Other Is wireless charging detrimental to battery life? [MERGED]

[Makayla]

Yes according to some experts and I am inclined to believe them. However I doubt the difference is drastic unless there are other factors going on. And I recommend keeping both charging cables and wireless chargers at home for backup.

See, a wireless charger saved my old iPhone 8 Plus.

Basically the battery of 8 Plus (was always charged through a cable and still had its original battery at 82% at 6 yo) drained overnight and for some reason cables just couldn’t charge the battery no matter what. Apple refused to replace the battery saying the battery was not the problem but the port or the circuit was.

As a last ditch effort I bought an inexpensive generic Qi charger to charge the 8 plus wirelessly for the first time and guess what? The phone was brought back to live within one hour.

After it was brought back, it showed battery health still at 82% but with a message to have the battery serviced. And interestingly now the cable charging would work too. Went back to Apple and this time they had choice but to replace the battery for me and now the iPhone 8 Plus is living a great second life, snappy as ever. 😁

So I say, charge your phones however you want but having multiple charging methods available is a good thing.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

FWIW, in the first year my iPhone 12 Pro dropped to 89%. But still over 80% after 2, so I continued AC+ monthly to replace my battery when it got under 80%, then drop AC. Now, just over 1 year of AC+, my battery is finally down to 79% so will replace later this month. I lost that gamble, since it would have just been cheaper to replace the battery than 14 months of AC+.

I know AppleCare+ gets a lot of promotion on this forum, but it is an expensive insurance policy and many seem to use it to compensate for the shortcomings of their device. I think if a device requires a new battery in 2.5 years or less, that should be Apples responsibly, not ours.

 

[AlixSPQR]

is the wireless charging accelerating the battery wear?

Maybe a little, but it isn't important compared to other factors. Batteries degrade mostly because they are overcharged or undercharged, that is to say above 80 percent or below 20 percent. Personally, I try to keep the battery within the 40 to 80 percent span at all times. I use Apple's magsafe wireless charger, and that works fine. My 13 mini is 1.5 years old and its battery health is 98 percent.

 

[I7guy]

I know AppleCare+ gets a lot of promotion on this forum, but it is an expensive insurance policy and many seem to use it to compensate for the shortcomings of their device. I think if a device requires a new battery in 2.5 years or less, that should be Apples responsibly, not ours.

I don’t agree. Li ion batteries can be abused by draining to zero, leaving in the hot sun, keeping charged at 100%. All that can cause (severe) battery degradation, which shouldn’t be on apples shoulders. That’s what AppleCare is for.

 

[Surfsalot]

Not in my experience only use magsafe in home/office and car.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I don’t agree. Li ion batteries can be abused by draining to zero, leaving in the hot sun, keeping charged at 100%. All that can cause (severe) battery degradation, which shouldn’t be on apples shoulders. That’s what AppleCare is for.

In my country if an iPhone isn’t performing to a reasonable standard in its first 2 years, Apple are obligated to replace it for free. I wouldn’t need AppleCare for any type of hardware failure in that time. It would be on Apple to prove I have ‘abused’ my battery, not for me to prove otherwise if I am within the warranty window. We also get 6 years from the date of purchase to qualify for a free replacement depending on the issue.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Some here get so “miffed” that others actually care about getting maximum battery life from their iPhone.

 

[Wando64]

In my book anything that heats up the battery (such as wireless charging) is wearing it more, or more quickly, than anything that doesn’t heat it up (such as low power cable charging).

Once that is established then the issue of convenience can be taken into consideration, but that was not the question.

 

[I7guy]

In my country if an iPhone isn’t performing to a reasonable standard in its first 2 years, Apple are obligated to replace it for free. I wouldn’t need AppleCare for any type of hardware failure in that time. It would be on Apple to prove I have ‘abused’ my battery, not for me to prove otherwise if I am within the warranty window. We also get 6 years from the date of purchase to qualify for a free replacement depending on the issue.

Apple may have a way to determine if a battery has been abused. The cycle count is now in iPhone 15 and they may have a way to determine if battery degradation is due to excessive heat. My point is: warranty shouldn’t cover abuse and that’s in part what drives the cost of products.

 

[FeliApple]

It generates more heat, which is detrimental to battery health, so probably. The extent of the impact, like everything concerning batteries, varies from device to device. Overall, however, it does.

 

[rui no onna]

It generates more heat, which is detrimental to battery health, so probably. The extent of the impact, like everything concerning batteries, varies from device to device. Overall, however, it does.

Yep, this. Especially during summer months, I often notice battery stopped charging messages when using wireless charging.

It's just so convenient though so I just connected the wireless charging dock to a smart plug and have it automatically turn off after 1 hour.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Apple may have a way to determine if a battery has been abused. The cycle count is now in iPhone 15 and they may have a way to determine if battery degradation is due to excessive heat.

