iPhone 6(S)/Plus iphone 6S Plus battery maximum battery capacity is at 79% ??

[fredzrez]

Hello

My 13 year old daughter has a iphone 6S plus from 2016, so it is about 8 years old. A family member handed it down to her a couple of years ago.

The maximum battery capacity is currently at 79%. Apple recommends replacing the battery when the maximum battery gets below 80%.

So her battery just entered the replacement threshold.

I wanted to ask how bad is 79% and is it worth the $70 from apple to replace it.

We plan to keep the phone as long as possible. It does everything my daughter needs so no reason to get a new phone. Plus the likely hood of a 13 year old to have the phone go missing or get dropped and damaged is high.

Just wondering if I should pay apple the $70 for a new battery now or wait a bit longer. If so at what % does it make sense to change the battery. Unfortunately I am not the one using it everyday so don't have a feeling of the battery performance.

Thanks

 

[eyoungren]

It's worth the $70. You'll get at least another year or more out of it, depending on how hard it's used. The risk at 79% is that the phone can shut off on you under load. When you get it turned back on then you find that the battery charge (what it was charged to before it shut off) has dropped in to the 1-3% range.

I have a 6s Plus that I replaced the battery on in November 2021. Right now it's at 94% of max capacity so doing fairly well.

 

[Iwavvns]

Hello

My 13 year old daughter has a iphone 6S plus from 2016, so it is about 8 years old. A family member handed it down to her a couple of years ago.

The maximum battery capacity is currently at 79%. Apple recommends replacing the battery when the maximum battery gets below 80%.

So her battery just entered the replacement threshold.

I wanted to ask how bad is 79% and is it worth the $70 from apple to replace it.

We plan to keep the phone as long as possible. It does everything my daughter needs so no reason to get a new phone. Plus the likely hood of a 13 year old to have the phone go missing or get dropped and damaged is high.

Just wondering if I should pay apple the $70 for a new battery now or wait a bit longer. If so at what % does it make sense to change the battery. Unfortunately I am not the one using it everyday so don't have a feeling of the battery performance.

Thanks

I would say go ahead and replace the battery now. The biggest advantage to having a newer battery is that your daughter won’t have to charge as often, each charge will last longer because the device is able to use 100% of the battery rather than just 79%. If you do opt to buy a new phone then I would recommend waiting until after Apple’s March event to see if the price of the iPhone SE 3 (cheapest option) will come down due to the iPhone SE 4 being released.

 

[fredzrez]

It's worth the $70. You'll get at least another year or more out of it, depending on how hard it's used. The risk at 79% is that the phone can shut off on you under load. When you get it turned back on then you find that the battery charge (what it was charged to before it shut off) has dropped in to the 1-3% range.

I have a 6s Plus that I replaced the battery on in November 2021. Right now it's at 94% of max capacity so doing fairly well.

what was odd the other day it was plugged in and changing and it was at around 85% changed and then my daughter clicked on an app to check something while it was plugged in and it went to 1% then a few seconds later it went back to 85%, I thought this was some type of glitch??

 

[Iwavvns]

what was odd the other day it was plugged in and changing and it was at around 85% changed and then my daughter clicked on an app to check something while it was plugged in and it went to 1% then a few seconds later it went back to 85%, I thought this was some type of glitch??

That battery percentage is an estimate, based on electrical pressure, it is not an exact measure of the remaining charge of the battery.

 

[geta]

It's worth the $70 for new battery unless you planing to get new phone the next couple of month.

 

[eyoungren]

what was odd the other day it was plugged in and changing and it was at around 85% changed and then my daughter clicked on an app to check something while it was plugged in and it went to 1% then a few seconds later it went back to 85%, I thought this was some type of glitch??

Yes, this is the sort of thing I'm talking about. Had the phone NOT been on charger it would have shut off. Not a glitch. The circuitry is designed to shut the device down when it asks for power the battery can't deliver.

 

[fredzrez]

That battery percentage is an estimate, based on electrical pressure, it is not an exact measure of the remaining charge of the battery.

what is electrical pressure?

the percentage you mention is that the value in the top right of the home screen next to the battery symbol or do you mean the maximum capacity that is under Battery Health and Charging in the Battery Settings.

 

[fredzrez]

It's worth the $70. You'll get at least another year or more out of it, depending on how hard it's used. The risk at 79% is that the phone can shut off on you under load. When you get it turned back on then you find that the battery charge (what it was charged to before it shut off) has dropped in to the 1-3% range.

