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Cycle the Battery!!

NOTE: I posted this message on another thread, but I feel that this advice is so important that it belongs in a thread by itself.
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I have had my iPhone since day one. Of course, I took it home and immediately activated it. I did leave it connected to the computer (and umounted) for several hours before using it. After that, I didn't pay any more attention to the battery. I charged it every night.

I then began reading articles about people complaining about the battery, especially the battery meter. They complained that some iPhones are not charging fully. They said that when the iPhone is fully charged, the battery meter (the meter you see when iPhone is connected to the USB Dock charger) should be green all the way across and should also be "glowing."

That is when I noticed that my battery was NOT fully charging. The large battery meter was green ALMOST all the way across, but not quite. There was just a little sliver of the meter that was not green. Also the meter was not "glowing" when fully charged.

The articles I read seemed to suggest that the problem was software releated and not the actual battery, so I really didn't give the problem much thought. But then, I talked to a Mac Genius buddy who insisted that I cycle the battery.

I followed his instructions which I will detail below:

1.) I ran the battery all the way down until iPhone shut itself off (this is a safety feature and will not harm the battery).

2.) I charged the battery fully (about 8 hours, although 4 would have been sufficient). I also powered the iPhone off after connecting it to the dock charger.

3.) The next morning, I took the iPhone off the charger and left it turned off. I let it sit for about 8 hours turned off in order to set the resistance level of the battery.

4.) I ran the battery all the way down again last night.

5.) I gave it a second complete charge while I slept last night. This morning, I have a fully charged battery AND the battery meter is green all the way across and is glowing!!!

24" iMac 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo & 500 MHz Titanium PowerBook G4 15", Mac OS X (10.4.10), iMac: 2GB DDR2 RAM, Matshita Superdrive. PowerBook: 512 MB RAM, Matshita DVD-RAM

Posted on Jul 25, 2007 6:55 AM

Reply
34 replies

Jul 26, 2007 4:15 AM in response to Thomas Mastin

While the process you are doing with your iPhone battery was typical of most batteries, the information I have read indicates that the lithium-ion polymer battery type in the iPhone do not "like" to be completely discharged. In fact, I was just reading an article about lithium-ion polymer batteries that states this type battery like to frequently charged and only occasionally "cycled" by almost completely discharging. I have followed this advice since June 29th: I almost rarely use more than 50% of the iPhone battery power during my day; I then turn off WiFi and dock the iPhone every night before retiring. I have always had a fully charged battery and absolutely no battery issues. If I can remember the address of the articles I read, I will post back.

Jul 26, 2007 4:18 AM in response to Thomas Mastin

That is when I noticed that my battery was NOT fully charging. The large battery meter was green ALMOST all the way across, but not quite.

That's because the battery has never been fully charged!! It will take approx 24 hours for the initial charge. As remarkable as the iphone is, the battery is, well, just a battery and although it will work "out of the box" - I wouldn't, and didn't, and have had no problems. I'm very surprised that Apple didn't address this prior to launch because it would have saved a lot of unnecessary exchanges and general headaches all around.

The meter/indicator may require a complete discharge to recognize the low end of things as well?? But any subsequent deep discharges wouldn't be a good idea, I keep mine charging when the opportunity presents itself.

A nice long USB/Iphone cord would be a nice feature, as I don't want to use the battery except when necessary.

Jul 26, 2007 5:07 AM in response to Evangelist

It is almost impossible to completely discharge a Li-Ion battery to the point that they have issues. The only way to really do that is to not use it for many, many months.

When you let the iPhone's battery run down to the point that the iPhone shuts off, it is still quite safe because there should still be 5% of battery left (if Apple programmed it correctly). Draining a Li-Ion battery to the point of the device shutting down and then doing a full charge is recommended by all manufacturers and should be done every 1-1.5 months to keep the battery running in top shape.

Jul 26, 2007 1:43 PM in response to G. Lopez

I might try this.

