Should i turn off my iphone at night

Q: Is it better to turn your iPhone off at night?

Should you shut down your phone at night? Theres nothing wrong with shutting down your phone and mobile devices, but its not necessary. Its generally safe to leave them on overnight. Your mobile devices arent constantly plugged in, so there are fewer failure types you can encounter.

Q: When should I turn off my iPhone?

Powering off your iPhone is a good idea if youre experiencing app crashes, software glitches, or other atypical behaviors, Bree Bengle, a tech expert from Asurion, a global tech care company, explained to POPSUGAR. Other other than that, you dont really need to worry about it.

Experts — okay, maybe just your company’s tech guy — say shutting down your computer is a good idea if you’re headed home for the night or if you’ll be out of the office for a few days. But smartphones are a different story. These 24/7 supercomputers never seem to get a rest. Surely that can’t be good for them… right?

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How often should I turn off my iPhone?
Is it better to turn your iPhone off at night?
Is turning off your phone at night good?
When should I turn off my iPhone?

Wrong, says iFixit founder Kyle Weins, a technology expert who tears apart the most popular products on the market, exploring and explaining how our favorite devices work. “I would say that shutting down your phone at night isn’t something that necessarily falls under routine maintenance,” he says.

The reason why shutting down your computer is good advice in the first place is the crux of the issue. Your IT department likely recommends that you power down your computer nightly simply as a cost-saving measure, says Weins. When computers are left on, they use electricity, and electricity costs money. Even energy-saving sleep modes sip “vampire power,” a small amount of electricity that, when added to all the other computers not completely turned off, totals significant wastefulness.

Smartphones, meanwhile, have batteries and only draw power from an electrical outlet when they are plugged in. Of course, these mobile devices have their own challenges when it comes to power management — namely batteries wearing down — but according to Weins, shutting your smartphone off won’t necessarily help save your battery. “Batteries in phones have a finite lifespan — the more that you use them, the faster that battery wears out,” he says.

In general, smartphone batteries have a life of between 300 to 500 full-charge to fully-discharged cycles, estimates Weins. “Apple claims their phones can run 400 cycles then are at 80% capacity — that’s what they claim,” he says, noting the reality, for him, is “a fair amount worse than that.”

And even if you only use a fraction of your phone’s battery and then recharge it to 100 percent, that still counts towards a full cycle. “If you wear your battery down 50 percent then charge it back up, that’s half a cycle,” says Weins.

Powering down your smartphone at night won’t help preserve the battery, since it’s unlikely that you’d be using the device at that time, anyhow. “It comes to how hard you use your phone,” says Weins. For instance, if you’re constantly streaming music, watching videos, or using it as a GPS device while mounted on a car’s sun-soaked dashboard (heat kills batteries too), your phone’s power won’t last very long.

Another thing tech support people frequently ask is if you’ve restarted your computer. So, wouldn’t this help with a wonky smartphone, too? Yes and no, says Weins. In general, restarting a computer will disrupt any background processes that may be running, or clear up memory leaks that have been draining your system’s resources — that applies to both PCs and smartphones. But today’s operating systems — not just Mac OS X and Windows 8.1, but also Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android — are very good at isolating these problems on the software level. So, quitting your apps is just as helpful, not to mention less cumbersome, as restarting your device.

Of course, there is one exception. Periodically draining your battery to zero percent and letting your smartphone die is advised, though sparingly. All battery-powered computers have counters used to calibrate the battery, which lets the device know how long it will actually last. “If you run your battery all the way down to zero every once in a while — once a year is fine — it makes the percentage count on your battery more accurate,” says Weins.

So once a year, not once a week, power your phone off all the way. And don’t let anyone else — not even your IT guy —tell you otherwise.

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Is turning off the iPhone every night OK or will it damage the phone in the long run?

Just curious....

It won't damage the phone but, there really is no reason to turn it off. It is made to stay on.

I would avoid turning it off every night. If it’s notifications you don’t want try using the do not disturb feature during certain hours.

I use DND from midnight to 8am.. I don't think I've ever turned my phone off for more than what it takes to do a restart

jeyf

macrumors 68020

turning it off cant do any harm
with the phone off verify the battery is being charged
do it if you want.

