For the most part, charging and using your iPhone daily will go off without a hitch. However, if your iPhone starts randomly shutting down, or if the device’s battery percentage jumps, or even maybe if the device seems to overheat when not under a workload, it may be best to run diagnostics. After all, these symptoms are clues to impending battery failure.
Running diagnostics is relatively simple to do and is a great way to see if your battery may need replacing. Now, of course, any Apple retail store or authorized service provider can run diagnostics for you, but with most stores few and far between, running diagnostics yourself will be most applicable. And the best part of all of this? It won’t void your warranty.
Installing the Diagnostic Software
We’ll first need to download coconutBattery. In this case we’ll be running coconutBattery version 3.4. Do take note that coconutBattery only works on macOS machines, so if you’re running Windows, you’ll need to find a friend with a Mac.
Scroll down on the page until you see the “Download 3.4” link or a similar link depending on when and if updates have been implemented. Also, if the most current version doesn’t support your needs, the webpage will offer up older versions compatible with older operating systems.
The file itself, a “.zip,” is only 8.5MB at the time of writing and should take next to no time to install. One of my favorite features of coconutBattery is its overall ease of use and lightness, meaning it won’t bog down your CPU or use loads of storage on your machine.
The coconutBattery app will also show you battery diagnostics for your Mac, which is a nice extra.
Running the App
Double click on the file you just downloaded to open it.
If the application does not launch immediately, you’ll need to click “Open” on the warning window seen here.
Once opened, it is best to allow coconutBattery to automatically search for updates. This way when new features are introduced – furthering accuracy and adding insightful features – you’ll be able to take part.
Viewing Data
With coconutBattery now open, you’ll be presented with stats about both your Mac that is running the application and stats about the Mac’s battery, if it has one. If your Mac doesn’t have a battery, like the Mac Pro or Mac Mini, you’ll only see basic stats about the machine.
To view stats about your iOS device, select “iOS Device” from the menu bar.
All battery details will be displayed in the bottom portion of the screen. For further device details, such as the age, serial number, and processor, you can select “Device details.”
Deciphering Data
So, what does it all mean?! It’s pretty easygoing, actually.
Charge Capacity – Power is displayed as milliamp hours or mAh. In the case of my 6s, it was designed to store 1715mAh of power but through use has deteriorated to a maximum charge of 1311mAh – or 76.4%. This kind of deterioration is expected from a device of its age, being 477 days old, but if your device’s maximum is significantly less than the design capacity, it may be best to take your device in to get your battery exchanged.
Loadcycles and Usage – One loadcycle is one full discharge followed by one full charge, or from 0% to 100%. So, if you have 50% charge, and charge it to 100%, then use the device until the charge is at 50%, you’ve completed a loadcycle. On average. you can go about 1000 loadcycles before the battery’s capacity falls behind the design capacity significantly. If your loadcycles are significantly less than the average of 1000 before deterioration, and the maximum capacity is far lower than the design capacity, once again, you may want to take your device in for repair.
Conclusion
If the battery looks ship shape, it probably is. If not, make a Genius Bar appointment and get it checked out. As a disclaimer, always visit an Apple authorized service provider for any hardware repairs, as going to a third party will void your warranty.
For any battery replacements at an Apple Store, a specialist will run a similar application to coconutBattery before following through with repair to verify the issue.
If you still see that your charge is running out significantly faster than it should, you may want to look into monitoring your usage and conserving power.
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Corbin Telligman
I’m a junior at UT Dallas, a tech enthusiast, an adreneline junkie, and a coffee fanatic.
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