Battery pack, how is it working?

By Ramy, 25 October, 2022

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

Hello all:
First time for me to purchase a battery pack for my mobile,and need to know how will it work exactly, adn do you have any recommendations?
1- after i attached it to my phone, will it start charging? or i should give it an order to start? what i mean is that, will it keeps my battery always fully charged? or how it is working?
2- is it connected via Cable or via the Phone back?
3- are there any recommendations for good models?
4- will my Iphone 12 mini will be better after replacing my old battery and purchasing a new Battery pack? or it is better to replace with a new Bigger phone?
Sorry for all my questions
and thanks in advance

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Comments

By Igna Triay on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

I have had several battery packs throughout the years, anker is a pretty solid model. Weather the battery pack attaches to the back of your phone or charges it via cable depends on each battery pack. I have a small one, I believe its a belkin model that works both as a wireless charger, and as a battery pack, meaning that you can have it connected to power all the time and charge your phone while its connected to power, or remove it from power and use it as a battery pack. If used as a battery pack, it has enough juse to charge your phone about halfway. The other battery pack I have is one from anker. This one requires a cable for your phone to charge, however it has 20000 wats, so it can charge my phone about 8 full times before I need to recharge the battery pack.
It all depends on the pack you buy. The more wats a pack has, the more charges it'll give to your phone on a single charge. Also, generally speaking, battery packs that require your phone to be charged via cable will have more wats compared to battery packs that can charge your phone wirelessly.

By Siobhan on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

I bought the Apple one and at first i needed to update the firmware. Plug it into comp, wait ten minutes you'll be fine. You can attach it with the magnetic part of your phone and it stays where it is. It does sometimes make your percentage go wonky as in a bit down, then up, just ignore it. The other one, though this is to expensive, thanks blindness marketing, has accessible vibrations and beeps to show how much battery the pack has left and will charge the phone i think three times. the apple one, you can tell by the battery widgit in the today view or something like that. Both of these cost around a hundred dollars American.

By Igna Triay on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

how many charges does the apple battery pack give the phone? Also, can it be used as a wireless charder, I.e, can you have it plugged in to the wall, charge your phone from there, and disconnect it when you need to take it portably without affecting the battery pack? Also, when you finish charging your phone, and remove the pack, does it turn off automaticly? Or is there a way to turn it off? Sorry for all the questions, i'm thinking of getting one and want to know if its worth it. I have to say though, this battery pack beeing accessible, I.e, beeing able to look at how much charge it has left on your apple devices make it really appealing.

By Brian Giles on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

12 mini here. I'm not sure how much extra charge the battery pack gives each phone, I know there's a support article about it though. The battery pack doesn't actually charge your phone all the way, it stops at 91% and then just runs off the battery pack. When I know I'm going to be out for the whole day, I'll use my phone till it gets down to around 50 or 60% and then slap the battery pack on the back. Most of the time that means when I get home from work I just pop the battery pack off and plug it in since the phone has more than enough charge to last me the rest of the evening.

I think the support article says if you have the battery pack on your phone and plug the battery pack in, it'll charge your phone first and then the battery pack. Because of that, I usually plug the battery pack in by itself since I have another QI chargert I usually use to charge my phone. Sometimes though, if my phone needs a quick top up and the battery pack is already plugged in, I'll put my phone on it and then just unplug it when I'm ready to leave. There's nothing to turn on or off, your phone takes care of all of that. I have the batteries widget on my home screen, so I can easily see the status of my phone, watch, the battery pack, Airpods Pro 2 and their case, and AirPods Max. All of these except the watch only show up when they're connected.

By Siobhan on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

Apple gives a disclaimer of sorts that says it'l charge to around 90% and I don't really likethe thought of plugging it into a wall then phone so for me, that isn't an option. i'll still get the other one as it's more powerful but trust me, update the firmware because otherwise it will drain the phone battery which makesit annoying as anything. The wireless charger not sure about. Also make sure the case isn't a problem. Friend who worked at apple for years, has an 11 pro and it wouldn't magnatize but me, click. so who knows.

By Ramy on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

WHat model do you have? is it wire or working via Magnit?
also, tell me your experience with it?

By Ramy on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

Great that you are using the same phone as mine,
can you tell me about the model that you have? and is it charging wire or wireless? what about it's thikneth?
Thanks in advance

By Ramy on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

After reading all your comments, do not know weather to pick a battery pack for my 12 mini, or to go for a bigger phone, bigger phone means bigger battery but so expensive for me, also i discovered that the 12 mini loses it's price so quickly,because it is not something that most people are asking for,
really do not know what to do.

By Siobhan on Monday, October 24, 2022 - 21:13

Have someone look at your battery health, I don't trust the percentage thing apple came out with. Also, he's right you don't need a comp to plug the update in to get, however i'm not waiting a week, i buy it, it does what i want when I want. It's also correct, the batttery isn't supposed to be an extra charger but it uses what i need pretty well. Especially in an emergency.

By Brian Giles on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

My battery pack is Apple's official one designed for the iPhone 12 and up. It just snaps onto the back of your phone with a magnet, and your phone will make a sound when it's connected along with the normal charging sound. It is white plastic and will cover the entire back of your 12 mini except for the top where the cameras are. It will about double the thickness of your phone, but I like how you can just snap it off when you don't want the extra bulk, as opposed to a case that you have to put your phone in. I usually pop it off when I'm doing a lot of writing with BSI since it gets uncomfortable quickly for that.

I like the 12 mini + battery pack option as opposed to a bigger phone because I can just snap on the battery when I know I will need more battery life, but I still get that small size of the mini. One of my friends went from a 12 mini to a 14 Pro and then back to a 13 mini since she found the 14 Pro too big and heavy. To each their own, though.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

Check with your phone provider for special deal. Check on the 13 pro to see if you can get it.

By Igna Triay on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

So the apple battery pack is ecenciallly a charging pad as well as a portable battery? It won't dammage the battery if it stays plugged into the wall and I put my phone on it to charge and it stays plugged into the wall until I need to take it portably? Honestly the fact you can look at it status on the iphone is a major selling point. Can you charge the airpods case if you put them on the battery?

By Siobhan on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

Good idea, not sure if it would or not. But I wouldn't just leave the battery plugged into the wall until you need it. It doesn't seem like a good diea since I killed a mac doing that. well bad battery anyway.

By Ramy on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

Yesterday, i took the decision, and i purchased the 13 pro max, big but ok in my hand,
Thanks so much for your suggestions and may be at a later time i will purchase a battery pack, who knows?
Thanks again.

By Brian Giles on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

Yep, you can absolutely use the battery pack to charge the AirPods case. This is easier if the case has magsafe, but if it doesn't, just make sure the case is in the middle of the magnet ring on the battery pack.

By Holger Fiallo on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

The Apple is not a battery charger but just a help to charge it to half and not full.

By Sebby on Thursday, November 24, 2022 - 21:13

I also wish Apple would restore proper charging cases. The one they made for the iPhone 11 was terrific.

The 90 % charge limit only applies when the battery pack (one of which I have, to top up my 13 Pro Max) is not connected to mains power, and in any case can be bypassed from Control Centre, Low Power Mode widget (when the pack is connected, an option to "charge past 90%” will appear). The battery is better than nothing, but you can do better, if not for the integration with Siri and the batteries widget.