So the below picture has gotten me quite worried about my phone. The capacity of my battery has dropped 10% in the last 4 months, that would mean in the next 4 months I will be below the 80% mark that Apple sets for a 2-year track. Should I pop in to the store right now to get it checked out or will they just decline my complaint?
Any other people with the same issue?
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 9.2.1
First of all, where did you get that screen image from? I'm wondering about its accuracy.
In any event, operate the iPhone until it shuts down automatically. Ignore any alerts that may appear. Then charge it overnight using the charger and cable that came with the iPhone. Finally check your capacity.
Battery replacements are covered under warranty if they reach below 80% capacity within the first year. Even if that number is accurate, it's too soon to bring it in.
This particular application is called coconutBattery, something I've seen used often in these cases. Draining my battery to dead at the moment to charge it overnight and check again tomorrow.
Another thing: My mom's iPhone 6 still had >100% capacity when I checked it with this application. With double the amount of load cycles.
Remember that draining the battery to dead is also a good way to ruin a lithium ion battery. If you have done this more than once, that could explain your issue, as you are actually doing something yourself t ruin your battery.
So why is someone advising me to do that then? Who am I to believe here? I don't believe my 6s Plus has ever in those 4 months died from an empty battery.
I was the one that gave you that advice. At one time, Apple did make that recommendation as a means for calibrating the battery level indicator. I am no longer able to locate that recommendation. I do not yet know if they pulled it or it's just a matter of me looking in the wrong place. I'll post back again in a while.
I have confirmed that Apple pulled that recommendation that I had alluded to. I defer to Chris on this matter.
The annoying thing about batteries is this: Draining the battery until your phone shuts off is how you calibrate it. However, every time you do this, you are damaging it a little. If you never calibrate the battery, the displayed percentage may possibly (though not necessarily) become noticeably inaccurate. Letting your battery die occasionally will most likely not cause any issues and may help maintain accuracy, but doing it too often will significantly decrease capacity. I suggest that you do not rely on coconutBattery as an official measurement of capacity and instead pay attention to your usage habits and how long your battery typically lasts. If over the course of the next few months you notice that your battery drains faster with similar usage habits, take it the Apple Store for diagnostics. As mentioned before, Apple will replace batteries holding below 80% capacity, but they won't really do anything at 89.8%.
Okay so coconutBattery seems to be very unstable haha. I just hooked up my phone with 55% battery left (after a full day, love this phone!!!) and the capacity had risen to 94,6%. I have stopped worrying about it. If I start noticing it in my daily life I will do something about it. Thanks for you all you guys' advice!
The current state of the art SMART lithium battery technology does not require calibration. The device's own internal system will track battery capacity and reflect that accurately in the indicated battery level. Apple dropped the recommendation of periodic/monthly battery meter calibration when they went to the current longer service life batteries. In the iPhone they switched to batteries rated for 500 cycles and iPad batteries rated for 1000 cycles. This was a few years ago now.
WIth any current lithium cell manufactured to the most recent international SMART battery standards, it is best to avoid any deep discharge cycles if possible, to maximize usable life span. Deep cycles will not make any noticeable difference in the iOS battery meter indicated level.
Apple's policy in expected life span - http://www.apple.com/batteries/service-and-recycling/
TThanks for the explanation.
You're welcome. Lithium technology kind of fascinates me just because the basic capacity of cells has not changed much in decades, but the SMART monitoring and control circuitry has steadily improved the ability to stretch and use that capacity to the utmost. Still, battery technology is the weak link in all our mobile tech - there has not been a fundamental breakthrough in battery technology in many decades now.
ChrisJ4203 wrote:
Remember that draining the battery to dead is also a good way to ruin a lithium ion battery. If you have done this more than once, that could explain your issue, as you are actually doing something yourself t ruin your battery.
While that is true, draining it until the phone shuts off is not the same as draining it until it's dead. Apple was smart enough to force the phone to display 0% and shut off when there is still charge on the battery. To prove it to yourself press the Power button and the screen will display a message to charge the battery. It couldn't display that message if the battery was really dead. To truly fully discharge the battery you would have to run the battery down until the phone shuts off, then leave it uncharged for several weeks.
So running it down until the phone shuts off, then charging it immediately to 100% will not hurt the battery, and will recalibrate the battery gauge.
OriginalName022 wrote:
The annoying thing about batteries is this: Draining the battery until your phone shuts off is how you calibrate it. However, every time you do this, you are damaging it a little.
No, you are not damaging it a little. You are not damaging it at all. See my other post.
Lawrence Finch wrote:
So running it down until the phone shuts off, then charging it immediately to 100% will not hurt the battery, and will recalibrate the battery gauge.
At one time Apple made that recommendation but they pulled it.
iPhone 6s Plus battery capacity < 90% after 4 months
