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iPhone Battery Guide and Charging Tips (3Gs / 3G / Original)

Very good information on the batteries.
However it really sucks that the battery doesn't last as long as the :apple: specs state.
As of Today, it will be nice to have an app that allow us to use the vibrate button to switch from 3G to EDGE, so we can quickly switch it without going through the settings menus.
What is the expected duration of the battery when using the GPS ????
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RC149
 
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McGiord said:
Very good information on the batteries.
However it really sucks that the battery doesn't last as long as the :apple: specs state.
As of Today, it will be nice to have an app that allow us to use the vibrate button to switch from 3G to EDGE, so we can quickly switch it without going through the settings menus.
What is the expected duration of the battery when using the GPS ????
Click to expand...

I don't have any exact numbers, but I've read other users see huge differences with it on and off. To be honest, I've been quite satisfied with the battery life. It has yet to die on me in a day, and based on this guide, you should be charging your phone every night regardless of what charge state your battery is in. People who skip charge days will have poorer batteries in a year.

If anyone has any good links with GPS On / Off stats or any other type of setting testing, please feel free to post them. I'm interested to see what kind of differences we'll actually see mathematically.
 
Blown01NJ said:
Theres no way Im taking it out of the case to charge it every night. That is insane.
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These are tips to "maximize" your iPhone's battery. Obviously, I don't expect everyone to take their iPhones out of their cases while charging. It's merely meant to inform people about the iPhone battery and the knowledge hopefully enables them to make educated decisions how to prolong their battery's lifespan.
 
bboucher790 said:
Once fully charged, let the iPhone's battery fully drain before recharging. This will calibrate your battery indicator, otherwise your iPhone will not accurately display battery life.
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The article you've posted and even you said to avoid full cycles.

But the first few times are done for the sake of calibrating the indicator only?
 
TWLreal said:
The article you've posted and even you said to avoid full cycles.

But the first few times are done for the sake of calibrating the indicator only?
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Precisely. It is hard on the battery to starve it. However, you need to tell it a few times what empty actually is.
 
Yes, the initial charge is simply to calibrate your indicator. You need to fully drain / fully charge once every two months, thereafter. If you fail to do this, your battery indicator will become inaccurate.

TWLreal said:
And I should avoid leaving it on the charger overnight, is that it?
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#8 - You cannot overcharge your iPhone. You don't need to disconnect the iPhone from the charger after it's done charging. You do, however, need to use your iPhone to get the electrons flowing. Storing your iPhone, especially fully charged, is bad for your iPhone's battery.

It's not a big deal to leave it charging overnight. It is a big deal to store your iPhone fully charged.
 
Just one or two more clarifications.

So fully charging the phone overnight isn't a big problem.

But it's best to not completely top off the battery when charging? Unplug it at the 80% mark?

And then start charging when it drops to the 40% mark, is that right?
 
TWLreal said:
Just one or two more clarifications.

So fully charging the phone overnight isn't a big problem.

But it's best to not completely top off the battery when charging? Unplug it at the 80% mark?

And then start charging when it drops to the 40% mark, is that right?
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Overnight let it charge to 100%. I wouldn't worry about the 80% theory too much. Mid-day, if you've used your battery a lot, you can let it charge for a while to give it some more juice. I would try not to fully charge it mid-day, as you will be fully charging it again when you go to bed. So yea, if you're going for a drive and a need some more juice, give it a go.

40% is a modest number. Even 20% works. As long as you're not letting it get too low, you're fine. The more mid-level charging, the better.

Just remember to charge in a cool location. All of these tips are voided if you fail to charge in a cool environment.
 
MisterEdF said:
LOL, reading Apple's battery FAQ basically states "turn every feature off" to save battery life. That's great. They should rename it the "offPhone" instead of the "iPhone."
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haha...little sense of humor, so let me get this straight. apple developed this shinny new 3g phone with "revolutionary features" as they claimed, and they tell us to turn off all those features to save the battery consumption? what a joke.

i do keep the location service off until i really need it, which is probably never since i already have GPS in my car, but there's no way i'm turning 3g off in areas with coverage. that would totally defeat the purpose of a "3g phone", right?
 
I rarely turn off 3G. If, however, I am making a call to Time Warner (or a crazy girlfriend) and I know I will be on the phone for a while, I do enable EDGE. If I'm ordering a pizza, I'll obviously use 3G. I'd say I use 3G about 90% of the time.

Also, both of you guys missed Apple's point. Apple informs people what they can do to extend battery life, they don't expect everyone to use all of their tips, especially all at once. If they did, they would default those features to begin with.
 
Excellent thread - great information and trips. *goes home to change his iPhone and MBA charging habits* Kudos to bboucher790.
 
Don't recalibrate once a month

Who cares if your battery gauge is off by only a few percent? I only calibrate (a full 100%+/0% charge-discharge-charge cycle) when new, and then only a couple more times during the first year to 18 months, because the battery just isn't going to change that much (unless it goes bad) during the first year of use. After a year to 18 months, or if the battery seems to be wearing out, then I recalibrate more often, so the device doesn't die on me without the gauge giving me a good warning. Recalibrating more often just adds wear cycles to the battery life.

