Hello, I got the iPhone 4s on Friday and charged it a little then played wih it. Saturday I charged it on and off just to keep topping it up. However yesterday I read some people saying to let it drain completely til it's flat and then charge it fully. So my question is, since I didn't do that right away should I just continue how I am and keep topping it up when I get the chance. Or today should I let it drain down completely? I just don't want to mess up the battery life. Thanks.
Battery - let it drain?
- Thread starter nicola_mc
- Start date
Lithium-Ion batteries don't have a memory effect like older batteries, but I believe that the iPhone owners manual states that you should drain it down completely once a month or so. My 'routine' for new phones has always been to plug it in upon purchase for a good 10-12 hours, run it till it dies, charge it till full, and then use it normally (which for me means that it gets plugged in every night when I go to bed.) I try to make a point to follow Apple's advice and fully drain it once or twice a month, just to allow the battery to utilize its full capacity and to put a fresh full charge into it. I really don't think you'll harm anything if you don't do it this way, but it has become habit for me.
Guacho
Well-known member
You dont really have to do it now since it's a new phone, I'd wait about a month so you can see where you are in terms of battery life, then let it drain and recharge once a month
even with apples advice to fully discharge it once a month I personally do not do this.. fully discharging these new batterys actually shortens the life span of the battery. I know I buy the new iPhone every year but I dont want to damage it for the person I am selling this one to next year.
leharris22
Well-known member
That's true. Check out Battery University. You want to avoid letting it drain completely and once you charge it to 100% take it off of the charger.
What about people who charge it all night? I plug it in before I go to bed and take it off when I wake up. Should I not do this???
ame
Trusted Member
this is fine to do I do it every night.. the battery quits charging at a certain point
leharris22
Well-known member
It's fine to do that, but you want to avoid having it sitting at 100% on the charger and using it (as much as possible, anyway). Basically, the battery functions best when it's not at extremes 100% or 0%, and batteries have a limited amount of charging cycles before they begin to lose their prime, so fully charging and discharging is not always good for the battery. Battery University explains it really well.
ThePinkChameleon
Trusted Member
i've gotta tell you guys, i hear so many mixed things about how to charge the battery for the iPhone -- ie.1) don't let it run down all the way 2) the battery likes 'bump charges 3) let it run down once a month to keep the battery ions 'active' 4) when its charged to 100%, unplug it right away. sooo confusing for one little phone battery, lol. I had my once a mth discharge schedule set for the 23rd day of each month, but--i'll be honest, idk if i'm going to follow that rule either if that in turn can do more 'damage' to the battery by shortening its life span. As for charging overnight, when i'm down to anywhere like 10-15% is when i will plug in. When that happens overnight it stays plugged in till i take it off in the morning and it still shows the plug icon in the battery itself & i start off with a fresh 100% for the day. But if i have to charge up during the day, as soon as i see the plug icon in the battery signifying its 100% charged, then i unplug it right away.
EDIT: also, just to add in--my other daughter got her 4S on 11/28. it came with 5.0.1 already. We never did do that drain till dead cycle charge for hers at all, and she actually gets better battery life than i do on mine--and i do pretty well, lol. There was one day that we took our phones off the charger in the morning at the same time--only diff was she had like 1h 15m usage while i had 1h 34m of usage--my battery was at 86% and hers was still at 90%--i was like "hey!!" lol.
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I have seen/read more battery threads for different phones over my smartphone years starting in 2006. I've even had people install apps that claim to give you better battery life. Task killer was a brief hit app for android. I can tell you with reasonable scientific certainty that you can pretty much do whatever you want and the battery will last as long as you have this phone. It's all about the amp hours and current drain, not so much about how charge/discharge the thing. Just my .02.
_heatherly
Well-known member
It's very confusing. I just charge it whenever I can. I usually keep a charger at work, but lately I haven't been and my phone lasts all day. I just pop my phone on my charger while I'm cooking dinner after I get home. I've only drained the battery once and I remember it taking forever for the battery to drain after I hit 20%, so I'm not concerned at all with my battery dying unexpectedly. I've had pretty good battery life with my 4S.
Well my battery was low yesterday when I posted this and I didn't get much of a response at first so I just left it drain, and then charged it to 100% again. Hope it'll be ok.
ThePinkChameleon
Trusted Member
I wouldn't worry, im sure your battery will be fine. When I first got my 4S I let it drain completely down to zilch the second night I had it. I just haven't done it since then, and I dont think I plan on doing that monthly cycle charge thing anyway either.
scotiez
Active member
Over the many years that i have owned cell phones since they started with the lithium ion batteries i have never drained it till the phone died. And i have never fully charged the phone when i 1st bought it before using it cause its a new toy, I want to use it right away. I will put it on the charger that night when i go to bed. I do this every night and just unplug it in the morning when i get up. I easily have enough battery juice to last me all day long. Somedays i use 30% battery and somedays i use alot more. I have never had an issue by charging my phone in this method. Battery University states that charging a lithium ion battery more frequently the battery preforms better than letting it discharge till its very low and then charging it is harder on the battery. The Battery in your iphone should have about 400 to 500 charge cylcles, meaning 1 charge cycle is charging 100%, so if you recharge your battery when its at 50% one night and then recharge it when it is at 50% again the next night, this counts as 1 charge cycle. Many people think that every time they plug in and recharge their iphone battery that is 1 charge cycle, that is false.
Many people have their own myths, beliefs, or what ever you call it on how to take care of your battery. I will never change my way no matter what others say because i have a proven track record of over 10 years of using lithium ion batteries and know what works for me. Just thought i would share my info with you. You can use it or just disregard it. Your choice.
Many people have their own myths, beliefs, or what ever you call it on how to take care of your battery. I will never change my way no matter what others say because i have a proven track record of over 10 years of using lithium ion batteries and know what works for me. Just thought i would share my info with you. You can use it or just disregard it. Your choice.
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StaticFX
Well-known member
i have never followed any rules for all the battery BS. Just use the phone, charge it when you want... you should get a good 2 years before the battery starts to show problems (not lasting as long etc) then just spend $7 and get a new battery. Following all those rules MIGHT get you an extra 1/2 hr sometime.. or maybe the battery will hold charges longer for a few extra months. not worth the time imo
I just replaced mine and now it back to lasting a long time again.
I just replaced mine and now it back to lasting a long time again.
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