Understanding what an iPhone battery warning might mean is important before you take any action.
When a pop-up on your phone warns you that something might be wrong, take a moment before you start to panic.
Why? Sometimes, the iPhone battery virus warning you see on your screen might actually be a virus itself.
Scams find their way onto even the most secure devices, and you don’t want to accidentally give hackers a way to access your device.
Let’s look into this issue to know how you can resolve it and even prevent it from happening altogether.
What Is a Battery Virus?
Before we talk about anything else, what is a battery virus, really?
That’s the real kicker about this type of email scam. There is no such thing as a battery virus, and your phone is not at risk.
Batteries are not a type of software that can be infected; they are hardware components.
Your iPhone battery is not infected with a virus, nor is it likely to ever be infected by any type of virus.
At most, your phone might be given a piece of code that tells it to run specific commands repeatedly.
This would then cause the battery drain.
Still, even this type of issue is rarely seen on phones, let alone on very secure iPhones.
What Does an iPhone Battery Virus Warning Mean?
Received an email or notification on your phone warning you of a virus in your battery?
This type of message is common, and the sender of the email or notification often seems to be Apple.
In reality, though, it’s not. This type of message is a scam, and you should not click anything in that warning.
In fact, deleting this email immediately is the best way to handle it.
If you are on a webpage when this message pops up, force-closing the app without clicking anything is your best option.
No matter what you do, you do not want to click on anything in these fake ads.
While they will be made to look like a real iOS notification, they are just a fake version of what you’re used to seeing.
Do not interact with what you see.
Can a Virus Destroy Battery on My iPhone?
A virus is not going to be able to destroy the battery in one fell swoop.
On some electronic devices, a virus could cause the battery to run until it is completely depleted.
This is done through running apps or programs over and over again.
If this happened for a long time, it could cause damage to your battery, but this would be a unique situation.
On the iPhone, however, it is not likely or possible for this to happen at all.
iPhones are incredibly hack-resistant and safe from viruses. Hence, it is unlikely that a virus could ever destroy your battery.
Because you download apps from the official App Store, it is impossible to download phishing apps.
This prevents apps (which will intentionally run down your battery) from infecting your device and causing you unnecessary stress.
How iPhone Battery Virus Scam Works
Battery virus scams have been around for many years and, unfortunately, have tricked many people in that time.
Here’s what the scammers are hoping will happen:
- Users often receive an email or a message that tells them their phone has something wrong with it.
- Users then click the link, hoping to save their phones.
- The link takes them to a fake Apple page, asking them for some type of confidential information to fix the problem.
- The compromised information is then used to steal from the user, and they are left to deal with the repercussions.
- Sometimes, the page that it takes you to will ask you to pay for something to “fix” the problem that doesn’t even exist.
While some iPhone scams might try to download malware onto your phone, the iPhone is very secure against viruses.
iOS is very difficult to infect with viruses, so the biggest risk factor in this type of scam is unawareness.
Users who do not realize the email or notification is fake may give out their confidential information, and this causes a problem.
Never give your private information away without being certain you are on the correct site and that it is secure.
When signing into your Apple accounts, do so directly from the official Apple website; never enter by clicking an unknown link.
Can Your iPhone Battery Get a Virus?
No. Batteries are not software; they are a collection of different electronic pieces. This means they cannot a virus cannot infect it.
Viruses on computers, phones, and other electronics can affect how much power is used by the device. However, they cannot infect the battery itself.
What To Do When a Scam Appears
What should you do when you receive a message that tells you your iPhone battery is infected with a virus?
The goal should be to close down the notification without interacting with it in any way.
Depending on where you received the message, this may require a range of different actions.
Here’s what you can do:
- Text message: delete the message; do not click any links; block the number
- A message on another platform: delete the message and do not click any links
- Email: delete the message and block the email address
- Phone call: hang up and block the phone number
- Pop-up on a web page: force-close the app and do not click any links
Essentially, do whatever it takes to make sure you do not interact with the links or content in any way.
In some cases, you might feel most comfortable simply restarting your phone to make sure you do not click anything as you delete the messages.
As long as you do not click any links or enter any of your information, your device should be safe from any infection.
Checking Your Device’s Battery Health Status
You already know that any message telling you your iPhone battery is severely damaged should be ignored.
However, if you are concerned about your phone battery, you can check its health status on your own.
iPhones show the battery health very simply by visiting Settings, Battery, and then tapping Battery Health.
Once the information loads, you’ll be able to see your battery health, and iOS will notice if something seems to be running amiss.
If your battery is running out very quickly, investing in one of the many reliable battery banks is a great way to keep some extra power on hand.
Is the Virus Warning on My iPhone Real?
Is the virus warning telling you your phone battery is severely damaged even real?
If you received a virus warning as an email, through a third-party app, or any other way, it is not a true virus.
The only time a true warning from iOS might pop up is when you upload a file into a web browser.
However, there are no known viruses that can successfully infect iPhones at this time.
What Actually Happens When Your iPhone Blocks Something?
To differentiate what is real from what is a scam, it can be good to know what happens when iOS blocks something.
iOS, just like other operating systems, blocks specific actions, downloads, or apps because they looked suspicious.
It will not ask the user to take action; it is simply reporting what it has done.
On the other hand, scams will usually ask the user to interact with the pop-up or notification in some way.
On iPhones, there are no security features that are user-dependent in this way.
Anything that pops up and asks you for personal information to “fix the issue” is likely intended to steal your information.
Can My iPhone Be Affected by Malware?
In most cases, iPhones cannot be affected by malware.
It is very unlikely for iOS to be affected by this type of harmful software.
Even if you click a dangerous link, it will take considerable effort for that piece of malware to harm your phone.
If you have some type of virus installed on your phone and it becomes inaccessible, your best option is to visit an Apple service center.
iPhones that have been jailbroken are more likely to be susceptible to viruses.
If you are downloading apps to a jailbroken device outside of the App Store, it may be possible for your phone to be infected.
Even jailbroken iPhones, however, are not very likely to get a virus.
Can I Prevent Pop-Ups From Showing up on My Device?
If you have had scam pop-ups like those described earlier, you might want to prevent them from showing up altogether.
Users often see pop-ups when they end up on fraudulent or unsafe websites while browsing the internet.
iPhone owners typically use Safari to surf online, so making sure Safari is protecting you is a good idea.
By going into your Settings and then tapping Safari, you’ll find a variety of useful options.
For example, you can tell Safari to alert you when a webpage seems like it could be fraudulent.
Additionally, you can also completely prevent pop-ups.
Turning on these extra safety settings can ensure you are never in a situation where your phone safety is at risk.
Anyone who uses another web browser, such as Google Chrome, will want to do the same thing by visiting the app’s settings.
Review the settings to check if there are any safety measures you can enable to go above and beyond basic regulation.
Keeping Your iPhone Safe
A number of things can cause an iPhone battery virus warning telling you your phone battery is severely damaged.
However, it is most probably just a scam.
When choosing battery banks for iPhones, for example, always make sure to select those that are from reliable sellers.
If you do see any strange pop-ups on your device, remember to avoid them at all costs.
Do not install anything that’s not directly from the App Store, and never give your Apple information out to anyone.
As long as you take some basic precautions, avoiding this type of warning’s potential issues should be possible.