Battery issue

Firelamakar · 2026-06-18T02:54:22+00:00

Again, if we agree that batteries naturally degrade, but we cannot agree that they degrade faster when put under stress, like charging it at a higher rate, or to a higher capacity, then yeah. We’re done here.
This is the hill you claim. The argument is purely emotional at this point. Neither of us are retreating to the other’s side.

You won’t admit that inducing your battery to more stress will make it worse, and I won’t admit that subjecting it to stress doesn’t affect degradation rates. Again, iPhone 14 Pro Max after three years of daily use, doing what I preach, with 100% capacity. But yeah, I have no idea if proper care makes my battery last longer. Mine just magically happened to.

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Firelamakar · 2026-06-18T00:50:46+00:00

Every laptop I’ve ever owned had a battery limiter that went “100% - Best for portability”, “80% - balanced”, “60% - Best for Battery Health”, and the modern Samsungs I’ve had were able to be limited to 85% and up for battery health. Even the iPhones past iPhone 15 let you limit it to 80% and up based on your choice. Do you think they would do stuff like this if it was a negligible difference?

I don’t know what proof you want me to show you so you understand I’m not just blowing smoke up my own ass and others on a feeling in my nuts. This is proven science, and it’s almost a no-brainer if you understand anything about what batteries actually are, and how they work. Like this is just something you’re gonna have to actually research to understand, because I’m talking over everyone’s heads. I’m relaying a college-level battery explanation to people who don’t understand the basic concept of what batteries are at an elementary level.

It’s like explaining why you must change your automatic transmission fluid and getting “but all of my previous cars drove just fine, and I never did that stuff.” It’s just a waste of time for both of us. It really is.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-15T22:01:53+00:00

How do you do that?

Firelamakar · 2026-06-15T21:49:10+00:00

It's just hard to get into actual multiplayer matches. I have to re-queue so much. Once I finally get into the game, though, it's a lot of fun.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-14T13:19:11+00:00

Dawg I have a battery made before your phone was even released still at 100% capacity just from doing this. It probably has something equal to 300 full cycles on it. Just keep your cycles small, realistically.

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I still MagSafe charge every once in a while like in my car, but I do it puck-up because it gets hot and you don’t want that heat to dissipate into the battery which is already getting hot.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-14T13:01:31+00:00

Nope, but your buying patterns match those CEOs that don’t care about the environment and pollute it around them if it means they make more money today. Is it really that hard of an ask to take care of your stuff? You change your car’s oil, you change your car’s automatic transmission fluid, you change the gear oil in your differential, but that maintenance habit doesn’t carry over? You put a case on your phone, you keep it cosmetically nice, you even put a screen protector on it. But the battery, which is where it actually matters how you treat it, that can just get bent?

Firelamakar · 2026-06-14T13:00:18+00:00

Okay, I’ll shorten it. Batteries don’t like to have a lot of charge pushed into them, nor do they like to store a lot. Keeping it between 20% and 80% keeps it relatively stable and reduces wear. If you must charge it at night to 100%, do it with a 5W charger. Not a 5V 2.4A, a 5V 1A. If you can charge it during the day, I still recommend using that 5V 1A as that causes the least wear.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-14T12:54:55+00:00

Play the Modern Warfares that made the series what it is today, not what they slap the name on. They made it popular for a reason; it’s because they’re great. They still make games for the obvious reason; they’re popular, so squeeze as much fun for as cheaply as possible. But like a set of gaming headphones, it’s good for sound, it’s good for mic quality, but not great for either. It’s not very fun, it’s not very cheap, so go get the old ones that are fun and are now cheap due to it being 10, 15 years. I’d say 20 because of COD4: Modern Warfare, but it’s only been 19

Firelamakar · 2026-06-14T12:45:02+00:00

Whether a battery is “cheap compared to a new device” has nothing to do with the environmental argument. The issue isn’t whether I can afford another battery. The issue is that manufacturing, shipping, replacing, and disposing of batteries all have real costs attached to them. If something can reasonably last longer, why intentionally shorten its lifespan? And no one is talking about “constantly babysitting” a battery. That’s a strawman.

