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Battery life indicator is way off on iPhone 6s plus

I’ve noticed that my battery life indicator tends to go out of whack. It will quickly drop down to 20% after an hour of usage, and eventually will drop to 1%. When it gets to 1%, it will last 3 to 6 hours. When I let it die completely, and charge it back all the way, the battery life indicator works correctly. I have to do this every Couple of weeks. I’ve never had this issue with any other iPhone, so I’m I’ve had for many many years. I don’t have this issue with android devices either. I think there is something unique to this phone model.

Posted on Nov 29, 2017 8:34 AM

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Posted on Nov 29, 2017 5:54 PM

If you are not using Apple USB power sources or USB power sources certified as Made for iPhone the power source can damage the circuit in the phone that manages battery charging. With older phones (pre-5S) sometimes the battery gauge could get out of calibration; it could be recalibrated by running the phone until it shut off, then charging for 4 hours with a known good USB power source. That is generally not necessary with the 5S and later, which has a more sophisticated battery management chip. But one that may be more likely to be damaged by off-brand power sources.


That's just for background; what you can do is call Apple, or have them call you (click on the Contact Support link at the top of this page) and they can test the phone remotely. Or make a genius bar appointment. You can also download the app Battery Life, which does a pretty good job of evaluating the status of the battery (Apple's test is better, however).


As to why the forum is here, it may not have occurred to you, but there are many different issues that people can have with an Apple product, not just battery problems. And many of those issues can be easily corrected with just an explanation of how to use a feature of the phone.

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Nov 29, 2017 5:54 PM in response to turbogaming

If you are not using Apple USB power sources or USB power sources certified as Made for iPhone the power source can damage the circuit in the phone that manages battery charging. With older phones (pre-5S) sometimes the battery gauge could get out of calibration; it could be recalibrated by running the phone until it shut off, then charging for 4 hours with a known good USB power source. That is generally not necessary with the 5S and later, which has a more sophisticated battery management chip. But one that may be more likely to be damaged by off-brand power sources.


That's just for background; what you can do is call Apple, or have them call you (click on the Contact Support link at the top of this page) and they can test the phone remotely. Or make a genius bar appointment. You can also download the app Battery Life, which does a pretty good job of evaluating the status of the battery (Apple's test is better, however).


As to why the forum is here, it may not have occurred to you, but there are many different issues that people can have with an Apple product, not just battery problems. And many of those issues can be easily corrected with just an explanation of how to use a feature of the phone.

Jan 7, 2018 8:13 AM in response to turbogaming

Shutting off under load is a sign of a failing battery. That's explained in detail here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387


No one can guarantee any battery life in years; batteries (All batteries since the beginning of time) degrade with the number of times they are charged. iPhone batteries should maintain at least 80% capacity for 500 charge cycles. It doesn't matter if you go through 500 cycles in one year, two years or five years. It is the number of charge cycles that matter; not clock or calendar time.


If you believe that a Samsung better meets your needs, then go for it. No one in this forum cares what you do with your money.

Nov 29, 2017 4:10 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Thanks for responding. Many posts give the advice to take it in. Why is the forum here if that is the only response. Is anyone else facing the issue and could it be something other than a faulty battery? I am betting it is. I don’t always use Apple chargers or cables. But I didn’t with previous phones either. It could be one of them is causing the iPhone to misread the charge level.

Jan 7, 2018 2:36 AM in response to turbogaming

Since the battery lawsuits have come to light I believe my issue is related. At one time my phone would shut off at 40% if I was shooting 4K video.

I’ve followed all of Apple’s and the forum’s advice and still I see the problem. I use official Apple charging cables and USB power and have also reset my device. When the battery quickly drops and stays at 1%, it’s probably Apple’s programming to encourage the phone user to plug in and not have the phone to *appear* to die at 40% under a load.

The Galaxy Note 8 guaranty to have the battery at 95% after 2 yrs sounds actually pretty nice right now.

Fortunately battery swaps just hit cheaper on my phone which only shoes 85% capacity according to the battery life app.

Jan 7, 2018 8:49 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

I agree with you on charge cycles normally causing a problem.


In my case when both of my iPhones shut off under a load they were not even a year old and still covered under warranty. I thought it might have been heat related at the time. In hindsight I should have taken them in at that point. The OS updates quickly masked the problem shortly after leading me to believe the problem was solved.

I do believe there are problems with the 6s battery and the firmware which manages it. I’m disappointed the end result of my research led to that conclusion as opposed to something I could simply reset at the firmware or OS level or correct by changing chargers and cables to all Apple.


The recently announced $30 for a battery replacement is decent however and will suffice. In a sense I’m glad I waited.

Jan 7, 2018 9:46 AM in response to lobsterghost1

Yes. It no longer suddenly shuts down after system updates a year ago. Also my iPhones weren’t covered by that particular recall even though they both demonstrated the symptoms.

Regarding the current issue I’ve already met with Apple reps online and I enabled the diagnostic software. They couldn’t find any issues. I’ll be going in sometime over the next week.

Battery life indicator is way off on iPhone 6s plus

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