General Leaving iPhone/iPad/iPod Charging all night?

Rook · May 19, 2015

Hey there!

I have an iPad which lately has been suffering battery-wise. It's not the same as before. The battery does not last very long now and I don't have more than 7 tweaks installed. I started noticing these battery issues after semi-restoring but I don't see how that could have caused the problem.

I also started thinking that I leave my iPad charging all night when I go to sleep and wake up the next morning with a fully charged iPad. Is that a bad thing to do? Leaving your iPad Charging for more than 8 hours? I use an Apple original USB but the actual plug (head where the USB goes in) is a different one. I got it from a local store here. Could that cause problems?

TL;DR

Is it safe to keep your iPhone/iPad/iPod charging all night? Does it damage the battery? What do you think?

Sakswa · May 19, 2015

Hey there!

I have an iPad which lately has been suffering battery-wise. It's not the same as before. The battery does not last very long now and I don't have more than 7 tweaks installed. I started noticing these battery issues after semi-restoring but I don't see how that could have caused the problem.

I also started thinking that I leave my iPad charging all night when I go to sleep and wake up the next morning with a fully charged iPad. Is that a bad thing to do? Leaving your iPad Charging for more than 8 hours? I use an Apple original USB but the actual plug (head where the USB goes in) is a different one. I got it from a local store here. Could that cause problems?

TL;DR

Is it safe to keep your iPhone/iPad/iPod charging all night? Does it damage the battery? What do you think?

Leaving it charging through the night weakens the battery power, it's probably the reason.

Rook · May 19, 2015

Leaving it charging through the night weakens the battery power, it's probably the reason.

Why do you say that? Or has Apple or someone else said something about this?

Mayaxaya · May 19, 2015

I think in this case you talk of overcharging. Had the same problem with my iPhone a month ago until I got my battery changed. it's not a secret batteries get weaker over time, but if its capacity goes down within a few months some charging issues are to be taken into consideration. With regard to the number of your installed tweaks one can say that it these won't be the decisive drainers. Check overcharging issues.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4790731

http://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/2hyqwm/okay_to_leave_iphone_plugged_in_overnight_at_100/

@@DiDA

Sakswa · May 19, 2015

I read somewhere that it might not just weaken the battery, but damage the usb port, as well.

xC3FFF0E · May 19, 2015

@@DiDA Perhaps yes. But chaging your iDevice while playing doesn't affect the battery. I've been doing that for a year now.

Can You Overcharge Your iPhone/iPad/iPod Battery?

Apple products use lithium batteries, which are rechargeable, so you can plug your device in and let it charge for multiple uses. The lithium battery uses a trickle charge at the end of charging, so you don't need to worry about overcharging your battery by leaving the phone plugged in once it has reached a full charge.

Lithium Batteries

Lithium batteries like the type in your iPhone are different from nickel batteries. Phones that use nickel batteries are particular about how the phone must be charged, and often the phone must be fully discharged to preserve battery life. Nickel battery phones are also prone to overcharging. With a lithium battery in your iPhone, you don't need to worry about when to plug your phone in to charge, and you can charge the phone at any point without damaging the battery capacity.

Type of Charging

Apple's iPhone uses two types of charging when you plug in your phone. For the first two hours that the phone is plugged in, the battery charges quickly so that it reaches 80 percent of the capacity, and your phone retains that charge if you need to use it immediately. If you leave the phone on the charger, the battery continues to charge at a trickle charge, which uses just a small amount of charge to continue charging up the battery until it is fully charged.

Charging Icons

Your phone tells you when it has finished charging, by switching the icon from a charging icon to a charged icon. The charging icon looks similar to a lightening bolt, while the icon that displays when the phone is fully charged looks like a plug. Leaving the phone plugged in once the charged icon is present won't overcharge the battery; the battery stops accepting the charge.

Battery Life

While overcharging is not a concern, you must still be aware that the iPhone battery has a limited lifespan. After 400 charges, the phone holds a charge of only 80 percent of the battery's capacity. A charge is counted as a full discharge and recharge, so partial charges over a period of days can add up to one charge cycle. If your battery is no longer holding a charge, you may need to take the phone to an Apple service provider for a new battery.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8608403_can-overcharge-iphone-battery.html

iGods · May 19, 2015

How old is your iPad? Batteries degrade over time & has certain life span. I've been doing the charging thing overnight on my iPhone & iPad for more than 2-years now & I don't see any issues at all. But of course, battery degrade & that affects mine as well. Now is not the same as before.

May 19, 2015

You might want to get a new battery. I'm considering that as my phone does not last more than five or six hours now

Diversityy · May 19, 2015

I overcharge my phone but it doesn't damage my battery..

Rook · May 19, 2015

My iPad is not even 6 months old. Ever since I got it, I leave it charging overnight.

After reading the above, leaving the iPad charging overnight isn't dangerous for the battery? I have my iPhone 4s which is around 4 years old and the battery was perfectly fine on iOS 6. No crazy drainage. Soon as I updated to iOS 7, hell broke loose. The battery was unstable and the phone would die within 5 hours.

I have heard that using your phone while it's charging can be dangerous. I guess that's why the iPhone Cables are so short.

I do that a bit sometimes through a wall outlet but I do use the iPad mostly when it's plugged in to my PC via USB but it's technically not charging then. iPads don't charge via USB to PC as far as I know. There is a program which enables the charging but I don't want to mess with the battery too much.