Is it just me or does the hold function use up a lot of battery life? I had a first generation ipod mini and now have a second generation one. Everytime I leave the thing on hold it seems half the battery disapears. And if i leave it on hold for three days the thing needs to reset. Is this normal or am I going crazy?
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iPod Does the Hold function use battery life?
- Thread starter PARL0PH0NE
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Yeah, it saves power to have it in the hold position.
Why? Well, think of it this way: When its not in the hold position, the click wheel is always on (ie: sensitive to touch so that you can change volume and such). If its on the hold position, they just shut the click wheel sensor off. Its using less power because it's off and will not detect anything even if you're touching it. If its not on hold, its constantly on and the sensor is detecting to see whether you have touched the wheel or not. It does this continuously, since you may touch the wheel at any moment and it has to respond quickly.
Why? Well, think of it this way: When its not in the hold position, the click wheel is always on (ie: sensitive to touch so that you can change volume and such). If its on the hold position, they just shut the click wheel sensor off. Its using less power because it's off and will not detect anything even if you're touching it. If its not on hold, its constantly on and the sensor is detecting to see whether you have touched the wheel or not. It does this continuously, since you may touch the wheel at any moment and it has to respond quickly.
PARL0PH0NE said:
Wait, erm, I hate to ask the stupid question
but, when you say you leave it on hold...do you mean that you just let it keep playing, on and on? If you are letting it go to sleep when you don't use it, hold should not have a negative effect on battery life (and should have a positive effect when you're using it, as the others said). But if you, say, listen to the first two songs on a playlist with hold on, and then just take your headphones off and throw it in your backpack without putting it to sleep, well, it keeps playing, and of course the battery drains as it plays the rest of the playlist or album you're on. But I hope that's not what you mean!
If you mean putting the hold on when the iPod is asleep, that would save battery life because the iPod can't accidentily turn on. However, when asleep iPods still use power to keep the HD where it is for the song you were listening to, to power the clock, etc. It uses a tiny amount but that could be why you think your battery is being drained by the hold switch. I hope that helps.
rockthecasbah said:If you mean putting the hold on when the iPod is asleep, that would save battery life because the iPod can't accidentily turn on. However, when asleep iPods still use power to keep the HD where it is for the song you were listening to, to power the clock, etc. It uses a tiny amount but that could be why you think your battery is being drained by the hold switch. I hope that helps.
I guess that has to be the reason. But should it really use up 1/3 of the battery in just 3 days of sleeping?
PARL0PH0NE said:
iPods never truely get turned off. They merely go into sleep mode. During this mode they are using power. It is very common to find a drained battery if you havent charged the iPod in 3 days. Turning the hold switch on will only save the battery in the sense that it will keep the iPod from accidentally being waked and start playing songs.
Also, I have notice that even after a full night's charging, my iPod will sometimes show that it is half full. Then after a few minutes use the battery gauge will show full power.
Yeah, a while back the battery changed. On the 1g it used to dip almost every time the HD accessed and go back up again. Apple tried to make it better, but it still isn't that good. There SHOULD be a feature to totally disconnect the battery, as my friend showed me on his Sony (eugh) HD walkman.
iPods never fully shut off unless the battery dies. The hold switch does use battery life, but very little.
If I put my 3g 15 gig iPod on hold its good for about 2 weeks if I play any music. I suspect even longer as well.
my ipod photo 40gb uses half its battery (from a full charge) in one day if it is alseep and on hold. i keep thinking i should call apple and get it replaced especially since its only a couple months old!
Ipods including and before the 4g used to have a "deep sleep" state where it would actually turn off after several hours of sleep. I have had 4g ipods in this state for well over 3 months and still power up (apple logo shows up) with a good amount of charge left. The newer ipods don't go into "deep sleep" and thus are always in standby mode using up the battery. A step backwards if you ask me.