Unlike Apple’s iOS, which has featured a prominent “Battery Health” percentage in its settings for years, the Android operating system has historically lacked a straightforward way to check the physical degradation of your smartphone’s battery. If you feel like your phone is dying much faster than it used to, you cannot simply open a menu to see if the lithium-ion cell needs replacing.
However, depending on which brand of Android smartphone you own, there are still several highly effective methods to check your battery health, ranging from hidden diagnostic menus to reliable third-party applications.
What is Battery Health?
Before testing your phone, it is important to understand the difference between battery life and battery health:
- Battery Life: This is how long your phone lasts on a single charge (e.g., 14 hours). This fluctuates wildly depending on how you use your phone (gaming vs. reading text).
- Battery Health: This refers to the physical degradation of the battery cell over time. A brand-new battery has 100% capacity. After 500 charge cycles (roughly two years of use), lithium-ion batteries typically degrade to about 80% capacity. This means that even when the phone says “100% Charged,” it is only holding 80% of the energy it did when it was new.
Method 1: Using the Hidden Samsung Diagnostic Menu
If you own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, you have access to a built-in diagnostic tool hidden inside the Samsung Members application. This is the most accurate way to check a Samsung battery.
- Open the app drawer and locate the Samsung Members app. (If you do not have it, download it for free from the Galaxy Store or Google Play Store).
- Open the app and tap on the Support tab at the bottom right of the screen.
- Under the “Phone diagnostics” section, tap on View tests.
- You will see a grid of hardware tests. Tap on the icon labelled Battery status.
The app will instantly run a diagnostic check. It will display a simple rating (e.g., “Good,” “Normal,” or “Weak”) rather than an exact percentage, but it is highly reliable. If it says “Weak,” it is time to schedule a battery replacement.
Method 2: Using the Android Hidden Dialler Codes
Some Android manufacturers build hidden diagnostic menus directly into the phone’s dialler application. This method does not work on every brand, but it is worth attempting before you install a third-party application.
- Open the standard Phone app (the one you use to make calls).
- Open the dialpad.
- Carefully type this exact sequence:
*#*#4636#*#*
As soon as you type the final asterisk, a hidden “Testing” menu should instantly appear on your screen. Tap on Battery information. If your phone supports this menu, it will display the battery temperature, voltage, and a general “Battery health” status (typically listed as “Good”).
Method 3: Using AccuBattery (For All Other Android Phones)
If you own a Google Pixel, Motorola, OnePlus, or a Samsung phone that refuses to load the diagnostic menus, the absolute best alternative is a free third-party app called AccuBattery.
Because Android does not natively report battery health percentages, AccuBattery calculates it manually. It monitors exactly how much energy flows into the battery when you charge it, and compares that to the battery’s designed capacity.
- Open the Google Play Store and download AccuBattery.
- Open the app and complete the initial setup tutorial. Ensure you grant the app permission to run in the background.
- Important: AccuBattery cannot give you an instant reading. It needs data. You must use your phone normally and charge it a few times for the app to gather enough information.
- After a few days of normal charging (from around 20% to 100%), open AccuBattery and tap the Health tab at the bottom.
In the Health tab, you will see a large circular graph displaying your estimated Battery Health percentage. If this number falls below 80%, your battery is significantly degraded and should be replaced.