iPhone 12 Pro Max Battery Health Has Me Very Disappointed

[DevinNj]

More of a rant than a question I guess, but disappointing none the less. Just hit a year with my 12 Pro Max and battery health is at 90%. Every other iPhone I’ve ever had (and it’s been many) has lost a maximum of 2 or 3% in the year that I own them before I sell and/or trade them in to upgrade.

My usage patterns are pretty much the same as they always have been, I use a case just like I did with the prior phones, but I noticed this one gets excessively warm with minimal use. I did not upgrade this year because I thought there wasn’t enough reason with the 13 series, but I don’t know if I’m gonna wait until the 14 comes out.

And yes, I’ve done all troubleshooting, had Apple remote in, all that fun stuff, to no avail. Everything’s fine according to them. Just frustrating when you spend a lot of money on a something and you feel let down.

 

[Phone Junky]

Good thing the batteries are replaceable.

 

[now i see it]

The battery health reporting app isn’t accurate on iOS 15

 

[Andeddu]

Surely a Pro Max will last you all day even at 90%? I am fairly certain you will be able to ride this out until the 14 is out so you can do a trade in.

I am in a bad position with my 12 Mini which is at 86%… I have ordered a MagSafe battery to tackle the issue.

 

[sabrelli]

I had same problem with my 12 Pro Max, 11months and it was at 90% health. Few of my friends are at 85% after 14months.

If you’re still getting a full days use out of it then I wouldn’t worry about it.

If it drops significantly over the next few months just get apple to replace with new battery. In Australia it’s only US80.

 

[now i see it]

My 6 year old 6 Plus (which I purchased as a refurb 6 years ago) still has its original battery with 1981 load cycles on it and it’s battery health as reported by iOS 12 is at 99%. CoconutBattery says it’s at 93%.

While there’s no way this battery can still be at 99% health after 6 years and this many cycles, clearly the batteries going into iPhones nowadays are not as long living as what went into them 6 years ago.

 

[reppans]

My app/wifi usage is quite consistent (as long as I’m not traveling) so I benchmarked/screenshot my SOT with a full 100>0% rundown when the phone was new. Then I just compare my regular cycling to that over the time. My health reporting seems reasonably accurate, although it may take 3yrs to see significant differences.

My last iOS devices didn’t have these batt health percentages/graphs so I’m actually curious to know if ‘80% health’ really means the batt has only lost 20% capacity? I’m mean, if a phone starts out with 10hrs SOT new, is it a 2hr reduction (to 8hrs) really that noticeable in use? I see plenty of posts with 80-something health, yet the OP sounds miserable plugging-in multiple times/day.

It is a bummer about the 12-series batts though.

 

[ian87w]

More of a rant than a question I guess, but disappointing none the less. Just hit a year with my 12 Pro Max and battery health is at 90%. Every other iPhone I’ve ever had (and it’s been many) has lost a maximum of 2 or 3% in the year that I own them before I sell and/or trade them in to upgrade.

My usage patterns are pretty much the same as they always have been, I use a case just like I did with the prior phones, but I noticed this one gets excessively warm with minimal use. I did not upgrade this year because I thought there wasn’t enough reason with the 13 series, but I don’t know if I’m gonna wait until the 14 comes out.

And yes, I’ve done all troubleshooting, had Apple remote in, all that fun stuff, to no avail. Everything’s fine according to them. Just frustrating when you spend a lot of money on a something and you feel let down.

How is this a let down? Is the phone shutting down, or are you getting a lot less runtime? Or are you just disappointed that your number is lower than what you think?

The battery health percentage is more of a guidance, not an exact meter. Measuring the chemistry of a battery is not easy and can vary even with consecutive measurements. As long as it stays above 80% within 2 years, that is within the general expectation of a lithium ion battery health.

 

[tedley]

You mention the battery health percentage, but you don't say anything about how it's impacting you on a daily basis. If it's still working well through the day, where's the problem? 90% at 1 year is not too bad, despite previous phones. If it's not getting you the service you need, have the battery replaced, otherwise don't obsess over a number which probably isn't accurate anyway.