Any time the phone is on, either in standby or actively being used or during charging, the battery is being used. The more it is being used, the faster it accumulates load cycles. The more load cycles the battery has, the more it has aged. Since its a good practice to reboot the phone every few days anyway, turning it off every night is a good idea if you dont need it.
Ive turned off my 5 year old iPhone 6 every night for 5 years. It runs exactly the same as the day I got it. Original battery too.

For most users the power needed to shut down and boot up is much higher than the power during standby over night...

For most users the power needed to shut down and boot up is much higher than the power during standby over night...

That’s just nonsense.

Any time the phone is on, either in standby or actively being used or during charging, the battery is being used. The more it is being used, the faster it accumulates load cycles. The more load cycles the battery has, the more it has aged. Since its a good practice to reboot the phone every few days anyway, turning it off every night is a good idea if you dont need it.
Ive turned off my 5 year old iPhone 6 every night for 5 years. It runs exactly the same as the day I got it. Original battery too.

This is just ridiculous, and completely pointless.

Why?
During shutdown and boot there are many files needed to be stored and read from memory.
This consumes more power than sitting in idle mode or even flightmode for some hours.
If you don´t use flightmode the power consumption depends also on the cell reception, therefore for some users with bad reception the consumption in standby with flightmode disabled could be higher than during shutdown and boot.

Why?
During shutdown and boot there are many files needed to be stored and read from memory.
This consumes more power than sitting in idle mode or even flightmode for some hours.
If you don´t use flightmode the power consumption depends also on the cell reception, therefore for some users with bad reception the consumption in standby with flightmode disabled could be higher than during shutdown and boot.

I have just fully powered down and switched on my pixel 5 three times in a row without losing a single percentage point.

However, if I leave the same phone on my side table at while I sleep, I on average lose approximately 4 - 5 percent overnight.

The facts speak for themselves. You could argue and say why not put the phone in flight mode! If you do that then you're just as well switching the phone off are you not?

No, in flightmode you just switch off the wireless connectivity, not the complete phone.
You are aware that the reported percentage of your battery is non linear and also not the "real" level?

The last phone I turned off at night was a flip phone in the late 90s that had the habit of chewing through the battery on standby. Some Motorola flip phone, I can't even remember anymore.

I've let all my iPhones enjoy silence with a Do Not Disturb schedule that only allows people on my contacts list to contact me past a certain time.

I agree with the other posters here, rebooting the phone takes a good chunk of juice - I don't think you're going to gain that much in battery longevity by turning off your phone at night - which, fyi, only really benefits you if it is around 40-60%.

My view? These are tools, not pristine growing investments. In the case of an emergency, I want my phone available and ready to assist me and my family in any means possible. We've had to evacuate our house because of a massive fire here in California before. Having my phone off and at 40% is not worth the tiny battery savings imo. A phone can be a flashlight, a means of calling for help, and a means for others to contact you in their time of need or your time of need.

No, in flightmode you just switch off the wireless connectivity, not the complete phone.
You are aware that the reported percentage of your battery is non linear and also not the "real" level?

You're argument is the equivalent of the one that went on in the motor industry a few years back.

The myth was that stop/start systems(now common place in cars)actually used more fuel than leaving the car running when stopped at lights for a period of time.

The American Automobile Association did a study and found that the fuel savings were between 5 and 7 percent, not a massive amount but over time it soon adds up.

I know a smartphone isn't a car but the principle is the same.

I however, simply use the DND feature and couldn't give a toss about a few percent.

Last edited: Apr 11, 2021

My view? These are tools, not pristine growing investments. In the case of an emergency, I want my phone available and ready to assist me and my family in any means possible. We've had to evacuate our house because of a massive fire here in California before. Having my phone off and at 40% is not worth the tiny battery savings imo. A phone can be a flashlight, a means of calling for help, and a means for others to contact you in their time of need or your time of need.

This.

We gave up home landline service about 17 years ago. If our phones are not on at night and there is an emergency, there's no immediate way to call for help or to contact us.

People get wrapped up in battery life when they should just be using the phone. The gains are insignificant in the long run.