I think it's a little unfair to compare the perceived time use of the iPhone full battery charge with many other devices that while doing the same things may last longer due to many factors such as...

1. The UI
2. The size of the display certainly takes more power.
3. Many people will certainly use the great new toy more than they used the old toy.

As small as the device is and as many things as I do with it, if it lasts through most of a normal day I'm fine with that. It does that easily with juice to spare.

I leave home with a full charge, I have two or three USB cables (from ipods and such) and a car charger ... a neat little cigarette lighter plug from my Dell Axim that has a female USB plug on the tip of it.

You can buy that for $6.99 here... http://www.elitextreme.com/deaxx5usbcar.html

Or $4.99 here http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=5691047&sou rceid=0100000030660804302498

I'm fine with the battery life of the iPhone. If I know I'll be away from a source to charge it for more than 8 hours or so I make sure I have a full charge.

I usually return with a half charge anyway.

Message was edited by: LawrenceF

Jul 26, 2007 1:36 PM in response to Thomas Mastin

The procedure you describe is the typical advice for new batteries to fully 'cycle' them a couple of times (to ensure best performance), with the added factor in Apple devices of having an initial full discharge/full recharge causing the battery meter to properly calibrate such that it's future readings are more accurate.

This doesn't harm these batteries as long as this full cycle discharge/recharge is not done often.

Jul 26, 2007 1:55 PM in response to LawrenceF

I wonder why Apple (or the battery mfg) won't do that themselves before we get them to avoid all the drama?[br][br]

I ordered my phone on the 1st of July, and I'll bet it wasn't even built yet in all likelihood. I received it on the 16th. There isn't time, time is money (although the costs associated with exchanging iphones aren't cheap either) and of course it isn't as if they are keeping thousands of iphones plugged in and trickle charging before shipment.

Jul 26, 2007 2:00 PM in response to LawrenceF

One reason they don't do this in advance is that they don't know how long the battery will remain 'on the shelf' before purchase and use. Unlike earlier rechargeable technologies, these Li-Ion devices self-discharge slowly if storage and when not used, so even if the battery was initially conditioned and the meter calibrated, the slow discharge while the unit is off before the user gets it will cause the meter to misread - the degree of which would depend on how long it was on the shelf and in what temperatures.

Jul 26, 2007 2:09 PM in response to nosidam

Thanks nosidam,

Tedsterr and Evangelist should take note of your information.

Running the iPhone down till it shuts off is not harmful because there is a certain level of charge remaining on the battery at the point iPhone shuts down. This IS a safety precaution keeping you from draining the battery to the "point of no return" as Lestadt would do his victims in Interview With the Vampire.

The only harm from running the battery all the way down would be to do so and then leave the battery sit uncharged for an extended period of time, during which time the battery would discharge past the point of no return.

I should reiterate that the process for cycling the iPhone battery was advice from a friend who is a Mac Genius and deals with battery issues (iPhone, iPod and Mac portable) every day at the Genius Bar. He said his advice comes from Apple technical bulletins and other publications readily available on the Knowledge Base and other places on Apple's website. He did say that his advice was rather simplified, as Apple's best practices for battery maintenance is rather convoluted.

What I did was simply cycle the battery and set the resistance level for the battery by discharging it, fully recharging it and allowing the battery to sit fully charged for a period of time. As I said, after the second discharge and full recharge the battery meter is now green completely across the battery icon and it glows flourescently. This is the first time since I have had the phone that I can say the battery is fully charged.

I suppose that this could still be a software fluke and nothing to do with the battery, but I still recommend that anyone who is having a problem with the battery meter NOT indicating a full charge even after leaving it on the charger all night should follow my advice for cycling the battery and setting the resistance. I mean, there is no harm in cycling the battery, so why not try? If this does not work, then there could indeed be a software bug that is preventing the battery from correctly reporting its status to the iPhone.

Namaste!

Cycle the Battery!!

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