Battery Care
IBIS trackers use small lithium-polymer batteries. They’re rugged and good for thousands of charge cycles if you treat them reasonably.
The short version
- Don’t store them at 100% or 0% for long stretches. ~50-70% is the long-term storage sweet spot.
- Keep them at room temperature. Don’t leave them in hot cars or freezing garages.
- Don’t leave them on the charger indefinitely. Top up, then remove.
That’s basically it. The rest of this page is detail.
Storage
If you’re going on a trip and not using the trackers for weeks:
- Charge to about half full
- Power them off (hold button)
- Store at room temperature, ideally in a dry spot
Charge them once every few months if storage runs long. Lithium batteries left flat too long can damage themselves.
Temperature
- Comfortable: 10°C to 30°C (50°F to 86°F)
- Acceptable: 0°C to 40°C
- Avoid: anything outside that range, especially while charging
Never charge a tracker that’s just come in from the cold or out of a hot car. Let it warm up / cool down to room temperature first.
Discharge cycles
A “cycle” is a cumulative full charge — not literally counted. Lithium batteries gradually lose capacity over many cycles. For typical use (charge weekly), expect 3-5 years before you’d notice meaningfully shorter sessions.
Capacity loss is gentle and gradual, not sudden. If a tracker goes from 50 hours to 5 hours overnight, something is wrong — see Short Battery Life.
Safety
- Lithium batteries can be damaged by crushing, puncture, or extreme heat. Don’t disassemble a tracker — the battery is inside.
- If a tracker is swollen, deformed, or hot to the touch, stop using it and reach out via support.
- For full safety guidance, see Battery Safety.