The analytics logs contain a lot of metrics beyond CycleCount

MaximumFCC — The actual original capacity, not just “design” capacity.
MaximumCapacityPercent — What’s shown in Settings -> Battery -> Battery Health
** There is also BatteryHealthMetric — If it is a different unit of measurement or a different calculation, etc is unknown.
MinimumTemperature
AverageTemperature
MaximumTemperature
TemperatureSamples
MaximumChargeCurrent
MaximumDischargeCurrent
MaximumOverChargedCapacity
MinimumDeltaVoltage
MaximumDeltaVoltage
DailyMinSoc
DailyMaxSoc
TimeAbove95Perc — I am a little disappointed this is “null”
KioskModeHighSocDays
KioskModeHighSocSeconds
KioskModeLastHighSocHours
… plus many other even more mysterious metrics.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Apple may have a way to determine if a battery has been abused. The cycle count is now in iPhone 15 and they may have a way to determine if battery degradation is due to excessive heat. My point is: warranty shouldn’t cover abuse and that’s in part what drives the cost of products.

Difficult to apply to degradation experienced in colder countries though with that metric. I’d struggle not to laugh if the iPhone 12’s my wife and I had were examined and excessive heat was given as an answer for the dreadful batteries that were in those devices.

 

[Timpetus]

My iPhone 12 Mini battery health was nice and stable until I started regularly using a wireless charger. Then the health immediately declined rapidly.

Once I stopped using wireless charging (and I had several different models) my battery health stopped declining and stayed at the same number until the day I traded it in.

Make of that what you will.

The opposite happened for me, my 13 mini was dropping fast then I started using a wireless charger more frequently and the battery health started to hold steady...

 

[TechnoMonk]

I know AppleCare+ gets a lot of promotion on this forum, but it is an expensive insurance policy and many seem to use it to compensate for the shortcomings of their device. I think if a device requires a new battery in 2.5 years or less, that should be Apples responsibly, not ours.

Most batteries last 18-30 months. It’s not iPhone batteries, but most mobile phone Batteries. Apple doesn’t make batteries. I don’t buy AC+ for battery alone. It’s not hard to wreck a phone. It’s an insurance just like health or car insurance.

 

[TechnoMonk]

It depends more on charger than wireless or wired. I use wireless and after two years mine is at 89%. My coworker uses wired charging and his 13 PM is at 82%. The low quality chargers can wreck your batteries.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Most batteries last 18-30 months. It’s not iPhone batteries, but most mobile phone Batteries. Apple doesn’t make batteries. I don’t buy AC+ for battery alone. It’s not hard to wreck a phone. It’s an insurance just like health or car insurance.

I don’t buy it because I have home insurance and insurance already through my bank. On its own it’s a very expensive style of policy. Each to their own.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I don’t buy it because I have home insurance and insurance already through my bank. On its own it’s a very expensive style of policy. Each to their own.

I used to do that, I realized home insurance was more expensive covering for devices than few I own. Do what’s cheaper and best for you.

 

[freeagent]

The analytics logs contain a lot of metrics beyond CycleCount

Just as I suspected, they are watching everything. Impressive..

 

[FreakinEurekan]

In my country if an iPhone isn’t performing to a reasonable standard in its first 2 years, Apple are obligated to replace it for free. I wouldn’t need AppleCare for any type of hardware failure in that time. It would be on Apple to prove I have ‘abused’ my battery, not for me to prove otherwise if I am within the warranty window. We also get 6 years from the date of purchase to qualify for a free replacement depending on the issue.

I'm amazed at how frequently UK residents mis-interpret their country's Consumer Laws. If you purchase your iPhone at CarPhoneWarehouse or KRCS or iStore - are Apple obligated to anything beyond the normal 1-year warranty? (Hint: No, they are not.)

 

[HDFan]

the analytics logs contain a lot of metrics beyond CycleCount

How do you access them?

 

[MacCheetah3]

How do you access them?

Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Analytics & Improvements -> Analytics Data -> (look for a file name beginning with Analytics followed by the most recent date, for example, Analytics-2024-01-01-180117.ips.ca.synced)

Battery metrics are typically one of the last text blocks. It can be a very long way down.

 

[Ruggy]

I don't see why it should be a problem and after all, you can ONLY charge the watch by induction.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'm amazed at how frequently UK residents mis-interpret their country's Consumer Laws. If you purchase your iPhone at CarPhoneWarehouse or KRCS or iStore - are Apple obligated to anything beyond the normal 1-year warranty? (Hint: No, they are not.)

The problem is a lot of UK consumers don't read into what their rights are so either don't understand them, or have the knowledge.

Yes Apple ARE obligated through the retailer you bought through, to replace a device beyond a one year period. Having gone through this with both Carphone Warehouse and John Lewis, Apple are indeed under obligation as they produce the device.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I used to do that, I realized home insurance was more expensive covering for devices than few I own. Do what’s cheaper and best for you.

You'll find these days all home contents insurance covers devices at a very minimal cost and certainly much cheaper than an AppleCare policy with the addtional excess charges required each time you request a replacement. Obviously the best and cheapest option is to use a case on your phone to ensure it is very difficult to break your iPhone in the first place.