Your Fairphone 5's battery is one of its best features because you can actually replace it yourself. Over time, all batteries degrade, but keeping an eye on its health helps you plan for a swap and get the most out of its long-term support. Here’s how to check its status and keep it running well.
Check Battery Usage by App
Start by seeing what's using your power. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery usage. This screen shows which apps have consumed the most battery since your last full charge. Tap on any app to see a breakdown of foreground and background activity. If you spot an app you rarely use draining a lot in the background, it might be time to restrict it.
Use a Third-Party App Like AccuBattery
Since stock Android doesn't have a dedicated "battery health" percentage like some other brands, a third-party app is your best bet. I'd install AccuBattery from the Google Play Store. It runs in the background and estimates your battery's health by monitoring charge cycles and capacity over time. After a few charging sessions, it gives you a good read on your current capacity compared to the design capacity.
It also provides useful data like your actual charging speed and how fast the battery drains with the screen on. This can help you confirm if you're getting the full 30W from your charger.
Try the Android Hidden Test Menu
Open your Phone app and dial *#*#4636#*#*. On many Android devices, this opens a hidden testing menu. Select "Battery information" from the list. You might see details like battery voltage, temperature, and sometimes a health status. It's not a guaranteed feature on every phone, but it's a quick code to try and might offer some extra insight.
Enable Battery Optimization Features
Help your battery last longer each day by using Android's built-in smarts. Go to Settings > Battery > Adaptive Battery and make sure it's turned on. This feature learns which apps you use frequently and limits battery for the ones you don't, reducing unnecessary drain and wear over time.
Also look for Battery Saver and Extreme Battery Saver modes. You can schedule these to turn on automatically at a certain battery level, which is great for extending life when you're away from a charger.
Consider Your Charging Habits
While the Fairphone 5 doesn't have an automatic charging limit feature, you can manually practice good habits. Try to keep your battery between 20% and 80% most of the time instead of always charging to 100%. Avoid letting it regularly drain to 0%. These practices significantly slow down chemical degradation.
Use a good 30W USB-PD charger to get the fastest possible charge. Because the phone doesn't support wireless charging, you don't have to worry about the extra heat that often generates, which is actually a plus for long-term battery health.
When It's Time for a New Battery
The beauty of the Fairphone 5 is that a battery replacement is a user-friendly fix. If your phone struggles to last through a normal morning, randomly shuts down even though it shows charge left, or takes an exceptionally long time to power up, a new battery is likely the answer. Given the modular design, you can order an official spare directly from Fairphone and swap it in yourself in minutes.
Physically, if you notice the back cover starting to bulge or separate, that's an immediate sign the battery is swelling and needs to be replaced right away.
Leverage the Modular Design
This is the Fairphone's superpower. Since the battery is user-replaceable, you don't need to stress about maximizing every single percent of health. You can buy a spare battery to keep in your bag for truly long days. With Fairphone promising over eight years of software updates, replacing the battery once or twice is a perfectly reasonable plan to keep the phone running for its entire supported lifespan.
Just remember to avoid extreme temperatures, as heat is a battery's biggest enemy. Don't leave it charging in direct sunlight or tucked under a pillow where heat can't dissipate.
