Apple Will Replace Batteries Regardless of Condition for $29

DooKey

DooKey

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A few days ago we reported that Apple apologized for the iPhone slow down issue and would replace batteries for $29 this year. A lot of people were wondering if the batteries had to show up bad on a diagnostic, but a French tech blog, iGeneration, is reporting that an internal Apple memo states that the Genius Bar should allow a change regardless of diagnostic testing. Good news for iPhone 6 and up users.

This morning, French tech blog iGeneration reported that an internal Apple Store memo has been circulated which states that if a customer asks for a battery replacement on an iPhone 6 or later, then the Genius Bar should allow it, even if their phone passes Apple's own diagnostic test.
 
Give it to apple to turn a negative pr spin to a profitable "service", any decent technician can replace that kind of battery in less than 5 minutes. Two screws, pop the lid, swap the battery and close.
 
eneq said:
Give it to apple to turn a negative pr spin to a profitable "service", any decent technician can replace that kind of battery in less than 5 minutes. Two screws, pop the lid, swap the battery and close.
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Andf btw, why didn't they push a software update to make this behavior an option instead?
 
RayderR6 said:
If you paid $79 to have a phone battery replaced, ask for some free lube.
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You definitely didn't grow up in the day and age where electronic repair was chosen over replacement. $79 for the part and labour to fix an electronic device is cheap.
 
auntjemima said:
You definitely didn't grow up in the day and age where electronic repair was chosen over replacement. $79 for the part and labour to fix an electronic device is cheap.
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Doesn't make his point any less valid, does it? We aren't in that day and age anymore.
 
auntjemima said:
You definitely didn't grow up in the day and age where electronic repair was chosen over replacement. $79 for the part and labour to fix an electronic device is cheap.
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Cheap?
Nobody 'fixes' anything anyway, just replace.. tiny parts (not saying any other way is possible, I mean really everything will soon be a single chip, soldered in the back of a screen with a battery the size of a finger nail that charges via the air.. hehe)
 
I just replaced the battery in my iPhone 6 using a kit from iFixit. I ordered the kit 2days before Apple announced their replacement program.

The whole thing took me 20 mins, because I was nervous about destroying my phone.

After I had finished, everything was fine and the phone works as fast as when it was new.

I was getting a Geekbench score of 1017 single core, and 1720 multi core. After the new battery, my scores went up to 1559 single core, and 2701 multi core.

I’m happy!
 
Stimpy88 said:
I just replaced the battery in my iPhone 6 using a kit from iFixit. I ordered the kit 2days before Apple announced their replacement program.

The whole thing took me 20 mins, because I was nervous about destroying my phone.

After I had finished, everything was fine and the phone works as fast as when it was new.

I was getting a Geekbench score of 1017 single core, and 1720 multi core. After the new battery, my scores went up to 1559 single core, and 2701 multi core.

I’m happy!
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Cool, that sounds like a big difference (didn't really paid attention to numbers in articles before).
Even though its sealed, Ive seen iphone teardown videos before and everything seemed fairly straight forward, so Apple does get points for that.
 
auntjemima said:
You definitely didn't grow up in the day and age where electronic repair was chosen over replacement. $79 for the part and labour to fix an electronic device is cheap.
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Consider the part costs ~$10 and the whole work is done in less than 20 minutes, i do not consider paying $150/hour cheap, not when the service provided does not involve boobs and blow.
 
Uvaman2 said:
Cool, that sounds like a big difference (didn't really paid attention to numbers in articles before).
Even though its sealed, Ive seen iphone teardown videos before and everything seemed fairly straight forward, so Apple does get points for that.
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Yeah, it’s not a lie to say that my phone was virtually unusable. It was so slow at opening apps, switching apps, screen changing orientation etc. The phone would say it had over 30% battery, then I’d get a phone call and it would shut down 3 mins in to the call. Even typing a message was damned slow, like the phone could not keep up with my key presses.

The funny thing is that in the battery settings menu, iOS is supposed to tell you when your battery health is bad, but my phone never said that, and just kept slowing down.

Another funny thing is that even with the battery fully charged, and a 12 watt Apple power adapter plugged in, I would still get lowered Geekbench scores...
 
viper1152012 said:
Whats that still not free.... Take a long walk off a short pier.
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Why the fuck should they give you a free battery for a 3 year old device? If your device is in warranty then you will get it replaced for free, if it’s defective.

