iPhone Battery Health Dropped After iOS 16 Update? (Report!)
iOS 16 Battery Health drop
iPhone Battery Health dropped after iOS 16 update? Maximum Capacity wen’t down significantly since the new OS came out? Are you seeing huge drops of up to 7%? Check out what other users had to report and share your findings in the comments!
iOS 16 Battery Health Drop
This unexpected behavior has been reported by Vanwilder:
“iPhone 13 pro battery health dropped from 96% to 91% since ios 16 update! Is this a bug? 16 seems like a big battery drainer! anyone else noticed the same?”
We can confirm similar drops on our own devices and have seen an even bigger one reported on Reddit:
iPhone 13 Pro Maximum Battery Capacity down from 100% to 93% after a few weeks of running iOS 16!
Are you experiencing the same? Share it in the comments please. Please detail if you noticed this drop right after the update or after a few weeks of usage.
We try to figure out if this is a normal decrease caused by an algorithm update, or if the iOS 16 battery draining issue is also negatively impacting the Maximum Capacity!
How To Fix iOS 16 Battery Health Drop
First, let’s agree that the Maximum Capacity tends to drop after a major iOS update, due to recalibrations. So, you might not be dealing with a problem.
However, if you experience a 2-4% drop right after the update and the Battery Health continues to drop after a few weeks on iOS 16, there might be reasons for concern.
The initial iOS 16 versions have been labeled as big battery drainers, with apps running too much in the background and new features like keyboard haptics and Always On Display requiring more energy than expected.
1.Downgrade To iOS 15.7
If you feel that iOS 16 is draining your device’s battery way too fast, you can still downgrade to iOS 15.7.
If you do, let us know if there’s any hike in the Battery Health value!
2. Optimize iOS 16
You can try to slow down further decrease of the iPhone Battery Health by disabling new features like keyboard haptics, AOD and even Lock Screen widgets like Weather and other apps that have been reported as significant battery drainers.
More tips available here.
Help us determine if iOS 16 affects battery health more than usual, by sharing your Maximum Capacity readings before and after the update, in the comments section available below.
Example: My iPhone 13 Pro is currently showing a Maximum Capacity of 91%. It’s been activated exactly one year ago. It was at 98% in June, before running iOS 16 beta versions all summer long. It dropped to 94% by the public release of iOS 16 and further to the current 91% one month later. What about yours?
Related: For other common iOS 16 problems and available troubleshooting tips please check our extended review.
iPhone 13pro max user and I was at 100% battery health before iOS 16 update now I’m at 96%. I’m also not a big power user and usually go an entire day with 55% battery left at night but now by the time I get home from work I’m at 30% – 25% I’m definitely going to turn off some new features and hope that it at least helps the battery drain.
Thanks for the feedback. Indeed iOS 16 drains battery faster than iOS 15.6 / iOS 15.7. Hopefully, iOS 16.1 will fix it.
I have 11 pro max and after update to 16 .1my battery is drained to 85% from 88% but the charge period is still good mean I charge just once a day my phone so is that 3% drainage is because of update 16.1
Thanks for confirming.
I was using 13 pro after update it went from 98-93 in just a week, I just sold it
Thanks for sharing. The best time to sell them is before updating to iOS 16. I’m curious to see if reverting to iOS 15.7 will also hike the Maximum Capacity back to initial levels. Anyone tried it?
i recently bought an xsmax(genuine battery) was at 95% battery health and it was operating on ios16.0, just 3 days ago i updated it to 16.0.2 ,that day it went down to 94% and now it’s 91%. I checked through the 3utools and battery is genuine. Should i downgrade it to ios 15 ?
iOS 16.3 will be released in a couple of days and it should be more gentle on battery. You can wait to try it out or downgrade to 15 and upgrade to 16.3 when it becomes available on Monday or Tuesday.
My IPhone 13 has been active less than a year and I regularly check battery health. I was at 100% before updating to ios16.3. right after the update it’s 87% peak!! Wtf
iPhone 13 Pro.
Battery health was 97 after 11 months of iOS 15.
From the installation of iOS 16 I’ve lost 3 points (I am at 94, without heavy use).
The problem, in my opinion is the high consumption in standby.
Thanks for reporting Luca. Agreed, iOS 16 is using lots of power in standby. However, it should not cause the battery the degrade so fast. You’re only getting a couple of charging cycles extra since the update. Let’s hope that iOS 16.1 will make the device more energy efficient.
iPhone 12 bought less than a year ago. Health was at 99 now after ios 16 it’s at 91
That’s a big drop indeed. Keep us updated with the value once you update to iOS 16.1.
Thank you for your information. This is very important for me and i’m very interested in your information.
My battery was 89 till I updated my Iphone 11 to IOS 16…then in month it dropped to 81…I’m going to change the battery… but afraid it’ll happen with the new battery also
Thanks for sharing. Please let us know if the same happens with the replacement battery. It shouldn’t. Especially with iOS 16.1 being released today.