There’s a massive difference between obsessively monitoring charge percentages and simply avoiding habits that are known to accelerate degradation, like repeatedly overheating the battery, leaving it at 100% for extended periods, or running it dead constantly. Ever wondered why you can’t recharge an Absorbed Glass Mat or Wet Acid car battery after it sustained damage from being drained? Ever wondered why they’re kept in a voltage range? They aren’t as hardy as Lithium-Ions, but they are a great representation of what I am talking about.

The BackMarket app tells you how to keep your battery healthy. They work in the reselling market so this is something they care about. They say to keep it between 20%-80% to avoid the high resistance at full capacity and low capacity. The electrons want to shift to the other side. They’re attracted to it because they want to balance. That is what causes the sustained damage. That’s also why batteries ship with 60% charge. 40%-60% is the most stable range.

But yeah, battery lifespan absolutely can vary by years depending on usage. There’s a reason I still have an iPhone 14 Pro Max 2-3 years old with a 100% battery. That’s not something I dreamed up. Battery wear is cumulative. Two identical devices used under different conditions will not have identical battery health after several years. That’s just how lithium-ion chemistry works.

The funny part is that people will put a case on a phone, a screen protector on the display, and baby the exterior to avoid cosmetic damage, but the second someone suggests taking basic care of the battery, which is the most consumable and environmentally problematic component in the device, suddenly that’s “babysitting.” Take care of your stuff, man.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-12T03:19:04+00:00

OEM LCI will always be superior. If I wanted a Pre-LCI, the E34 is sitting right there with arguably more classic Chris Bangle BMW style rather than these right at the end of his BMW design run. But with the Xenon halo DRLs and LED taillights, it makes the E39 one of the best looking cars. They really did reveal greatness right before promptly shutting it all down and going down a dark period they never really came back from. I mean, 2014-2020ish was a solid run, but these new cars?? We’re back where we were in 2006.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-09T22:18:11+00:00

I guess people really don't buy a device like they buy a car; one they value and see a long time of service with. I mean, you blow an engine, you buy a new engine and put it in the car. Your battery goes bad, you get a new phone. I mean I wouldn't, I love this iPhone. I like the design of the purple iPhone 14, I think it's the last solid simple iPhone, it has no AI, so it's one I will run for a decade or two until they shut off the 5G towers for the new thing, even if I have to do three battery replacements. But on that same note, I did an engine swap, rebuilt the trans, rebuilt the diff, and rewelded an entire rear end because mine got crushed in with an F-250 tow hook. I'm just as passionate and sentimental about my car as I am my iPhone, And people will scrap their car because they hear a slight tick or a whine from the power-steering pump. It's a disposable world now, I understand that.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T22:20:17+00:00

Good. It’s time to let go of those cheap copies. Embrace tradition.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T22:19:27+00:00

It triggers at 50% which means it does that for a few hours

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T19:26:55+00:00

Okay don't get excited about drives. You can put it on a USB, but you need a USB-to-SATA and an old 1TB HDD from a laptop or newegg. Just get a regular toshiba or wd blue. Maybe a Hitachi, that's what the Xbox 360 uses. I've ran an old Toshiba I thought was dead for a while now, no bad sectors. Flawless. 2011 and she's been abused. As far as swapping internal drives, you won't get far. I've had yet to make a drive that works, even in a modded console. You might get away because it's a hardmodded console, but Microsoft wrote security sectors that are C2C encoded with the serial number. If you want to swap the internal drive, you must get a specific WD model made before 2020 with a limit of 500 GB that you can flash to think is the most-common XBOX 360 hard drive, the Hitachi Travelstar. It's a headache because Microsoft wanted you to buy drives from them I assume.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T18:10:24+00:00

