To check iPhone battery health, open the Settings app, tap Battery, then tap Battery Health or Battery Health & Charging depending on your model. The screen shows the battery’s maximum capacity as a percentage of what it held when new, and it takes about two minutes to find.
The catch is that the menu and the details differ a lot depending on how old your phone is. An iPhone 15 or later shows you cycle count and the date the battery was first used. An iPhone 14 or earlier gives you a percentage and a charge limit slider, or nothing at all on really old hardware. Here is what each screen gives you and how to read it.
Table of Contents
What You Need Before You Start
You need three things: your iPhone or iPad unlocked, a recent version of iOS or iPadOS, and about two minutes. That is genuinely it.
No third-party app, no cable, no computer. The official number lives inside the operating system you already have, and Apple’s own support documentation points to the same menu.
One thing worth knowing up front is that battery health readings depend on model and software version. iPhone 15 and later phones expose more data than older models, and very old iPhones do not expose a percentage at all. If you are on a device outside that range, skip ahead to the older models section below.
How to Check iPhone Battery Health Step by Step
How to Check iPhone Battery Health on iPhone or iPad
Open Settings, tap Battery, and look for the health row. What it is called depends on the phone.
- Open the Settings app and tap Battery. This is the screen with the battery percentage graphic at the top.
- On iPhone 14 or earlier, tap Battery Health & Charging.
- On iPhone 15 and later, tap Battery Health. The ampersand and the word Charging were dropped from the menu label on newer models.
- On iPad, the path is the same: Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health & Charging near the bottom of the list.
- Read the percentage next to Maximum Capacity. If a message says the battery is degraded or needs service, it appears above the percentage.
You know it loaded correctly when you see a single percentage figure and, beneath it, a line of smaller text about charge limits or, on newer models, cycle count. A blank row or a spinner that never resolves usually means a background update has not finished, so give it a few minutes and try again.
How to Check Battery Health on iPhone 15 and Later
Newer models add the fields people actually want. Alongside maximum capacity you get cycle count, the total number of full charge cycles the battery has completed, plus the battery’s manufacture date and first use date.
Manufacture date is the month the battery left the factory. First use date is when the phone was first set up, which tells you how long the battery has been in service even if you bought the phone secondhand. If those two dates are close together and both are recent, the battery is close to new even when the phone body shows scratches.
Cycle count is the more honest number of the two. A battery that spends its life between 20% and 80% accumulates cycles far more slowly than one that is fully drained and topped up daily. Two years of heavy daily full charges and 500 cycles is unremarkable; 500 cycles on a phone you keep at 40% most of the time means you have looked after it well.
These models also let you set a charge limit instead of charging flat to 100% every night. That single setting does more for long-term health than almost anything else you can change.
How to Check iPhone Battery Health on Older Models
On an iPhone XS, XR, X or anything older, the health row is often missing or plain. The same is true of older iPads. When that happens, open Settings and tap Battery anyway, because the usage data on that screen still tells you a lot even without a percentage.
Scroll to Last 24 Hours or the 10-day view and check the battery graph. A flat, cliff-edge line that drops in the afternoon points to a background drainer. A graph that falls evenly through the day points to a worn battery with less capacity to give.
When the Battery Health row simply is not there, your options are Apple Diagnostics on an iPhone XS or later, or an Apple-authorized service provider who can read the value directly. There is no menu trick that unlocks the screen on hardware that does not support it.
What the Battery Health Percentage Means
Maximum capacity is the percentage of its original design capacity the battery can still hold when fully charged. A new iPhone reads 100%. A phone reading 86% can store about 86% of what it stored on day one.
It is not the same as your charge level. Your charge level answers how full the battery is right now; maximum capacity answers how full it can ever get again. A phone sitting at 50% charge can still be at 94% health.
Apple’s own wording is that a battery is considered degraded when maximum capacity falls below 80%, and at that point the phone is eligible for battery service. Treat 80% as the point where replacement becomes reasonable, not a deadline. Plenty of owners keep using an 85% battery without noticing a problem.
It is also an estimate, not a laboratory measurement. Apple compares the battery’s current full-charge capacity against its original capacity and reworks the ratio as the battery ages and after software updates. That is why third-party tools sometimes quote a different milliamp-hour figure for the same phone. Forum readers on r/iPhoneBatteryParanoia hit this constantly: Settings says 88% while an analytics app reports a higher mAh number, and neither is lying outright. They measure different things, and mAh read over USB is not the same as true internal capacity.
What to Do If Battery Health Is Low
First cross-check the reading against behaviour. Go back to Settings, tap Battery, and look at the usage graph. Health in the low 80s plus a graph that falls slowly is fine. Health in the low 80s plus sudden shutdowns at 20% or 30% is a real problem worth fixing.
Then work through the cheap fixes. Restart the phone, install any pending iOS update, and take the case off if the phone has been running warm. Heat is the fastest way to make a percentage drop. A phone charging under a pillow or sitting in a hot car can lose several points faster than months of normal use.
On iPhone 15 and later, turn on the charge limit and let it sit at 80% most of the time. On older models, Optimized Battery Charging holds the phone near 80% overnight and finishes the charge just before your alarm.
If the reading is below 80% or the phone shuts down unexpectedly, contact Apple or an Apple-authorized service provider. Do not open the phone yourself. The battery is glued in, the waterproof seals are broken by opening the display, and a puncture in a lithium-ion cell is genuinely dangerous.
Common Mistakes When Checking iPhone Battery Health
The Mistakes That Trip People Up
Confusing charge level with health. The percentage on the lock screen tells you nothing about condition. If that number drops faster than it used to, look at maximum capacity instead.