My second phone is iPhone XS. which I rarely use, after updating to iOS 16, the battery health went from 93 to 80. Is this a bug and is it going to be fixed? Or should the battery be replaced?
Damn that’s a record. I’m curios what version was it running before the update?
Basically, the battery is the same as it was before the update, it’s just the algorithm that changed. An update can’t make your battery worse, it just reassesses it’s status.
So, if you were happy with the battery performance before the update it should be the same after, especially with iOS 16.1 bringing some serious battery health improvements. iOS 16.0.3 was a disaster.
iPhone 13 user activated on Feb 22, 100% health before iOS 16 update, now has drop to 97% with iOS 16.1, normal usage since I work all day long, should I drop my phone to an Apple Service?
This is not a big drop for 8 months of usage. It’s normal.
I rarely use my iPhone 11 pro max .. it was 92% but after 16.0.3 it dropped to 90% in one week .. I’m afraid if i update it to 16.1 it will drop again should I update it or not ?
Well if you don’t plan to sell the device in the upcoming days you should definitely update because it comes with a battery drain fix and many other security fixes. Even if the value continues to decrease after the update it’s just a value, the actual state of the battery isn’t affected.
I updated my iPhone 11 pro to IOS 16 on September 24, then it was 85%, today (October 30) 77%. :(
Uhh that’s a big drop. You might have to consider a battery replacement. How long have you used your iPhone? When was it activated?
December 2020-January 2021, he will be almost 2 years old. Before that, I used an iPhone 8 for 3.5 years, the battery was at 85% when I reset it. It’s never had any problems, so I don’t think it’s caused by using the phone too intensively, my habits haven’t changed. :/ I’m afraid that after replacing the battery, the new unit will also depreciate.
before and after the version change, there was a complete reinstallation. But it didn’t mean much. :) I looked around the matter, I work at a telco, or I’ll wait to see if a future update will solve it, or I’ll take a risk and agree to replace the battery.
Thanks for the follow up. Keep us updated. Yes, older iPhones seem not to deprecate battery health that fast. I can but the blame on fast charging. Ever since fast charging was introduced it appears that batteries lose Battery Health much faster.
Apple provides an update that it clearly would know that there was going to be a big hit to battery health, doesn’t warn it’s customer’s…battery replacement is $100 I was more than happy with the performance of my phone prior to the update…along with the battery performance…taking a 6-7% drop when in tbe 90’s to 85% battery really drops throughout the day..and those of us with the Apple Watch, it was mandatory
Thanks for the feedback Greg. The problems with battery in iOS 16 is that the OS itself is not fully optimized yet and is depleting the battery faster than iOS 15. The physical capacity of the battery hasn’t degraded overnight. The strength has been recalculated after a longer timeframe and adjusted accordingly.
My 13 pro turned 1 year old 2 weeks ago and it has also lost 6% since the update.
Thanks for reporting. What’s the level that it reached?
89%
Yeah. Mine is not far away 90%. Have you only used fast charging? That’s what I did. Now I switched to slow 5W charging. I’m curious if this makes a difference.
My iPhone 12 Pro Max (two years old) was still at 93% when updating to iOS 16.0, and in the weeks since, it has dropped to 87% without much heavy usage, and I feel it might drop further still.
Planned obsolence comes to mind? It’s depressing for sure. You can’t sell an iPhone with less than 80-85% battery life for nearly as much as an iPhone with >85%.
Thanks for reporting. It would be interesting to check if the Maximum Capacity value goes up if you downgrade to iOS 15.7.1.
My iPhone battery health was 100% before iOS 16 update and installed public update on 12 September and today when I watched my battery health percentage I was shocked as it is 94% in just 50 days.
How much was it right after the update? The drop could have been just an algorithm change included in the new update and not the actual wear during the 50 days.
After downloading iso 16, which I was forced to for my Apple Watch, I noticed my battery drain was significantly higher, checked my battery health, and it went from 91% the week prior to 85% WTF? If I go back, with this return my battery health? Is there a workaround for my watch that requires 16? That’s a significant hit in overall battery health for a iso iOS update!
We haven’t tested this out, but it would be interesting to check if downgrading to iOS 15 will bump the battery health value.
My iphone xr battery maximum capacity was 89 yesterday but when i updated it and checked it today it went straight to 86 percentage is this a bug of ios 16.1.1
You’ve upgraded from iOS 16.1 to 16.1.1 or from iOS 15.x to 16.1.1?
I just updated my iPhone XR from iOS 16.1 to iOS 16.1.1 and the battery health dropped from 91 to 83
Uh, that’s crazy! That’s huge for such an incremental update. Is the battery on your XR genuine? Has it ever been replaced?
My 13 pro max (11 months old) dropped from %98 to %95 after updated ios 16 on launch day. In that 2 months period i didn’t use my phone 1 month because of military duty.
Thanks for reporting. So it dropped to 95% right after updating to iOS 16 or in the two months since you updated?
