iPhone SE (2022) Does battery health ever go below 80%

[Faize]

My launch SE 3 has been sitting at exactly 80% battery health since late 2024. And AppleCare+ expired long before that, in case it matters.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

yeah, they absolutely do. That's pretty strange.

Sometimes it's a good idea to "recalibrate" your battery. Basically charge it to 100%, run it to 0 (completely dead), then charge it back up to 100%.

 

[Artemiz]

Battery health isn’t a linear drop. It doesn’t constantly drop 1% every few dozen cycles.
You could see rapid drop over a few weeks and then stabilize for months after.

My 13P stood at 87% for about 9 months before it dropped to 84% over a few weeks and has been there for a couple months now. Eventually it’ll go down below 80%.

 

[BotchQue]

My launch SE 3 has been sitting at exactly 80% battery health since late 2024. And AppleCare+ expired long before that, in case it matters.

Heh, my SE 2 is at 78%, so hang in there! IIRC, mine was at 80% for ages also; I figure, it's a tool, it'll wear out eventually, and I'm not gonna worry about it too much.

 

[Faize]

If it were just a display thing I wouldn't mind.

Problem is, there's been a couple of days this past week where I used up the entire battery to the point where the phone has gone into hibernation, and each time as soon as it goes below 10% it loses another 1% every 20-30 seconds. So it's clear that the battery is fully drained at 10% but the phone just doesn't know, and the phone doesn't seem to be informing itself of that fact even after several occurrences.

Oh, and when recharging from completely empty, it fills back up to ~12% within like 90 seconds before charging at a normal pace.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

I've heard of that, used to happen a lot with G4 laptops… the battery is developing "bubbles" of dead space in it. Recalibrating ought to help, but if you're using it to 0% regularly then you sort of already are.

tbh I'd just get it recycled, the SE 2 was a kind of an awful model. But if you want to hang on to it, then it's definitely time for a new battery.

 

[mrochester]

If it were just a display thing I wouldn't mind.

Problem is, there's been a couple of days this past week where I used up the entire battery to the point where the phone has gone into hibernation, and each time as soon as it goes below 10% it loses another 1% every 20-30 seconds. So it's clear that the battery is fully drained at 10% but the phone just doesn't know, and the phone doesn't seem to be informing itself of that fact even after several occurrences.

Oh, and when recharging from completely empty, it fills back up to ~12% within like 90 seconds before charging at a normal pace.

That behaviour suggests the battery is knackered. Time for a new battery.

 

[MacCheetah3]

yeah, they absolutely do. That's pretty strange.

Sometimes it's a good idea to "recalibrate" your battery. Basically charge it to 100%, run it to 0 (completely dead), then charge it back up to 100%.

If it were just a display thing I wouldn't mind.

Problem is, there's been a couple of days this past week where I used up the entire battery to the point where the phone has gone into hibernation, and each time as soon as it goes below 10% it loses another 1% every 20-30 seconds. So it's clear that the battery is fully drained at 10% but the phone just doesn't know, and the phone doesn't seem to be informing itself of that fact even after several occurrences.

Oh, and when recharging from completely empty, it fills back up to ~12% within like 90 seconds before charging at a normal pace.

I've heard of that, used to happen a lot with G4 laptops… the battery is developing "bubbles" of dead space in it. Recalibrating ought to help, but if you're using it to 0% regularly then you sort of already are.

tbh I'd just get it recycled, the SE 2 was a kind of an awful model. But if you want to hang on to it, then it's definitely time for a new battery.

Battery Calibration

All newly-installed smart batteries should be calibrated as soon as possible. This helps your phone or laptop get an accurate reading on the battery’s state of charge.

www.ifixit.com

And if you have done a recalibration a few times in a row already, yet the charge percentage jumps, then I agree:

That behaviour suggests the battery is knackered. Time for a new battery.

 

[JPack]

If it were just a display thing I wouldn't mind.

Problem is, there's been a couple of days this past week where I used up the entire battery to the point where the phone has gone into hibernation, and each time as soon as it goes below 10% it loses another 1% every 20-30 seconds. So it's clear that the battery is fully drained at 10% but the phone just doesn't know, and the phone doesn't seem to be informing itself of that fact even after several occurrences.

