How to check iPhone battery health | Apple Watch and MacBook

“My iPhone won’t last all day anymore. What’s going on?” This is a common complaint from iPhone users. It turns out that battery capacity naturally diminishes with age. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to determine if your battery is in need of replacement.

In this tutorial, we show you how to check the health of your iPhone’s battery and recommend actions you may want to take, should your battery need replacing.

How to check battery health on iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac Computers
How to check battery health on iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac Computers

How then do you decide whether your iPhone battery health is good or not? Is there a magic percentage that you can rely on to determine whether your iPhone battery health is good enough to pass the “good battery health” test?

If after reading this you find, your iPhone battery has degraded faster than normal, you can check this blog about how to replace your iPhone battery . Granted, if you’re happy to live with the shorter battery life, Apple has released an iOS update that slows down your phone in order to save battery which also decrease the performance of your iPhone.

Apple provides a battery health and capacity utility with your phone, but is it any good?

The iPhone comes with a sealed battery. This means the battery is non-user replaceable, but it is covered for 1-year by warranty. The iPhone 6s also comes with an iOS feature called Battery Health . This is an extra layer of protection in case your iPhone’s battery does start to exhibit problems.  Although Apple states that the battery in your iPhone will remain healthy for up to 500 recharge cycles, that can change during the course of its life. The iPhone Battery Health feature helps users monitor their batteries so they can see when it’s time for a replacement.

How to check battery health on iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac Computers

Apple introduced a host of new tools at WWDC 2018 that will give you more insight into the health and longevity of your computer’s battery. The two main tools: Battery Health and Activity Monitor, the latter of which has been renamed “Battery” to reflect its expanded functionality.

Let’s take a look at what each of these mean, how you can use them to keep track of your iPhone, Apple Watch Mac’s battery, and how they might change your behavior.

3 Steps to check iPhone battery health

To check the health of your iPhone’s battery, open the “Settings” app and tap on “Battery” then tap on Battery health. You’ll see a list of all your battery statistics as well as some information about your device’s battery capacity.

If battery health has degraded significantly the below message will also appear
If battery health has degraded significantly the below message will also appear

You’ll see your usage, time remaining, and health rating. The latter gives you a very high-level look at the iPhone’s health – if it’s good, it might read “Battery is Good”, or “App battery usage is low”, for example.

Your battery is currently supporting normal peak performance.
Your battery is currently supporting normal peak performance.

The battery health tab, or maximum capacity tab, show your iPhone’s maximum capacity. This is extremely important especially if you are getting unexpected results from your device, for instance the battery draining quickly.

Steps to check iPhone battery health
If battery health has degraded significantly the below message will also appear

When you go to this section there are two numbers shown under health status. Maximum Capacity, which is a measure of battery capacity relative to when it was new. Lower capacity may result in fewer hours of usage between charge.

Fix iPhone 12 Keeps Dropping WiFi Connection?

Steps to check Apple Watch Battery Health

The battery life for the Apple Watch has been much debated since it’s initial release in 2015. Twenty percent of pre-ordered customers reported that it only lasted around 18 hours, which was much shorter than the promised 24 hour life cycle.

Battery life is something that everyone will likely experience differently though. Your usage habits will be different than mine no matter what. But how do you know if your Apple Watch battery is in good shape? How do you test it? You’ll be happy to know that Apple has included a “Battery Health” app in their latest watchOS 7 update (available now). There are three steps to evaluating your battery health.

1. Open Settings app. 

2. Scroll down and tap on Battery.

3. Tap Battery Health.

Check apple watch battery health

Previously, Apple Watch owners had to go to their iPhone for information about how healthy their battery was. This may be especially useful for users who use the watch more intensively, such as playing workouts or having lots of apps synced. While all this information is available on your iPhone – the Apple Watch app does make accessing it on your wrist quicker and easier

How to charge apple watch series 4, Series 5

The battery health screen in Apple Watch is one of the most important, if not the most useful feature in the watch’s operating system. It’s the only way to learn about your battery’s health, it helps you replace it when it has degraded enough.

How to turn off apple watch

Battery health is able to provide users with a lot more information about their batteries than third-party apps currently can.

Steps to check MacBook battery health and Usage

Starting with the release of MacOS 10.15 in June, Apple rolled out a new feature called Battery Health in the Energy tab in the system Preferences app. Now updated to include information for the Big Sur update in September, Battery Health shows how much wear your battery has incurred since it was brand-new.

What’s more, it can also indicate which apps are using more power than they should be, which you then can use to optimize your MacBook’s battery health.

This feature, which displays a status indicator for your battery, will be particularly useful for anyone who doesn’t want to shell out a few hundred dollars on a new battery after a year or two of heavy use.

  1. Click on Apple logo and Open System Preferences.
  2. Click on the Battery option.  

The battery section now has a new Chart view that provides an easy-to-understand visual representation that helps you see which apps are using the most juice.

To view your Battery Health, open System Preferences > Power Saver and click on Battery Health.

Check the condition of your Mac notebook's battery
Check the condition of your Mac notebook’s battery

The feature was designed with a view to getting customers to replace their battery rather than buy a whole new device. Battery Health Management aims to prolong the battery life of the laptop by making it last for as many charge cycles as possible. However, some users might prefer to go for a new device instead.

Best MacBook for college Students 2021: Best apple laptop to Buy

Battery Cycles

Your iPhone battery becomes less efficient as it ages, and when battery capacity drops to a certain level, the smartphone may slow down, the battery may become unable to provide enough power to use your device when you need it or in some cases, the phone may unexpectedly shut down. T

Apple design the iPhone to take advantage of the conditioning effects that occur in all rechargeable batteries over time. A chemically aging battery becomes less capable of supplying peak current demands, especially in a low state of charge.