In the 2 months period
Thanks for the follow up. 5% after 11 months is not bad. It’s considered normal.
Also, if you don’t use the phone for 1 month or longer periods of time it’s important to store it with the battery fully loaded.
Purchased my iPhone 13 Pro in January 2022. Battery health was 98% before upgrading to iOS 16, now it is sitting at 87%….. battery barely lasts for few hours at best, I have turned off every single new feature, every single location service etc… Apple doesn’t give a damn about it. I am currently on ios 16.2, I did even factory reset and left crucial apps for me – nothing helped.
Sorry to hear this. When you open Lock Screen edit mode, the interface where you can add new wallpaper. Do you have multiple wallpapers set up? I recommend you to delete everything and just keep the original one without widgets. That helped reducing battery strain.
Let us know if it helps.
I have been using 13 pro since feb 22, was at 95% before ios 16 update, after update battery health dropped to 89%.. does anyone have any clue if it will increase if i roll back to ios 15
That’s an interesting question. We would also like to know the answer if anyone tries it. To be honest we’ve recently downgraded an iPhone XR but forgot to check Maximum Capacity before reverting.
If theres anyone lucky to get the battery health increased pls revert
Apparently it doesn’t revert if you downgrade.
I bought my iphone 13 in April and i had 100% until the iOS 16 update. Since the update my battery health dropped for 5%… its my first time having an iPhone so I thought, 7 months of normal usage with my mobile date on for about 4-6 hours 5 days a week could have caused maybe 2% drop but not 5. I have read that many users have experienced the same after the update and I don’t know, if I should downgrade to 1.15 again or not… Help haha
Unfortunately, downgrading won’t also revert the Maximum Capacity value as confirmed by other readers. There’s nothing that you can do. Enjoy your iPhone, batteries always degrade.
First time iPhone user brought 13 this year February. I have 100% battery health before the update and it dropped 4% just two weeks, I’m so sad :(
It just a re-calibration caused by updates. Similar to the car fuel indicator that sticks to full for a long time and then suddenly starts dropping inconsistently.
P.S.: It’s also true that iOS 16 is more demanding on the battery when compared to iOS 15. Here are some battery saving tips:
https://www.iphonetricks.org/battery-draining-fast-ios-16-1-1-problems-how-to-fix/
I lost 4% in one month
Yeah. iOS 16 is still a battery hog. Here are some tips to preserve:
https://www.iphonetricks.org/iphone-overheating-ios-16-update-fix/
https://www.iphonetricks.org/battery-draining-fast-ios-16-1-1-problems-how-to-fix/
iPhone 13 Pro.
Battery health was 100 after 11 months of iOS 15.
From the installation of iOS 16.1.2 lost 3 points (I am at 97, without heavy use). And I am charging up to 80% and used to drain 25,30.
Real value was probably not at 100% after 11 months, that can’t be realistic. After the update the Battery health was reassessed and probably adjusted to the real value.
my iphone 11 battery dropped to 89% from 100% after installing ios 16, my iphone is in warranty… I’m much worried about this…. it is dropping 1% after some days continuously.
That’s worrisome indeed. Does the device also overheat or act strangely since updating? You do have the option to downgrade to iOS 15 if you couldn’t fix it in the meantime:
https://www.iphonetricks.org/downgrade-ios-16-2-to-15-without-losing-data-ios-15-6-rc/
Pls I need ur help,I upgraded my iPhone from 15.1 to iOS 16.3.1. Ever since then,my phone has been heating up so much even with less usage time and the battery health has dropping from 95 to 90 in just 15 days, I cry every day because I bearly used it for what I needed it for,still the battery health keeps dropping and worst of it is that I can’t downgrade back to iOS 15 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Sorry to hear this. Have you updated to 16.4.1? Did you manage to fix it in the meantime?
Pls I’m experiencing thesame thing on my 12 promax,in just 15 days it has dropped 5 percent battery health & I tried to downgrade it but I couldn’t, from online research I realized there’s no downgrade option anymore 😭😭😭😭
I’ve lost 7% in 3 weeks. on 11 pro max
What was the initial loss right after the update to iOS 16?
Iphone 13 pro.
Battery health dropped from 99 to 96 after installing IOS 16.
Thanks for reporting. How old is your device?
I got iphone 13 last Feb 2022 it is 100% before I update to ios 16 and then 16.3. It dropped to 96 when I update to 16 and now it continues to drop to 91 percent :(
Thanks for sharing. Try to avoid overheating to preserve battery health.
iOS 16.5 &16.6 bought down battery health to 96%
It is NoT a normal fall in health as 2% fall was right after 16.6 update on low usage. And I have been charging my battery consistently between 45~90% only
Obviously 16.6 had to screw the batt health since it was the last update before ios 17 and the new line up.
Apple being Apple … not surprising at all.
Thanks for the feedback. My 14 Pro is still at 100%, however it’s not the device that tests the betas, that’s down to 96%.