Apple’s iOS update output has increased substantially in recent years, with four major updates coming to iOS 11, five to iOS 12, and seven to iOS 13. We’re now four updates into iOS 14, but the fifth is coming soon, and it’s shaping up to be the biggest the iPhone has seen since last fall. There are going to be plenty of reasons to download iOS 14.5 when it arrives, one of which is a fix for a problem that you might not even realize your iPhone has.
When iOS 14.5 beta 6 rolled out at the end of March, 9to5Mac spotted references to a new battery recalibration tool in the update. This support page was then found that describes a new feature coming to iOS 14.5 that will address a problem that some users were (unknowingly) experiencing with inaccurate estimates of battery health reporting. The process can take a few weeks, but some beta testers have started to get their results.
First of all, here’s how the process will work for iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max users:
While the battery health reporting system is recalibrating, you will see a message in Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Recalibration of maximum capacity and peak performance capability happens during regular charge cycles, and this process might take a few weeks. The displayed maximum capacity percentage will not change during recalibration. Peak performance capability might be updated, but this might not be noticeable by most users. If a previous degraded battery message was displayed, this message will be removed after updating to iOS 14.5.
If you don’t regularly check the Battery Health menu, chances are that you won’t notice anything, but if you own an iPhone 11 model and want to take note of any changes that may occur following the update to iOS 14.5. As The 8-Bit relays, some Reddit users have begun to share the results of their recalibrations, and the findings are interesting. One user says their battery health jumped from 90% to 96%, another went from 87% to 90%, and the best result appears to be a boost from 88% to 95%. There were a few modest drops as well.
It’s worth pointing out that this is a problem with battery health reporting, not the health of the battery itself. If your iPhone 11 says that your battery health has dropped to 84%, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the battery is dying more quickly than expected. Rather, there is simply a bug with the reporting system, and once the software update finished recalibrating your phone, you should see an accurate representation of your battery health.
Of course, not every battery ages gracefully, and Apple says that if once the recalibration process completes you see a new service message, “an Apple Authorized Service Provider can replace the battery free of charge to restore full performance and capacity.” If you own an iPhone 11, it can’t hurt to check your battery health.
