How to Check Battery Health on Android (Samsung, Pixel, Xiaomi)

“The battery’s fine,” says the seller, and on an iPhone you could confirm that in one tap. When you check battery health on Android, where to look depends on the brand, the model and sometimes the region, and a worn battery can mean paying for a replacement within months.

Most recent Samsung, Pixel and Xiaomi phones do show real numbers now. You just need the right menu, and a fallback for phones that hide it. (Coming from an iPhone? Our iPhone battery health article covers Apple’s figures.)

What the numbers mean

Battery health is the battery’s maximum capacity today compared with when it was new. Every lithium-ion battery loses capacity with charge cycles, heat and age. Android phones report it as a percentage of original capacity (91%, say), as a status such as Normal, Good, Weak, Reduced or Bad, as a cycle count (how many full 0–100% equivalents it has been through), and on some models with manufacture and first-use dates.

Across the industry, a battery below roughly 80% of its original capacity is considered due for replacement. Google says so directly for Pixels.

Samsung Galaxy

Newer Galaxy models have a Battery information page. Open Settings › Battery, scroll to the bottom and tap it. Look for the capacity or health figure, the cycle count and the manufacture date.

What appears there varies. 9to5Google reported in January 2025 that the Galaxy S25 shows battery level and capacity on this page, with cycle count and manufacture and first-use dates on some units in the UK and Romania, but not on a US review unit. Samsung hasn’t published a list of supported models, so a missing page or missing fields isn’t necessarily a bad sign.

Every Galaxy has the second method. Open the Samsung Members app (preinstalled on most of them), go to Support › Phone diagnostics and tap Battery status. You get a verdict, Normal, Weak or Bad, rather than a percentage. Because it’s Samsung’s own tool, it’s the one to trust on someone else’s phone. On many Galaxy models the dialler code *#0228# also opens a battery status screen, depending on firmware.

After the battery, confirm the model, region and warranty with a Samsung Info report or the Samsung Info S2 report. The rest of the inspection is in our used Samsung checklist.

Google Pixel

Google’s support page spells out what each Pixel shows. Go to Settings › Battery › Battery health for a status of Normal or Reduced, and tap Battery capacity for the estimated remaining capacity against the original. The cycle count is under Settings › About phone › Battery information.

That’s on Pixel 8a and later. According to Google, the Pixel 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a, 8 and 8 Pro don’t show a health status. Google marks a battery “Reduced” and recommends replacing it once capacity falls below 80%. It also recommends replacement at about 1,000 charge cycles on Pixel 8a and later, and about 800 on Pixel 3 through Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Fold.

Some Pixels also have Settings › Battery › Battery diagnostics, a guided test. A Google Pixel Info check confirms the model and warranty.

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO

On recent HyperOS phones, open Settings › Battery and look for Battery health. On supported models, the Xiaomi 15 among them, it shows maximum capacity as a percentage. Not there? Update HyperOS, since Xiaomi has been adding the feature through updates, or try the testing menu below. Older MIUI phones often show no health figure at all, and you’ll need ADB or a monitoring app. A Xiaomi check confirms model and region from the IMEI.

Codes and ADB for everything else

Dial *#*#4636#*#*. Where it works, choose Battery information for status, health, voltage and temperature. Samsung removes or restricts this menu on most Galaxy firmware; brand-specific codes are in our Android diagnostic codes list.

With USB debugging on and Google’s Platform-Tools installed on a computer, run:

adb devices
adb shell dumpsys battery

• health: 2 = good, 3 = overheat, 4 = dead, 5 = over-voltage, 6 = failure, 7 = cold.
• temperature: in tenths of a degree Celsius, so 310 is 31°C.
• level and voltage: watch whether the level falls quickly while you use the phone.

“Good” only means no fault was detected. It says nothing about capacity. Some newer phones also report a charge counter or cycle count. Setup is in our ADB commands article.

Apps such as AccuBattery estimate capacity by measuring charging over several days. Handy for your own phone, far too slow for a ten-minute inspection of someone else’s.

Which readings to accept on a used phone

A low cycle count with low capacity can point to heat damage. A recent manufacture date on an older phone can mean the battery has been replaced, so ask whether it was a genuine part.

How the phone was treated also shows up here. A seller who has used an 80% charge limit for years may have a healthier battery than the cycle count suggests, and a phone that lived on a car dashboard may be worse than its age implies. Go by the measured figure, not the story.

Slowing wear on your own phone

Heat and long stretches at 100% are the two biggest causes of wear, and most recent phones have settings for both.

• Samsung: Settings › Battery › Battery protection (One UI 6.1 and later) has Basic, Adaptive and Maximum modes. Maximum stops charging at 80%.
• Pixel: Settings › Battery › Charging optimisation offers Adaptive Charging or an 80% limit on supported models.
• Xiaomi: look for Smart charging or Optimised charging under Settings › Battery on HyperOS models.
• Any phone: don’t game or navigate while fast charging, keep it out of hot cars and direct sun, and take thick cases off for overnight charging.

If the battery is already under 80%, replacing it is usually far cheaper than a new phone. Go to the manufacturer’s service network or an authorised repairer, so the battery is genuine and the water-resistance seals stay intact.

A ten-minute battery check before you buy

Comparing a private sale with a refurbished phone? Samsung says its Certified Re-Newed Galaxy phones are repaired with genuine Samsung parts, “including a certified new battery,” and come with a one-year limited manufacturer warranty, and in October 2026 it announced they’re now sold on Amazon too. A used phone at 82% needs to be noticeably cheaper to compete with that.

1. Open the brand’s battery page, or Samsung Members diagnostics, as above.
2. Look at the phone side-on for swelling, and check whether the screen or back is lifting.
3. Use it for ten minutes with the screen bright and watch the percentage.
4. Plug in your own charger briefly to make sure it charges.
5. Run a free All-in-one Basic Info check on the IMEI to confirm the model and warranty.