iPad Air 2 battery health down to 94% after less than 1 year

[Racineur]

Hi, I have downloaded Battery Percentage app from the App Store for my iPad Air 2 and my iPhone 5s. The app reports the battery life of my Air 2 bought in December 2015, has 94% health. Does it mean the battery has already lost 6% of its life expantancy after less than one year of usage? Sounds bad to me. What do you make of that. Can I trust this app. It also reports a 100% health on my iPhone 5s bought in March this year. Should I contact Apple?

Thanks mucho

 

[joeblow7777]

What is it with all of these threads lately about battery health?

No, you should not contact Apple because your battery health is 94% after 6 months. It's just an estimate. Honestly, do yourself a favour and don't even look at your supposed battery health unless you actually notice a decline in battery life.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

This is why we can't have nice things, like an accessible file system or more customization.

 

[ericwn]

This is why we can't have nice things, like an accessible file system or more customization.

How does this relate to the topic?

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

How does this relate to the topic?

Because Apple has to lock down and over simplify its products or support calls for topics such as this would crater their ability to solve real problems and probably their customer service ranking.

 

[bodonnell202]

No contacting Apple will not accomplish anything. Lithium ion batteries slowly degrade over time and have a finite number of charge cycles. Even with AppleCare+ Apple only guarantees that your battery will maintain 80% of its original capacity for 2 years and they will not replace it unless it's health drops to less than 80%. 94% at this point if you have been using it a fair amount and discharging and recharging the battery frequently is basically "normal wear and tear". Keep in mind that these battery health apps also only provide an estimate and the estimated "battery health" will likely vary somewhat depending on when you check it (for example when the battery is fully charged right after you unplug it versus when it is partially depleted).

My advice, don't stress about it so much. If you find your battery life is noticeably worse than it used to be then it's time to check into it.

 

[ericwn]

Because Apple has to lock down and over simplify its products or support calls for topics such as this would crater their ability to solve real problems and probably their customer service ranking.

Complete off-topic then. Thanks for explaining.

No contacting Apple will not accomplish anything. Lithium ion batteries slowly degrade over time and have a finite number of charge cycles. Even with AppleCare+ Apple only guarantees that your battery will maintain 80% of its original capacity for 2 years and they will not replace it unless it's health drops to less than 80%. 94% at this point if you have been using it a fair amount and discharging and recharging the battery frequently is basically "normal wear and tear". Keep in mind that these battery health apps also only provide an estimate and the estimated "battery health" will likely vary somewhat depending on when you check it (for example when the battery is fully charged right after you unplug it versus when it is partially depleted).

My advice, don't stress about it so much. If you find your battery life is noticeably worse than it used to be then it's time to check into it.

I agree, the OP should contact Apple for a battery screening.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Complete off-topic then. Thanks for explaining.


I agree, the OP should contact Apple for a battery screening.

Do yourself a favor and take the advice in the second post. You'll have a happier life. Contacting Apple about this is exactly what I meant even though you say off topic.

This is no different than someone scouring the Internet for general symptoms with their health and calling the doctor about all the diseases they think they have.

Is the device working well or not? That's what matters.

 

[ericwn]

Do yourself a favor and take the advice in the second post. You'll have a happier life. Contacting Apple about this is exactly what I meant even though you say off topic.

This is no different than someone scouring the Internet for general symptoms with their health and calling the doctor about all the diseases they think they have.

Is the device working well or not? That's what matters.

This kind of service is exactly what the Genius Bar does every day, and they surely deal with this well, otherwise you'd have a million complaints on this site, and have tools to screen this accurately.

That's the place to go to get a proper answer if you 're the customer and want to find out.
Your rant about things you see missing in iOS is off topic and to suggest the OP's question cripples Apple in any way is weird at best.