I have a 6s Plus that I replaced the battery on in November 2021. Right now it's at 94% of max capacity so doing fairly well.

thanks, just curious why did you mention another year or more, is the cellular network that supports the 6S Plus going away? or other? I would figure the phone would still be usable for a good number of years? or not?

 

[eyoungren]

thanks, just curious why did you mention another year or more, is the cellular network that supports the 6S Plus going away? or other? I would figure the phone would still be usable for a good number of years? or not?

I have a 15 year old daughter. She is on her phone all the time. I figure a replacement battery would last my daughter about a year before the battery was no good anymore.

I don't know your daughter, but if she is anything like mine then a new battery will get her about a year before it needs to be replaced again. If she does not use her phone as hard as my daughter does then the battery will last longer.

I'm not talking about support or cell networks. I'm speaking specifically to the life expectancy of a brand new replacement battery for a 6s Plus.

 

[Iwavvns]

what is electrical pressure?

the percentage you mention is that the value in the top right of the home screen next to the battery symbol or do you mean the maximum capacity that is under Battery Health and Charging in the Battery Settings.

Yes, the value in the top right of the display next to the battery icon. I have not researched the maximum capacity in the battery health and charging, screen.. I am not certain how that percentage is obtained.

 

[Andeddu]

The 6S is still a great phone in 2024 so it is definitely worthy of a battery replacement. I had mine replaced by Apple 3-4 months ago.

 

[Shirasaki]

The indicated max capacity shown in the settings app does not go linear as you might think. When the indicated capacity drops below 80% (a generous estimate btw), under the same voltage, the battery may not be able to deliver the required amps when circuit board asks for it, causing issues such as sudden shutdown.

Li-ion battery we widely use today is also based on chemical reactions, and it is quite difficult to precisely measure the battery performance in high accuracy. If you are interested, you can Google and learn a bit more from experts.

TLDR is you need to replace the battery now to make your iPhone 6s Plus usable and protect your daughter from uncomfortable surprises caused by phone shutting down.

 

[saudor]

thanks, just curious why did you mention another year or more, is the cellular network that supports the 6S Plus going away? or other? I would figure the phone would still be usable for a good number of years? or not?

It'll last more than a year. Even under fairly heavy use, it lasts around 2 years. Just make sure to get it done at apple and not third party places as those are huge YMMV when it comes to quality (usually not worth it)

My 8+ battery from 2017 lasted until beginning of 2023 where it was at 75% or so. Battery life was noticeably lower (barely lasts a day).

With the new one, I can go a 5-7 days between charges (turning it off at night). Granted my use case is lower than most people but...

 

[eyoungren]

It'll last more than a year. Even under fairly heavy use, it lasts around 2 years. Just make sure to get it done at apple and not third party

With the new one, I can go a 5-7 days between charges (turning it off at night). Granted my use case is lower than most people but...

This is why I said a year. My own daughter uses her phone as a computer because she killed the last two she had. Several hours of Youtube and web browser use. My wife is the same. They both can drop a new battery from 100 percent charge to shutoff in three hours or so. Multiply that with daily use, add in weekends and you've got a battery that's going to hit less than 80% of capacity in around a year.

I know - they've done it.

 

[Pezimak]

Lol I was trying to use my old 6S for some testing and the battery is so gone, as soon as you unplug it from the charger it starts dropping percentage of charge, like you can watch it go 100....99.....98.... all in say 2 minutes or less.
Still keep it though in the drawer.

I think I would change the battery now, she'll definitely see the difference after.

 

[FeliApple]

This is why I said a year. My own daughter uses her phone as a computer because she killed the last two she had. Several hours of Youtube and web browser use. My wife is the same. They both can drop a new battery from 100 percent charge to shutoff in three hours or so. Multiply that with daily use, add in weekends and you've got a battery that's going to hit less than 80% of capacity in around a year.

I know - they've done it.

Any idea about cycle count after that year? Killing a battery in one year sounds pretty difficult, especially when considering that iPhones respond well to a high cycles-to-time ratio in terms of health degradation. I've seen iPhones reach nearly 2,000 cycles with intense use and no special battery care before dropping from 80%. 2K cycles (or 1K cycles) in one year sounds extreme, even for heavy users. I'm not sure it's possible even to cycle an iPhone that's been obliterated by iOS updates, like a 6s on iOS 15.