“Peak current demands” are momentary increases in current when your iPhone requires sudden additional power, such as when you capture a photo or video, play graphics-intensive games, or when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.

With that in mind, it’s important to know how many cycles your battery has cycled through. If you charge your iPhone daily, then the number of cycles is easy to calculate. Otherwise, if you haven’t been charging your iPhone daily, or haven’t charged it nearly as much as Apple recommends, the number of cycles is going to be a bit more difficult to determine. I’ll explain how to calculate battery cycles below.

How much battery health is good for iPhone?

This Battery app helps you check the battery health by simply providing you with an estimation of the health of your iPhone battery. It is based on charge cycles and age alone. Ideally, if your iPhone’s maximum capacity is higher than 80 per cent, it means the battery is new or has been well taken care of. If it is lower than 80 percent, then you should consider replacing your battery for better performance.

How many years before I replace my iPhone battery?

Most iPhone batteries continue to function well after the one year warranty, often for several years if proper care is taken. When you begin to notice that your iPhone battery doesn’t last as long between charges, it’s time to measure the current capacity of the battery to see if it’s still within specifications.

Is battery health 90% iPhone good?
How many years battery health is good for iPhone?

If you’re here reading this, you probably just noticed your iPhone battery health is at 79% or below. What to do? It depends on how old your battery is. If it’s just a couple years old (2 to 3), then there might be hope for it yet. If your battery is older than that, then you’re going to want to replace it. Knowing what the conditions of your battery are can help you make that decision as well as tell if it’s time to cut bait and get a new iPhone.

Is it safe to use your device while it is charging?

It is totally safe but will make the charging slow.

When you are charging your iPhone, you are plugging it into a power supply, instructing it to supply power to the phone. The maximum number of amps that can be supplied through the cord. If you are running almost anything else on your phone at the same time that consumes any significant battery capacity, then it will reduce the amount of current that goes into charging your battery. iOS devices maintains a very strong charging circuit that ensures that if your phone is on and you’re attached to a power source it will always supply as much current as possible for as long as is necessary to maintain the charge level.

However, it is not a good idea to use your phone if you have a low battery level. Your phone may charge slowly and decrease the lifespan of your battery. Your device will discharge faster as a trade-off if the battery level is low while it is being charged. Also, you should not use your phone intensively on charge continuously as this might cause overheating.

What is the 40 80 rule?

When it comes to charging lithium ion batteries, they can live longer if you give them a little bit of love. That means they should always be kept between 40% and 80%; never below or above that range.

The 40-80 rule essentially means not draining your battery completely, but also not charging it to more than 80% of its full charge capacity. Samsung note 20 ultra features a 4,500 mAh battery and Apple’s newest iPhones boast of 3,687 mAh capacities.

As for the cause of battery swelling, there are not many studies/experiments made to confirm this theory. But it is generally agreed that two major factors cause lithium-ion batteries ‘swelling’. The first one could be temperature. In other words, when a mobile phone is left in high temperature environment (for example hot summer days), its battery can swell up.

The second factor of lithium-ion batteries swelling is mainly due to aging.

Battery health is a relatively new section of iOS 11. It’s been designed to give you a better idea of how good your iPhone’s battery really is. Perhaps the most interesting fact about this new information is that Apple has been secretly replacing batteries on older iPhones without any external indicator telling users something was up.

That’s why operating systems run more efficiently on brand new hardware than they do on older computers or smartphones. The more you use your iPhone, the more the battery will lose its ability to hold a charge. This is because lithium-ion batteries gradually lose their ability to hold more charge. This degradation is natural and cannot be prevented, only slowed down slightly by not leaving your phone plugged in all the time.

Apple battery and performance controversy

Apple was caught slowing down older iPhones.

Apple deserved to be roasted, hard. While it might make sense to smooth out performance across an iPhone’s lifespan — and we don’t know the long-term effect of Apple’s strategy — it doesn’t excuse the fact that users who paid extra money for a new iPhone out of warranty were having their devices altered without their knowledge and consent.

The issue is a sore one in light of Apple’s admission that it deliberately slowed down older iPhones with worn-out batteries, raising the question of just how much consumers should trust the company when it says updates to its mobile operating system can be installed without needing to plug into a power source.

As it turns out, Apple was just doing what most smartphone makers appear to be doing these days: making use of aging batteries in their devices so they don’t degrade to the point of becoming unusable. However, there is an easy way for iPhone owners to tell if their battery is truly bad or if Apple’s limitation of performance is in effect.

When Apple released the new iOS software in early 2018, battery health was included in the update and became available in Settings. The feature revealed whether or not your battery was functioning at 100%, 80% or below.

While Apple never disclosed why they added this feature, it’s widely believed that the company did so to avoid further criticism about their batteries degrading rapidly. It seems like Apple has been listening to their customers, and it wasn’t long before the feature was released for the Apple Watch and Mac computers running MacOS High Sierra or later.

Out of all the iPhone battery controversy, Apple’s added Battery Health was probably one of the most anticipated features to come out of the whole ordeal. That’s because, previously, iPhone users had no way to determine how much time they could squeeze out of . The tool — which gained instant popularity after its debut at WWDC — does exactly this for your iPhone.

Some thoughts on iPhone Battery Replacement

There are many situations in which you may want to check your iPhone’ battery health. These include: – Your battery doesn’t seem to be lasting as long as it used to – You suspect that iPhone is taking a long time to charge – Your battery is swollen – You want to check the maximum capacity of your iPhone’s battery.

If you decide that you need to replace your iPhone battery, then follow my “how-to guide” for replacing the battery in your iPhone. If you do choose to replace the battery yourself, then be sure to follow my guide otherwise damage can occur and void your warranty.

Leave a Comment