Help for iPhone batteries on continuous charge?

I have a bunch of apple phones and ipods that I use for music playback parked in speaker docks. All the apple stuff uses the older 30-pin connector for charging.

They're on charge while playing music 24/7.

I've been using some android phones in a similar manner charging via USB. Doesn't take long for the lithium batteries to swell.

I'm migrating to apple devices and I want to prevent the batteries swelling up.

Any ideas on how to prevent this? I don't care about running for long on battery, just want to keep the OS happy when I swap the phone in the dock.

I don't expect there's anything I can do in the charger.

formatting link

Simplest thing I can think of is to put a pair of backtoback diodes in series with the battery.

Before I start busting plastic to get 'em apart, thought I'd ask if the charge algorithm might object and shut down. I'd like to keep some charge on the battery so I can remove the device from the dock without losing data.

Ideas?

Reply to
mike
Loading thread data ...

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

OUCH! That's 4X what the phone cost. And not an answer to the question.

Reply to
mike

Not sure if it is a help to you, but my adult daughter has an old iPod plugged into a speaker box/charger which has been sitting on their kitchen counter and has been running for five or so years with no battery issues.

John :-#)#

Reply to
John Robertson

Thanks, All my swollen batteries are in Android and Windows phones. Maybe Apple got it right.

Reply to
mike

I leave my iPhone 6 on charge overnight, and it is cool to the touch in the morning. It actually only takes an hour or so to charge...

John ;-#)#

Reply to
John Robertson

I beg to differ somewhat: The reason you see more bulging batteries in Android phones is because there are 3 times more activated Android phones in service than iPhones. Also because the Android batteries are somewhat easier to replace in most Android phones (except HTC). Original batteries are usually good quality, but the replacements are not so good.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Hmmm. The manual for my Motorola phone explicitly says it can be left on charge. First symptom was failure of "torch" function. Then screen bulged out of the case. The bulging battery had disconnected the torch. The replacement battery is OK so far, but I don't leave it on charge for long periods...

Mike.

Reply to
Mike Coon

There are a couple of effects. Lithium batteries don't like maximum voltage, on charge or not. Degradation increases rapidly as voltage increases. If you charge then disconnect, the percentage of time the battery stays at that maximum voltage is SIGNIFICANTLY less.

Vendors maximize the claimed run time of their phones. They push it to the limit, and maybe past. Staying on charge is bad news.

Some devices charge to max, but internally disconnect until the battery falls below some level. Some devices allow you to set the maximum charge level. That lets them advertise big life numbers and blame you if your battery fails.

The stuff I buy at garage sales is old technology. That's why I think I need to take some action inside the charge system. Series diodes are the only thing I can think to do without a lot of proprietary info about how the charge controller works.

The pinout page shows several ways to disable charging. I've interpreted this to mean that it also forces it to run on internal battery. Some investigation might be in order to see if that's the case. Maybe a FET in series with the charge line that gets turned off when inserted into the speaker dock.

I'd merely have to charge the battery on a different charger occasionally to keep the battery from going completely flat.

I've got 2 ipods and 4 iphones 3, 3GS, 4, 4GS...and maybe a dozen speaker docks. Likely that they all charge differently. Making something compatible across the range will be a challenge.

I keep coming back to a pair of diodes to drop the max charge voltage and wondering whether the charge controller will tolerate that dead band in the curve.

Reply to
mike

The answer to overnight charging and bulging batteries is complicated.

Charging Your Phone Overnight: Battery Myths Debunked

I could question the explanations and suggestions in the article because battery chemistry, construction, chargers, charge controllers, BMS (battery management system), and phones vary over the years. The only advice I could add is to forget everything you know about older battery chemistries (NiMH, NiCd, Alkaline) because the various LiIon chemistries are quite different.

What would cause a phone battery to bulge in the middle? Over-simplification: Overcharging produces gases.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

As many apps as possible should all be off when charging, too. That way, the phone is using less energy while charging.

Reply to
bruce2bowser

Please explain why that would make any difference...

Mike.

Reply to
Mike Coon

I read it, here:

--

formatting link

(a helpdesk person at Apple or Samsung can explain further)

Reply to
bruce2bowser

This explains better:

--

formatting link

Reply to
bruce2bowser

This explains better:

--

formatting link

"How to close open apps on phone so phone will keep a charge longer? I am unable to drag icons to the top of screen

You do not need to drag icons. By tapping icons, you can only launch them. By tapping and holding icons, you can move them around, group them, or unin stall them. Double-press the home button to initiate the closing process. T hen, just tap on the application that you want to close and slide it upward s.

For a longer battery overall lifespan, do not discharge it fully and do not keep it charged at 100 % for too long. For a longer battery life between c harges

decrease the volume of the phone; closing applications may not affect the battery life, actually: to really c lose applications, you need to go to "Settings" > "General" > "Background A pp Refresh" and disable as many applications as you can. This will be the t rue way to "close applications"; in "Settings" > "Notifications", disable notifications for as many applicat ions as possible; in "Settings" > "Wallpaper & Brightness", turn off the "Auto-Brightness" op tion; in "Settings" > "General" > "Spotlight Search", disable "Siri Suggestions" and all of the "SEARCH RESULTS" options; in "Settings" > "Cellular", scroll down to the bottom. Disable "WiFi Assist ". I have a new iPhone 5S, and I need to close all of the applications. My bat tery won't go beyond 1/4th of a charge? I need to close my apps so I can charge my battery to a full charge,"

Reply to
bruce2bowser

Replace the battery with a supercap capacitor.

--
Adrian C
Reply to
Adrian Caspersz

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.