iPhone battery life rubbish? Here’s how to quickly check if you need an Apple battery swap
BAD battery life affects us all – but iPhone owners can easily investigate exactly how rubbish their handset's charge really is.
A recently added feature lets you check up on how much your iPhone battery has degraded, letting you know when it's time to upgrade.
iPhones run on lithium-ion batteries, which degrade over time.
So if your phone lasts for 12 hours per charge when you buy it, it might last just nine hours after two years of use.
The only way to fix this is to buy a battery replacement from Apple, which is completely free for some users.
But first, you need to check how much your battery has degraded.
How to check your iPhone battery health
Head into your Settings app, then scroll down to the Battery section.
Tap into it and then choose the Battery Health (Beta) option.
Note: this will only appear if you're using an iPhone 6 or later, and you've upgraded to a software version iOS 11.3 or later. Here's a guide on how to update your iPhone, if you're not sure what that means.
Once you're into the Battery Health section, you'll see a few different read-outs.
The first is Maximum Capacity, which is listed as a percentage.
This tells you the exact percentage of charge your iPhone battery holds, compared to when it was new.
The second is a rating of your battery performance capability, which lets you know if your battery is operating effectively or not.
For people with battery life woes, the percentage is important.
A battery is considered "worn" if it's below 80%, which means it's time to upgrade your battery.
You'll typically reach this point after doing 500 full charges – which will take most users less than two years.
Why do batteries get worse over time?
Here's what you need to know...
- Most gadgets run on lithium-ion batteries
- Over time, the amount of charge this type of battery can hold gets smaller
- That means you need to charge your device more often, because they hold less charge
- Batteries have two electrode points – the cathode and the anode
- To charge a battery, the ions inside the battery are forced from the cathode to the anode
- And when you use a battery, they move in the reverse direction
- This process wears away at the structure of the anode, reducing its ability to function correctly
- But the process also builds up a kind of salt on the cathode when charging
- As this build-up grows, the battery will accept less charge over time
- It's estimated that between 500 and 1,000 full charge-cycles will reduce a battery's maximum capacity by roughly 20%
How much does an iPhone battery replacement cost?
For the following phones, an out-of-warranty battery replacement will cost you just £25.
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
For any other eligible models, you'll have to pay a higher fee of £79.
And if you're in-warranty, of have AppleCare+, you'll get a free battery replacement regardless.
Do you have issues with iPhone battery life? Let us know in the comments!
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