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Acrophobiax

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2017
52
7
I just got my iPhone 8 today and i’m about to charge it for the first time. Can I leave it charging overnight with the original accessories? Will this damage the battery quicker?
 

Hieveryone

macrumors 603
Apr 11, 2014
5,625
2,338
USA
This is how I see it. I plug my iPhone 8 in to charge. I fall asleep. I have no idea when it reaches 100% and no way I’m waking up to check so I can unplug. If it damages anything which I highly doubt so be it but I’ve been doing it like every night for years with previous iPhones since like the 3g model and I haven’t noticed any problems.
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So your saying I’ve been waking up at 3:32 am every morning for nothing?


Hahahahaha I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news buuut I’ve heard 3:31 is ideal hahahaha :D
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,492
Of course not -- that used to be the case in the 90s. The real "charger" is inside the phone and it "knows" how to manage that.

It's also important to use an MFI cable and Charging brick. Not all, but some third party charging accessories that are not MFI certified have charging inconsistencies and lack fail safes which can cause issues in the charging process.
 

Gryzor

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2010
758
326
It will be fine. It's much better to keep it topped-up than let it run low.
Other than for the convenience and flexibility in having a full battery, do you have a source for the technical argument, or have I given you your get-out-of-jail card right there?

I think you'll find that with modern battery technology, general consensus is that these days it doesn't matter. You don't need to "prime" a phone when new to set a baseline, and nor do you need to run a full discharge and charge cycle to refresh the battery. These days things are measured in charge cycles, and it doesn't matter how you reach 100% discharge. Whether you use 100% in a day and charge overnight, or use 10% at a time and top up 10 times in a day, that's still effectively one charge cycle. The more charge cycles you go through, the quicker you'll deteriorate your battery. How you charge it is irrelevant.
 
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tromboneaholic

Suspended
Jun 9, 2004
3,706
3,024
Clearwater, FL
Other than for the convenience and flexibility in having a full battery, do you have a source for the technical argument, or have I given you your get-out-of-jail card right there?

I think you'll find that with modern battery technology, general consensus is that these days it doesn't matter. You don't need to "prime" a phone when new to set a baseline, and nor do you need to run a full discharge and charge cycle to refresh the battery. These days things are measured in charge cycles, and it doesn't matter how you reach 100% discharge. Whether you use 100% in a day and charge overnight, or use 10% at a time and top up 10 times in a day, that's still effectively one charge cycle. The more charge cycles you go through, the quicker you'll deteriorate your battery. How you charge it is irrelevant.


Actually, the more time your battery spends close to 50%, the longer it’s life will be (cycle count).

The more time your battery spends at the extremes of 0% to 100%, the shorter it’s life will be.

This is true for batteries with equal charge counts.

A battery that is charged to 80% and run to 30% will last longer (more charge cycles) than a battery that is run from 100% to 0% and stored at 100% overnight.

That’s theoretical. In practice it doesn’t matter.
 
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Gryzor

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2010
758
326
Theory and practice are two very different things. When it comes down to it, what I said is true - it makes no tangible difference how you charge your phone and how often.
 

tromboneaholic

Suspended
Jun 9, 2004
3,706
3,024
Clearwater, FL
Theory and practice are two very different things. When it comes down to it, what I said is true - it makes no tangible difference how you charge your phone and how often.
I tend to agree with you. I keep my phone on it’s charger when I’m at home since I have a Watch and iPad for notifications.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,028
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

You’ll see a graph showing differences of charge levels. Not draining all the way and not going to 100% has its advantages. However I’ve noticed since the iPhone 6+ that staying at 100% is not as detrimental for lithium ion (at least for Apples batteries) as it used to be. My 6+ and 6s+ spent most of their lives at 100% and only lost 3-5% from design capacity after 1.5+ years and 230+ cycles. My wife drains her phone to 0 regularly and usually ends 1.5 years with 340+ cycles and her battery life is usually only a few % off of mine. We both get the same phones together. So batteries today are far more resilient than they used to be. So true that 40-80% will prolong the life - in a 2 year lifespan a user may not see the benefit (5-8 years? Probably ).

Best to just enjoy the phone. $80 gets a user a new battery if they wish. In a 2-3 year lifespan the best you can do is keep it from extreme heat and try to keep it above 20%. I plug in all day at work, at home at my desk, and at night.

After major iOS updates I’ve noticed the battery % reader off so sometimes I drain to 0% to recalibrate the battery percentage reader after a major version update.

Just a clarification, I don't mean plugged in 24/7. Maybe 3 times a day I unplug and use my phone down to 88% or so (depending on if I go out or not (sometimes much lower than 88%)). But it spends a good portion of the day plugged in.
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It's also important to use an MFI cable and Charging brick. Not all, but some third party charging accessories that are not MFI certified have charging inconsistencies and lack fail safes which can cause issues in the charging process.

This is important. I've intentionally purchased the 6 pack of iPhone cables for $9 on Amazon. They all stopped working (all charged under 1 amp) and 1 almost melted in my hands. Do not use non-MFI cables. I did this as a test on an old iPhone - it is not safe. Anker or AmazonBasics are good. If you’re not spending $7+ per cable it isn’t mfi certified.
 
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Wolfpup

macrumors 68030
Sep 7, 2006
2,927
105
I just got my iPhone 8 today and i’m about to charge it for the first time. Can I leave it charging overnight with the original accessories? Will this damage the battery quicker?

No, in fact quite the opposite. You always want to keep your batteries topped up when possible, as the deeper the discharge the more damage it does to lithium batteries.
 
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