Go take your shit to Samsung and see what they have to say about giving you a free battery and installation for a Galaxy Note 6.

Grow up.
 
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crap. this means a whole lot less sales of new iphones.
bad for stock. Time to sell.

a lot of people didn't even think about replacing the battery. Now they can live with another 2 years of the same old iphone.
 
Well this is going to piss my aunt and cousin off. They were told to pound sand at the Apple store about 3 days ago, when they went to get their batteries replaced on their 6. Since their batteries tested "good" this replacement didn't apply to them. WTF?
 
geok1ng said:
Consider the part costs ~$10 and the whole work is done in less than 20 minutes, i do not consider paying $150/hour cheap, not when the service provided does not involve boobs and blow.
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Local shops charge 1.5 hours to change a strut assembly in my car. I can change the same one in less than 30. Should I start moaning about that too? Of course not, that would be silly.. same shit here. You're just not willing to let Apple bend you over because you wear your Apple hatred on your sleeve.
 
Lot of foul mouths on here.

The level of vulgar is peaking.

When a product is slowed down to avoid premature battery failure without any customer notice or eula clause that's bad mkay

So teh baddest wad alreedy defect, burt it gotted slowwww terr sabe temm monies.
 
Stimpy88 said:
Why the fuck should they give you a free battery for a 3 year old device? If your device is in warranty then you will get it replaced for free, if it’s defective.

Go take your shit to Samsung and see what they have to say about giving you a free battery and installation for a Galaxy Note 6.

Grow up.
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They will say sorry we don't do battery replacements for phones we never made.
 
rudy said:
They will say sorry we don't do battery replacements for phones we never made.
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Well I don’t keek up with Korean copy machine junk, so I have no idea about models, but with luck you might be intelligent enough to possibly get my point, but I won’t hold my breath.
 
So this whole thing amuses me as I frankly find $29 to still be overpriced, but whatever it isn't like I'm going to pay it. I replaced my daughters 5s battery myself and even upgraded it to a 3200mah from a lousy 1440. That said I haven't offered battery service in years because volume was too low to even bother. It is difficult to be worth my time unless I'm doing a bunch at once. So since this whole thing is going down I decided to throw out a test ad on craigslist and see if it would be worth my time. I basically offered two things;

OEM 1440 MaH replacement battery - $25
Upgraded 3200 MaH battery -$50

The first was just a stock battery undercutting apple by $4 to see if volume justified it and the second is obvious. So I got FLOODED with $50 service requests that I make a tidy little $25 a phone profit for something that honestly takes me 5 minutes. This is going to be a good week..something I haven't been able to say about the service industry for a long time. Prior to this Apple users almost never got battery replacements because "It just works and their battery never needs replacement".

So Thanks Apple and thank you to all your sucker customers!
 
Dekoth-E- said:
So this whole thing amuses me as I frankly find $29 to still be overpriced, but whatever it isn't like I'm going to pay it. I replaced my daughters 5s battery myself and even upgraded it to a 3200mah from a lousy 1440. That said I haven't offered battery service in years because volume was too low to even bother. It is difficult to be worth my time unless I'm doing a bunch at once. So since this whole thing is going down I decided to throw out a test ad on craigslist and see if it would be worth my time. I basically offered two things;

OEM 1440 MaH replacement battery - $25
Upgraded 3200 MaH battery -$50

The first was just a stock battery undercutting apple by $4 to see if volume justified it and the second is obvious. So I got FLOODED with $50 service requests that I make a tidy little $25 a phone profit for something that honestly takes me 5 minutes. This is going to be a good week..something I haven't been able to say about the service industry for a long time. Prior to this Apple users almost never got battery replacements because "It just works and their battery never needs replacement".

So Thanks Apple and thank you to all your sucker customers!
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Yeah, your post just reminded me of those batteries, and all those dodgy guys advertising their services and promises of making your iPhone last twice as long as Apples batteries. I also remembered that those batteries often swelled up and also did not even last as long as the OEM battery, despite being twice the price, and there were so many people like you convincing people that they needed your service, killing and damaging lots of phones in the process. (I’m not implying that you personally did that) Memories!

But it’s at least amusing that you see spending $50 on a cheap Chinese battery which didn’t even have half it’s rated capacity, as being better than spending $30 for Apple to fit a quality battery for you, then guarantee the work.

You know obviously know best. But I’d rather have my phone fixed by myself, or a professional, using known quality parts, for a fair price.

