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

pilotkid said:
Question: I've tried from a fully charge to drain the battery in my iphone but cant seem to get it to 0%. Usually from a full charge I drain the battery in my iphone(by turning on location services, push, fetch 15mins, 3G, Bluetooth, and turn the brightness to 100%, and having a movie playing), I get my two messages "20% remaining", "10% remaining" and then it shuts off by itself. However, I can then turn it back on in 5-10mins and start my movie again and have it play for a few mins, I'll say somewhere between 3-15mins. Then it shuts itself off, and again, I can turn it back on in a few mins.


-snip-
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I thought when it shuts off that's already considered 0%, I calibrate my battery that way - once it shuts off by itself I full charge it afterwards.
 
Rayfire said:
I thought when it shuts off that's already considered 0%, I calibrate my battery that way - once it shuts off by itself I full charge it afterwards.
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I think when it shuts off its suppose to be at 0%? However, I know on mine that it will shut itself off and I can turn it back on in about 5mins and get a few more mins out of it...
 
- Always go to the home screen before putting your iPhone in standby mode. If you are running an App and hit the Sleep/Wake button to turn the screen off, the application will still be running in the background and can severely drain your battery.
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Is this true for all apps? I thought sleep was supposed to shut down the app. What about apps like SMS?
 
Thanks for all the info - looks great.

My concern, however, is that Apple's tech support told me the opposite re: charging practices - they told me to always run my iphone all the way down and NOT to charge it when it hits half way, because always "topping it off" just wastes cycles. I suppose the guy I talked to could just be wrong - do you have documentation from apple supporting the techniques you posted?

Thanks!
 
dstromes said:
Thanks for all the info - looks great.

My concern, however, is that Apple's tech support told me the opposite re: charging practices - they told me to always run my iphone all the way down and NOT to charge it when it hits half way, because always "topping it off" just wastes cycles. I suppose the guy I talked to could just be wrong - do you have documentation from apple supporting the techniques you posted?

Thanks!
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This page seems to say it's fine to recharge from 50% or whatever:

http://www.apple.com/batteries/

The practice of discharging all the way seems to only apply to NiCd and NiMH battery chemistries, and all of Apple's products use lithium in their primary batteries now.
 
bboucher790 said:
Actually, Lithium-Ion Polymer, if we want to get technical :).



Yea, I personally don't turn off all those features. I usually leave even 3G on all day, as long as my battery last the whole day. Later in the day, if my battery is dying, I'll disable a few battery killing features like 3G / WiFi. Otherwise, my settings are as follows for normal use:

3G - On
WiFi - On
Bluetooth - On
Location Services - Off
Bluetooth - On
Brightness - 50% w/ Auto Brightness

As long as my battery lasts me the entire day, I'm content with using those settings. This guide is not specifically stating to turn off everything, rather, it's here to give users a source of information to see why and if they should disable a specific setting. Everyone uses their iPhone for different things, so everyone should have different settings.

As the battery deteriorates, I will probably have to adjust some of my current settings, which is why I am very closely monitoring my charging habits and charge cycles to preserve the battery.


:):)
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Mine lasts me 3 days!. I have wifi at home and at work and have under my arm a samsung NC10 so don't need iPhone for internet.

3 G. Never used and never will.

Locations. Off.

Bluetooth on for Parrot CK3100 in the car.

Brightness 50% "Auto"


Great phone and Battery life in Spain where we have 3 G in 95% of the country but not many people use it as the data transfer costs will be more expensive than your iPhone:eek:
 
So what's the rule we're following for the initial charge of the 3G S?


Fully deep charge and discharge once when the unit is brand new. Then try to keep the battery topped off as much as possible for the rest of the life of the product.

Sounds good?

The OP of the thread mentions to keep the iPhone off for five hours once drained. I don't think that's necessary, no?
 
ej2zo said:
So what's the rule we're following for the initial charge of the 3G S?


Fully deep charge and discharge once when the unit is brand new. Then try to keep the battery topped off as much as possible for the rest of the life of the product.

Sounds good?

