and let it drain as low as possible at night before you charge it.

I’ve pretty much put some anker cords all over the house, in the car and at work. It’s just a habit now to pay attention to battery %.
Posted by Zappas Stache
Utility Muffin Research Kitchen
Member since Apr 2009
42437 posts
Posted on 2/12/20 at 10:30 pm to
Takes about 3 days for my google pixel 3xl to get down to 20% and then I recharge. I think there are a limited number of charge cycles or something like that. Also, I have read its best to only charge your battery up to 80% as the charger as the battery works at lower voltage between 40 and 80% which is less stressful on the battery. I just fully charge mine though.
Posted by strohmile126
New Orleans
Member since Jul 2008
425 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 12:16 am to
Thank you for your input. Love this site to get honest, real answers.
Posted by strohmile126
New Orleans
Member since Jul 2008
425 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 12:17 am to
Thank you Zappas Stache. I love hearing honest, real takes.
Posted by ArkLaTexTiger
Houston
Member since Nov 2009
2568 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 6:12 am to
I let mine go to 0% once a month to help the battery monitoring software calibrate.
Posted by notsince98
KC, MO
Member since Oct 2012
21422 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 8:22 am to
if you want your battery to last, don't let it discharge below 25-30% and don't charge it above 60-70%. The further you go outside those windows, the faster the life of the battery decreases.
Posted by slinger1317
Northshore
Member since Sep 2005
6874 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 8:34 am to
With the style of Lithium Ion batteries today, there is no "battery memory" which in the past made it a good practice to run it to 0% before doing a complete charge.

On a side note, I plug my iPhone 11 Pro Max in every night using a USB-C to lightning cable. The last 2 nights I have gone to bed with the battery around 65% and plugged it in. Upon waking up, my phone is completely dead. I can't figure out why, maybe the charging cable or block is bad? It actually drains the battery, because if I left my phone unplugged all night it would still have plenty of battery remaining the next morning.

I have googled it, and it seems to happen to others as well. Anyone here had this problem?
Posted by MadtownTiger
Texas
Member since Sep 2010
4393 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 8:35 am to
After working for cell phone repair shop for some time and seeing all kinds of aftermarket batteries and configurations, I've to come to this conclusion.

We've seen OEM batteries from Apple, Samsung and LG get mostly from 700-1000 cycles before starting to see really bad battery symptoms. Since I hold on to phones for about 2 years that's roughly 700 cycles so I just do the burn it during the day, charge it up at night. By the time it needs a new battery I'm already giving the phone back.

Aftermarket batteries are absolute trash and you'll be lucky not to be back in a phone shop with the same issues within a few months.

I upgrade every two years and just get a new 1 or 2 year old model. Keeps your month payment down and at about 4 years old the OS is starting to throttle the phone due to upgrades in RAM and processing in current gens which they specifically make the OS for. You can stay relatively up to date as far as technology this way as well and avoid some headaches.
This post was edited on 2/13/20 at 8:37 am
Posted by Will Cover
Davidson, NC
Member since Mar 2007
39920 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 8:37 am to
quote:

Let your phone go dead or constantly charge it to full.


I charge it to full overnight.

I've read that keeping it between 20 % and 80 % is optimal for getting the most cycles out of your battery.

Posted by Lonnie Utah
Utah!
Member since Jul 2012
32653 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 9:50 am to
You're (they're) confusing lithium-ion polymer (Lipo) batteries with Nickel Cadmium batteries (NicCad). (Almost) All modern phone batteries are LiPo's. NiCad's have a memory, Lipo's do not. LiPo's do suffer degradation in overcharge (above roughly 4.2 volts) and over discharge (below roughly 2.3 v) situations. However, your phone has circuitry to prevent both of these situations.
Posted by DoubleDown
New Orleans, Louisiana
Member since Oct 2008
13307 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 10:05 am to
Let's all be completely honest though. 99% of us will buy a new phone before our current phones battery shits the bed.

