Iphone 13 and Older Chargers

[rk911]

I just bought a new Apple iPhone 13 and am hoping to get the straight scoop on charging.

I replaced an old iPhone 7. Both the 7 and 13 use the same lightning cable port on the phone to charge. The salesman who sold the phone cautioned me against using my old desktop chargers as it would, quote...damage the iPhone 13 battery.. However, according to multiple Google searches it's OK to use the old 5-watt/1-amp chargers. The only downside is it will take longer for the phone to fully re-charge. I'd rather not spend the $ to buy new wireless desktop chargers if my old ones wired chargers will work. I usually just charge overnight so time-to-charge is irrelevent.

Does anyone have any experience charging an iPhone 13 with an older 5-watt/1-amp charger?

 

[HarveyS]

No experience, sorry. Curious, though. Was this "salesman" at the Apple store or another store? (In my experience, the folks at Verizon were a little too eager to sell accessories).

 

[Alan]

In 2016 when we moved back to the UK I bought UK style mains plugs with USB sockets to charge our various devices. When we bought our iPhone 13s we simply continued to use those USB sockets with the lightning cables that came with the phones.

I bought a new Apple Watch last December to replace my 5 year old Apple Watch. The charger it came with is a USB-C connector. I haven't bought a new charger since it works fine with the original charger.

I suspect that saying older chargers will damage the new phones is not true. Lower power is not normally a problem.

 

[target2019]

There are a zillion articles and videos about charging cables and each phone model.

I think you can get a substitute cable for far less than the Apple model. But you should stick with a brand name cable.

There are some anomalies with different cables, but you find those when you try something cheap.

 

[braumeister]

Apple says they are fine to use.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210133

 

[rk911]

No experience, sorry. Curious, though. Was this "salesman" at the Apple store or another store? (In my experience, the folks at Verizon were a little too eager to sell accessories).

Verizon. I may have answered my own question though. An hour or so after I posted I found an exchange on an Apple support forum that directly addressed this. The post involved an iPhone 13 and iPhone 7 chargers. The Apple tech wrote, apart from taking longer to achieve a complete charge the IP13 would not be harmed.

 

[rk911]

There are a zillion articles and videos about charging cables and each phone model.

I think you can get a substitute cable for far less than the Apple model. But you should stick with a brand name cable.

There are some anomalies with different cables, but you find those when you try something cheap.

I always use Apple certified cables, charging cubes and desktop chargers. Thanks.

 

[rk911]

Thanks!

 

[Jerry1]

My understanding is that the charging logic is in the phone, not the charger. I would not hesitate to use a lower powered charger and would only be a little concerned about the charger if I was going for a fast charge with a higher output charger.

I have a 13 mini. I lay it on an Anker wireless charger every night. The changing pad is able to do fast charging but the power block that I bought with it (also Anker) made a high pitched whine so I swapped out one of those basic Apple charging blocks and it works fine. Not fast, but it’s at 100% every morning when I get up.

I wouldn’t worry about using chargers or cables that are not Apple, but I’d go with a reputable company like Anker or Belkin.

 

[audreyh1]

In 2016 when we moved back to the UK I bought UK style mains plugs with USB sockets to charge our various devices. When we bought our iPhone 13s we simply continued to use those USB sockets with the lightning cables that came with the phones.

I bought a new Apple Watch last December to replace my 5 year old Apple Watch. The charger it came with is a USB-C connector. I haven't bought a new charger since it works fine with the original charger.

I suspect that saying older chargers will damage the new phones is not true. Lower power is not normally a problem.

Agreed. I still use my old USB-A cables at home nightstand because I have a 5 port USB charger with a power cord that is handy to use. My newer USB-C cables I take traveling with the much more compact Apple direct wall plug charger.

The newest iPhone are very smart about charging power management. They don’t depend on the charger.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

My understanding is that the charging logic is in the phone, not the charger. I would not hesitate to use a lower powered charger and would only be a little concerned about the charger if I was going for a fast charge with a higher output charger.

+100.

I would also not charge to 100% every night and leave it charging, that is not good for the battery. My Samsung Galaxy S20 allows me to set it to stop charging at 85%, which I usually do overnight. (If I'm going to be out and using my phone a lot, I may top it up to 100% that morning.) Same with my laptop, actually.

Does the iPhone have a similar setting? If so, I advise you to use that if you're concerned about the battery, rk911.

 

[audreyh1]

+100.

I would also not charge to 100% every night and leave it charging, that is not good for the battery. My Samsung Galaxy S20 allows me to set it to stop charging at 85%, which I usually do overnight. (If I'm going to be out and using my phone a lot, I may top it up to 100% that morning.) Same with my laptop, actually.

Does the iPhone have a similar setting? If so, I advise you to use that if you're concerned about the battery, rk911.

You don’t have to worry about leaving the iPhone plugged in overnight or charging to 100%. It’s smart. It handles it.

