Top 7 Q&A You Need to Know About Charging Your iPhone

There were once reports on the issue that a Chinese woman was killed by an electric shock when answering a call on her iPhone 5 while it was charging. This again reminds us to charge our iPhone in a proper way. This article lists tips about charging your iPhone (iOS 10/9.3/9.2/9/8/7).

Top 7 Q&A About Charging Your iPhone

Q1: Is Leaving My iPhone Charging Overnight Bad?

Leaving your iPhone on charge while you're asleep shouldn't have any detrimental effects on the battery. And Phone does have an automatic shutoff mechanism built in to prevent overcharging that might cause a potential fire hazard. 

Q2: How Often Should I Let The Battery Completely Die Then Charge It?

People's ideas toward this question are quite different. Some people have that you are never to let a lithium ion battery die completely.  That is can actually damage the battery. Others have that you need to drain your battery entirely to preserve the "life cycle" of the battery.

Here I suggest that you should drain your battery entirely and then have it fully charged once a month. But only try to do this no more than once a month. Completely discharging lithium-ion batteries too much will have an adverse effect.

Q3: PC USB and iPhone Charger Which One Is Better For Charging My iPhone?

Generally, both PC USB and iPhone charger can be used to charge you iPhone. But the PC USB will charge your iPhone very slowly. Because it is 1/2th of what an iPhone charger is so it will take 2 times longer than an iPhone charger.

Source Voltage Current Power
PC USB 5 volts 0.5 amps 2.5 Watts
iPhone Charger 5 volts 1.0 amps 5 Watts

Q4: Can I Use a Cheap Charger to Replace My Lost/Broken iPhone Charger?

Of course, you can't. A cheap charger has an adverse effect and many accidents are due to use the cheaper charger not from Apple. And cheap chargers won't respond so well to the shutoff mechanism in the phone. The energy may also come through in sporadic bursts, which isn't good for your battery's life.

Q5: Are Car Chargers Bad for the iPhone?

Generally, car chargers are bad for the iPhone because the power is not regulated like in your home. It sends pulse charges instead of a consistent charge like from a wall charger. Many iPhone batteries die because people use their car chargers too much. 

Q6: Can I Use iPad Charger to Charge iPhone?

Personally I suggest that you don't use the iPad charger to charge iPhone because each charger is to fit each device although they are all from Apple. . Although iPad and iPhone chargers look quite the same, the output voltages of the two are different: iPhone charger is 5W while iPad charger is 10W. And the charger's currents are different, too. The iPhone charger's current is 1A while that of the iPad charger is 1.2A.

Source Voltage Current Power
iPhone Charger 5 volts 1.0 amps 5 Watts
iPad Charger 5.1 volts 2.1 amps 10 Watts

Q7: How to Charge Your iPhone Correctly?

Most people concern about how to charge the iPhone in a proper way. Here I list some tips for your reference.

  • Connect your iPhone to your computer, or plug it into a socket with the proper attachment, with the white USB cord that came with your iPhone.
  • Calibrate your battery once a month by using it until it turns off because it has no power.
  • Optimize your iPhone settings such as turning off unused apps, lower the brightness of the screen to have longer charge cycles and a longer battery life.

So I have talked about 7 top issues of charging iPhone. If your iPhone/iPad is not charging, then click here to learn how to fix it. If you have any other questions about charging iPhone, please be free to tell me and I will try to give you the best answers.