Know the signs to know when your iPhone battery needs replacing and what to do if it does.
Reports in August 2023 said that the batteries of the iPhone 14 generation were deteriorating and depleting capacity faster than expected, with users pointing out that battery life decreased by up to 10% after just one year.
Users wouldn't know their batteries were losing capacity if Apple didn't tell them. This is something Apple was forced to do a few years ago after the "Batterygate" scandal, when it was caught throttling the rate at which iPhones with degraded batteries would run. Apple claims this was to prevent iPhones from unexpectedly shutting down. Since iOS 11.3 was released in early 2018, you can go to Settings > Battery and tap Battery Health to see your battery's health.
Apple has recently made changes to iOS to preserve battery life, including Optimized Battery Charging, which prevents your iPhone from charging for long periods of time after it's fully charged. Optimized Battery Charging has been the default setting since iOS 13 launched in 2019.
But why do iPhone batteries lose their ability to hold a charge over time? When should you replace your iPhone battery? You may also want to know how to tell if the battery in a used iPhone has been replaced.
Why does iPhone battery drain and degrade over time?
It is a fact that everyone acknowledges that over time, iPhone batteries will eventually lose their ability to hold a charge, just like the battery of any other phone.
This has to do with the chemical reactions that occur inside lithium-ion batteries and cause them to wear down over time. That means if your iPhone battery isn’t as good as it used to be, you’re not alone: all batteries become less efficient over time, and sadly your iPhone’s battery is no exception.
As your battery ages, it may start to need charging more often, hold a charge less well, or even start shutting down unexpectedly. You may have already started to notice these changes, but if you want to see the evidence, you can easily check your battery health.
How to check iPhone battery status
In early 2018, Apple released an iOS software update with new features that it said “provide users with greater visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves whether battery health is affecting performance.” It’s actually pretty easy to see this information:
1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Battery.
3. Tap Battery & Charging Health. (In older versions of iOS it will be called Battery Health).
4. Note the percentage next to Maximum Power.
5. Also, look for the message below Peak Performance Capability. This message may include details about whether your iPhone is experiencing any battery-related issues.
Here you can see the maximum capacity, which in the case of the one-year-old iPhone 14 in Macworld's test was 95%.
If you're wondering how bad iPhone capacity is, it's usually below 80%, but it's understandable that people who have had an iPhone for less than a year would expect a capacity higher than 90%.
How do you know when to replace your iPhone battery?
Once your iPhone battery has passed 500 full charges, it’s probably time to replace it. Unfortunately, iOS doesn’t tell you how many times your current battery has been charged, but it does try to prevent too many full charges with the Optimized Battery Charging feature mentioned above.
However, when the iPhone Battery Health drops to 80%, it is also advisable to replace the battery. In fact, Apple will display a message: “The health of your device’s battery has significantly degraded. An Apple Authorized Service Provider can replace the battery to restore full performance and capacity.”
If your iPhone battery—or a used iPhone you're considering buying—has drained to 80% or lower, you should replace the battery.
There are a few other signs that your iPhone may need a new battery: backlight is dimmer than usual; speaker volume is lower; screen stutters when scrolling; frame rate drops in some gaming apps, and app launch times take longer.
What happens if the iPhone battery is not replaced?
If you see a message indicating that the battery health has decreased, you can continue to use your phone, but you may experience reduced charging capacity and some minor stability issues when the battery is low.
If your battery isn't performing at its best, you may also see Performance Management being applied to prevent unexpected shutdowns from occurring. You may see a note in the Peak Performance Capability section of Battery Health that says "This iPhone experienced an unexpected shutdown because the battery was unable to provide the required peak performance." To fix this, performance management is applied.
Performance management is a feature that only applies to older iPhone models , prior to the iPhone 11. If you play a graphically intensive game while your battery is below 20 percent, the setting may be activated.
How to tell if your iPhone battery has been replaced
There are a few ways to tell if the used iPhone you're buying has had its battery replaced, and more importantly, to check that it's an Apple part and not a potentially dangerous battery.
To find detailed battery information, follow these steps:
1. Open Settings.
2. General settings.
3. Introduction
Scroll down and find the section titled: “Service and Parts History”. In this section, you can see detailed information about the battery if it has been replaced.
You shouldn't worry if it's a Genuine Apple Part, but an unknown part can cause problems with your iPhone.
How to maximize iPhone battery life
If you want to make sure your battery lasts as long as possible until you have a chance to replace it, try these tips:
1. Turn off Location Services.
2. Turn off background app refresh.
3. Make sure that Auto-Brightness is turned on.
4. Use Airplane Mode when you don't need an Internet connection.