[pscates2.0]

I got this iPhone 4 in September 2010, so I'm right at the 22-month mark. Lately it seems the battery is draining noticeably faster, even when just doing simple, basic things.

I'll wake up with a 100% charge and by noon, it could be down to 50%. I'm not playing games or anything demanding. A bit of surfing (via wifi on a full-bar signal), checking mail and things like that.

It's not even 11:00am and I'm down to 65%, having done nothing but surf a bit, send three small emails, watched one two-minute YouTube video (and I know that can't be it, as I've watched YouTube videos on my phone by the truckload in the past with just a small drop in battery.

Are these things known to start losing hold around their second year?

Those of you who got your iPhone 4 when they first went on sale (June/July of 2010), you're at the two-year mark...what's your battery life like?

Honestly? My iPhone hasn't been quite the same in many ways since both the iOS 5 update and the iCloud transition. Little quirks and "not quite like before" scenarios galore! Push mail, battery life, sound and heat issues, big and small, random or persistent.

Funny thing is, my original 2007 iPhone didn't start acting this way until the three-year mark. I got it in July 2007, and around July/August of 2010 it was draining so fast. I wasn't getting through a day and I'd have to charge it in various places. As some of you may remember, I was hell-bent on getting the white iPhone 4, and was prepared to wait out all those crazy delays. The only reason I gave in and got this black one was because my original iPhone was just about reaching the "no fun to use" stage, and I couldn't reliably get through a day with power (and I had a trip coming up and I wanted the better camera - and video - found on the 4).

Same thing is happening now, but a full 14 months sooner.

Just wondering what the real-world battery life expectancy is on these things.

It's not really a "crisis" as I'll have a new sixth-gen iPhone in 3-4 months (as soon as they're released), but I don't want to sell a no-charge-holding dud to a trusting, unsuspecting stranger.



FWIW, I've done a complete restore/rebuild on this thing twice in the past three months (hoping to iron out my iCloud/push issues), but it's made no difference on this front.

Should I be charging less? Not doing the "top off" thing as much? What's the rule on all that? Is it better to just let it drain down to 5-10% before hooking it up to charge? Can you "over-charge" these things (frequency)?

[PB PM]

I find one full cycle (letting it go below 20%) once or twice a month helps stabilize the charge. Mine is 1 1/2 years old, BTW. I've had similar experiences with my iPhone 4, random power drops, but it has been inconsistent. Two weeks ago the battery didn't go below 50% for days, this weekend it dropped 30% in airplane mode.

[Dorian Gray]

Lithium-ion batteries degrade in high temperatures. What's your weather been like recently?

Ideally you'd rarely charge the battery fully, and rarely run it completely flat. Lithium-ion batteries are happiest between about 20% and 80% of full capacity, with only very occasional full-range excursions to calibrate the monitoring electronics.

Beyond that, it doesn't really matter how frequently you charge the battery. If you wished, you could harmlessly charge it every hour for five minutes, keeping the charge between 48% and 52% (for example). The battery chemistry doesn't care.

Phones are horrific environments for lithium-ion batteries. Phones are often kept on one's person (near body temperature, which is far too hot for the battery chemistry), often charged to 100% in preparation for extended use away from power, and often used until the battery is flat or nearly flat. I resign myself to having to get a new battery every two years at most (my current Nokia battery barely sees me through the day).

[pscates2.0]

Originally Posted by Dorian Gray Lithium-ion batteries degrade in high temperatures. What's your weather been like recently?

Ah...that might explain a little, especially these past few weeks (although I don't leave it in the car or take it outside if I'm doing work around the yard or whatever).

Interesting on all the other. All stuff I never really knew, or thought about.

I'll try to tweak my charging habits a bit and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks.

[Kickaha]

Met an ex-Apple engineer last fall, who had worked on the iPhone charging system. He said the #1 battery killer, by far?

Car chargers.

He said to avoid them when possible, and if you can't, buy the best quality one you can find, period. Griffin or Kensington are good choices, but even then, don't skimp.

The voltages that come out of the 12V power outlet in most cars are all over the place, with insane amounts of noise, particularly in older cars. The charger has to take care of all of that, and cheap ones simply don't, passing through the spikes and dips to the iPhone to deal with, which is hard on it.

The wall chargers have a much easier time of it.

[pscates2.0]

Interesting. I had a Griffin that I got with my original iPhone. However, when I got my iPhone 4, it wouldn't work half the time. I'd get an onscreen message saying something about "this device can't be charged..." or whatever.

My mom got a couple of no-name things off eBay and gave me a spare (it looks like this, and I believe I've seen these in Walgreens in various other colors...or at least a very similar style. I've only used it about three times total, but it always worked/charged it up and has never given me that message.

I'll be traveling across the country in a couple of weeks. My friend has a modern, newer Griffin (or maybe it's Belkin?) that she got for her iPhone 4s, and she says it works great. I'll make sure she brings it and that's what we'll use on the road.