Keeping Battery fully charged always... bad?

[Michael319]

Is it bad to keep the battery fully charged always? I keep it on my bose so it rarely loses battery it is always charged is this better for the battery?

[mnhnhyouh]

Li ion batteries are rairly resilient. You can use them in almost any way. However it is recommended that when you store them for long periods you keep them between 1/2 and 3/4 charged.

h

[Michael319]

thats not what i asked. is it bad to have mine charging all the time as in i never let it discharge at al. it stays fully charged in my bose all the time.

[kornchild2002]

No, it isn't bad. In fact, it is best to keep your iPod's battery charged at all times. The only thing that Apple suggests you do is completely drain and charge the battery once a month. That is it.

[kylo4]

So kornchild, the Macbook has been plugged into the wall for about three weeks now without being used. Thats okay for the battery?

[Michael319]

do i have to discharge it exactley 30 days?

[vocrobot]

It can effect the battery if it is full charged all of the time ie. if you constantly use it whilst connected to an external power source. Apparently some kind of oxidisation occurs if the battery is stored full all of the time which is why it is recommended to use the battery regularly. Apple do say use one full charge cycle per month but that doesn't mean draining it completely once a month. Use a quarter of the battery. charge it up, do that for four days on the trot and that's one full charge cycle. Sometimes the battery indicator can become inaccurate though so a full discharge can sort that out.

[Code Monkey]

What I enjoy about seeing these posts for about the bazillionth time, beyond the fact that they've been answered in excruciating detail at least a half a bazillion times but nobody can seem to find the answer without a link, instruction manual, and jelly donut, is the utter pointlessness of them: If you are actually in a situation where you can keep your battery topped off enough to be asking this question, you don't need to be worrying about this question.

Apple should just put a big sticker on the iPod: "Charge it all the **** you want, *******!" - Although, sadly, I figure that would probably just result in a bazillion "Can I really charge it all the **** I want?" posts...

[vocrobot]

The guy is concerned about optimizing his battery; what's wrong with that. I've given up worrying about it now because I know where I can get a replacement job done reasonably cheap but it does worry some people so why make a post like that making the guy feel like a fool. If you don't like these posts just leave well alone but I am happy to help someone out if it puts their mind at rest rather than insult them.

[paranoidxe]

The battery won't last as long if its charged 24/7 over the course of several months its much like just not using the unit at all and off a charger. Over time the charge capacity will get less and less I wouldn't recommend it if you plan on using it outside of the bose dock.

[kornchild2002]

Actually, a full charge cycle consists of completely draining the battery and charging it back up. No one really knows if that is the same as draining it by 1/4 then charging it over a period of 4 days. That is the problem with these batteries is that no one really knows anything about them.

I can talk from experience though as I own a 3G, 4G, 5G, iPod classic, and iPod touch models. I can tell you that I kept my 3G completely charged all the time and did a complete charge cycle in one day once a month. My 3G battery still gets about 7-8 hours off of a single charge, that is the time advertised on the bottom of the box. My 4G iPod still gets around 12.5 hours, 30 minutes over the advertised time. My 5G iPod gets about 22 hours, 2 hours over the advertised time period.

Notebook batteries are pretty much the same. You should completely drain and charge them about once per month. If you don't plan on doing that then you should use the notebook plugged in without the battery, take it out of the notebook.

All this battery stuff can be a little confusing and Code Monkey is right, it has been discussed numerous times. There are also many different opinions on the matter so it is hard to get a straight answer if you search.

So there it is, you can follow my opinion if you want or you don't have to, it is up to you. Just know that I have 5 different iPods all of which I have done (or will be doing) the same battery procedure of keeping them fully charged then conducting a charge cycle in one sitting once per day.