iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program

Good news for all of you that own an iPhone 5 with a defective battery, Apple has a new battery replacement program. It's as easy as entering your serial number to see if your phone is eligible for replacement.

Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently. The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range. If your iPhone 5 is experiencing these symptoms and meets the eligibility requirements noted below, Apple will replace your iPhone 5 battery, free of charge.

Click to expand...

I wish phones would / could go back to replaceable batteries. won't ever happen, but it would be nice.

Exavior said:

I wish phones would / could go back to replaceable batteries. won't ever happen, but it would be nice.

Click to expand...

That would run counter to the rampant consumerism that our economies now depend on. I personally refuse to buy into it (get it? /chuckle). I refuse to buy a refrigerator or TV designed to fail after 5-7 years. I refuse to buy a phone whose battery will be useless in 2-3 years, unless I can put a new one in without too much hassle.

The problem with that plan is the batteries are not produced after 2-3 years so the one you purchase is actually just as old as the phone.

Or you could get, I don't know, a regular phone like a Samsung S5 so you can replace the batteries that will without any shred of doubt have diminished capacity with use (its inherent to the battery technology). To completely seal in batteries like this is fucktarded.

Exavior said:

I wish phones would / could go back to replaceable batteries. won't ever happen, but it would be nice.

Click to expand...

What phones don't have replaceable batteries?

Ducman69 said:

Or you could get, I don't know, a regular phone like a Samsung S5 so you can replace the batteries that will without any shred of doubt have diminished capacity with use (its inherent to the battery technology). To completely seal in batteries like this is fucktarded.

Click to expand...

I don't think Exavior bought a S5. I must have bought the I5. The phone that requires Apples permission to be replaced.

Ashbringer said:

What phones don't have replaceable batteries?

Click to expand...

Any IPhone ever created to start. Yes technically it can be replaced... but with a degree in micro electronics, a steady hand, special tools and a lot of time.

I already replaced the battery in my i5 with something from ifixit if i recall correctly. It was fairly easy.

I just checked my serial number and I qualify for the replacement battery. I wonder if I should bother as they won't just ship me a battery and I have to take it to a store.

Ashbringer said:

What phones don't have replaceable batteries?


I don't think Exavior bought a S5. I must have bought the I5. The phone that requires Apples permission to be replaced.

Click to expand...

Good point. I guess I should have said user replaceable.

I don't have an S5, also don't have an iPhone 5 either. had an iPhone 4. now a Nokia Lumina 1520. Neither have user replaceable batteries. Most phones I have seen don't have user replaceable batteries.

I just noticed this at the bottom of the page: "If you believe your iPhone 5 was affected by this issue, and you paid to replace your battery, you can contact Apple about a refund."

piker28 said:

The problem with that plan is the batteries are not produced after 2-3 years so the one you purchase is actually just as old as the phone.

Click to expand...

2-3 years is a long time for a battery so, second a properly stored battery that is a couple years old but never used is still really good compared to a dead battery. Also after market sellers do make new batteries and some of them like from siedio and anker are just as good or better than OEM.

Exavior said:

I wish phones would / could go back to replaceable batteries. won't ever happen, but it would be nice.

Click to expand...

They still have replaceable batteries Samsung makes them. Also I would say that the trend might be reversing apparently the new G3 has reverted back to a replaceable battery after the G2 did not have it in North America.

wabbitseason said:

That would run counter to the rampant consumerism that our economies now depend on. I personally refuse to buy into it (get it? /chuckle). I refuse to buy a refrigerator or TV designed to fail after 5-7 years. I refuse to buy a phone whose battery will be useless in 2-3 years, unless I can put a new one in without too much hassle.

Click to expand...

This is pretty much what led me to consider alternatives for a replacement MP3 player.

One of the best players on the market for sound quality was the Sandisk Sansa Clip and its variants. Slight problem. Every single model had a non-user serviceable battery and they started gluing the parts together to make it impossible for one to replace the battery without destroying a good chunk of the shell of the player.

So I waited until they were on sale before I bought a replacement since they're generally overpriced. $60 for a 4GB player. First one lasted about 2 years before the battery wouldn't last me a day. Second one about 2 years as well. Third one? 2 months. That was when I discovered the second and third players were glued together. I'd keep using them but the headphone jacks also started failing. I gave up.

So I tried to find the *smallest* and *cheapest* Android phone out there with a replaceable battery. Found an LG Dynamic L38C on Tracfone. $20 shipped, new in box.

Easy to root, pretty much stock Android, stock mp3 player even has controls on the lockscreen despite being Gingerbread and the thing lasts over a week on a single charge.

Funny thing happened. Turns out the sound quality on this particular SOC+DAC is also better than the Sandisk Clips.

I've always hated built in batteries. Everything started moving towards built in batteries and I felt like I was cutting out too many options by excluding devices with built in batteries. And now after having used a few phones, mp3 players, tablets and even netbooks with built in batteries?

Never again.

Apple can burn in hell for kicking off one of the most deplorable trends in modern computing. Non user serviceable batteries weren't a problem until they made it magical.

rudy said:

2-3 years is a long time for a battery so, second a properly stored battery that is a couple years old but never used is still really good compared to a dead battery. Also after market sellers do make new batteries and some of them like from siedio and anker are just as good or better than OEM.



They still have replaceable batteries Samsung makes them. Also I would say that the trend might be reversing apparently the new G3 has reverted back to a replaceable battery after the G2 did not have it in North America.

Click to expand...

They must be the only ones left

iPhone batteries really aren't hard to replace.

Protoform-X said:

iPhone batteries really aren't hard to replace.

Click to expand...

Not they are not. Needs a special tool to remove two screws near the bottom and you slide off the back. Another screw for the battery connector and the battery is just help on with glue.

Is it super easy or even necessary? No, but this is what you all wanted cause you bought the stupid crap. All batteries at some point need to be replaced. Get better at working with these electronics, or you know buy an S5.

BTW Apple could solve the problem by not using specialty screws and gluing the battery in place. That would make the whole process much easier.

S5 Battery


Iphone5 Battery

Made my appointment. Fixing the power button and battery. Both which are defective in early model iphone 5's