The OP of the thread mentions to keep the iPhone off for five hours once drained. I don't think that's necessary, no?
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I don't know if it needs to be kept topped off. The nickel batteries probably needed that, but iPhone uses lithium batteries. The first full cycle is probably just a calibration run so the phone knows how deep the battery is and how long it's expected to run. Later full cycles might serve as further calibration as the battery ages. But it's hard to find authoritative technical literature on lithium battery behavior.
 
Quick question, when performing a full charge cycle with a new phone as described in the first post, is it best to switch the phone off while charging or leave it on?

Thanks.
 
- Re-organized and tweaked for easier comprehension.
- Updated w/ 3Gs statistics.
- New Section added discussing ThaSpaz's information about setting your phone as "new", without erasing important data. This has also been reported to restore some battery life.
- New Section added discussing out-of-warranty battery issues.

Let me know if other information has been added in the past year so I can update again.
 
It's my opinion that there is far too much paranoia when it comes to the battery of the iPhone (any model). Worrying about how your charge or when you charge is something you should not be concerned with. These aren't laptop batteries. I would charge my 2G at any point when at home and for two years it gave me no issues; same life that whole time. I am doing the same with my 3GS. Unless you really plan on keeping your phone upwards of 4-5 years as a main phone, just enjoy it.

I do turn on and off features when I'm in different locations, for example 3G at home. I don't need it due to my wifi, same at work. The only problem with work is that I always have to accept an access page for the wifi whenever the phone is off the network for >5 minutes. So I do leave on the "Ask before joining" switch. There are times I use the wifi for 20 seconds to check email or I might use it an hour. Not worth the menu navigation and waiting.

I'm just curious, are the battery reports in the original post for Airplane Mode or while the phone is on? For example, am I going to get 7 hours of video time only if everything else is shut off?
 
bboucher790 said:
iPhone Charging

Initial Charge (a few theories out there, I felt this is the safest route to go)
#1 - Buy the iPhone 3G. Do not use the iPhone 3G.
#2 - Initially charge your iPhone for 3 hours. I've read conflicting statements about this. To be safe, don't use your phone before letting it charge for 3 hours. Also, use your wall charger (avoid the computer charger).
#3 - Now it's time to calibrate your battery indicator. Let the iPhone's battery fully drain. Keep the iPhone off for five hours once drained, then fully charge your battery. Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for two hours. You may use your iPhone during this time as long as the iPhone is plugged in.
#4 - Repeat step #3 a maximum of three times if you feel your battery indicator is inaccurate.

Everyday Charging
#1 - Charge your iPhone throughout the day when available. Charge EVERY night, regardless of charge level. This will keep your battery active, which is healthy for the iPhone's battery.
#2 - Use a wall charger or car charger w/ rated output 5V 1A. Computer chargers might not charge when the computer is in standby mode.
#3 - You cannot overcharge your iPhone. You don't need to disconnect the iPhone from the charger after it's done charging. Once fully charged, the iPhone will run strictly off of AC power and will not damage the battery.
#4 - Every two months, make sure you fully charge and fully drain the battery, in one cycle. This calibrates your battery indicator. If you fail to do this, your indicator will become inaccurate. Calibrating your battery does not improve battery life.
#5 - If you ever need to store your iPhone for any reason, make sure your battery is stored @ roughly 50% and in a cool environment.
#6 - Always charge your iPhone out of its case (assuming you can easily remove the case). Charging your iPhone inside your case will make the iPhone hotter, which is bad for the battery.
#7 - Charge your iPhone in a cool location. Charging your iPhone in a cool environment has a tremendous impact on your battery's lifespan. The colder the location you use to charge, the more charging cycles you can complete without your battery deteriorating. Avoid charging in direct sunlight. DO NOT PUT PUT YOUR IPHONE IN THE FREEZER! :)
#8 - Use properly rated chargers. Using chargers that are not properly rated will have a huge impact on your battery's lifespan. Make sure your car charger has the same rating as the official Apple charger. The official Apple wall charger is rated as follows:

Input: 100 240V ~ 50/60 Hz 1.0A
Output: 5V 1A
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Pertaining to charging, do I charge with my iPhone switched on (standby)/off?
 
