can i let my battery charge go to zero?

[88raymond]

will this not harm my unit? or its contents? i'm now at almost 5% without my charger...

 

[JSmooth]

I usually always let mine go to zero unless I'm in the middle of something important!!!
I think it's just like cell phones if u let them die then charge it back up it keeps a better longer charge!!

 

[JSmooth]

It has never messed up ne of my contents!

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Look here for the official advice...

Apple - Batteries - iPad

Tim

 

[88raymond]

thanks again! completely running it down...

"Use Your iPad Regularly
For proper reporting of the battery’s state of charge, be sure to go through at least one charge cycle per month (charging the battery to 100% and then completely running it down)."

 

[thewitt]

It does not make your battery hold a charge longer, it simply makes the meter more accurate.

-t

 

[88raymond]

It does not make your battery hold a charge longer, it simply makes the meter more accurate.

-t

i think in the long run, it will make my battery hold a charge longer, as this is dependent on the number of cycles of charging/discharging. the # of cycles will be lesser if i completely charge and discharge, so it will take longer to reach 80%.

hope my reasoning isn't skewed, lol!

 

[twerppoet]

It does not make your battery hold a charge longer, it simply makes the meter more accurate.

-t

i think in the long run, it will make my battery hold a charge longer, as this is dependent on the number of cycles of charging/discharging. the # of cycles will be lesser if i completely charge and discharge, so it will take longer to reach 80%.

hope my reasoning isn't skewed, lol!

When they advertise the number of charge cycles they don't mean the number of times you charge the battery. It means the number of times a battery goes through a full 100% of a cycle. I you charge the battery at 20% one day, 30% the next, and 50% the third day you've only gone through one full charge cycle.

Lithium-ion batteries actually last longer if you do not fully discharge them constantly. As stated earlier, the only reason Apple recommends the full charge cycle is that it re-calibrates the software that tells you how full the battery is.

 

[88raymond]

that makes everyth8ng clear. thanks!

 

[gmaines]

Thanks for the info....

 

[buttrpecan1]

Im sorry. I stll dont fully understand. So its btter to rechage it at a lower battery level than to put it on charger when youre not using it? I usually have my ipad on the charger if im not actually using it.

Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

 

[twerppoet]

Im sorry. I stll dont fully understand. So its btter to rechage it at a lower battery level than to put it on charger when youre not using it? I usually have my ipad on the charger if im not actually using it.

Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

Don't worry about it. Charge the iPad whenever it is convenient. What you are doing is fine.

Every once in a while, once a month by Apples recommendation, but that is probably not necessary, charge the iPad to 100%, then use it until the it shuts itself down. This helps keep the percentage indicator calibrated.

http://www.apple.com/batteries/ipad.html

 

[irwiss]

I can't post this as a link, since I've below 3 posts Copypaste to address bar for more detailed essay:
batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

The smaller the depth of discharge, the longer the battery will last. If at all possible, avoid frequent full discharges and charge more often between uses. If full discharges cannot be avoided, try utilizing a larger battery. Partial discharge on Li-ion is fine; there is no memory and the battery does not need periodic full discharge cycles other than to calibrate the fuel gauge on a smart battery.

being at full state-of-charge for an extended time can be more damaging than cycling

This is the answer to your question.

There's a table in the essay detailing this, simply put; over the course of a year given room temperature storage - a battery which is kept at 100% charge will degrade 20% capacity, a battery which is kept at 40% charge will degrade 4%.
Some laptops alleviate the problem by turning off charging if current charge is above a certain threshold, not certain if the ipad has something similar.
In my opinion, by the time you'll see serious degradation in battery capacity you'll most likely use a newer version of your device.

High charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss.

Summarizing, in order of importance/convenience;

• Keep battery below 30C(Car in direct sunlight can be above 30C in most places)
• Don't fully discharge.
• Don't fully charge and leave it at 100% charge for long periods.
• If you also want your meter to be accurate you need to make a full discharge cycle once in a while.

 

[buttrpecan1]

Thx. That summary of importance was very easy to understand.

Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

 

[88raymond]

in order to satisfy one of the summaries,

"Don't fully charge and leave it at 100% charge for long periods."

there's an app at cydia - full charge alert - that prompts you with a notification sound and alert when the battery charge reaches 100%. now i can easily determine when to stop charging..