 

[now i see it]

I’m actually curious to know if ‘80% health’ really means the batt has only lost 20% capacity?

An iPhone battery that’s at 70% health is pretty much fried and requires top offs during the day to make it through. Nobody wants to use an iPhone with a battery aged to that level, so in reality, 70% is really like 10% health.

So if 70% is really 10%
Then 85% is really 55%
or somewhere around there.

Bottom line: 80% battery health as reported by iOS is a lie.

 

[You’re not me]

An iPhone battery that’s at 70% health is pretty much fried and requires top offs during the day to make it through. Nobody wants to use an iPhone with a battery aged to that level, so in reality, 70% is really like 10% health.

So if 70% is really 10%
Then 85% is really 55%
or somewhere around there.

Bottom line: 80% battery health as reported by iOS is a lie.

So, based on your math, 100% is really 90%???

 

[vddobrev]

I am on my 5th year with my iPhone X, original battery, and it is at 82%. It gets me throughout my day.

 

[clevins]

AND??

 

[reppans]

Bottom line: 80% battery health as reported by iOS is a lie.

Lol… I can understand that coming from the person that owns the 6yo IPhone w/2000 cycles and still reports 93% health.

 

[ErikGrim]

My year old 12 Pro is at 86% battery health. It's probably the generation I've been least impressed with the battery of.

 

[kevcube]

Surely a Pro Max will last you all day even at 90%? I am fairly certain you will be able to ride this out until the 14 is out so you can do a trade in.

I am in a bad position with my 12 Mini which is at 86%… I have ordered a MagSafe battery to tackle the issue.

slow and inefficient wireless charging will make the problem worse by generating heat next to the battery. it's a band-aid, and if that's what you're looking for then fine. much better off with a USB C PD battery pack and a usb c to lightning cable in your bag. will take way less time to top up.

 

[Pro_the_legend]

My 12 Pro Max hit 79% battery health 366 days after ownership. Apple refused to do anything when it was at 80%. Had to pay to get the battery changed. I was getting horrible backup. Garbage quality products produced by a money hungry trash company with no ethics.

 

[ian87w]

My 12 Pro Max hit 79% battery health 366 days after ownership. Apple refused to do anything when it was at 80%. Had to pay to get the battery changed. I was getting horrible backup. Garbage quality products produced by a money hungry trash company with no ethics.

If you hated it so much, why not just sell it? You will still get decent price for the 12 Pro Max. It's funny if you think Apple as a company with no ethics, yet you continue using their products... ?

 

[Andeddu]

slow and inefficient wireless charging will make the problem worse by generating heat next to the battery. it's a band-aid, and if that's what you're looking for then fine. much better off with a USB C PD battery pack and a usb c to lightning cable in your bag. will take way less time to top up.

I will just use the MagSafe battery pack as an addition to my phone for the next year so that I can experience an all day battery charge. Eventually, I still plan on getting the battery replaced in this thing. I have kinda decided that I’ll be keeping the 12 Mini long term as there isn’t any software that’ll make this run any worse than a 13 or 14. There isn’t much point in upgrading until at least 2023.

 

[Bug-Creator]

All these numbers are pretty useless unless you checked on what the actual capacity was when new (Coconut can do that).

On my XR that came out at about 106% of the rated spec (which was reported as 100% in iOS) so it reporting 95% now means it has in reality gone down by about 10%.

 

[MauiPa]

I am on my 5th year with my iPhone X, original battery, and it is at 82%. It gets me throughout my day.

same. I noticed an early on drop and then it has stayed at 83%

 

[MauiPa]

I wouldn't be too concerned, measuring batteries is very difficult and not very accurate (as explained to me by an engineer). So battery health is nothing more than a pretty good guess. Anyone who tells you otherwise, might not be being totally honest. I suppose you could report at the high end of the possible range, which I'm sure some manufacturers do, but that is not accurate either

 

[Pro_the_legend]

If you hated it so much, why not just sell it? You will still get decent price for the 12 Pro Max. It's funny if you think Apple as a company with no ethics, yet you continue using their products... ?

