# What is the best way to charge an iPod? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060 "2007-10-26T01:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/1 "2007-10-26T01:52:37Z")
I know because of the internal battery it can’t only be charged a certain number of times before the life starts being lost. So is it best to use it until it’s about dead and then recharge it fully, or recharge it everytime after I’m done using it? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/2 "2007-10-26T02:28:01Z")
Charging the battery whenever you can will put less strain on it than always letting it discharge all the way, and then charging it back up. Keep it around half-charged if you are not going to be using it for a while. And try to keep it cool, especially when charging - lithium batteries don’t take well to heat. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/3 "2007-10-26T09:49:13Z")
Over time, crystals build up in nickel-based batteries and prevent you from charging them completely, necessitating an inconvenient full discharge. But iPods use lithium-ion batteries, not nickel-based batteries. You can also recharge a lithium-ion battery whenever convenient, without the full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep nickel-based batteries at peak performance. You can charge all lithium-ion batteries a large but finite number of times, as defined by charge cycle. A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, _but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge_. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing again the next day, it would count in total as one charge cycle (two 50% charge depletions = one 100% depletion), not two charge cycles, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Another example would be if you took your 100% charged battery, used 10% of the charge, and then recharged it to 100%. If you did that ten days in a row, that would have the same wear on your iPod battery as if you took it from 100% down to zero and recharged it to 100%, all in the same day. The moral of the story is: don’t be afraid to charge your iPod battery whenever it is convenient to you. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/4 "2007-10-26T15:04:23Z")
I’d use a Visa that gets you frequent flier miles. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/5 "2007-10-26T18:58:26Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Over time, crystals build up in nickel-based batteries and prevent you from charging them completely, necessitating an inconvenient full discharge. But iPods use lithium-ion batteries, not nickel-based batteries. You can also recharge a lithium-ion battery whenever convenient, without the full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep nickel-based batteries at peak performance. You can charge all lithium-ion batteries a large but finite number of times, as defined by charge cycle. A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, _but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge_. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing again the next day, it would count in total as one charge cycle (two 50% charge depletions = one 100% depletion), not two charge cycles, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Another example would be if you took your 100% charged battery, used 10% of the charge, and then recharged it to 100%. If you did that ten days in a row, that would have the same wear on your iPod battery as if you took it from 100% down to zero and recharged it to 100%, all in the same day. The moral of the story is: don’t be afraid to charge your iPod battery whenever it is convenient to you. [/QUOTE] Sweet, that’s exactly what I needed to know. A follow-up question though: are there any ways to minimize the cycle? For example, would using it while it’s connected to the charger help at all? ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/6 "2007-10-26T19:07:34Z")
I would not worry about it. That battery will probably outlast the iPod. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/7 "2007-10-26T19:08:47Z")
[QUOTE=RandMcnally] A follow-up question though: are there any ways to minimize the cycle? For example, would using it while it’s connected to the charger help at all? [/QUOTE] Yes. When the iPod is connected to the AC adapter, it should run on external power rather than the battery. But you can’t do the same while connected to a PC’s USB port - the iPod’s controls are relinquished to the PC whenever it’s connected to a PC. (Though I think you can play the contents of the iPod through the PC’s speker, assuming the PC has iTunes.) ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/8 "2007-10-26T19:19:40Z")
It you eject the ipod (via itunes or other means) but leave it plugged in you can listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/9 "2007-10-26T20:49:21Z")
Also, don’t worry about overcharging a lithium-ion battery by leaving it plugged into the A/C adaptor after it reaches 100% charge. It can’t hurt it, which is another difference from nickel-based batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/10 "2007-10-26T21:28:51Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Also, don’t worry about overcharging a lithium-ion battery by leaving it plugged into the A/C adaptor after it reaches 100% charge. It can’t hurt it, which is another difference from nickel-based batteries. [/QUOTE] You can, indeed, overcharge a Li-Ion battery. They usually explode when you do, and is the reason a Li-ion battery should _never_ be charged without the proper charging system. What really happens is the device stops charging when the battery is fully charged. Practically every battery-powered electronic device does this, regardless of battery technology. Basically, if it has a battery gauge, the device is capable of detecting a full battery and can be left plugged in indefinitely. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/11 "2007-10-27T06:26:37Z")