Other than calibration, or long days or trips away from the charger, I top off the battery to 100% frequently, and I have battery powered devices well over 4 years old, and with their original battery, doing just fine.

That's my advice, but YMMV.
 
firewood said:
Who cares if your battery gauge is off by only a few percent? I only calibrate (a full 100%+/0% charge-discharge-charge cycle) when new, and then only a couple more times during the first year to 18 months, because the battery just isn't going to change that much (unless it goes bad) during the first year of use. After a year to 18 months, or if the battery seems to be wearing out, then I recalibrate more often, so the device doesn't die on me without the gauge giving me a good warning. Recalibrating more often just adds wear cycles to the battery life.

Other than calibration, or long days or trips away from the charger, I top off the battery to 100% frequently, and I have battery powered devices well over 4 years old, and with their original battery, doing just fine.

That's my advice, but YMMV.
Click to expand...

Although this advice is for a Macbook, the same theory should apply to the iPhone.

Directly from Apple's Site:
"Repeat the calibration process every two months or so to keep the battery fully functioning. If you use your MacBook or MacBook Pro infrequently, it’s best to recalibrate the battery at least once a month."

Source: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh2339.html

If you re-calibrate once a month or other month, you put an unnoticeable wear on your battery. It's a simple technique to keep your indicator as accurate as possible.

Thanks for your input firewood. I edited the guide to calibrate every "two" months.
 
crazyyankeefan said:
haha...little sense of humor, so let me get this straight. apple developed this shinny new 3g phone with "revolutionary features" as they claimed, and they tell us to turn off all those features to save the battery consumption? what a joke.

i do keep the location service off until i really need it, which is probably never since i already have GPS in my car, but there's no way i'm turning 3g off in areas with coverage. that would totally defeat the purpose of a "3g phone", right?
Click to expand...
Just keep in mind that other 3G phones with GPS, bluetooth, etc. suffer from the same limitation. In some cases -- e.g., my ATT Tilt -- the battery life is even worse with those services activated.
 
bboucher790 said:
I rarely turn off 3G. If, however, I am making a call to Time Warner (or a crazy girlfriend) and I know I will be on the phone for a while, I do enable EDGE. If I'm ordering a pizza, I'll obviously use 3G. I'd say 95% of the time I use 3G for voice.....
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You sure have got your priorities right there.. Wouldn;t want the pizza guy getting the order wrong.. but the call to the girlfriend doesnt have to be that clear... :D:D just kidding..

great thread here.. Been following it since you created it.. Helped identify my first 3G iphone as having some battery trouble. got it swapped out at Apple store on friday. Currently testing the new one to see if it has the same problems..
 
bigmouth said:
Just keep in mind that other 3G phones with GPS, bluetooth, etc. suffer from the same limitation. In some cases -- e.g., my ATT Tilt -- the battery life is even worse with those services activated.
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I agree. If you go around the web reading reviews about the iPhone 3G, you will notice people complain about battery life. Why complain about the battery when it offers as good, if not better, battery life than competing 3G enabled phones. It's an unfair criticism of the iPhone 3G. Yes, the battery life of a 3G iPhone is less than of a 2G iPhone, but you can get more work done in less time with the 3G...as previously displayed in this guide...

georgeoommen said:
You sure have got your priorities right there.. Wouldn;t want the pizza guy getting the order wrong.. but the call to the girlfriend doesnt have to be that clear... :D:D just kidding..

great thread here.. Been following it since you created it.. Helped identify my first 3G iphone as having some battery trouble. got it swapped out at Apple store on friday. Currently testing the new one to see if it has the same problems..
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Yea lol...I need to realize they pizza guy won't understand me regardless of what network I'm on.

Sucks to hear you were having problems, what was wrong with your battery?
 
so if i charge my iphone at night and leave it on for the alarm, this is bad for the battery? how else do i charge my phone at night if it can't stay in the full charged state for a period of time..? It is obviously going to get charged fully before i wake up...
 
yode said:
so if i charge my iphone at night and leave it on for the alarm, this is bad for the battery? how else do i charge my phone at night if it can't stay in the full charged state for a period of time..? It is obviously going to get charged fully before i wake up...
Click to expand...
No, I know plenty of people who owned the first gen iphone that would charge it every night and their battery is still working fine.
 
bboucher790 said:
I rarely turn off 3G. If, however, I am making a call to Time Warner (or a crazy girlfriend) and I know I will be on the phone for a while, I do enable EDGE. If I'm ordering a pizza, I'll obviously use 3G. I'd say I use 3G about 90% of the time...
Click to expand...

Hahaha!!!...God Time Warner sucks!!! I really hate dealing with them. Looking forward to new Fios service in NYC!!

Oh...and I only use 3G for web browsing and Netshare anymore (and it's been really fast, for me anyways). At first I left 3G on all the time, but the the honeymoon ended and I realized that just because I have all these nifty features, I don't need them on all the time. Seriously, EDGE is fine for me as far as call sound quality...and I've yet to get a complaint from whomever I'm speaking with on the other end. I wanted better battery life...and it's been great so far. Never dropped a single a call with EDGE or 3G either...(fingers purple and swollen from being crossed for 3 weeks.)

Cool thread, thanks!
 
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