How to tell if your phone battery actually needs replacing
Battery health percentages only tell part of the story. Here are the six signals our technicians use to decide whether a cell is finished.
Almost every phone that arrives at our benches with 'slow performance' has a tired battery underneath. Lithium-ion cells lose capacity with every charge cycle, and once they can no longer deliver peak current, the operating system quietly throttles the processor to prevent shutdowns.
The six signals worth acting on
Health below 80%, shutdowns above 20% charge, unusual heat during light use, swelling that lifts the screen or trackpad, charge times that have doubled, and an inability to make it through half a day. Any two of these together and a replacement will transform the device.
Swelling is the one that cannot wait. A swollen cell is a fire risk: stop charging the device, power it down and bring it to a branch the same day.
What a proper replacement includes
A certified full-capacity cell, new adhesive, a bench-verified health report and safe recycling of the old pack. It takes about thirty minutes and it is the single cheapest way to make an older phone feel new again.