iPod 5.5Gen Battery Life concerns

[Mario8672]

I've had my black 30GB 5.5 generation iPod 'video' for about 2 years now, but recently (in the last month), I've been noticing some problems with the battery life.

For instance, I would normally have to charge my iPod after 2+ days (about 12hrs. of listening time on full brightness). However, lately, I can barely get through a single day without seeing the battery icon appearing red (after a mere 2hrs. of listening time).

I'm just wondering what the cause of this might be, and how I could go about fixing it? Would a reset do anything? (I'd like to avoid resetting the iPod if at all possible)



Thanks again

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Have you calibrated the battery (charge all the way to 100%, use entire battery until the iPod runs out of juice and sleeps, charge back up to 100%)?

[Mario8672]

Can I do that anytime (just once)?

[ElDiabloConCaca]

You are welcome and able to do it anytime you please -- back-to-back, if you so wish.

I would recommend only doing it when the battery meter starts getting out-of-whack, though. It's not needed all that often, but it can help diagnose whether your battery is really going bad and not being able to hold a full charge, or whether the battery meter has just become "out of sync" with the battery.

Be aware, as I'm sure you already are, that the battery in the iPod will go bad after a while and need to be replaced. Typically, the lithium-ion batteries last anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 "cycles" -- a "cycle" is using up 100% of the battery capacity... so, for example, if you charged your iPod fully, then used up 1/2 of the battery (50%), then charged it to 70%, then used 30%, then charged 20%, then used 20%, that would be one "cycle": you used up 50%, then 30%, then 20%, and that equals 100%:



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