Lmao, I’d do it if there was a decent replacement eco system. I’ve been using apple products for over 10 years, this wasn’t my first trip to the service center. And I can tell you the quality and service wasn’t this bad, ever. If you want proof, just look up iPhone 12 battery health degradation, and you’ll see evidence of poor quality batteries by the sheer number of complaints.

I’m not a fanboy, and I don’t swoon over everything apple does. If something is trash, I’m going to call it out.

Unless you fancy yourself a blind fan, I’m curious, would you not consider their actions unethical, when the battery health hits 79% after 366 days (that’s a day extra over a year, in which time span I’d get a free replacement if it hit 79%, because it would be considered defective) of ownership, and especially when you’ve been telling them about it for 3-4 months, and when they’d kept it for 10 days and conducted their tests and found nothing wrong with it?

Again, I consider this level of quality after a year to be garbage for a device for which I paid almost $1900 and then I have to pay additional amount to keep it running. Of course, I’m not including the amount I’ve invested in products to work around the phone itself.

 

[MauiPa]

Lmao, I’d do it if there was a decent replacement eco system. I’ve been using apple products for over 10 years, this wasn’t my first trip to the service center. And I can tell you the quality and service wasn’t this bad, ever. If you want proof, just look up iPhone 12 battery health degradation, and you’ll see evidence of poor quality batteries by the sheer number of complaints.

I’m not a fanboy, and I don’t swoon over everything apple does. If something is trash, I’m going to call it out.

Unless you fancy yourself a blind fan, I’m curious, would you not consider their actions unethical, when the battery health hits 79% after 366 days (that’s a day extra over a year, in which time span I’d get a free replacement if it hit 79%, because it would be considered defective) of ownership, and especially when you’ve been telling them about it for 3-4 months, and when they’d kept it for 10 days and conducted their tests and found nothing wrong with it?

Again, I consider this level of quality after a year to be garbage for a device for which I paid almost $1900 and then I have to pay additional amount to keep it running. Of course, I’m not including the amount I’ve invested in products to work around the phone itself.

LMFAO. Battery health is not easily measured, at all, any type of battery. My iPhone X battery health went down pretty rapidly, and then has stayed at 83% for a long, long time. Just because someone is complaining about this or that, does not mean they even have a clue what they are talking about. Now battery health of 79% after a year - yes, that sounds like a bad battery, but in the original post, it was stated it was at 90%? so yes 79% after 1 year., that is a bad battery, 90% for something that is not easily or accurately measured, not a problem.

You had no clue that the battery was at like 82% or something the day before 1 year?

 

[Pro_the_legend]

LMFAO. Battery health is not easily measured, at all, any type of battery. My iPhone X battery health went down pretty rapidly, and then has stayed at 83% for a long, long time. Just because someone is complaining about this or that, does not mean they even have a clue what they are talking about. Now battery health of 79% after a year - yes, that sounds like a bad battery, but in the original post, it was stated it was at 90%? so yes 79% after 1 year., that is a bad battery, 90% for something that is not easily or accurately measured, not a problem.

You had no clue that the battery was at like 82% or something the day before 1 year?

I'm not saying it's easy to measure, and idgaf if the battery health number says its at 1%. But having to charge a phone for which you paid that amount of money for 3 times a day (which is when I discovered my battery health was going down) is an absolute ripoff. If you read my post to which you replied to, you'll see I was talking to apple for nearly 3-4 months regarding degrading battery. They refused to do anything before it hit 79% (including changing the battery even though I was willing to pay for it), thrice, even though there was clearly something wrong with it. Hence my calling them unethical. I contacted Apple first when it was at 92%, then 84% and finally 80%. Out of the three times of me contacting them, they kept the phone for testing for a good 10 days and found nothing wrong with it (when it was at 84%). Unfortunately for me, the battery health stayed at 80% for over a month (even though coconut battery showed it was at 78%).

The whole thing was a horrible customer service experience (and the worst I've personally had in over a decade). Someone above gave a stupid solution of not using Apple products, well, that's not exactly a solution. I expect better customer service for something that I paid so much of money for. I paid for a full battery replacement, and I'm happy with it ever since.