The TRUTH about the iPod BATTERY and CHARGING

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ginalee

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The truth about the iPod battery and charging

This thread is designed to provide ready answers to the constantly repeated questions regarding the iPod's battery.

Taken from our FAQs here and here

How long can you expect your battery to last?

For more than 500 battery charging cycles (one charging cycle consisting of draining the battery, then recharging it to a full charge) Depending on heavy or lighter use, this battery life span can range from approximately 2 or 3 to 8 or 9 years.

How long should I charge the battery when I take it out of the box?

Charging it for 3 hours before first use is recommended.

How to best charge the battery?

You should recharge it to full charge regularly, before it has an opportunity to fully discharge.

Does the iPod battery have a memory effect?

No.

What is the difference between charging via FireWire or via AC Adapter?

Many experienced owners always recharge using the AC adapter as opposed to recharging from the FireWire port on their computers because it is quicker.

Is the battery meter inaccurate?

Yes. Users have reported that after fully charging the meter shows only half power. This usually normalizes after a few minutes of use. Also, with the meter on empty, you can get hours of playing time. The meter is thus no true indicator of battery power.

If I don't get 8 hours of battery life, is the iPod defective?

Not necessarily. Battery life varies according to use (menu switching) and individualized settings. Doing a battery test will determine your iPod's performance: load the iPod with enough tracks to play for at least 8 hours. Allow the iPod to play the tracks using the standard settings (no EQ, normal volume, etc.) and without accessing it during this time. The iPod should play for 7-8 continuous hours.

Useful links:

Apple's tips on how to get the most out of the battery
Caring for the battery
How to replace the battery for yourself
ipodbattery.com replacement pictures
Apple's battery replacement service for $99


Please feel free to post additional comments (primarily answers) on battery use and charging tips so that all myths can be dispelled!

Edit: please also view ipodbatteryfaq
 
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loGan

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What I would like to know is if there is a replacement battery on the market which offers better performance? Surely someone is missing a trick here. If a battery was released which would double the battery life of an Ipod then I imagine there would be a fair few takers if the price was right.
 

saqib

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Haha, i did a thread along these lines a few days ago, but i guess being a moderator lets you make your own threads sitcky and ignore ones done by other users.

this is from my other thread:

Here's some Battery advice, I've lifted completely from Battery Universe I hope you find it helpful.


The iPod has a Lithium-ion/ploymer type battery, these commonly are only rated at 300-500 charges; the iPod in my experience has been rated at 500, (you will see why this firgure isn't anything to worry about).

Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, an advantage that most other chemistries cannot claim. There is no memory and no scheduled cycling is required to prolong the battery's life. In addition, the self-discharge is less than half compared to nickel-cadmium, making lithium-ion well suited for modern fuel gauge applications. lithium-ion cells cause little harm when disposed.

A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.


Some sound advice:
# Avoid full discharges; recharge lithium-ion more often. Repetitive random charge does not harm the battery. There is no memory.
# Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.
# Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing date. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.



Some Do's and Don'ts:
#Do charge the battery often. The battery lasts longer with partial rather than full discharges.
#Avoid full cycle because of wear. 80% depth-of-discharge recommended. Re- charge more often. Avoid full discharge. Low voltage may cut off safety circuit.
#No maintenance needed. Loses capacity due to aging whether used or not.
#Store at 40% charge in a cool place. Do not store at full charge and at warm temperatures because of accelerated aging.




How to Charge and When to Charge:
Should I use up all battery energy before charging?
No, it is better to recharge more often; avoid frequent full discharges.
Yes, on batteries with a fuel gauge, allow a full discharge once a month to enable reset

Should I charge my battery partially or fully?
Does not matter. Charging in stages is acceptable. Full charge termination occurs by reading the voltage level and charge current. Charging a full battery is safe and does not cause harm.

Should the battery be kept charged when not in use
Best to store at 40% charge. Cool storage is more important than state-of-charge. Do not fully deplete battery because Li-ion may turn off its protection circuit.