 

[Alan]

I have “optimized battery charging” checked on my iPhone. This means it learns my charging routine and doesn’t charge beyond 80% until just before I unplug and start using it.

 

[mpeirce]

Current iPhones have three settings for battery charging:

(1) You can have it charge to 100% when it's plugged in, just like the old days.

(2) You can also have it charge up to 80%. Useful if you are always plugged in.

(3) Finally "Optimized Battery Charging" is the default and does what Apple thinks is the best trade off of charing up vs prolonging the life of the battery for most people.

Follow the link for more details, but basically it learns your habits and adjusts to you.

For example, you charge your phone every night and always take it off the charger at 7 AM. Once it learns this, it'll start charging when you place it on the charger at night until it get's to about 80%. Then, as 7 AM approaches, it'll start charing again so that at 7 AM you're 100% - ready to face the day.

Most people should use Optimized Charging and not worry about it.

 

[Jerry1]

Current iPhones have three settings

This made me look. My 13 mini is one year and 4 months old and my battery life is 89%. That seems like a pretty significant drop for just over a year of usage. I hope it’s not linear. I’ll get the battery replaced on this one because I’m hoping they might reintroduce a mini before this one bites the dust.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Cool! Thanks for those explanations; that smart battery use mode is enough to get me thinking of getting an iPhone next time!

This made me look. My 13 mini is one year and 4 months old and my battery life is 89%. That seems like a pretty significant drop for just over a year of usage. I hope it’s not linear. I’ll get the battery replaced on this one because I’m hoping they might reintroduce a mini before this one bites the dust.

Do you use that mode?

 

[mpeirce]

I’m hoping they might reintroduce a mini before this one bites the dust.

I love the mini and a number of my family members have one, but from what I've heard, the mini didn't sell very well and there are no plans to build phones with that form factor. Could be wrong though.

 

[Donno]

This made me look. My 13 mini is one year and 4 months old and my battery life is 89%. That seems like a pretty significant drop for just over a year of usage. I hope it’s not linear. I’ll get the battery replaced on this one because I’m hoping they might reintroduce a mini before this one bites the dust.

That's interesting. I have an old iPhone 10 which will be 5 years old next month and I just noticed that the battery life has just gone down to 89% in the last week or so. I'm not a heavy phone user though, and generally I only need to charge it every three days, and it charges to 100% when left on the charger overnight. During the few times I charge it during the day, it will usually hover around 85% even after 3 or 4 hours.

 

[Sojourner]

One important point that I didn't see mentioned in the other replies: Charging a phone at a higher wattage (say, 18W "fast charging" as opposed to 5W) results in the battery heating up more, which decreases battery longevity. The same is true of wireless charging vs. wired. Wireless charging causes the battery to heat up far more than wired charging, which decreases battery longevity. It's best to use slow, wired charging for your everyday charging routines. Only use "fast charging" occasionally, when you really need it.

 

[Jerry1]

Do you use that mode?

Yes, it was on by default. I’m thinking of always capping it at 80%. I never need to charge my battery during the day.

 

[braumeister]

Apple will replace the battery (at a reasonable cost) if its maximum capacity falls below 80%. I've done that in the past -- it only took about 20 minutes at the Apple Store.

 

[Ian S]

For example, you charge your phone every night and always take it off the charger at 7 AM. Once it learns this, it'll start charging when you place it on the charger at night until it get's to about 80%. Then, as 7 AM approaches, it'll start charing again so that at 7 AM you're 100% - ready to face the day.

It was always my understanding that charging to 100% is the main culprit in battery degradation over time. I have my Galaxy S21 set to only charge to 85%. If I foresee a need for some extra capacity, I will charge it higher but that's pretty unusual.

 

[mpeirce]

It was always my understanding that charging to 100% is the main culprit in battery degradation over time. I have my Galaxy S21 set to only charge to 85%. If I foresee a need for some extra capacity, I will charge it higher but that's pretty unusual.

Keep in mind that running the battery very low can be just as or more damaging to the battery as keeping it at 100%

 

[Qs Laptop]

It was always my understanding that charging to 100% is the main culprit in battery degradation over time. I have my Galaxy S21 set to only charge to 85%. If I foresee a need for some extra capacity, I will charge it higher but that's pretty unusual.

Keep in mind that running the battery very low can be just as or more damaging to the battery as keeping it at 100%

I've been going by this advice for a couple of phones now. I typically keep my phone charged between 40% to 90%. My Pixel 5a has an incredible battery and I want to keep it as fresh as possible. There are also apps (at least for Android) like AccuBattery that will give you loads of data on battery charging/cycles and suggestions for maximizing battery life.

 

[GenXguy]

I just bought a refurb iPhone SE 2nd Gen (2020) model. Was disappointed it has the lightning cable port since my other phones have or had micro USB or USB-C. So, the lightning cable it came with is the only one I have.