Oh, and when recharging from completely empty, it fills back up to ~12% within like 90 seconds before charging at a normal pace.

Means there are portions or cells within the battery that are defective. Time for a new battery.

No amount of calibration will help because it's not smart enough to realize there are dead areas. Calibration is for gradual capacity losses.

 

[Macdctr]

I noticed this thread and decided to check the battery health on my Green 256GB 13 mini and found it's battery health to be at 77% so I will be changing out the battery on this device sometime this week. I can't get over just how light and compact this device is. I still enjoy using this iPhone. 🙂

 

[cynics]

Battery can definitely get below 80% however that is around where it levels out for a while. Battery health isn't an exact science, and since temperature and its current state of charge effect its health Apple uses averages and tends along side its actual battery metrics to present something consumer friendly. If you use an external app like CoconutBattery you'll see the health go down and up again then back down....always trending down. Apple cleans that up so it always at least trends down.

If you battery dies at 10% or something like that, it's because the battery needs to be replaced. The batteries internal resistance has gotten too high from age, the phone goes to do a task but the battery can flow the current required so the voltage dips (like starting your car on dying battery or very cold day how the lights dim). The voltage can dip to the point it his its shut down voltage, and that's what it does even though its not at 0%.

 

[Andeddu]

The batteries do drop below 80% however they’ve been calibrated by Apple to sit between 80-85% for an ungodly amount of time in order to reduce the number of new battery claims under AC+ within 2 years.

I don’t know anyone who has ever went below 80% in the first 2 years of usage.

A battery that’s at 80%, according to iOS, is below 50% in real world usage. I had a 6S that was giving me 50 mins of battery time on YouTube on 83% BH. I replaced the battery via Apple at quite the expanse and obtained 3.5 hours of usage (still pretty poor but it was iOS 15).

 

[HouseLannister]

My launch SE 3 has been sitting at exactly 80% battery health since late 2024. And AppleCare+ expired long before that, in case it matters.

1. You can always buy a new battery without AppleCare at any battery percentage. They might try to talk you out of it, but it is always an option.
2. A new battery is cheaper than AppleCare.
3. A battery should always last longer than 2 years, hence Apple rarely will give out batteries under AppleCare unless you have an annual subscription. Buy AppleCare for loss/theft and damage protection. Never expect to get a "free" battery from it.
4. If you are still daily using this device and it hasn't dropped in over a year, something is off. If a software update is available, the installation will recalibrate the battery. Might need a couple reboots, but it will start accurately reflecting current battery health once updated.

 

[Shadar]

The batteries do drop below 80% however they’ve been calibrated by Apple to sit between 80-85% for an ungodly amount of time in order to reduce the number of new battery claims under AC+ within 2 years.

I don’t know anyone who has ever went below 80% in the first 2 years of usage.

A battery that’s at 80%, according to iOS, is below 50% in real world usage. I had a 6S that was giving me 50 mins of battery time on YouTube on 83% BH. I replaced the battery via Apple at quite the expanse and obtained 3.5 hours of usage (still pretty poor but it was iOS 15).

Had the same experience. Got stuck at exactly 80% battery health on one phone when in fact the run time kept decreasing significantly. I presumed that was Apple's 'warranty cost reduction plan' algorithm at work, given 80% is still considered usable by Apple.

I once worked on a 'warranty cost reduction plan' at another Tech company, and was expected to reduce costs to the company. Apple has the best scheme given their software decides on what it wants to report, and they determine what number means they have to spend money on warranty. Companies like to chalk the weird behavior up to 'battery physics'. In reality, batteries age rather gracefully at first, including the 80% shelf that Apple creates.

Also, as noted, when charge (not health) gets down around 10% on a worn battery, the effective charge level can't be judged from the circuitry they (and others) use due to internal battery defects. I for one don't like the idea of carrying batteries (with their own oxidizers) around in my pocket when they start to show significant signs of wear, likely signaling internal defects.

My view is that approaching 80% equals 'replace battery now', or trade in the phone. Don't do the math to say it's only 20% loss of charge and I can live with it. It can be much more.

But like most things, Apple is very competent at reducing warranty costs until the replacement is on your nickel, or even better, gets you to buy a new phone. World we live in...