Will the battery heat up during charge?
No, little heating is generated during charge. A large laptop battery may get lukewarm. Do not allow the battery to heat during charge. [If charging the iPod in a dock connected to a PC & if the drive is mounted; the Hard Drive head will still spin, and it will heat up].

What should I know about chargers?
Charger should apply full charge. Avoid economy chargers that advertise one-hours charge. Fastest full-charge time: 2-3 hours.


All info from Battery Universe written up by Isidor Buchmann; founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics Inc., in Vancouver BC. Mr. Buchmann has a background in radio communications and has studied the behavior of rechargeable batteries in practical, everyday applications for two decades. Award winning author of many articles and books on batteries, Mr. Buchmann has delivered technical papers around the world.
 
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dannyb013

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But i'm sure the battery would cost lots to replace, but then again having an extra battery would be useful
 

iStyle

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I'm in the market for a 2nd generation one, though. What is the average battery time on that? How many complete charges and such? I've heard claims of anywhere between 8 hours and 14 hours. What is accurate for a 2nd generation iPod?

I'm a little wary about buying it used, though. I'm afraid like the battery will be half used up when I get it, =[
 

izzle

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Those battery tips are quite helpful. I think I'm not going to let my iPod ever fully drain its battery. That should prolong its life (hopefully)...
 

ipodpride

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When I first got my ipod, i was soo excited i immedietly began screwin around with it, and i didnt recharge it for the first time(except for a short charge as I uploaded songs) until 2 hours later. I was just wondering, since i didn't charge it for 3 hours initially, will my battery poop out quicker?
 

ginalee

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iStyle said:
I'm in the market for a 2nd generation one, though. What is the average battery time on that? How many complete charges and such? I've heard claims of anywhere between 8 hours and 14 hours. What is accurate for a 2nd generation iPod?

I'm a little wary about buying it used, though. I'm afraid like the battery will be half used up when I get it, =[
The 2nd generation ipods run for up to 10 hours depending on your individual use. Do a battery test if you want to find out what your ipod is capable of.

Thanks to all for the comments so far.

Saqib, I decided to do my own thread and not take an existing one since I wanted it to cover as much ground as possible in a concise and easy to read format. No snub intended.
 

saqib

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from the advice i have seen from manufacturers', you should fully charge up and discharge your battery once to 'prime it'.

but i have no factual backing to this; it might a load of ####, but it won't hurt.

BTW, do not try to completely discharge the ipod, (i.e try to start the ipod repeatidly once the battery is empty), Lithium ion batterys needs to retain some charge in order to power their safety circuit which protects the battery cells. (this is well documented )
 
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saqib

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ginalee said:

Saqib, I decided to do my own thread and not take an existing one since I wanted it to cover as much ground as possible in a concise and easy to read format. No snub intended.
thats ok, none taken , i was just a bit miffed that ' ashawley' didn't get back to me about making my thread sticky.
 

saqib

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Blank said:
I have a question.

Let's say, for the duration of the time I own the iPod, I never completely discharge. Will the battery ever die?

all lithium ion batteries age over time, so yes it will die eventually but it will probably last a good while.

but your battery indicator won't be accurate, as a full discharge is occasionally recommended to reset the battery indicator.

read my next post...
 
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saqib

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found this for ya:

Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. lithium-based batteries have a lifetime of 2-3 years. The clock starts ticking as soon as the battery comes off the manufacturing line. The capacity loss manifests itself in increased internal resistance caused by oxidation. Eventually, the cell resistance will reach a point where the pack can no longer deliver the stored energy, although the battery may still contain ample charge.
and
Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate.
and if you want to get really technical about it: have a look at this:


Figure 1: Permanent capacity loss of lithium-ion as a function of temperature and charge level.
High charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss. Improvements in chemistry have increased the storage performance of lithium-ion batteries.

most of the above is from: How to prolong lithium-based batteries
 
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DarkJC

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Just to clear a myth, NO PRIMING IS NEEDED FOR THE iPOD BATTERY. Charging for 3 hours before first use does not do anything to battery performance, and you will get the same life out of it if you don't. A discharge and recharge before first use is also UNNECESSARY.
 
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