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iterva

macrumors 6502
Jun 16, 2013
397
289
Sweden
Where are you all seeing the battery pack's percentage? I don't see it anywhere. Is it because I am running iOS 15 beta?
Seems like with beta it does identify as a more generic charger. At least according to this. Not exactly what you are experiencing but I'm guessing its because you are on beta and it needs updating to be fully compatible.
 
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coolbreeze2

macrumors 68000
Sep 24, 2009
1,807
1,484
Seems like with beta it does identify as a more generic charger. At least according to this. Not exactly what you are experiencing but I'm guessing its because you are on beta and it needs updating to be fully compatible.
Ok thanks. That explains it.
 

tofagerl

macrumors 6502a
May 16, 2006
983
428
Does anyone have any thoughts about if it's better to use the charger when you first leave the house, or when you hit some percentage like 20%?
Does using it one way give better total use time than the other?
 

shando

Suspended
Jan 15, 2021
45
31
Does anyone have any thoughts about if it's better to use the charger when you first leave the house, or when you hit some percentage like 20%?
Does using it one way give better total use time than the other?
The golden rule is to keep the battery at 30% to 90%, and some say 50% to 80%. So basically don't charge it way up to 100% and don't let it drop to too low, and definitely not to zero.

If your phone battery is too low, you may use the battery pack when you first leave the house. It charges very slow and it may stop at 80% automatically. So it's okay to leave it on all day I guess.
 

roddyricchfan

macrumors newbie
Jan 4, 2021
15
43
Love mine! As a power user, my phone can last 24 hours without being plugged in. What I do is keep the battery pack on until it die, then charge it. When the battery pack is full I put it back on my phone. This way I never have a dead phone :0
IMG_8948.JPG
 

AVBeatMan

macrumors 603
Nov 10, 2010
5,971
3,852
Just got mine. I plugged in to charge and there was an orange light but now it's gone off? Will it show as green when fully charged? How long does it take to charge? Thanks.
 

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,233
4,577
Anyone know the fastest way to charge? Say I have a 20w wall adapter with lightning plug, my phone is 10% and battery 10% - do I plug into the phone and charge the battery off the back, or plug into the battery and charge the phone that way? Or will they basically be equivalent?
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,253
3,250
Anyone know the fastest way to charge? Say I have a 20w wall adapter with lightning plug, my phone is 10% and battery 10% - do I plug into the phone and charge the battery off the back, or plug into the battery and charge the phone that way? Or will they basically be equivalent?

I would think the fastest way is to plug it into the battery and charge the phone that way. AFAIK the phone will take priority in charging through either method (ie, it'll take 15W vs 5W for the battery) but if the cable is connected to the phone, the battery will never be able to take more than 5W once the phone is full.
 

coolbreeze2

macrumors 68000
Sep 24, 2009
1,807
1,484
As anyone determined if the battery pack loses power when unattached and stored away for occasional use?
 

codeunrwolfpack

macrumors member
Jul 10, 2009
78
151
The golden rule is to keep the battery at 30% to 90%, and some say 50% to 80%. So basically don't charge it way up to 100% and don't let it drop to too low, and definitely not to zero.

If your phone battery is too low, you may use the battery pack when you first leave the house. It charges very slow and it may stop at 80% automatically. So it's okay to leave it on all day I guess.
So does this mean using the Magsafe Battery Pack always plugged in so I can just place my phone on it anytime I want, is a bad idea? I figured instead of buying another puck, I'd just use the battery in place of the puck. Then, if I need to go out, I can just unplug it and take it with me.
 

shando

Suspended
Jan 15, 2021
45
31
So does this mean using the Magsafe Battery Pack always plugged in so I can just place my phone on it anytime I want, is a bad idea? I figured instead of buying another puck, I'd just use the battery in place of the puck. Then, if I need to go out, I can just unplug it and take it with me.
Technically speaking, it's a bad idea. But IMO, it's not that big of a deal in real life. I mean not every time your phone battery is full when you need to go out, right? Even if you do that from time to time, the damage is hardly noticeable. And like I said, the MagSafe Battery Pack charges slow and it doesn't have enough capacity to fully charge an iPhone 12. You might not notice the percentage going up at all when you're using your phone while charging.
 
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BB.King

macrumors regular
Jun 29, 2012
199
42
London UK
Did anyone notice the phone’s battery discharge much slower with the battery pack attached after the latest software update?

Before this update, the phone’s battery drains even with battery pack in use. Please see some tests I posted on this thread earlier.

I noticed this change over the last few days, so did a quick test. The phone no longer lose battery while in use with the battery pack attached.

P: Mini

B: battery pack

Indoor use on cellular with screen brightness around 40%

12:20
P: 67%
B: 100% attached the battery pack.

13:20
P: 73% heavy use steaming Twitch
B: 81%
0
14:20
P: 84% heavy use steaming Twitch
B: 51%

15:20
P: 87% lighter use browsing while streaming music in the background
B: 29%

16:20
P: 91% Maximum charge reached
B: 18%

17:00
P: 93%
B: 80% charging from 16:20

I could be wrong, will do the test again on Monday, wondering if anyone else noticed the same.
 
