iPod:Definition of completely draining the battery

D

Drizzt

Registered
Hi, I've read in previous threads that the battery should be completely drained before recharging. I was just wondering what is meant by that. Does it mean drain it until there is only 1 tick mark left in the battery indicator on it? Or does it mean drain it until it tells me to recharge the battery?
 
Hmmm, I haven't heard this. I leave mine plugged into the firewire on my computer when I'm not using it... I don't think it's ever been fully discharged. Am I slowly killing the poor thing?? :(

- Brian
 
yep, you are. it's inevitable though. that's how the lithium ion batteries work (this applies to cell phones and laptops, too). i'd rather have the convenience anyway. i'm sure someone else can explain this better than i.

i just bought the 3 year warranty from compUSA for $30 (i didn't even buy the ipod there!) so i figure if the battery poops out on me in that time it's time to trade in.
 
The battery is drained when it stops playing music and instead focuses on keeping the clock alive (!!!)...this is when a recharge is in order.

I don't think you'll ever reach one tick left on the battery indicator, the least I've ever seen is 2 left...there's definately something wrong with that...
 
I've only drained the battery once. Otherwise i charge it up whenever. I pay no attention to how full or empty the battery is. I better not be huring it.

Twister
 
I don't drain mine, I charge it everyday when I arrive at work, and it works fine, but I do know that draining the battery each time will increase the battery life. BTW, what happens when the battery does finally go bad? Can it be replaced?

And I HAVE seen the battery level fall to only 1 click which lasted about 1.5 hours.
 
Hmmm ok. Well mine is at 1 tick right now. I think that's cause I had it in my backpack and uh...kinda forgot about it in there so the cold weather probably did a number on the battery. So far it's still working on the one tick, but I was just curious if I should keep using it till it runs out, or if I should just go and plug it back in now.

I was actually recharging it before it fully drained as well, and now it's always missing 1 tick even after a full charge when I start to use it. That's why I was concerned that I would run the battery into the ground within only a few months.
 
Actually, it's recommended to not allow your iPod to fully discharge. This is because the iPod is actually always on, which allows for quick start up, and their batteries have no memory. Also, it is a very bad idea to leave your iPod recharging connected to your computer in Disk Mode. If left connected in Disk Mode the hard drive with keep spinning and reduce battery and cause wear on the HD. It's best to charge the iPod through the AC Adapter or connected to the computer not in disk mode. Here's the link to the FAQ: http://www.ipodlounge.com/ipod_faq.asp
 
Yea, dont allow the battery to discharge all the way. You will significantly loose battery life. As you may have read at somewhere like www.ipodlounge.com people with the first generation iPods are starting to have battery troubles. This is largely attributed to people draining their batteries. Once a battery (most) is completely drained it can never be charged back up to its full potential.
 
Oh ok! I didn't realize that. I've always preferred the AC adapter over doing it through my g4, so at least I'm good there. Thanks for the info and help! :)
 
What the hell? Isn't the entire wow-this-is-rad concept behind the iPod the fact that it is a portable hard drive as well as an MP3 player?

If using it as a hard drive ruins it, then isn't it a little decieving to market it as "a FireWire drive for storing contacts, files, and applications" [apple.com/ipod]? Bah. I'm pissed now.

- Brian
 
Originally posted by bjurusik
It's best to charge the iPod through the AC Adapter or connected to the computer not in disk mode.
Click to expand...

Ohh maybe i sould do that. Mine is always in disk mode and when i plug it in i leave it on the desktop. I don't see how it could hurt it. Wouldn't the HD fall asleep if i'm not using it?

Weird
 
The concept of draining batteries completely came from the old NiCad batteries which were infamous for having some rather ugly memory problems. NiMH which has been in use for some time now managed to get rid of the memory problem, and LiIon is used in laptops because of the ability to power some hefty stuff compared to NiMH.

I think the reason why it is recommended that it be charged outside disk mode is that in disk mode, you are trying to drain and charge at the same time, which isn't the greatest idea. However, with a full battery, this isn't nearly as much of a problem.
 
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