 

[Racineur]

Hello and thanks for all your hints. I know batteries "degrade over time" but 7 months is not what I would call "over time". 6% degradation after only 6 months is troubling, at least to me. And I agree with you bodonnell202, those battery apps provide only an estimate. Yet the same app provided an estimated 100% of my Iphone 5s battery health. So it's back to "is it normal for an Air 2 battery to lose 6%". Add to that the fact that this is my third iPad Air 2. First and second had defective screens. Add the fact also that I lost 2-3 hours of usage time when I upgraded to 9.3.1. Now it's 10 hours, then it was 12 hours sometimes 13. So my tolerance vis-à-vis my iPad has become limited.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Have Apple run their diagnostics. There was a thread here recently with a similar problem and it passed Apple's diags (had considerably higher health than the app told them).

Bottom line, you can't trust the app.

 

[Mr. Buzzcut]

This kind of service is exactly what the Genius Bar does every day, and they surely deal with this well, otherwise you'd have a million complaints on this site, and have tools to screen this accurately.

That's the place to go to get a proper answer if you 're the customer and want to find out.
Your rant about things you see missing in iOS is off topic and to suggest the OP's question cripples Apple in any way is weird at best.

My one sentence "rant"? If you say so.

Have you ever waited in line for a genius? Can you imagine the wait if Apple's products were more open and configurable? Make more sense now?

You have your opinion and I have mine. Not sure why you think that makes me angry. I'm not.

 

[James.K.Polk]

Have Apple run their diagnostics. There was a thread here recently with a similar problem and it passed Apple's diags (had considerably higher health than the app told them).

Bottom line, you can't trust the app.

This, 100%. I had the opposite on my old iP5 - battery apps said it was at 90%, diagnostic failed it. Got a replacement.

 

[Racineur]

Thanks guys. Decision taken: I'm calling the Genius today and will take an appointment and will devote my entire after noon to my beloved iPad.

 

[ericwn]

My one sentence "rant"? If you say so.

Have you ever waited in line for a genius? Can you imagine the wait if Apple's products were more open and configurable? Make more sense now?

You have your opinion and I have mine. Not sure why you think that makes me angry. I'm not.

Yup, even one sentence rants can be off topic and trolling and not offering any contribution. You are a classic example so far.
Genius Bar appointments by the way, are appointments, they happen at a specific time, just like any other appointment. Sure some waiting is involved, but this local tech support is exactly what they are there for.

 

[Night Spring]

Even with AppleCare+ Apple only guarantees that your battery will maintain 80% of its original capacity for 2 years and they will not replace it unless it's health drops to less than 80%.

7 months is not what I would call "over time". 6% degradation after only 6 months is troubling,

If above quote is correct that Apple thinks 80% battery health after two years is acceptable, then your iPad battery is right on schedule. At the rate it's going, it'd hit 80% at two years, assuming that the rate of battery degradation remains steady.
[doublepost=1465237378][/doublepost]

Genius Bar appointments by the way, are appointments, they happen at a specific time, just like any other appointment. Sure some waiting is involved, but this local tech support is exactly what they are there for.

I suppose it could vary from store to store, but I can't remember the last time when I had a Genius Bar appointment where I got to see a Genius right at the time of my appointment. I'd get there a few minutes early to check in, then wait, and wait, and wait... It's gotten so miserable, I for one wouldn't take in an iPad just because it's at 95% battery health. I'd wait until it was lasting less than five-six hours before taking it in.

 

[Little Endian]

try downloading coconut battery.
http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/

Battery percentage can be ambiguous what matters more is the the actual mAh that the battery can hold in corellation to its design capacity. so yes we are looking for percentage but what we need to know is exact numbers at any given point in time for an accurate assessment. Coconut battery can provide this. BTW I have an iPad Air 2 about 18 months old and 235 charge cycles my battery only holds about 87-92 percent of its original design capacity of 7340 mAh. the number will vary based on how well calibrated the battery is and other factors like temperature. Try calibrating your battery if you have not done so.

anyhow I find that my loss of capacity is acceptable after 18 months and 235 cycles. I would say your battery is fine 94% battery health is normal after 6 months and at least 50-100 or so charge cycles. Remember batteries degrade over time and use that is normal. Coconut battery works on all apple laptops and iOS devices so you can compare to other devices to see if your battery degradation is normal.