This.

We gave up home landline service about 17 years ago. If our phones are not on at night and there is an emergency, there's no immediate way to call for help or to contact us.

People get wrapped up in battery life when they should just be using the phone. The gains are insignificant in the long run.

In the last couple of years, my Mum called me in a panicked state in the early hours twice as my dad had gone Hypoglycaemic due his diabetes. I immediately called the paramedic, got dressed and drove to their house about 10 miles away, and thankfully the paramedics revived him on both occasions (the second time took a while). Its that call in the middle of the night from your parents where you fear the worst, but if my phone had been 'OFF' I dread to think what would have happened.

I have a iPad and a PC that I use while at the house, so everyone I know can contact me and I can contact them with that.

I use my iPhone when at work and when I’m out and about. I don’t see the point in using both devices when at the house, when the wife has a phone, tablet, MacBook...

I have a iPad and a PC that I use while at the house, so everyone I know can contact me and I can contact them with that.

I use my iPhone when at work and when I’m out and about. I don’t see the point in using both devices when at the house, when the wife has a phone, tablet, MacBook...

Well there you go. My wife does all the social media for me. I don't have Facebook but I know a lot of my family uses it so she keeps me updated on things like that. lol.

Well there you go. My wife does all the social media for me. I don't have Facebook but I know a lot of my family uses it so she keeps me updated on things like that. lol.

This is my first iPhone, so wanted to make sure turning it off when i am at the house everyday did nothing "bad' to the device.

In the last couple of years, my Mum called me in a panicked state in the early hours twice as my dad had gone Hypoglycaemic due his diabetes. I immediately called the paramedic, got dressed and drove to their house about 10 miles away, and thankfully the paramedics revived him on both occasions (the second time took a while). Its that call in the middle of the night from your parents where you fear the worst, but if my phone had been 'OFF' I dread to think what would have happened.

Yes, this is one particular reason we leave our phones on. Both my wife and I have family in different states. My mom will be 80 in a couple of days. It's just important that people be able to reach us.

I see no difference between this and having a landline - except that it's a cellphone. You can't 'turn off' your landline, you can only unplug it from the wall. And if you do that you are being intentional about not being reachable.

This is my first iPhone, so wanted to make sure turning it off when i am at the house everyday did nothing "bad' to the device.

Nothing bad will happen. I'm on my 3rd iPhone and have never had to turn them off, except for the cinema.

This is my first iPhone, so wanted to make sure turning it off when i am at the house everyday did nothing "bad' to the device.

It won't hurt it turning it off and leaving it on will have minimal battery health impact over the time you'll have the phone. Bottom line, it doesn't matter either way.

There is no need to turn off iPhone daily during night. Even if you do turn off, there is no harm done.

Is turning off the iPhone every night OK or will it damage the phone in the long run?

Just curious....

Doesn’t matter, do what you like. Bigger fish to fry in your life. I reboot every few days. Not concerned with the ridiculous arguments here about the negligible power consumption differences between shutting down vs keeping on. Current OS and devices have smart charging features to prolong your battery lifetime. If your phone works fine and apps don’t crash, don’t bother worrying about rebooting. Carry on...

How often should I turn off my iPhone?

Experts recommend shutting down your phone at least once a week. After shutting it down, let it rest for a minute or two before starting it back up again. Not only will this help enhance your phone's performance, it is also incredibly beneficial for your battery.

Is it better to turn your iPhone off at night?

Should you shut down your phone at night? There's nothing wrong with shutting down your phone and mobile devices, but it's not necessary. It's generally safe to leave them on overnight. Your mobile devices aren't constantly plugged in, so there are fewer failure types you can encounter.

Is turning off your phone at night good?

Tips: Stop using electronic devices 30 minutes before bed. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that you should stop using electronic devices, like your cellphone, at least 30 minutes before bedtime.

When should I turn off my iPhone?

"Powering off your iPhone is a good idea if you're experiencing app crashes, software glitches, or other atypical behaviors," Bree Bengle, a tech expert from Asurion, a global tech care company, explained to POPSUGAR. "Other other than that, you don't really need to worry about it.