Unofficial archive. This is a read-only, community-run archive of the Apple Support Community. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple Inc.
SgtMing
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

My iPhone's battery drain rapidly after paying it off

question why is it that as soon as you pay off your phone the battery all of a sudden starts draining fast. I thought Apple got exposed for tampering with batteries but it seems they are still doing it all in order to make me get a new phone once this one is paid off.



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Battery tampering

Posted on Oct 19, 2026 9:11 AM

5 replies

Mac Jim ID
User level: Level 10 (105,996 points)

Oct 19, 2026 11:10 AM in response to SgtMing

Your Battery drain depends on the Charge Cycles, Battery Health, and the apps that are using your battery. The phone has no idea if it has been paid for or is being financed.


For newer phones, the battery is expected to last 1000 charge cycles before it will need to be replaced, irregardless if you purchased it in full or financed it.


As for the claim that Apple got exposed for tampering with batteries, I don't think you have any idea on what that was about. The issue was that Apple throttled the CPU on devices with a degraded battery without letting the user know. Nothing was done to the battery on those devices it was the CPU, and that was back on the iPhone 6. The change is that there is now a message in Settings that says your device is being throttled due to a degraded battery. The throttling of the CPU is still done today on a degraded battery to prevent the device from crashing and overheating. And you will still need to replace that battery to return the device to optimum performance once the Battery Health drops below 80%.


Are you looking for assistance with finding the source of your battery drain and the reason why it is happening?

WheelieNick
User level: Level 9 (74,110 points)

Oct 19, 2026 9:59 AM in response to SgtMing

There is no battery tampering going on. If your battery is draining excessively, go to settings>battery>battery hhealth to see your battery health. If it is above 80% there is nothing to worry about. a forced restart might work miracles

  1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
  2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
  3. Press and hold the side button.
  4. When the Apple logo appears, release the side button.


Katana-San
User level: Level 10 (124,115 points)

Oct 19, 2026 10:23 AM in response to SgtMing

Hello~ I strongly disagree with your statement. I had/have an iPhone 12 mini that I have used extensively and the battery just hit 80% and shows no sign of slowing down. I recently bought an iPhone 17 pro as an upgrade and I am so pleased.


You make no mention of your iPhone model and really ask no question that we could assist you with. Making baseless statements here helps no one at all.


~Katana-San~

cayman13
User level: Level 1 (8 points)

Oct 19, 2026 10:38 AM in response to Katana-San

Hi my phone quit working either so I kept trying the quick start too and nothing appears to work I have the iPhone 15

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256379036