If you’ve been experiencing unexpected battery drain and reduced peak performance for your iPhone 11 battery, Apple is aware and iOS 14.5 includes a fix.
As MacRumors reports, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with the battery in your iPhone 11, 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max. Apple believes it’s the health reporting system that’s at fault, so when iOS 14.5 rolls out, it includes a battery health reporting system recalibration process.
iPhone 11 owners will see a message appear in Settings > Battery > Battery Health once iOS 14.5 is installed, stating “Your battery health reporting system is recalibrating Maximum Capacity and Peak Performance Capability. This process may take a few weeks. Learn more…”
It takes weeks as the process requires regular charge cycles from using your phone to calibrate. As Apple explains in a support document, “Maximum battery capacity is determined using a set of algorithms and measurements taken during use. Over time, these algorithms might be updated to provide the best estimate of maximum battery capacity.” Once completed, the maximum capacity percentage of your battery will be updated and hopefully the unexpected battery drain and reduced peak performance problems will be a thing of the past.
One alternative outcome of the recalibration process is iOS deciding your battery isn’t healthy. In that case a different message will appear on the Battery Health screen, stating, “Recalibration of the battery health reporting system was not successful. An Apple Authorized Service Provider can replace the battery free of charge to restore full performance and capacity. More about service options…” which simply means there really was a problem with the battery and you’re entitled to a free replacement.
iOS 14.5 is expected to be available to download at some point during April, so hopefully iPhone 11 owners can enjoy their recalibrated batteries before the end of May.
