Frequently asked questions.

How do I connect an iPhone or iPad over Wi-Fi?

A device shows up automatically once macOS can reach it. The setup is a one-time thing:

1. Trust the Mac once over a cable. Connect the device with a cable, unlock it, and tap Trust (enter the passcode). The first pairing can't be done wirelessly.
2. Turn on Wi-Fi sync. In Finder, select the device in the sidebar, open the General tab, tick "Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi", then click Apply.
3. Same network, awake. Keep the Mac and the device on the same Wi-Fi network with the device awake, then unplug. It appears in WhatBattery's iPhone / iPad tab.

Not showing up? Make sure Finder › Settings › Sidebar has "CDs, DVDs and iOS Devices" ticked, try a different cable or port, and confirm you tapped Trust. Wi-Fi discovery can be slow; reconnecting the cable briefly wakes the link.

Can WhatBattery tell if my battery is genuine?

Not reliably, so it doesn't claim to. macOS only flags a non-genuine battery through a system process, and there's no public signal to check a genuine battery against, so any "genuine / fake" badge would be a guess. Instead WhatBattery shows the battery condition (below), which is the trustworthy "is my battery OK or does it need service" answer.

Why does WhatBattery's health differ from other battery apps?

WhatBattery computes health the same way Apple's own Settings does, from the nominal charge capacity. Some tools read a slightly different capacity field and land a couple of points lower. Neither is wrong; WhatBattery matches the number you see elsewhere in macOS.

What do the battery conditions mean?

• Normal: healthy, no action needed.
• Service Recommended: worn but working; plan a replacement.
• Service Battery: a fault macOS flags for service.

This is read from macOS, so it matches what System Settings reports.

Is it safe? Does it change how my Mac charges?

WhatBattery is strictly read-only. It reads battery and power data through Apple's own interfaces and never writes to the battery or changes charging behaviour.

How does the charger verdict work?

When you charge your Mac, Pro records how fast the session ran, how hot the battery became, and what the charger advertised. On supported 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, it compares that advertised wattage with the Mac's fast-charge rating and flags a charger that is clearly underpowered, such as a 20W phone brick. The judgement uses the charger's own claim, never one slow moment during Optimized Charging or an overnight trickle. WhatBattery also notes power drops consistent with possible thermal throttling.

What about my keyboard, mouse, and AirPods?

WhatBattery shows the live battery level of connected Bluetooth accessories, a keyboard, mouse, trackpad, or AirPods, in the dropdown and the Accessories tab. AirPods are broken out per bud and case. Since 1.2 it also reads devices that only publish battery over Bluetooth Low Energy, like Logitech's MX mice, matching what System Settings sees. A few devices publish nothing at all, and those show "Battery unavailable" rather than a guess. Showing the levels is free. Pro adds a per-device history, a runtime forecast from the real discharge trend ("about 3 days left" for a mouse, listening time for AirPods), a low-battery alert that says how long is left, and the option to show an accessory's level in the menu bar. See accessory forecasts for the full story.

macOS asks for Bluetooth access the first time you open the Accessories tab. It's used only to read these levels locally, nothing is sent anywhere, and the rest of the app works fine if you decline.

What does it need?

An Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 14 or later. Reading an iPhone or iPad uses the same connection Finder uses; no app is needed on the device. Reading Bluetooth accessory levels needs Bluetooth access, which macOS prompts for when you open the Accessories tab.