And for the record, I think that it’s good that Apple has been caught throttling their phones, and being forced to offer a battery replacement service. I think Apple were being dishonest in their handling of silently adding throttling support in iOS without informing the owner of the device.

But I also think that $30 is a fair price to pay for a battery service for a 3 year old device, which is used and abused every day. Even iFixit can’t better Apples offer, and they are using relatively cheap Chinese batteries offering slightly less capacity than the original, AND you have to do the work yourself, with all the inherent risks it comes with.
 
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Stimpy88 said:
Yeah, your post just reminded me of those batteries, and all those dodgy guys advertising their services and promises of making your iPhone last twice as long as Apples batteries. I also remembered that those batteries often swelled up and also did not even last as long as the OEM battery, despite being twice the price, and there were so many people like you convincing people that they needed your service, killing and damaging lots of phones in the process. (I’m not implying that you personally did that) Memories!

But it’s at least amusing that you see spending $50 on a cheap Chinese battery which didn’t even have half it’s rated capacity, as being better than spending $30 for Apple to fit a quality battery for you, then guarantee the work.

You know obviously know best. But I’d rather have my phone fixed by myself, or a professional, using known quality parts, for a fair price.

And for the record, I think that it’s good that Apple has been caught throttling their phones, and being forced to offer a battery replacement service. I think Apple were being dishonest in their handling of silently adding throttling support in iOS without informing the owner of the device.

But I also think that $30 is a fair price to pay for a battery service for a 3 year old device, which is used and abused every day. Even iFixit can’t better Apples offer, and they are using relatively cheap Chinese batteries offering slightly less capacity than the original, AND you have to do the work yourself, with all the inherent risks it comes with.
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I'm not promising anything beyond simply offering a higher capacity. The base battery I'm using is the exact same brand as what Apple uses and the upgraded one I'm using is also from the same manufacturer. There are cheaper batteries than the ones I'm using yes.

$30 isn't a fair price for the trivial amount of effort this is especially given how much cheaper Apple can buy the battery. I have to buy the battery at full price because I don't do enough volume. As such the Stock battery costs me $10 and the higher capacity costs me $25. If you think the battery apple is putting in costs them anywhere near $10, I have a bridge to sell you. I know what prices I can get if I'm willing to order lots of 1000 batteries and that alone cuts the price in half. Apple is probably paying around $3 a battery tops. The fact that I can make nearly 50% profit at extremely low volume should tell you just how "Not fair" of a price Apple is charging.

Now don't get me wrong, I have plenty of experience with cheap chinese batteries. I'll throw them in my android phones all day long because they cost me pennies on the dollar and if something goes wrong it takes me half a second to pop them out of the phone. However when I'm doing a service, I'm not using knockoffs. My gripe with apple is even when they got caught blatantly screwing people over, everyone rushes to their defense and gives them a pass on continuing to screw people on top of the screwing. Sure I won't argue that Apple should have done this free, but they should have absolutely done it at cost. They should NOT be profiting from their own deliberate decision to fuck people.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
I'm not promising anything beyond simply offering a higher capacity. The base battery I'm using is the exact same brand as what Apple uses and the upgraded one I'm using is also from the same manufacturer. There are cheaper batteries than the ones I'm using yes.

$30 isn't a fair price for the trivial amount of effort this is especially given how much cheaper Apple can buy the battery. I have to buy the battery at full price because I don't do enough volume. As such the Stock battery costs me $10 and the higher capacity costs me $25. If you think the battery apple is putting in costs them anywhere near $10, I have a bridge to sell you. I know what prices I can get if I'm willing to order lots of 1000 batteries and that alone cuts the price in half. Apple is probably paying around $3 a battery tops. The fact that I can make nearly 50% profit at extremely low volume should tell you just how "Not fair" of a price Apple is charging.

Now don't get me wrong, I have plenty of experience with cheap chinese batteries. I'll throw them in my android phones all day long because they cost me pennies on the dollar and if something goes wrong it takes me half a second to pop them out of the phone. However when I'm doing a service, I'm not using knockoffs. My gripe with apple is even when they got caught blatantly screwing people over, everyone rushes to their defense and gives them a pass on continuing to screw people on top of the screwing. Sure I won't argue that Apple should have done this free, but they should have absolutely done it at cost. They should NOT be profiting from their own deliberate decision to fuck people.
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Interesting. It’s nice to hear that you did your research and actually offered a genuine service when 90% do not.