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appleuserindc

macrumors member
May 22, 2015
60
45
I used my MagSafe battery pack for the first time today -- an outing to museums and parks in NYC with friends. I left home with 100% on both my iPhone 12 Pro and the battery pack. During the first few hours I noticed the iPhone power indicator showed it was being charged but the battery kept depleting. Oddly, the battery pack stayed at 100%. Finally, once the iPhone dropped below 60% or so, the battery pack starting depleting too, indicating that it was finally charging the iPhone. Nonetheless, the iPhone kept depleting. At the end of our day, about 6.5 hours later, the iPhone was down to 26% and the battery pack was at 75%. If I kept going, the iPhone would have depleted before the battery pack.

Final conclusion, the battery is way too slow to only begin charging the iPhone once it drops below 60% or so. Apple either needs to speed up the battery charging or allow the pack to charge the phone at a higher charge level. Otherwise, it's not a very useful product. Much worse than the battery cases of the past. I'm returning this product. A rare big miss for Apple.
 
Last edited:
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nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,253
3,250
Nonetheless, the iPhone kept depleting. At the end of our day, about 6.5 hours later, the iPhone was down to 26% and the battery pack was at 75%. If I kept going, the iPhone would have depleted before the battery pack.

This was me yesterday, but a phone at 12% and a battery pack still at 91%… when I tested it out after I received it it wasn’t this bad. But neither was the heat (I was inside, with AC, rather than out and about in 30+ degrees C as yesterday). I think Apple limits the charge to avoid heat, to the extent that it is basically just a lump of plastic weighing down my phone rather than a useful extension of battery life.

I think that Apple may have been a bit conservative and hope they can tweak it to make it less useless for tourism.
 
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nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,253
3,250

After having 25% phone battery and 97% MagSafe battery this afternoon, I might break my “don’t update while away from home” rule later. I’m still on 14.7 and I hope youre right it’ll help!
 

Caesars

macrumors 6502
May 16, 2013
318
134
Before the update my pack would charge my phone and keep it around 90% (as long as my phone is not in use). After the update it seems as if I need to remove it and reattach it a few times to force it to charge.

The odd thing is AFTER I reattach a few times to get it to charge, it charges to 100% and I can’t stop it without removing lol


APPLE- where is the BATTERY case!?
 
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BB.King

macrumors regular
Jun 29, 2012
199
42
London UK
Before the update my pack would charge my phone and keep it around 90% (as long as my phone is not in use). After the update it seems as if I need to remove it and reattach it a few times to force it to charge.

The odd thing is AFTER I reattach a few times to get it to charge, it charges to 100% and I can’t stop it without removing lol


APPLE- where is the BATTERY case!?
I noticed it too, had to remove and reattach the battery to get it to charge, even though the widget showed it was charging. This is after 14.7.1 update.
 
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Nautilus007

macrumors 68030
Jul 13, 2007
2,667
1,416
U.S
Used my battery for the first time on my iPhone 12 Pro on a plane. ABSOLUTELY USELESS.

The phone drained down to 20% and I attached the battery, the phone drained to 0 and the battery couldn't even recharge the phone without looping every time it came back on.
 
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ukms

macrumors demi-god
Apr 21, 2015
1,146
1,197
Dubai, UAE
Used my battery for the first time on my iPhone 12 Pro on a plane. ABSOLUTELY USELESS.

The phone drained down to 20% and I attached the battery, the phone drained to 0 and the battery couldn't even recharge the phone without looping every time it came back on.
How much charge did the MagSafe battery have ? …… I’ve been using mine regularly deliberately to give it a few cycles and it’s worked well …… I haven’t been micro analysing but suffice to say it charges my phone to a reasonable level when it gets low.
 

Nautilus007

macrumors 68030
Jul 13, 2007
2,667
1,416
U.S
How much charge did the MagSafe battery have ? …… I’ve been using mine regularly deliberately to give it a few cycles and it’s worked well …… I haven’t been micro analysing but suffice to say it charges my phone to a reasonable level when it gets low.

The mage safe was at 100%. Honestly, I have never wanted to return an Apple product before and was very excited for this pack. I tapered my expectations to not expect the extreme fast charging that the 20w charger offers but the accessory failed me during my time of need.

Do you think mine is defective?
 

ukms

macrumors demi-god
Apr 21, 2015
1,146
1,197
Dubai, UAE
The mage safe was at 100%. Honestly, I have never wanted to return an Apple product before and was very excited for this pack. I tapered my expectations to not expect the extreme fast charging that the 20w charger offers but the accessory failed me during my time of need.

Do you think mine is defective?
What you have described doesn’t sound right …. I’d try it again in different circumstances and if it’s the same return it or exchange it.
 

Boardiesboi

macrumors 601
Sep 3, 2013
4,615
10,697
Sydney Australia
The mage safe was at 100%. Honestly, I have never wanted to return an Apple product before and was very excited for this pack. I tapered my expectations to not expect the extreme fast charging that the 20w charger offers but the accessory failed me during my time of need.

Do you think mine is defective?
Been using mine every other day when my phone is down to 20% at the end of the day and it always charges (even if it’s at 5W).
So your experience seems odd and not standard.
 

its100proof

macrumors newbie
Sep 23, 2012
14
32
Cleveland
Used my battery for the first time on my iPhone 12 Pro on a plane. ABSOLUTELY USELESS.

The phone drained down to 20% and I attached the battery, the phone drained to 0 and the battery couldn't even recharge the phone without looping every time it came back on.
Very similar experience. Ive had mine a few weeks and used maybe twice Attempted to use mine today at a amusement park and totally useless. Battery pack was charged to 100% and is draining and indicating that it is charging my 12 pro but phone battery is steady draining. No apps running and not using it while charging. I’ll be returning this battery pack tomorrow.
 
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