Will frequent “Charging on Hold” warnings damage my iPhone battery?

crystal_star wrote:

I don't even charge to 100%, only to like 90-95% because I don't charge overnight (i set my charging limit to 95 so it won't even let me turn on optimized charging). so i'm a little confused: what you're saying is that because I am using Apple's official charging materials, it IS ok if I let it heat up every day by using my phone while it charges, or not?

You are micromanaging your battery, which isn't going to help you. The Battery on Hold warning is the new normal when Fast Charging your iPhone. It was introduced last year and when using a fast charger, charging will rapidly rise to 80%, then pause until the battery cools, then resume to the charge level you've set. To answer your question, the Charging on Hold notification is NOT going to damage your battery.

On the charge level, it is more gimmick than anything. Avoiding charging your phone to 100% isn't going to save your battery much, if at all. I read an article from a respected tech person, who put two iPhones side by side for a full year. Both phones were used exactly the same. Both phones were charged at the exact same time. One phone had the charge limit set to 80%. The other phone had Optimized Battery Charging turned on. At the end of a full year, both phones had the exact SAME Battery Health. Micromanaging your battery takes time and won't do much of anything to preserve the health of your battery.

The absolute best practice for battery charging is to plug your phone in to charge when you go to bed, leaving it plugged in to charge ALL night, EVERY night with Optimized Battery Charging turned on. You'll wake a fully charged phone, good for a days use.

Or you can drive yourself crazy and try to micromanage your phone charging, which in the end isn't going to extend the life of the battery at all. Think about it logically. Limiting the charge limit won't change how often you need to charge your battery. If anything, it may cause you to charge more often. But a cycle charge is one from 0% to 100%. Whether you charge from 50% to 100% twice or 80% to 100% 5 times, is still one full cycle. As I said, it's more gimmick than not.

Read this --> When to charge your iPhone or iPad - Apple Community

Using your phone creates a whole lot of heat.

Memory, graphics, processors, storage, display, and backlight usage all produce heat.

Charging also produces heat.

Apple is here prioritizing usage over charging.

This deferment should not substantively add additional battery wear, but there is always battery wear.

And a battery persistently operating hot will degrade. It is one of the better ways to degrade a battery.

There is also no information provided on the battery health here, as a worn battery can itself be less efficient (more heat) and needs more charges (more heat), and (at 80% or lower) headed for battery replacement. If the battery is already failing, the usage and added charging and heat will only further degrade the battery.

How bad is this battery that you’re persistently charging it? (Usual practice is charging while you sleep. Which can then imply either a failing battery here, or a whole lot of very heavy usage.)

Yes, over time the battery health can degrade faster or the battery can be damaged.

Have a look at the related article:

Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple

Are you using the original Apple USB cable and power adapter to charge your iPhone?

If you are charging your iPhone wirelessly, only use certified accessory.

Also make sure that there is no case attached while charging.

Not sure what store you picked up your iPhone at, but they did not tell you the whole story. The higher the wattage the faster your device will charge. The faster your device charges the more heat it produces. The more heat it produces the greater the likelihood it will approach a threshold for getting too hot. One thing to take into consideration is the room temperature you’re charging in and if the device is exposed to direct sunlight while charging. I live in Florida and when charging in by car in summer, I’ll occasionally see the warning.

So, moving forward, use a lower wattage charger so fast mode isn’t entered. A 20 watt charger should do that nicely, but still charge reasonably fast without producing excessive heat. So, a new charger is in order. The good news is you haven’t done any permanent damage.

If you have additional questions I’m happy to answer them.

Jeff Donald wrote:

Not sure what store you picked up your iPhone at, but they did not tell you the whole story. The higher the wattage the faster your device will charge. The faster your device charges the more heat it produces.

This is correct as far as it goes, but the wording might also be confusing. Charging does produce heat, and faster charging produces more heat.

The iPhone or iPad will negotiate the amount of power with the power supply, and will use what it wants from what is available from the power supply.