I can imagine that Apple probably pay $3 or less for their batteries, and they will not be operating at a loss by charging $29 for a replacement service.

However, I don’t know any other business or private person that advertises a battery replacement service for what Apple are charging, so I really do find it a fair price, considering that if you have a later device, then Apple will also refit the factory standard waterproofing, which most do not, not to mention that Apples work is backed up by warranty.

I have a love/hate relationship with Apple, I love the products, and love the services they offer, but at the end of the day they are a capitalist corporation, who will skin their own children to make a profit. Just like every other corporation in the world, and this is where I have a problem when people act like no other company would ever do this. They are all doing it, yesterday, today and tomorrow. It’s just not often a vocal public get to find out about it. Google and Facebook are most likely the two most evil and cunning companies there have ever been, but people buy Android phones and install the Facebook app on it, and think it’s the greatest thing ever, even though both Google and Facebook are covertly listening to all your conversations, keypresses, and selling the data to any entity that has money to pay for it. Google have even managed to talk the UK government in to handing over every British citizens medical records. For what end? Not the end Google and the UK government are telling its citizens. You can also bet your ass that google also have the medical records of every US citizen too. Until proven otherwise, I do think Apple are slightly more transparent than most large corporations. But they are not saints, not by any stretch of the imagination.

But I’m getting off topic now, so time to end the rant.
 
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auntjemima said:
You definitely didn't grow up in the day and age where electronic repair was chosen over replacement. $79 for the part and labour to fix an electronic device is cheap.
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You couldn't be more wrong, you must be under 25 years old. I am 48, I grew up in the day where we (the user) learned how to be self sufficient at our own repairs, we learned how to be hands on and build things, Radio Shack had kits for us to learn, I am DiY personified. We sure as hell didn't bend over for BS coddling from corporate raping. I grew up at the end of quality built appliances designed to last decades and slowly watched it all turn into decade or a few year devices at best to keep the economy turning.

Do not get me started at your ludicrous notion that replacing a fucking battery in a phone qualifies as a "fix" or "repair" that requires a tech and labor charges, you fell for that shit hook line and sinker, my dad is rolling over in his grave at this nonsense.
 
Uvaman2 said:
Cheap?
Nobody 'fixes' anything anyway, just replace.. tiny parts (not saying any other way is possible, I mean really everything will soon be a single chip, soldered in the back of a screen with a battery the size of a finger nail that charges via the air.. hehe)
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No more self repair is all by design, there isn't any future revenue in people being able to do their own repairs. Sure, a case can be made that is the inevitable future of tech as things continue to get smaller and more complex, but don't be fooled to thinking that is solely the case.

I have been witness to multiple parts of user accessible and repairable life that has gone the way of the dodo, it is by design and much about keeping you sucking on the corporate tit and forking over your money for nourishment.

The DiY vids on youtube and other such users that keep up the good fight on such information is the last stand against this future. I do my share of uploading and learning from others.
 
RayderR6 said:
You couldn't be more wrong, you must be under 25 years old. I am 48, I grew up in the day where we (the user) learned how to be self sufficient at our own repairs, we learned how to be hands on and build things, Radio Shack had kits for us to learn, I am DiY personified. We sure as hell didn't bend over for BS coddling from corporate raping. I grew up at the end of quality built appliances designed to last decades and slowly watched it all turn into decade or a few year devices at best to keep the economy turning.

Do not get me started at your ludicrous notion that replacing a fucking battery in a phone qualifies as a "fix" or "repair" that requires a tech and labor charges, you fell for that shit hook line and sinker, my dad is rolling over in his grave at this nonsense.
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We both grew up in the same age, then. But don't let that confuse you about the current generation. They are idiots. The majority couldn't fix the most obvious of problems, the last place I want to see them is inside their phone PRYING a battery off the glued backing. That is asking for trouble. I have done many, sure, but for $29 it comes with the part, the work AND a warranty from a company that is known to bend you over, no lube. That is pretty impressive when they could have just told everyone to fuck off. $29 all inclusive is cheap, whether you agree or not.
 
auntjemima said:
the last place I want to see them is inside their phone PRYING a battery off the glued backing.
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The last thing I want to see is a battery glued in. This has been and continues to be my theme in these type threads, non-user friendly devices that trap you into this bullshit, but you just read the parts you want. You fell for it, normally costs $79, so what a bargain at $29; WTF how about I just buy a battery at $10, pop the back off and replace it, no tech or bullshit entrapment involved. You may have grown up in the my age, but you certainly didn't live the same way or value the same lessons.

