[haej1]

Apple said that it's recommended to fully discharge an iPhone's battery once a month to maintain the health of the battery? But I read somewhere that fully discharging a lithium-ion battery is bad for the battery's lifespan and decreases it. So what's true and false and should I discharge it once a month or not?

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[agalaria]

You sure Apple recommended to fully discharge...? Secondly I never discharge it completely and my battery is doing fine

[billyboydoy]

No idea about what apple said but I do drain my battery at least ones a month and I can tell I got a great battery life so far.


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[EmceeGeek]

I don't believe Apple would say that (I'm not 100% sure), but I've done it for years. They recommend changing your battery once it's had 500 full charge & discharge cycles if it doesn't hold at least 80% of its original capacity.

[billyboydoy]

I don't believe Apple would say that (I'm not 100% sure), but I've done it for years. They recommend changing your battery once it's had 500 full charge & discharge cycles if it doesn't hold at least 80% of its original capacity.

How do u know if ur battery have 500 full charge ????


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[zerog46]

I have read and heard this numerous places. It is bad to fully discharge a lithium ion battery. http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/a...ased_batteries

[bobbob1016]

Apple said that it's recommended to fully discharge an iPhone's battery once a month to maintain the health of the battery? But I read somewhere that fully discharging a lithium-ion battery is bad for the battery's lifespan and decreases it. So what's true and false and should I discharge it once a month or not?

Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums

No, you don't. It's not a nickel-whatever battery. Lithium-ion doesn't have "memory". Discharging to 0 is actually bad for Lithium-ion. It's best to store/ship it with a half charge.

[Flow39]

I haven't ever fully discharged my battery in my rMini. The lowest it's got down to is 30%, but it still gets the same 10-11 hours of screen on time as it did when I bought it.

[Massie]

It's interesting...Apple has separate battery pages for iPhone and iPad users; the iPad page suggests running it down to 0% once a month, while the iPhone page does not. Not sure why it would be suggested for one but not the other...maybe they expect that an iPhone will run out on it's own (or get close enough) with regular use?

https://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

https://www.apple.com/batteries/ipad.html

Use Your iPad Regularly
For proper reporting of the batterys state of charge, be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).

[Ledsteplin]

I do it about once a month to keep the % icon in the status bar calibrated and give the battery a workout. It is good for the battery to get that workout every now and then. But generally speaking, it doesn't matter how you charge your battery.


Sent from from my ancient but trustworthy iPhone 5

[Just_Me_D]

No, you do not "need" to fully discharge your iPhone's battery once a month. I discharge me be completely every now and then because that's what "I want to do" and it, at least in "my" opinion, helps me maintain good battery life.

[pr1nce]

No you don't need to fully discharge your battery once per month. Once in a while mine will get down to 10-15% before I recharge it.

[bobbob1016]

It's interesting...Apple has separate battery pages for iPhone and iPad users; the iPad page suggests running it down to 0% once a month, while the iPhone page does not. Not sure why it would be suggested for one but not the other...maybe they expect that an iPhone will run out on it's own (or get close enough) with regular use?

Well, *technically* they don't say that... They say one cycle is 0-100, and .5 of a cycle is 50-100%. I could see this more as saying "Over the course of a month drain it down for one cycle". Kind of a stretch given "completely running it down" but that still goes with the "conventional don't run it down to 0 ever" wisdom.

[Massie]

Well, *technically* they don't say that... They say one cycle is 0-100, and .5 of a cycle is 50-100%. I could see this more as saying "Over the course of a month drain it down for one cycle". Kind of a stretch given "completely running it down" but that still goes with the "conventional don't run it down to 0 ever" wisdom.

So would that mean that charging from 90% to 100% ten times would equal one cycle?

Apple has never obfuscated when it comes to their battery guidelines; if it says "charge to 100% and run down completely" it simply means run until it's dead.

[bobbob1016]

So would that mean that charging from 90% to 100% ten times would equal one cycle?

Apple has never obfuscated when it comes to their battery guidelines; if it says "charge to 100% and run down completely" it simply means run until it's dead.

I think the one on that iPad link is old, as the one on "the apple battery site"* says:
"you can recharge a lithium-ion polymer battery whenever convenient, without requiring a full charge or discharge cycle"

The one for the iPhone says the 90 percent to 100 percent (I can't type the symbol apparently as the site thinks I'm spamming?) thing under "Standard charging"

But at the bottom it says:
"Lithium-ion polymer batteries need to be used for maximum performance. If you don’t use your device often, be sure to complete a charge cycle at least once a month. Click the links below to add regular reminders to your iCal calendar."

They are giving some conflicting info, as it seems they say to do that only if you don't use your device much.

*Spam filter thinks I'm spamming, so you go to the normal Apple site, and add the slash then you add the word batteries

[warcraftWidow]

So would that mean that charging from 90% to 100% ten times would equal one cycle?

Yep. That's what that means. At least that's how it's calculated for MacBook batteries and is assume they are the same.

[Massie]

To be honest I never do any of this stuff anyway. I just use my things. By the time it would really matter, I'm ready to upgrade. Too many people (in my opinion) obsess over details like this at the cost of enjoying their devices.

[zerog46]

To be honest I never do any of this stuff anyway. I just use my things. By the time it would really matter, I'm ready to upgrade. Too many people (in my opinion) obsess over details like this at the cost of enjoying their devices.

Exactly. Just use the damn thing.

[Spencerdl]

To be honest I never do any of this stuff anyway. I just use my things. By the time it would really matter, I'm ready to upgrade. Too many people (in my opinion) obsess over details like this at the cost of enjoying their devices.

EXACTLY this^^^....LOL

[Ledsteplin]

Some people should just go to Settings and turn that blasted % thingy off. That one little % status bar icon has caused more users to obsess than anything else. :/


Sent from from my ancient but trustworthy iPhone 5

[warcraftWidow]

Some people should just go to Settings and turn that blasted % thingy off. That one little % status bar icon has caused more users to obsess than anything else. :/


Sent from from my ancient but trustworthy iPhone 5

Just remove the battery symbol altogether!

[Septembersrain]

They've told me to let it discharge completely only when it's no longer reaching 100% when charging.


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[Not Quite Right]

So would that mean that charging from 90% to 100% ten times would equal one cycle?

Another thing that confuses me to this day is when people say that to keep from overcharging the phone drains to 95% then resumes charging to 100% and repeats. Wouldn't that eat up battery cycles unnecessarily?

[Illustrator Joe]

Not a single sex joke....