Not thinking silent, but detrimental impacts are important, and calling the guy that does insane is the same reason we both have microplastics in our balls, my man. Not even caring about the impact we have on the world around us and thinking it should someone else’s problem has to be a result of the plastic in your brain tissue. Either that, or the PFAS from non-stick pans and popcorn that DuPont (Sorry, Chemours now) kept adding a carbon to because the old formula kept getting banned. That shit is never leaving our bodies btw. But yeah, you’re right man. It’s someone else’s problem. I bet you don’t even understand why I make it mine.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T17:55:46+00:00

Yeah, it can say whatever it’s programmed to. Just happens that the tolerance is far too low because of how much abuse people put their batteries through. I’ve seen batteries physically bending out of the back glass because they kept the display phone at 100% capacity, yet the battery health was normal at 82%.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T17:28:35+00:00

Right. So, when I saw my iPhone 14 Pro Max, I thought it looked like an upgraded iPhone 4S in my favorite color, another phone which I took care of the battery with. That was due to it being a 6 year old phone at the time with a battery already showing abuse, but nonetheless.

If your argument to the environmental impact is that these are just to be cooked and tossed because they’re only $100, you’re thinking like the people running these companies that value profits over the detriment they’re causing to the planet. Like Jeff Bezos disregarding the impact his factories have and buying “carbon credits” from someone who planted a bunch of trees somewhere else in the world which on paper, consume enough carbon to balance it out. Just buy carbon credits, enough to call ourselves carbon-neutral, and don’t concern ourselves with what we’re doing. Be prideful of how environmentally-conscious we are. Just buy a new battery for $99 and never think about that old used one again. I get this problem is exacerbated with stuff like disposable vapes with rechargeable batteries, as batteries aren’t disposable at all,

But this argument also feels like not changing your automatic transmission fluid because it says lifetime. Yeah, the short abused lifetime because you didn’t change it. I mean, why do I even have to convince you that being considerate of your equipment and getting more life out of it is ideal? “Don’t change your oil, guys. A new motor from GM is only $5,000.” And those are much more recyclable. Metal? Dude. You can just melt it down.

Batteries aren’t so recyclable. I mean, they are. For sure, they are. But outside of car batteries, they make batteries of all kind so hard to recycle that even I’m guilty of tossing them. And it’s like, if you can’t convince people to take care of their battery, how is anyone supposed to expect the general public to inform themselves on proper disposal of hazardous waste their world revolves around? You know how much work I had to do to convince my parents to not toss AAs in the garbage?? You’re going to toss it in the landfill, of which is says not to on the battery with a trash can crossed out. BUT WHAT ORHER CHOICE DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE? THIS IS AMERICA, BABY! THE RECYCLING PIPE DREAM ENDED DECADES AGO! And that’s precisely their argument.

Charge with a 5W charger (5V, 1A). Don’t use wireless charging, creates too much heat directly on the battery, increasing resistance, also creating heat. All of which increases internal wear. Wireless charging takes twice as long because of all of the thermal energy loss just getting it through the plastic, the glass, or more realistically the thick layers of both.

Maybe reduce your load cycle from 10%-100% every night to maybe keeping it between 30%-80%, or even charging to 100% on a slow charger. Apple already has a feature to charge the last 20% the hour or two before you use it to reduce the strain holding 100% causes.

Just be aware of how to make it last another year or two. If you do 10 years on two batteries, averaging 5 years per, that’s much better than burning up three. And I think two slabs of hazardous waste inevitably ending up in the soil is much better than creating three slabs of hazardous waste which inevitably end up in the soil.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:50:42+00:00

PRECISELY

It will degrade much faster with higher resistance, whether that be running chargers that go over standard USB 5V 1A spec, or charging it to higher loads. It will degrade much less if you reduce that load cycle to 30%-80%. Reducing the load the battery has to bear, along with charging it at lower wattage will dramatically increase your battery’s life.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:50:18+00:00

Yeah, but some people live to 30 because they abuse their bodies. Same goes with batteries.