I have an iPhone 8plus and it says its battery health/maximum capacity is 84%. That's taken 2 full years to drop 16%. Even if that doubled over the next 2 years to drop another 30%, that would put me at roughly 50% of maximum capacity.
That means I would've had my iPhone 8plus for 4-5 years and they'd be on the iPhone 16 or so by then. Time to upgrade.

In other words, at least for iPhones... no one should GAF about their battery health unless you just happen to have a lemon.
Posted by Carson123987
Middle Court at the Rec
Member since Jul 2011
67800 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 10:58 am to
whole bunch of nonsense in this thread
Posted by The Spleen
Member since Dec 2010
38865 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 10:59 am to
I don't let it completely die, but I don't charge mine until it gets to 10-20%. I have a charger on my nightstand at home, one at the office, and one in the car. It's rare I'm not close to one. I also keep a portable charger with me most of the time.
Posted by Weekend Warrior79
Member since Aug 2014
20812 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 12:21 pm to
Don't know the answer, but I have seen my phones last longer since I stopped plugging them in all the time. Then again, it could also be due to the newer technology as I usually hold my phone for just over 3 years.

Now, I only plug in my phone (Pixel 3) at night if the battery is below 25%. I have a desk job and am in my office 75% of the time; so I can charge it up and try to stop it when it's in the 90s. I'll usually need a quick charge on weekends and usually only get a full charge with long drives
Posted by Brettesaurus Rex
Baton Rouge
Member since Dec 2009
38261 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 5:59 pm to
I’ve heard both sides of it.

Always let your phone drain all the way down before which charge it again.
Or
Newer phones have batteries that doesn’t really affect.

I have a X and I basically keep it fully charged all day and I haven’t really noticed major battery drain. I did that battery health test and it still has 91 max capacity. I’m going on about 2 years and 3 months.
Posted by kywildcatfanone
Wildcat Country!
Member since Oct 2012
136284 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 6:09 pm to
Well, I'm screwed I guess

Have a S9+ and keep a charger at my office and unplug at home gets to 98%, plug in at work on charger all day I'm not at lunch, then plugged in again. Get home at 98% and plug in while eating, then plug in at 80% when I got to bed.
Posted by SG_Geaux
Beautiful St George, LA
Member since Aug 2004
80539 posts
Posted on 2/13/20 at 6:45 pm to
quote:

whole bunch of nonsense in this thread


Yep

Google is your friend.
Posted by notsince98
KC, MO
Member since Oct 2012
21422 posts
Posted on 2/14/20 at 7:40 am to
quote:

Yep

Google is your friend.


There wasn't one electrical or chemical engineer quoted or sourced in that entire article.

There are plenty of actual, real world studies on lithium ion batteries that have conclusively proven that when you deep discharge (less than 30% or so), it measurably reduces the life of the battery every time. There are also plenty of other studies showing how the charging rate (current flow) impacts the life of the battery. The faster the charge, the higher the currents, the more heating loss there is in the battery during charging. There is a lot of data to show you how this impacts and shortens the life of the battery.

Finally, there are also MANY studies on the impacts of voltages over ~40%. The voltage at the terminal of the battery changes with the charge. The higher the charge of the battery, the more voltage it is holding at its terminals. As you go above 40%, the higher the voltage, the more stress and heat it creates with the leakage within the battery. This has also been proven to shorten the life of Li batteries. Holding a battery on a charger is putting an even greater voltage across the batteries and exacerbating the problem.

Does all this mean if you abuse the battery it won't last a long time? No. All it means is you can make a Lithium battery last for almost ever if you really "want" to.

I have a 3 year old phone and it has been discharged below 25% less than 10 times and charged to 100% about 8-9 times (mostly by accident). The battery health is still at a measured 100%.
This post was edited on 2/14/20 at 7:42 am
Posted by guedeaux
Member since Jan 2008
13830 posts
Posted on 2/14/20 at 8:05 am to
quote:

There wasn't one electrical or chemical engineer quoted or sourced in that entire article.


There wasn't one in your post, either.
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