Overcharging your iPhone Battery?

Right now my daily driver smartphone is an iPhone 5s for communications and gaming, and a Starmobile JUMP HD for multimedia. The iPhone is a gift and has been with me for a week now, while I’m the one who bought the JUMP HD when it was still launched last January 2016.

I was using the iPhone 5s with utmost care because it is still brand new and to be honest this my first iOS device. As we all know unlike the Starmobile, the iPhone has a small battery so you are really going to charge it from time to time. Then the other day when I was charging in the middle of the night I fall asleep and forgot to unplug my iPhone. When I woke up it was at 100% charged. So this question comes up to my mind.

Can You Overcharge Your iPhone Battery?

Let us take note that Apple products are using lithium batteries, which is pretty much rechargeable, so you can charge your Apple devices for multiple times. Base on my research lithium battery uses a trickle charge at the end of charging, so you don’t need to worry about overcharging your battery even if you leave the phone plugged in once it has reached a full charge.

Here are some points to know whether your iPhone battery overcharges or not.

Lithium Batteries

iPhone uses Lithium batteries which are different from nickel batteries. Using nickel battery on the phone means that the user must know how the phone must be charged, and often the phone must be fully discharged to preserve battery life. Nickel battery phones are also prone to overcharging. With a lithium battery in your iPhone, you don't need to worry about when to plug in your phone to charge, and you can charge the phone at any point without damaging the battery capacity.

Type of Charging

There are two types of charging used by Apple in their iPhone’s. The first two hours that the phone is plugged in, the battery charges quickly so that it reaches 80% of the capacity, and your phone retains that charge if you need to use it immediately. Leaving the phone in the charger will make the battery continuously charge at a trickle charge, in which it uses just a small amount of charge to continue charging up the battery until it is full.

Charging Icons     

Your phone tells you when it has finished charging, by switching the icon from a charging icon to a charged icon. The charging icon looks similar to a lightning bolt, while the icon that displays when the phone is fully charged looks like a plug. Leaving the phone plugged in once the charged icon is present won't overcharge the battery; the battery stops accepting the charge.

Battery Life

While overcharging is not a concern, you must still be aware that the iPhone battery has a limited lifespan. After 400 charges, the phone holds a charge of only 80 percent of the battery's capacity. A charge is counted as a full discharge and recharge, so partial charges over a period of days can add up to one charge cycle. If your battery is no longer holding a charge, you may need to take the phone to an Apple service provider for a new battery.

So your phone does not overcharge after all even if you unplug it overnight but doing so may cause lesser Battery life. After all, when you are plugging your phone in the outlet it is already discharging and recharging making a cycle. It is still advisable to unplug your phone when it is full for it a longer battery life.

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

Apple: Lithium-ion Batteries
Apple: iPhone
Apple: iPhone and iPod Touch - Charging the Battery