Looking in the wrong place. Battery Health lives under Settings, then Battery, not under General or Battery in the search bar’s Control Center shortcuts. On iPhone 14 and earlier the row says Battery Health & Charging, which is why people miss it.
Trying to find a percentage on an old iPhone. iPhone XS, XR, X and earlier may show no health row at all. That is a device limitation, not a broken phone.
Trusting a third-party app over the native number. Tools like coconutBattery on a Mac and iCareFone are repeatedly recommended on forums.macrumors.com for checking phones from a computer, and they are useful. But they read data the phone exposes and estimate the rest. Use the Settings screen for the official figure and treat other apps as a second opinion.
Panicking over one low reading. The percentage recalculates after updates and when the battery is hot or cold. Check it again a few days later before you decide anything.
Charging a hot phone. Plugging in a phone that is already warm, especially under a blanket, adds stress exactly when the battery is most stressed. Let it cool first.
What Battery Health Percentage Is Good?
Anything from 90% upward is a healthy battery and most people will not notice any difference. Here is how the ranges actually feel in daily use.
100% to 90% is new or lightly used. Runtime matches what you got on day one.
89% to 85% is normal wear. You may notice the phone needs charging a bit earlier in the day, especially in cold weather.
84% to 80% is where the drop becomes visible. Screen time shortens noticeably and performance throttling under load can start.
Below 80% is Apple-defined degradation and eligible for service. Expect shortened runtime and the possibility of unexpected shutdowns.
Two specific numbers come up constantly. Is 77% bad? Yes, it is past Apple’s threshold and worth replacing, especially if the phone is your daily driver.
Is 50% bad? Very, and worth asking about warranty or a repair history. That is a heavily used battery, and owners on r/iPhoneTipsTricks and r/ios26 regularly post far better numbers on much older phones.
When the Reading Looks Wrong
A few readings are genuinely misleading rather than bad news.
Unknown Part appearing next to Battery Health means a third-party battery was fitted. It is not a fault in your phone. It does mean the phone cannot vouch for the component’s specification, so it is a prompt to check the serial and part numbers with the shop that did the work. On a used iPhone, an original 85% beats a non-original 100% every time.
Battery unverified, or health jumping to 0% after a major update has been widely reported on iOS 26 for iPhone 13 and lower. Users in Apple community threads blame the battery management controller on older phones rather than anything the owner did. Restarting and re-checking after the update finishes clears many of these. If it persists, an authorized provider can run diagnostics.
A percentage frozen at one number for months is not necessarily stale. The reading only updates periodically, so it can sit at 86% while you charge normally. Watch the cycle count on iPhone 15 and later to see whether it is still climbing. If cycle count moves and the percentage never budges, the battery is genuinely holding steady.
Battery Care Tips to Slow Further Decline
Once you have a baseline number, these habits slow what comes next.
- Set a charge limit on iPhone 15 and later, or rely on Optimized Battery Charging on older models.
- Aim for a daily range of roughly 20% to 80% rather than 0% to 100%. Long-time MacRumors posters credit this habit with keeping capacity noticeably higher.
- Keep the phone out of direct sun and off warm surfaces while charging.
- Turn on Low Power Mode when you are away from a charger for long stretches.
- Use Wi-Fi instead of cellular for large transfers, since the radio works harder on a weak signal.
- Check the number every few months, not daily. Obsessive checking helps nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 77% iPhone battery health bad?
Yes. 77% is below the 80% point where Apple considers a battery degraded and eligible for service. If the phone is your daily driver, plan on replacing it, since you will notice shorter runtime and possible unexpected shutdowns at 20% or 30%. On a secondary phone it can keep working fine.
Does checking battery health drain the battery?
No. Reading the Battery Health screen uses almost no power. You can check it as often as you like without affecting the reading or the battery. The reason the number does not update constantly is that Apple recalculates it on a schedule and after software updates, not because you spent charge looking at it.
Do iPads show battery health the same way?
Mostly. The path is Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health u0026amp; Charging. Older iPads sometimes show only a charge limit with no percentage, and newer iPad models display details closer to iPhone 15 and later. If the health row is missing on your iPad, the usage graph under Battery is the most useful substitute.
Can Apple check or replace my iPhone battery?
Yes. Apple and Apple-authorized service providers can read the exact health value and fit a genuine battery. Out of warranty, the cost is set by Apple and varies by model. Third-party shops are cheaper but will usually trigger an Unknown Part warning, since the phone cannot verify the battery they fitted.
Is it better to charge to 80% or 100% on an iPhone?
Staying between 20% and 80% slows long-term wear, because lithium-ion cells are most stressed when full or empty. If your daily routine needs 100%, that is perfectly reasonable too, and iPhone 15 and later let you set an 80% charge limit so you get the option without losing full capacity on days you need it.
Can I check battery health on a used iPhone before buying it?
Yes, on any model that supports the feature. Ask the seller to open Settings, tap Battery and show you Battery Health or Battery Health u0026amp; Charging, and check for an Unknown Part notice. Look for 85% or higher on a phone sold as lightly used. On iPhone 15 and later, the first use date tells you far more than the box condition.
Conclusion
Do one thing first: open Settings, tap Battery, then tap Battery Health or Battery Health & Charging, and read the maximum capacity percentage.
Contact Apple or an authorized service provider if that number is under 80%, or if the phone shuts down unexpectedly well before zero. On iPhone 15 and later, glance at the cycle count while you are in there. It tells you more about how the battery has been treated than any app on the App Store.