How to Check Battery Health Across All Your Apple Devices
If you’re like me, you charge your devices all the time, even if that could damage your battery in the long run. This is the way, I think to myself, looking at the AirPods Pro charging case that I have left connected for the past three weeks.
One of the best forms of preventative maintenance that you can easily perform for any Apple device is to periodically check the status of their battery. I do not mean the number in the upper right corner of the screen that shows how much juice you have left as a percentage. I mean a slightly more hidden setting that gives you an idea of how your battery is performing in general.
To learn more about battery life, watch the video below:
While there is little you can do if you have a terrible battery other than buying a new one, at least you will have an idea that your device is approaching “ancient” status or that your charging habits may be preventing you from sucking as much life. from your device as you can. If you’re lucky, you’ll notice a dying battery while your device is still under warranty, so battery replacement is free and not $$$. Here’s how to check the battery status on all types of Apple devices:
How to check the battery status of your iPhone
To find out how much battery your iPhone works well, open the application “Settings” and click the “battery”. Wait and you’ll get a series of graphs showing your battery level (and activity) over the past 24 hours or over the past 10 days.
This is all well and good, but what you really need is to click on Battery Health, which could give you some dark news:
However, don’t worry if you get this message at the top. Again, these are just data points. If your iPhone still usually gets you through the day with no problems, and you are not experiencing significant performance degradation as a result of your Mech battery, then don’t worry. You might want to consider switching to a new phone (or an expensive battery change) at some point, but that isn’t necessary unless you really have noticeable problems using your phone or tablet every day.
What about the iPad?
So, the bad news: you will be able to see charging and usage charts on the iPad, but there is no dedicated Battery Status section to give you an idea of battery life. To get this information, you will have to turn to a third-party application such as iMazing or coconutBattery . Bummer.
How to check the battery health of your Mac
If or when you upgrade to macOS Big Sur , you will see that the Power Saving section no longer exists in your System Preferences. In its place is a new section “Battery”. You’ve probably guessed where this is all heading.
Click on it and you will get a setting similar to what you find on iOS. You will be able to see how much you have used your battery in the last 24 hours and 10 days, and you will be able to access all of the previous power saving settings, including scheduled startup and shutdown for your Mac.
Unfortunately, just like with the iPad, you won’t be able to see the overall battery health of your Mac. You can get an idea of how many charge cycles your battery has experienced by pulling up your Mac in System Information and then clicking on Power (found under the Hardware section). There you will see the cycle count, status and maximum capacity of your battery, and you can compare that cycle count against Apple’s limits to get an idea of your battery’s health.
How to check the battery status of Apple Watch
After upgrading to watchOS 7, you can check your device’s battery status right from your wrist. Open the Settings app and tap Battery . You will see a graph showing the charge on your Apple Watch for the last day:
Scroll down a bit and tap Battery Heath, where you can see the total battery capacity of your Apple Watch. It is so simple. As with other types of Apple products, don’t worry if this number doesn’t live up to your expectations. If you can get through the day without having to charge your Apple Watch halfway through, you’re probably fine.
This article was originally published on June 24, 2020 and was updated on June 11, 2021 to add new photos, and has been modified to reflect current Lifehacker style guidelines.