A 240 watt charger will work just fine with an iPhone or iPad, but then no current* iPhone or iPad will also draw anywhere near 240 watts.

This overheating-while-charging-and-usage issue is separate from the supplied wattage, as the iPhone is only getting what it asked for, assuming the power supply can even provide the requested voltage and amperage.

The combination of charging heat and usage heat is what is triggering the thermal limits. Whether a failing battery is also involved here is unclear with what information is presently available.

*pun intended

Fast Charging with the 40W charger is going to generate heat while charging. What you do not want is that to continue when your phone is at or near 100% of the charge level. That is why your phone will automatically put charging on hold when it reaches 80% to cool down, and will continue to slow charge to 100% to protect your battery.

That is the most advanced and efficient use of charging available that allow for both fast charging and protection of your battery. You can certainly use a lower wattage charger that will only slow charge and not generate the heat, but that really is not necessary when it comes to protecting your battery with the technology that Apple is using.

crystal_star wrote:

So I understand that the "charging on hold, iphone will resume charging when the temperature is back to normal" (or whatever it says exactly) is a defense mechanism for overheating,

It's the standard notification you get when you're using fast charging. It's telling you that the algorithm is doing its job.

BUT it's motivation to do so is because the iPhone already entered the threshold for a temperature that's considered too hot or too cold. I'm wondering if I consistently let this happen every single time I charge my phone, if it's going to damage the battery significantly each time (and long-term). I'm just used to using my phone as it charges but am now considering stopping that.

Honestly, you're way overthinking this. Enable optimized battery charging and let the phone do what it's programmed to do. Trying to micromanage the battery won't make a significant difference in the long run and will just eat up your time.

I understand the funds are spent. You can see if you’re within the merchants return window, but that’s up to you. The continued use of it the 40 watt charger shouldn’t be an issue, just understand that faster charging will result in excess heat and you’re iPhone will feel warm while charge. The faster charging is unlikely to cause any damage, but avoid setting the charger or iPhone on material that insulates. In other words, don’t set them on a pillow or blanket. You’ll be fine using your new charger. The internal protections Apple has in place will protect you and your iPhone.

Hello~ Here is an excellent user tip written by *Lawrence Finch*… click on below and review.

When to charge your iPhone or iPad - Apple Community

~Katana-San~

crystal_star wrote:

I don't even charge to 100%, only to like 90-95% because I don't charge overnight (i set my charging limit to 95 so it won't even let me turn on optimized charging). so i'm a little confused: what you're saying is that because I am using Apple's official charging materials, it IS ok if I let it heat up every day by using my phone while it charges, or not?

Turn off the charge limit and turn on optimized charging. It's fine to charge the phone overnight.

Folks, whatever happened to “you can use any size charger, 100Watt even, because the phone will only draw what it needs”? Has this changed with the new fast charging iphones? surely there is a limit.

To protect the battery I prefer to charge all night on the lowest wattage, like 10Watts which will keep it cool.

LD150 wrote:

Folks, whatever happened to “you can use any size charger, 100Watt even, because the phone will only draw what it needs”? Has this changed with the new fast charging iphones? surely there is a limit.

To protect the battery I prefer to charge all night on the lowest wattage, like 10Watts which will keep it cool.

Hello~ I charge my iPhone 12 mini and my iPad with a 100 Watt charger (iPad on it now) with no problem. I use a 20 Watt overnight without any heating issues at all.

~Katana-San~

crystal_star wrote:

well i already spent quite a bit of money on the 40W charger so I'm just going to continue using it since Apple wouldn't have made it if there's no point in using it for fast charging and/or it caused that much damage. in that case, should i just let my phone charge without using it? that's all i need to know

Nothing wrong with your choice of the 40W charger and is required for the fast charging feature of your new iPhone to charge up to 50% in just 20 minutes. With that the charging will be put on hold when it reaches 80% to cool down before continuing to charge. Just use the Optimized Charging setting and charge your phone all night, every night and let the phone do the work for you to protect your battery. You're all good and enjoy your new phone.