Is this bad for the battery?

[antisomnic]

Most of the time that I use my iPad is at home. I have it plugged in most of the time. It doesn't usually go below 90%. Is this bad for the battery? I guess it's an OCD thing for me I feel like if I can have it plugged in I should.

 

[sjleworthy]

Nope. This is definitely not bad for battery life.

 

[beesknees]

Most of the time that I use my iPad is at home. I have it plugged in most of the time. It doesn't usually go below 90%. Is this bad for the battery? I guess it's an OCD thing for me I feel like if I can have it plugged in I should.

You missed my OCD battery charge thread...

There has been a lot of information posted here about the best way to protect your battery and extend its life... some of it was in that OCD thread. From what I gather the most ideal charging is for the unit to be powered down. However an iPad is typically in stand-by mode while charging so it continues to use the battery anyway.

I don't think it is a good idea for it to be plugged in and used when it is completely charged. I just wouldn't take the chance of it getting over-charged. I do use mine when it is on the charger but only up to 90 percent. Then I either turn it off or pull the cord.

Everyone does tend to agree that from time to time it is still a good idea to drain the battery down. People say once a month but I think once every three months is fine.

I think you could drive yourself crazy if you tried to make everything ideal and no one has even reported what you gain. What does a longer battery life mean in actual time?

 

[sjleworthy]

You can't overcharge it

 

[beesknees]

You can't overcharge it

You say that but my Harmony One has a LI battery and it is always on when charging and it swelled up. From what I read it happens routinely.

 

[sjleworthy]

You can't overcharge it. Period.

 

[King Hal]

You can't overcharge it. Period.

Agreed.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Semel]

You say that but my Harmony One has a LI battery and it is always on when charging and it swelled up. From what I read it happens routinely.

To finally put arguments to rest Apple’s Vice President of iPad Product Marketing Michael Tchao mentioned the following to AllThingsD today about the issue:

Apple does in fact display the iPad (and iPhone and iPod Touch) as 100 percent charged just before a device reaches a completely charged state. At that point, it will continue charging to 100 percent, then discharge a bit and charge back up to 100 percent, repeating that process until the device is unplugged. Doing so allows devices to maintain an optimum charge, Apple VP Michael Tchao told AllThingsD today. “That circuitry is designed so you can keep your device plugged in as long as you would like,” Tchao said. “It’s a great feature that’s always been in iOS.”

 

[beesknees]

You can't overcharge it. Period.

A parasitic load confuses the charger by depressing the battery voltage and preventing the current in the saturation stage to drop low. A battery may be fully charged, but the prevailing conditions prompt a continued charge. This causes undue battery stress and compromises safety.

From: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

 

[Semel]

From: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries

We are talking specific about ipad battery.

 

[sjleworthy]

Bees - Sure, but Apple obviously counter these issues with their usual ingenious engineering. iPad batteries are quite specific.

 

[Skull One]

A parasitic load confuses the charger by depressing the battery voltage and preventing the current in the saturation stage to drop low. A battery may be fully charged, but the prevailing conditions prompt a continued charge. This causes undue battery stress and compromises safety.

From: Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries

Sadly that information is now out of date for the majority of consumer level products with lithium-ion batteries.

Apple has for at least the last two versions of both the iPhone and iPad used a very simply process to avoid this situation. Once the device finishes Stage 4 100% charging, the battery charging circuit is disengaged. It will not turn back on again until the device's battery falls below 96%. This was publicly stated by Apple in April when questions about the iPad (3rd Gen) battery charging was brought to light. You can personally confirm this by charging a current device to 100% waiting an extra 1 hour and then start playing a 3D heavy game for about 15 to 20 minutes. Return to the springboard, pull the charger and look at the battery reading. It will instantly drop from 100 to between 99 and 96%. If you then plug it back in immediately the charging status will suddenly show 100% again (which is what was being questioned).

Apple doesn't want to deal with battery replacement issues due to plating of the anode. So they devised this solution I described.

 

[beesknees]

It may be out of date but I replaced a swollen LI battery this year and Apple can release software with bugs. I prefer to not use it on the cord fully charged and we can leave it at that.

 

[Skull One]

It may be out of date but I replaced a swollen LI battery this year and Apple can release software with bugs. I prefer to not use it on the cord fully charged and we can leave it at that.

I have no issue with personal preference. Only inaccurate or incorrect facts.

 

[beesknees]

I have no issue with personal preference. Only inaccurate or incorrect facts.

Right, because everything always acts in the manner it was designed. There are no absolutes when it comes to manmade devices.