auntjemima said:
but for $29 it comes with the part, the work AND a warranty from a company that is known to bend you over, no lube. That is pretty impressive when they could have just told everyone to fuck off. $29 all inclusive is cheap, whether you agree or not.
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What you aren't seeing is you're still getting bent over and you must be well greased to not feel it. If Apple thought they could tell people to fuck off on this one, they would have done it like the other times they did. $29 for a phone battery that I have to ship to a store or go down to one and have someone else replace it is ludicrous, whether you agree or not.
 
RayderR6 said:
The last thing I want to see is a battery glued in. This has been and continues to be my theme in these type threads, non-user friendly devices that trap you into this bullshit, but you just read the parts you want. You fell for it, normally costs $79, so what a bargain at $29; WTF how about I just buy a battery at $10, pop the back off and replace it, no tech or bullshit entrapment involved. You may have grown up in the my age, but you certainly didn't live the same way or value the same lessons.



What you aren't seeing is you're still getting bent over and you must be well greased to not feel it. If Apple thought they could tell people to fuck off on this one, they would have done it like the other times they did. $29 for a phone battery that I have to ship to a store or go down to one and have someone else replace it is ludicrous, whether you agree or not.
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I don't use apple phone's, so you are barking up the wrong tree assuming so.

I have a Nexus 6P and when my phone that's two years old started randomly turning off, you know what I was told? Fuck off, it's 2 years old. So I had to replace it myself which is way more involved and costly than an apple battery, with no warranty to boot. PLUS it's glued in.

All this from a flagship Google phone.

Keep spewing the hate, boys.
 
auntjemima said:
I don't use apple phone's, so you are barking up the wrong tree assuming so.

I have a Nexus 6P and when my phone that's two years old started randomly turning off, you know what I was told? Fuck off, it's 2 years old. So I had to replace it myself which is way more involved and costly than an apple battery, with no warranty to boot. PLUS it's glued in.

All this from a flagship Google phone.

Keep spewing the hate, boys.
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Then put your money where your bullshit mouth is flapping and buy an Apple, they have you covered by your own arguments. I don't buy flagship anything, I don't buy overpriced phones that could fail and break my heart or wallet, that's a lesson I also learned with my age as I previously described in a post to you (aka devices are going downhill). You did not learn the same lessons despite claiming to be the same age.

You've been cheerleading Apple here replying to me and now pouncing on an Android phone, forgive me if I don't believe your now neutral intentions. I don't give a shit who or what makes a phone, my issue is with non-user friendly devices that corps assrape you on due to it. You continue to not see that, you're barking in the wrong forest.
 
Stimpy88 said:
Agreed, this forum is a shadow of what it once was, and is full of incredibly hostile and ignorant people.
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Unfortunately it’s all of the internet, at least the internet I visit. Everyone’s got a better idea/opinion and is fully ready to voice it.

The only place you see people agreeing with each other and giving positive reinforcement is the comment section on porn videos. It’s fucked up.
 
RayderR6 said:
The last thing I want to see is a battery glued in. This has been and continues to be my theme in these type threads, non-user friendly devices that trap you into this bullshit, but you just read the parts you want. You fell for it, normally costs $79, so what a bargain at $29; WTF how about I just buy a battery at $10, pop the back off and replace it, no tech or bullshit entrapment involved. You may have grown up in the my age, but you certainly didn't live the same way or value the same lessons.



What you aren't seeing is you're still getting bent over and you must be well greased to not feel it. If Apple thought they could tell people to fuck off on this one, they would have done it like the other times they did. $29 for a phone battery that I have to ship to a store or go down to one and have someone else replace it is ludicrous, whether you agree or not.
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They're not really glued in. They're more taped in with a special tape that is actually fairly easy to remove. If companies are going to insist on non-replaceable batteries I'll take that over them being soldered in. I think most people on this forum could get by with replacing batteries in most phones (though some phones are a lost cause) but you do lose waterproofing if you do it yourself. As far as I've seen there is no easy way to replace the waterproof seals in phones with them without having the manufacturer do the replacement. I could be wrong though. Some people prefer the "security" of having someone else do it for them though and having a warranty.
 
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