CADACUSER said:
Wrong... Nickel-based batteries are the ones that can develop crystals. Not Lithium-ion! Below is on Apple's web page for Battery Care.

Please read carefully...

Lithium-ion batteries pack in a higher power density than nickel-based batteries. This gives you a longer battery life in a lighter package, as lithium is the lightest metal. You can also recharge a lithium-ion battery whenever convenient, without the full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep nickel-based batteries at peak performance. (Over time, crystals build up in nickel-based batteries and prevent you from charging them completely, necessitating an inconvenient full discharge.)

Most lithium-ion batteries use a fast charge to charge your device to 80% battery capacity, then switch to trickle charging. That’s about two hours of charge time to power an iPod/iPhone to 80% capacity, then another two hours to fully charge it, if you are not using the iPod/iPhone while charging. You can charge all lithium-ion batteries a large but finite number of times, as defined by charge cycle.

A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity slightly, but you can put notebook, iPod, and iPhone batteries through many charge cycles before they will only hold 80% of original battery capacity. As with other rechargeable batteries, you may eventually need to replace your battery.

For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down).

Carl D.
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I usually Keely my phone plugged in if there is an outlet nearby and I work from home so it's literally on a charger 90% of the day or so. I drain it all the way once a month or so to calibrate it so it's accurate.

Am I taking proper care of my battery by Doing this? Keeping it on a charger plugged in 100% shouldn't harm it right if I calibrate it 1 time a month or every other months or so?
 
Following the initial 3 hour charge, when you fully "drain" your battery, are you allowed to play with it or is it hands off until you charge for 3 hours, unplug, and let it sit until dead? I'm coming from an Evo and am ever sensitive about battery life.
 
Aquaduck04 said:
Following the initial 3 hour charge, when you fully "drain" your battery, are you allowed to play with it or is it hands off until you charge for 3 hours, unplug, and let it sit until dead? I'm coming from an Evo and am ever sensitive about battery life.
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You can use the phone until it dies. Then, once dead, leave the phone off for a few hours. Fully charge the phone again, and your battery will be calibrated.

Also, I updated the guide to include iPhone 4 statistics and cleaned up a few areas.
 
bboucher790 said:
You can use the phone until it dies. Then, once dead, leave the phone off for a few hours. Fully charge the phone again, and your battery will be calibrated.

Also, I updated the guide to include iPhone 4 statistics and cleaned up a few areas.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for your help.
 
3G Web Battery Issues When Web Surfing

Hi. For 3G web use on my iPhone I can get maybe 3.5 hours if i am lucky and maybe 3 hours otherwise with the phone plugged in to AC adapter or computer. Is there something i am missing here. I would assume that i could get some more time out of it when it's actually charging but it is 3 to 3.5 hours 3G internet regardless of charging or not. Is there something i dont know about how the iphone charges? any other people experience this? is there a fix for this? i have a iPhone 3G 8GB a little under a year old. thanks.
 
thomasp1013 said:
Hi. For 3G web use on my iPhone I can get maybe 3.5 hours if i am lucky and maybe 3 hours otherwise with the phone plugged in to AC adapter or computer. Is there something i am missing here. I would assume that i could get some more time out of it when it's actually charging but it is 3 to 3.5 hours 3G internet regardless of charging or not. Is there something i dont know about how the iphone charges? any other people experience this? is there a fix for this? i have a iPhone 3G 8GB a little under a year old. thanks.
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No, it really shouldn't go down at all when you're charging. I suspect you have a battery problem. Take it to Apple and let them analyze it. You can replace the battery for $79 (in the U.S.).
 
iPhone Charging

Okay, so I'm a little slow on the uptake... Just got my very first iPhone. However, not knowing about the charge and drain thing (thank you AT&T store), I didn't DO that and have simply been using my phone, mostly with it plugged into my laptop.

Should I at this point let the battery run out, recharge, etc? :confused: Suggestions would be MOST appreciated!

I've had it for two days...

THANKS!!
 
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