Straight from the horse’s mouth (i.e., from the Apple hardware engineer who worked on the battery for the original iPod): “Overcharging is good. The first time it is actually good to overcharge the battery.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/12 "2007-10-27T12:52:29Z")
[QUOTE=Finagle] I’d use a Visa that gets you frequent flier miles. [/QUOTE] DAMN YOU & SUCH! Beat me to it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/13 "2007-10-27T13:50:47Z")
For my new MacBook laptop, should I use the nickel full discharge method or the iPod keep as fully charged as possible method? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/14 "2007-10-27T14:45:01Z")
The MacBook and MacBook Pro computers come with lithium polymer batteries. Lithium polymer is an implementation of the lithium ion battery chemistry. Lithium polymer still uses lithium ions to shuttle energy during charge and discharge. You can recharge a lithium-ion battery whenever convenient, without the full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep nickel-based batteries at peak performance. ---
**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/15 "2007-10-27T15:37:14Z")
Wait so looking at my handy iStat pro widget it tells me that I only have 305 cycles left- so does that mean I can only get another 305 full recharges out of my laptop before I have to by another battery? That sucks, although it does say that my battery health is at 80% which indicates that it might last a while yet. hmm… ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/16 "2007-10-27T15:41:29Z")
[QUOTE=Finagle] I’d use a Visa that gets you frequent flier miles. [/QUOTE] OHH. I get it now. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/17 "2007-10-27T16:53:08Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Straight from the horse’s mouth (i.e., from the Apple hardware engineer who worked on the battery for the original iPod): “Overcharging is good. The first time it is actually good to overcharge the battery.” [/QUOTE] I’d love to know more about what he meant. Perhaps he just meant leaving it plugged in until the charging indicator disappears, at which part the charge is complete and charging stops. An iPod charges to 80% capacity in about an hour, reaching full capacity about 3 hours later. A properly function Li-Ion system will not allow overcharge. It’s generally known that actually overcharging Li-Ion batteries is bad: [http://www.smeter.net/daily-facts/3/fact27.php](http://www.smeter.net/daily-facts/3/fact27.php) > **[How to charge Lithium ion Batteries, lithium polymer batteries, and lithium...](https://www.powerstream.com/li.htm)** > > Charging methods for lithium batteries including slow charge, fast charge and smart charge techniques. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5f0VCoFuFM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5f0VCoFuFM) for a visual demonstration [http://www.lxe.com/pdf/wp\_Li-IonBatteries.pdf](http://www.lxe.com/pdf/wp_Li-IonBatteries.pdf) , end of page 3 [Trying to charge a Lithium Ion battery with a universal charger - what setting? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=432539) , where the importance of correct charging equipment was noted From [http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm:](http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm:) > [@](#): > > Much attention is focused to avoid over-charging and over-discharging. Commercial lithium ion packs contain a protection circuits that limit the charge voltage to 4.30V/cell, 0.10 volts higher than the voltage threshold of the charger. Temperature sensing disconnects the charge if the cell temperature approaches 90°C (194°F), and a mechanical pressure switch on many cells permanently interrupt the current path if a safe pressure threshold is exceeded. Exceptions are made on some spinel (manganese) packs containing one or two small cells. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/18 "2007-10-27T17:05:29Z")
[QUOTE=Sri Theo] Wait so looking at my handy iStat pro widget it tells me that I only have 305 cycles left- so does that mean I can only get another 305 full recharges out of my laptop before I have to by another battery? That sucks, although it does say that my battery health is at 80% which indicates that it might last a while yet. hmm… [/QUOTE] Generally, it’s said that lithium-ion batteries can go about 400 cycles before losing 20% of their capacity. So, you have another 305 full cycles to go before you battery life is 80% of what it used to be. I don’t know what “battery health” is, though. iStat Pro doesn’t show cycles remaining, it shows cycles accumulated - are you sure it isn’t saying your battery has already been through 305 cycles? In that case, the 80% might be an approximation of how much capacity your battery has left. There’s no reason to buy another one, if the decreased life doesn’t bother you. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/19 "2007-10-27T23:03:16Z")
[QUOTE=ChrisBooth12] I would not worry about it. That battery will probably outlast the iPod. [/QUOTE] That must be a new feature. I have an older iPod that has gone through 2 replacement batteries already. ---
**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060/20 "2007-10-28T15:13:06Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] iStat Pro doesn’t show cycles remaining, it shows cycles accumulated -/QUOTE] Ah thank you, I thought that it was showing me how many I have left, as its the opposite my battery should last a while yet. Cheers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-charge-an-ipod/424060.md?page=2)