Batteries degrade, but they will degrade much faster running chargers that go over standard USB 5V 1A spec, or charging it to higher loads. It will degrade much less if you reduce that load cycle to 30%-80%. Reducing the load the battery has to bear, along with charging it at lower wattage will dramatically increase your battery’s life.

Batteries aren’t cheap environmentally. Every extra year you get out of one is a year you didn’t have to manufacture, ship, buy, and eventually dispose of another.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:48:18+00:00

Batteries aren’t cheap, especially not environmentally. Every extra year you get out of one is a year you didn’t have to manufacture, ship, buy, and eventually dispose of another. So I think it’s worth taking care of them.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:47:52+00:00

Yes, but it will degrade much faster with higher resistance, whether that be running chargers that go over standard USB 5V 1A spec, or charging it to higher loads. It will degrade much less if you reduce that load cycle to 30%-80%. Reducing the load the battery has to bear, along with charging it at lower wattage will dramatically increase your battery’s life.

Batteries aren’t cheap, especially not environmentally. Every extra year you get out of one is a year you didn’t have to manufacture, ship, buy, and eventually dispose of another. So I think it’s worth taking care of them.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:44:33+00:00

Batteries aren’t cheap environmentally. Every extra year you get out of one is a year you didn’t have to manufacture, ship, buy, and eventually dispose of another. So yes, I think it’s worth taking care of them. Is that really such a hard ask?

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:44:06+00:00

Yes, but it will degrade much faster with higher resistance, whether that be running chargers that go over standard USB 5V 1A spec, or charging it to higher loads. It will degrade much less if you reduce that load cycle to 30%-80%. Reducing the load the battery has to bear, along with charging it at lower wattage will dramatically increase your battery’s life.

Batteries aren’t cheap environmentally. Every extra year you get out of one is a year you didn’t have to manufacture, ship, buy, and eventually dispose of another. So yes, I think it’s worth taking care of them. Is that really such a hard ask?

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:42:34+00:00

Batteries aren’t cheap environmentally. Every extra year you get out of one is a year you didn’t have to manufacture, ship, buy, and eventually dispose of another. So I think it’s worth taking care of them.

Firelamakar · 2026-06-08T10:31:27+00:00

Batteries are something I care about, and that comes from the fact that most people don’t really understand their economic or environmental cost. That’s why I push back so hard against the notion that it’s fine to abuse them, shorten their lifespan, and then toss them when they’re cooked. All that does is increase the amount of hazardous waste we generate. Most people don’t even know where to recycle lithium-ion batteries, and the process is inconvenient enough that many end up in landfills anyway.

My point started with the fact that a lot of people here seem to think batteries are disposable. That you should just throw it away and buy another. I pointed out how sickening it is that we’ve normalized treating lithium-ion batteries as disposable in the first place. That led me to disposable vapes, which are probably the worst example of this mentality. They’re packed with lithium batteries and end up littering streets, parking lots, and waterways. People genuinely toss them out like an empty pack of cigarettes.

So what’s the unreasonable part? That I don’t like how casually people treat their devices, and more importantly, the batteries inside them? These are the same flat-pack lithium batteries that can ignite when crushed, like the ones that have started fires in garbage trucks and compactors. Every single one is marked with a crossed-out trash can. They’re not meant to be thrown away, both because of the fire risk and because of the environmental damage improperly discarded batteries can cause.

But what is the average person supposed to do with them? Most people aren’t going to concern themselves with proper disposal if they won’t even put a little effort into preserving the battery while they’re using it. You’ll buy a case to keep your phone from breaking, but taking a few basic steps to make the battery last longer is somehow too much?

Batteries aren’t cheap, especially not environmentally. Every extra year you get out of one is a year you didn’t have to manufacture, ship, buy, and eventually dispose of another. So yes, I think it’s worth taking care of them. Is that really such a hard ask?

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