Support & Frequently Asked Questions

Batteries keeps your devices' information as up to date as possible, but it doesn't live stream battery percentages. Instead, the app updates whenever your devices share new information — like when they connect, send a notification, or refresh in the background.

This approach has two benefits:

• Efficiency: Real-time updates would quickly drain your battery and network. Batteries avoids this so it’s lightweight and power-friendly.
• Reliability: The app prioritizes fresh, relevant updates. In most cases, you’ll see battery levels that are only a few moments old—more than enough to make confident decisions about when to charge or unplug.

So while you won't see the number ticking down second by second, you can trust that Batteries gives you accurate, up-to-date snapshots without wasting energy in the background.

Refreshes happen automatically, but not on a fixed schedule. iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS decide when apps can update in order to protect your battery life and performance.

Batteries tries to reach the system every 20 minutes, but this can vary based on your devices' conditions. User-driven actions such as force-quitting the app will impact the battery level refresh rate.

In summary, do not force-quit the app and add widgets to your home screen so that the app can stay updated and provide the best experience possible.

If a device seems stuck on an old battery percentage, don't worry — most of the time it just means the system hasn't had a chance to refresh yet. Here are a few things you can try:

• Check if the device is added to the app: if your device does not show up on the app's main list then it is not added to Batteries. You can add it by clicking the "+" icon in the top-right corner of the app's screen.
• Open Batteries on the device: launching the app forces the system to report the latest battery level and increases the chances of further background updates.
• Check your connection: Make sure the device is online (Wi-Fi or cellular) and signed in to the same iCloud account.
• Keep a widget active: placing a Batteries widget on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or watch face helps the system refresh more consistently.

If the issue persists after trying these steps, reinstalling the app on the affected device usually clears things up.

No — you don't need to keep Batteries open for it to work. Once installed, the app syncs battery levels automatically in the background.

Here's how it stays up to date:

• Background updates: devices send silent refreshes at regular intervals, even when the app isn’t running.
• Widgets and complications: having Batteries widgets on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Apple Watch face encourages the system to keep data fresher.

So while the app doesn't need to be open all the time, you're always just a glance away from up-to-date information.