About the battery !!

Hi there !
Ok , I'm a new iphone user and I still don't know much about it, but I read in a website the following sentence :
Be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down)
Emm to tell the truth I didn't get this one very well, I mean , does it mean that I have to charge my battery to 100% and completely running it down only once a mont, what about the rest of the days, about letting the battery completely runs down it's not a probleme, but the charge the battery to 100% once a month, does it mean that i shouldn't fully charge it for the rest of the days or what ??
One other thing, is it true that I only have to charge the battery to 80% for the rest of the days, and not let it runs down less than 20% ???

And thanks ^^

It means let your phone charge until it fully is charged 100% then use your phone/do not charge it until it completey drains the battery to 0% and dies/shuts off. They say you should do this once a month to keep a healthy battery.

thanks, but you just told me what I already know and you didn't answer my question wich is about the rest of the days, I mean after I do that once a month, how should I be charing my battery for the other days ?
Is it true that I have to charge the battery to 80% for the rest of the days, and not let it runs down less than 20% ???

can't recall hearing this before.. is this still valid info ?


ps. welcome to the forum.

All other battery operated devices have a set number of charges, for example our new MBP should last 1000 charge cycles (0-100%). Doing that one charge a month prolongs the life but anything you do should be okay as far as charging it, I've never heard the 20/80 rule you're talking about though. As long as you don't leave it on the charger charging needlessly when it has been fully charged your battery will last it's expected life.

What I do is if I wake up at night randomly I always look at my phone and see if it's time to take it off the charger. Sure I may be over charging a little but it's better than just leaving it on the charger when you go to sleep and taking it off when you wake up, you will surely have overcharged your battery and the life expectancy will be shorter.

ouch... i usually charge it overnight but don't get up to take it off the charger :]

Thanks, do you mean that it's ok if I charge my battery to 100% on other month day, what I should do once a month is to let it runs down completely , right ?

I think most of the confusion comes from back with nicad types of battery that formed a memory really bad. If you kept your battery charged all the time and on a charger it got use to being that way, and when you went to use it it die faster.

New batteries, like lipos, are much better. But they still need to be fully cycled from time to time...

A days use pretty much wipes my iPhone 3Gs battery down to nothing. It gets a full charge over night, and somedays it needs extra topping off after work.

roeiboot said:

ouch... i usually charge it overnight but don't get up to take it off the charger :]

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Haha I don't get up just to do it but if I wake up throughout the night and see my phone's green "I'm charged" light I'll unplug it.

Does the iPhone have an LED that shows when it's charged or do you have to hit the sleep/wake button to see the battery?

The best thing you can do for a battery is charge it to 100% then drain it to 0%. That will give you the max life for your battery. Leaving it on the charger when it's already 100% is the worst thing you can do. A battery will only last for so long but doing those things will allow you the longest use of it.

I thought for sure that a device as sophisticated as the iPhone had a mechanism that didn't allow for overcharging. You guys sure about this info?

bordway said:

Haha I don't get up just to do it but if I wake up throughout the night and see my phone's green "I'm charged" light I'll unplug it.

Does the iPhone have an LED that shows when it's charged or do you have to hit the sleep/wake button to see the battery?

The best thing you can do for a battery is charge it to 100% then drain it to 0%. That will give you the max life for your battery. Leaving it on the charger when it's already 100% is the worst thing you can do. A battery will only last for so long but doing those things will allow you the longest use of it.

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Wrong!
This might be true to for nickel cadmium batteries, but the iphones have LiPo batteries, which automatically stop charging after a full charge. While it's plugged in, after a full charge, it can eventually lose it's charge, which causes it to charge up again. You can test this out by checking the iphones heat with a gun. Check the temperature while it's charging. When you see that the charging is done, check the temp again(while it's on the charger!), and you will notice lower temps. In the end, a battery is a battery. With Lipos, you have a little more play room in regards to charging. So, sit back and relax, it's a battery…it's going to die some day!

Cycling a battery, though, is always a good thing! There are no minimum times you can cycle a lipo battery.

Thanks man, I stand corrected, good info. I've never had an iPhone, guess I should have clarified thats how every other cell phone battery I've had works. Good to know with my 4 that I can leave it on the charger and not hurt it.

bordway said:

Thanks man, I stand corrected, good info. I've never had an iPhone, guess I should have clarified thats how every other cell phone battery I've had works. Good to know with my 4 that I can leave it on the charger and not hurt it.

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Don't get me wrong though, it's pretty dumb to keep the iphone on charge if it's already done. I always take it off when ever I get the chance to, after it's done charging.