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Power off or leave on charger?

Former Member
Former Member over 5 years ago

Hello Community!

I am a daily Apple Watch user and just picked up an Instinct for use on longer hikes and backpacking trips as the Apple Watch is not well suited for extended activities.  Since I will only be using the Instinct once a week or two, I'm wondering whether it is better to leave the watch on the charger for extended periods or simply power it off in between wearings?

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    As with anything powered by a battery, it is best to store it somewhere around 50-75% of power. Leaving it connected to the charger when not used doesn't seem the best thing to do, to me. 

    I'd charge it before use, use it and turn it off when not in use for a longer period of time. If battery percentage falls below the above mentioned values, charge it back up to there (3-4 bars out of 5) and turn it off. You'll see that you can use the watch multiple times, depending on usage, before it drops below 50%.

    Keeping these batteries fully charged all the time isn't healthy either as it stresses them a lot. Try to avoid completely draining the battery as well, just keep it between 20-80% if you want it to last as long as possible. 

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago

    Hi, 

    I use GPS for about 90mins per week. I receive numerous notifications a day. I sync my work calendar to the watch.

    With all all that, I switch odf the watch overnight. I consistently am gating over 2 weeks of usage out of one full charge. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Marc_v_L

    Yep, I agree with the above. Any lithium cobalt batteries store between 50-70%. Any try to minimise the depth of discharge and don’t charge past 80%. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    Once upon a time, it was necessary to babysit charging and capacity with earlier generation batteries. But not nowadays. Issues like battery memory and unsophisticated charging circuitry that overcharged, etc, are well behind us.

    In the charger the constant topping off of the charge as the charge falls below the specced maximum will very slowly use up the finite number of charges your lithium-ion battery can take. So if you're not using a device for a month or more, I'd unplug it and power it down. Otherwise, for a device you're using weekly, the concern is negligible.

    But of course, neither will you do any harm if you charge after usage, then disconnect right away and power down till your next usage a week or two later as you say your usage goes. So long as you're okay with the battery's charge being less than 100% by the time to use it again, you'll be fine. And you will very slightly extend the life of your battery, which might make you feel good! :-)