 

[Racineur]

Well, I called Apple. An over-the-air diagnostic was performed on my iPad and the guy said it was in perfect health: green checks everywhere, battery included. He insisted I upgraded to 9.3.2 though which I'm doing right now. Anyhow, this is what I can do for now. If I went to the Apple Store, would a genius there perform another kind of diagnostic with different tools? Do you think the results would be different? Kind of tired of this battery issue. Arent-you?

 

[Night Spring]

Kind of tired of this battery issue. Arent-you?

There is no battery issue. Charge your iPad up to 100% overnight, unplug it in the morning, and use it normally during the day. Does it run out of battery before you go to bed? If not, you have no battery issue. End of story.

 

[Little Endian]

Well, I called Apple. An over-the-air diagnostic was performed on my iPad and the guy said it was in perfect health: green checks everywhere, battery included. He insisted I upgraded to 9.3.2 though which I'm doing right now. Anyhow, this is what I can do for now. If I went to the Apple Store, would a genius there perform another kind of diagnostic with different tools? Do you think the results would be different? Kind of tired of this battery issue. Arent-you?

hmm.. You might want to see a mental health professional as you may be suffering from battery health dysmorphic disorder. Seriously do you buy new tires and expect them to have 100% tread left after 6 months of driving? don't drive? How about shoes then? are your soles still like new after 6 months of use? Batteries are consumable products that degrade over use and time. Also remember that battery statistics is like body weight it can fluctuate within a a normal given range without any actual fat loss/gain or degradation in overall physical health.

 

[Racineur]

Should I feel insulted? Hope this is dark humour cause I have one very very dark humour too...

 

[bodonnell202]

Well, I called Apple. An over-the-air diagnostic was performed on my iPad and the guy said it was in perfect health: green checks everywhere, battery included. He insisted I upgraded to 9.3.2 though which I'm doing right now. Anyhow, this is what I can do for now. If I went to the Apple Store, would a genius there perform another kind of diagnostic with different tools? Do you think the results would be different? Kind of tired of this battery issue. Arent-you?

Direct quote from the AppleCare+ website in the fine print:
"(1) Service coverage is available only for the iPad and its original included accessories for protection against (i) defects in materials or workmanship, (ii) batteries that retain less than 80 percent of their original capacity"

Like I said, Apple only guarantees the battery will maintain 80% of it's original life during the warranty period, so if it came up as greater than 80% in their diagnostic it's a green check mark and in their (scripted) terms, in perfect health.

There are some tips out there on how to preserve your battery life, but the best one I've discovered which seems to preserve the battery life on my devices is to avoid discharging the battery below 20% whenever possible.

 

[Night Spring]

Should I feel insulted? Hope this is dark humour cause I have one very very dark humour too...

Calling it a mental health problem might be a bit overboard, but you ARE insisting that you have a battery problem, when many people, including Apple support, have told you there is no problem. So don't be surprised if people find that a bit odd.

 

[joeblow7777]

Well, I called Apple. An over-the-air diagnostic was performed on my iPad and the guy said it was in perfect health: green checks everywhere, battery included. He insisted I upgraded to 9.3.2 though which I'm doing right now. Anyhow, this is what I can do for now. If I went to the Apple Store, would a genius there perform another kind of diagnostic with different tools? Do you think the results would be different? Kind of tired of this battery issue. Arent-you?

There is no battery issue. Please consider what I said in the very first response in this thread. No offence but you're acting like a hypochondriac.

 

[Racineur]

Guys, you make feel like I have no place here and you're lecturing me. If I act like a hypochondriac, you act like bullies. Joeblow7777, Da-Aaron and Little Endian, learn about tolerance and friendship and open mind. See you later on...