Test your ipod's battery life

Accurately determine your iPod battery life

If you feel you aren’t getting the most out of your iPod battery, perform the simple test below before considering battery service or replacement. This test will help you determine how much life (playback time) you are truly getting from your battery. You may find that all you need to do to increase your battery’s performance is to follow the guidelines on the iPod battery website.

Note: The iPod battery indicator shows approximately how much charge is left in the battery. In some iPods, you may find that the battery indicator shows some charge left, but your iPod stops playing because the battery is, in fact, empty. In other cases, the battery indicator may show less than a full charge even though you’ve fully charged it.

Additionally, the battery meter may not update to show a full charge (after you’ve charged it) until after the iPod hard disk spins up. This does not necessarily mean something is wrong with your iPod battery.

iPod Battery Test Instructions

Update your iPod software.
Open iTunes.
Import an average length cd (3 – 8 minute songs) into your iTunes library using the MP3 Encoder set at 160 kbps, or the AAC Encoder set at 128 kbps.
Fully charge your iPod.
Once it’s fully charged, connect your iPod to your computer (if it isn’t already) and update it with the album you just imported into iTunes.
Eject iPod.
Disconnect the FireWire or USB cable from iPod.
For iPod shuffle:
1. Turn iPod shuffle on by selecting either playlist mode or shuffle mode.
2. Press the Play button to play the album over and over until the battery is depleted.
For all other iPod models:
1. From the main menu, select Settings > Repeat and select the Repeat options until it says All.
2. Select Settings > Backlight Timer, then select Off.
3. Select Settings > EQ, then select Off.
4. Select the album you imported in the step 3, select any song, then press the Play button. The album should play over and over until the battery is depleted.
Make note of the time you first began playing a song on your iPod. When your battery depletes and iPod stops playing, jot down that time too.

iPod playback times by model:

Fifth Generation iPod (Late 2006) 80 GB
	Music playback time: Up to 20 hours when fully charged¹. Photo slideshow with music viewing time: Up to 6 hours when fully charged. Video playback time: Up to 6.5 hours when fully charged.

Fifth Generation iPod (Late 2006) 30 GB
	Music playback time: Up to 14 hours when fully charged¹. Photo slideshow with music viewing time: Up to 4 hours when fully charged. Video playback time: Up to 3.5 hours when fully charged.

Fifth Generation iPod (iPod with video) 60 GB
	Music playback time: Up to 20 hours when fully charged¹. Photo slideshow with music viewing time: Up to 4 hours when fully charged. Video playback time: Up to 3 hours when fully charged.

Fifth Generation iPod (iPod with video) 30 GB
	Music playback time: Up to 14 hours when fully charged¹. Photo slideshow with music viewing time: Up to 3 hours when fully charged. Video playback time: Up to 2 hours when fully charged.

iPod nano (Second Generation)
	Up to 24 hours of music playtime when fully charged¹. Up to 5 hours of photo slideshow with music viewing time when fully charged¹.

iPod nano
	Up to 14 hours of music playtime when fully charged¹. Up to 4 hours of photo slideshow with music viewing time when fully charged¹.

iPod shuffle
	Up to 12 hours of continuous playback time¹.

iPod with color display
	Up to 15 hours of continuous playback time¹.

iPod mini (Second Generation)
	Up to 18 hours of continuous playback time¹.

iPod (Click Wheel)
	Up to 12 hours of continuous playback time¹.

iPod mini
	Up to 8 hours of continuous playback time¹.

Older iPod models, including iPod (scroll wheel), iPod (touch wheel), and iPod (dock connector)