# Qi cell phone charging



## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

A little different take on the topic of Qi cell phone charging. We've got tons of discussions about what product to use in the car, but I'm more curious about how the phone batteries react and last with short charges - on any charge.

My phone is almost 3 years old (and gasp - I don't plan on replacing it this year either) but the battery doesn't quite hold the charge it used to and I use it more since I'm working from home (no home phone these days.) 

So I purchased a nice Qi charger, plugged it in to my laptop and when I'm not on the phone I just lay it down on the charger. However, I realize I pick the phone up and put it down a hundred times a day. Work call, Teams call, check a stock price, get a text, check email, correct everyone on the interwebs, check TOO, you know the story. 

So - how does the battery hold up under these conditions? What does it do to start and stop charging several times an hour and maybe 2 minutes charging this time and 15 minutes the next? Is this harming the battery more? Is it better for the battery so that it stays in that magical 20% to 80% and not 100%? Would I be better trying to get it on the charger and keep it there for a longer period of time? 

Just a topic I think about, but don't know the best answer? Thoughts?


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## Achooo (Oct 20, 2018)

I don't know the exact answer to your question, but this is the way I've been treating my phones ever since I had a Motorola StartTac in the 90's. I plug it whenever I'm in the car. At my desk it's constantly plugged and then unplugged. Then, at bedtime, on the charger all night. On weekends and days off from work, the battery has usually gone all day without charging. Of course, I don't have a scientific answer, but my batteries have always lasted long enough for my use with this practice. Especially since switching to iPhone in 2007.


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

GDN said:


> A little different take on the topic of Qi cell phone charging. We've got tons of discussions about what product to use in the car, but I'm more curious about how the phone batteries react and last with short charges - on any charge.
> 
> My phone is almost 3 years old (and gasp - I don't plan on replacing it this year either) but the battery doesn't quite hold the charge it used to and I use it more since I'm working from home (no home phone these days.)
> 
> ...


Don't leave it plugged in all the time, cellphone batteries are definitely not designed for that. If it is already 3 years old, then the batteries have probably already lost a fair amount of capacity. 
Don't leave it at plugged in all the time (i.e. 100%) and don't run it to the ground (0%) Keep it somewhere in the middle.

Some laptops and I think cellphones now have an option to specify the batter usage, plugged in all the time, some time and rarely. This is basically set the maximum charge level, just as you do in the car.

I can tend to guarantee you that if you leave a cellphone plugged in for multiple years, the batteries will start expanding and pop the case open.


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

GDN said:


> A little different take on the topic of Qi cell phone charging. We've got tons of discussions about what product to use in the car, but I'm more curious about how the phone batteries react and last with short charges - on any charge.
> 
> My phone is almost 3 years old (and gasp - I don't plan on replacing it this year either) but the battery doesn't quite hold the charge it used to and I use it more since I'm working from home (no home phone these days.)
> 
> ...


My iPhoneX that I got within a month of its release in nov, 2017, has only ever been charged using Qi (ok, "nearly" at least... I think when totally dead I've physically plugged it in 2 times) and it has been the best iPhone battery I've had to date.
generally, I've upgraded every 2 years, and that almost always has been because of the battery life. This one now is over 2 ½ years old, and still going strong (the settings/battery health lists it at 85% capacity, so beats my car's battery by a couple percentage points and is a year older.)
I do also have the "optimize battery charging" turned on that is noted as "to reduce battery aging, iPhone learns from your charging routine so it can wait to finish charging past 80% until you need to use it". So, when on the qi pad over night, it will charge to 80% then wait to top it off to 100% until The morning x (minutes?) before it knows I normally am grabbing it to start the day. (At least that's my interpretation of that feature).

generally, I have it on a charging pad any time I'm in the car, over night and most of the time while working. So it probably has sat on a charging pad for more combined hours than it has not been on a charging pad.


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

MelindaV said:


> My iPhoneX that I got within a month of its release in nov, 2017, has only ever been charged using Qi (ok, "nearly" at least... I think when totally dead I've physically plugged it in 2 times) and it has been the best iPhone battery I've had to date.
> generally, I've upgraded every 2 years, and that almost always has been because of the battery life. This one now is over 2 ½ years old, and still going strong (the settings/battery health lists it at 85% capacity, so beats my car's battery by a couple percentage points and is a year older.)
> I do also have the "optimize battery charging" turned on that is noted as "to reduce battery aging, iPhone learns from your charging routine so it can wait to finish charging past 80% until you need to use it". So, when on the qi pad over night, it will charge to 80% then wait to top it off to 100% until The morning x (minutes?) before it knows I normally am grabbing it to start the day. (At least that's my interpretation of that feature).
> 
> generally, I have it on a charging pad any time I'm in the car, over night and most of the time while working. So it probably has sat on a charging pad for more combined hours than it has not been on a charging pad.


Thanks for the info and reminder about the battery health. I haven't looked at that and forgot Apple added some smarts about how the battery charges.

For reference I've got an iPhone X as well and got it in November 2017, about the same age as yours.  For two years I plugged it in at night and unplugged in the AM. In January I got a new Qi charger for the bedroom and that is where it has changed since. Looks like Apple added the battery optimization charging with iOS 13 - last fall. Looking at the battery info mine shows I'm still at 90% capacity and the Optimized Battery Charging is turned on.

I don't have complaints necessarily about the current battery life because I know I've started using the phone a lot more the last 3 to 4 months and it is over 2.5 years old. So I guess I'm doing pretty good and will just charge when I'm not using it during the day to keep it topped up better. I just didn't know if it was optimal that the battery start and stop charging many times during the day when putting it on the charger for short periods of time or if the battery charged better and would do better if once it started charging it had a chance charge more fully.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

@GDN you're much better than me! I used to upgrade my iPhone every 2 years and the battery was nearly toast by then. Now I have switched to the annual upgrade program and my 11 Pro is already showing signs of major degradation and it has only been 9 months since it came out.

Somehow Apple indicates my maximum capacity is still 98% though...


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## iChris93 (Feb 3, 2017)

The one thing about wireless charging is that you should be careful about placement. Placement matters because if you are not aligned right, it can create more heat and heat, especially while charging, is not a good thing for our phone batteries. I don't think the stop/start charging will impact it as really only the number of full cycles matters.


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