Is it Bad to Let an iPhone 12 Pro Charge Overnight?

Whether you just got your iPhone 12 Pro or have had it for a while, you want to make the most of it. You probably spent a lot of money, so you should take good care of your phone.

But one thing you may not think about is if you should let your phone charge overnight. A phone charging overnight may not be a huge issue, but it's not the safest option.

Shorter Battery Life

Your iPhone 12 can lose battery life if you charge overnight. Like other smartphones, the iPhone 12 Pro has an average of about 500 to 1,000 charge cycles per battery.

One charge cycle is the equivalent of going from 100% to 0% battery. However, any combination of drainage over multiple days can equal a charge. If you drain your phone to 50% every day, then you'll use a charge cycle every other day.

After 500 cycles or so, your iPhone 12 can lose battery capacity, requiring that you charge it more often. While this may not be a huge issue some days, it can matter if you use your phone a lot.

When you leave your phone charging overnight, it will most likely reach 100% far before you wake up. But your phone may still be using battery as you sleep.

If your phone uses enough energy to drop below 100%, that will contribute to your charge cycles. Even if it only drops a percent or two, that can shorten your battery life.

Consider a phone that does this every night. If your phone only drops to 99%, that means you'll use an extra charge cycle about every 3 months. That can add up if you keep your iPhone 12 for many years.

Optimize Battery Charging

Fortunately, Apple does provide a solution for charging iPhones overnight. While it's not perfect, you can use Optimized Battery Charging.

• Go to the Settings App
• Tap on Battery
• Select Battery Health
• Turn on Optimized Battery Charging

This setting will use machine learning to recognize your charging habits. If you always let your iPhone 12 charge overnight, your phone will learn this pattern.

Over time, it can start to slow down the charging process as you sleep. That way, it won't charge your phone to 100% like it normally would. It can still reach 100%, but it can keep from using up a cycle as quickly.

While that won't keep your battery from aging, it can slow the aging. Then, you'll be able to get more life out of your iPhone 12.

A Hot Battery

The other main risk of charging your iPhone 12 overnight is that the lithium-ion battery can get hot. If the battery gets too hot, it can cause a fire. While this is rare, it can happen, and it's even worse when you're sleeping.

You may not notice the fire as quickly, so the problem could be worse than if it happened when you're awake. The risk of a fire is higher if you put your phone on your bed or another flammable surface.

And don't think that changing how you charge your phone can help. Different types of charges, wired and wireless, can cause the same issue.

In some cases, wireless chargers may even cause more overheating. And even if your iPhone 12 doesn't catch fire, the extra heat can damage the battery.

You may find you don't get as much battery life out of one charge as you used to. While many things can affect that, charging iPhones overnight won't help.

Find the Right Place

The best solution to letting your iPhone 12 charge overnight while minimizing the risk of overheating is to choose the right spot. If possible, find a cool place away from other electronics and plugs.

Use a genuine Apple charger or another trusted brand like KEUTEK so that you know it's compatible and as safe as possible. Select an outlet without any other plugs and where the outlet isn't hiding behind furniture.

At the very least, don't keep your phone on your bed. While some apps need that to track your sleep, it can be a fire hazard. If you need to keep your phone close, put it on a hard surface, like a nightside table.

Some people will use a plate or another hard surface on a table. Then, you can lower your risk of the phone catching flames.

Another option if you tend to wake up in the middle of the night is to unplug your charger then instead of in the morning. That way, you can charge overnight for a while, but it won't be for the whole night.

How to Save iPhone 12 Battery

While letting your phone charge overnight isn't the end of the world, it can be risky. If you want to reduce the risk of fire or battery damage, you can charge your phone during the day.

But you may want to consider how to manage your iPhone 12 overnight. If you aren't charging it, it can lose battery. Fortunately, you have multiple options to help save your battery.

Pause WiFi

One of the easiest ways to save iPhone batteries is to turn off your WiFi connection. Doing this before bed is a no-brainer because you don't need the internet, and it can maintain your battery.

You can go into your WiFi settings and turn off the connection each night. However, you'll have to remember to turn it back on the next morning.

If you go into your control center, you can pause the WiFi until the next day. That way, your phone will be ready to use when you wake up.

Turn Off Cellular Data

Similar to turning off your WiFi, you can also turn off your cellular data usage. As with your WiFi, you can completely turn off your cellular connection in your Settings app.

The control center lets you turn off your connection, which can be quicker. Either way, you will need to remember to turn your cellular data on each morning.

Disable Bluetooth

Another feature that most people don't need overnight is Bluetooth. Your phone can use Bluetooth to connect to your headphones, a smartwatch, and many other devices.

However, those connections can use up a lot of battery, even in the background. If you want to keep your phone from draining battery overnight, you can turn Bluetooth off in your settings or pause it in the control center.

Schedule Nightshift

Nightshift has been on iPhones for a while, and it's a great option to use at night. You can turn on Nightshift to change the color scheme to reduce blue light, which can use a lot of battery.

While this won't help while your screen is off, it can be useful if you use your phone in the evening. If you don't want to forget about the switch, you can schedule it in your settings.

Change Location Preferences

Odds are, no one needs to know your location throughout the night. Turning off your location services before you go to bed can help keep your iPhone 12 from using as much battery.

You can turn the feature off for one or two apps or all apps. Then, you can save even more battery. When you wake up, you can make sure to turn it off in case you lose your phone.

Adjust Background App Refresh

Some apps, like your email app, may refresh in the background. While that can help you stay on top of emails and notifications, it can use battery.

Turning off this feature in your settings can help you reduce the amount of battery your phone uses overnight. Then, you can get more use out of it during the day.

Declutter Your Apps

Next, you should go through your iPhone 12 apps and get rid of any that you don't use. Having more apps that you have to keep track of and update can use battery.

Speaking of updates, make sure you update your apps and your iOS version as soon as you can. That way, you can take advantage of any bug fixes, some of which may help save your battery.

Switch to Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode is another great feature that you can use to save on battery. If you ever drain your phone to 20% or less, your phone will prompt you to turn it on.

But you can access the feature in your settings, no matter how much battery you have. Then, it will only use necessary features to keep your phone running.

Use a Fast Charger

While not a way to save on battery, consider using a fast charger before you go to bed or after you wake up. Then, you won't have to worry about your iPhone 12 losing battery overnight.

But you don't have to let your phone charge overnight and risk battery damage or a fire. Fast chargers can be great for adding a lot of battery in a short period as you do your night routine or get ready for work.

Will You Let Your iPhone 12 Pro Charge Overnight?

Letting an iPhone 12 Pro charge overnight can spark a debate between many iPhone users. After all, it comes with a couple of risks, but you can mitigate those risks with a couple of steps.

Still, that doesn't mean you should leave your phone charging all night. Consider if you're willing to take certain risks or if you'd rather plug your phone in during the day.

Do you want to charge your phone when you're awake? Check out our fast-charging products to save time.