Apple activates iPhone 5 battery replacement program, to swap out affected parts for free

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 89
    Apple has some kind of ownership in the battery manufacturing so one way or another it's gonna cost 'em. It's amazing that such a tiny battery has such power density. Some of my old flat batteries for Motorola dumb phones are/were the size of my iPhone 5 and had nowhere the power density. If Apple hadn't entered the phone business, I cringe at the thought of what horrible clunky phones we'd be toting around today.
  • Reply 22 of 89
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mike1 View Post

     

    From Apple Web site... "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."


     

    Apple will only refund the cost of the battery replacement if it was replaced by Apple.

     

    Unauthorized replacements will not be qualified for a refund.

  • Reply 23 of 89
    My wife's iPhone 5 that's getting close to 2 years old WOULD have qualified, except she dropped it last month down concrete stairs and got a replacement from Apple.

    Her battery worked good the entire time. So clearly it's not EVERY phone sold during that time period.
  • Reply 24 of 89
    cnocbui wrote: »
    There you go TS, I said there was a battery life issue and you said there wasn't.

    No surprise, the 5 I bought for my daughter is one of those affected. No surprise, the replacement process is limited to the US. No surprise, I have already replaced the battery myself.
    Apple stated a very small number are affected. Yet in every forum ice seem that posted this it seems EVERYONE has this battery problem.

    So funny how that works. Quite the coincidence, I'd say.
  • Reply 25 of 89
    I actually think had this problem, luckily already replaced last year.
  • Reply 26 of 89

    Genius bar appointment made for tomorrow morning. Hopefully they'll just give me a whole new phone.

  • Reply 27 of 89
    So what about those of us who don't qualify but have a battery that might show 80% and then quite literally a second later drop to say, 12% and then shut off the next second?

    Anyone else having that battery issue? I have tried all the standard techniques on the web.
  • Reply 28 of 89
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,898moderator
    Wow, mine qualifies! Last year Apple replaced my 2010 MBP i7 15" motherboard this year this. Way to go Apple.

    Mine started having trouble within the last two weeks. It will very rapidly show discharging, like, as i watch the battery indicator will go from 75% down to 20% and give me a low battery warning, all within the span of two or three minutes. I got the phone on the first day of sales, Sept 21, 2012. Its eligible and I have an appointment early tomorrow afternoon at my local Apple store. Planning on getting the iPhone 6 anyway but I was feeling unsure about selling it on with this issue. Good to know Apple stands behind its products.
  • Reply 29 of 89
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post

     

    If it makes you feel any better, those in the US who have the same problem will likely fall into 1 of 2 categories.

    1)  Already replaced the battery themselves.


     

    My battery died around 10 months in, it was replaced under the original warranty.

  • Reply 30 of 89

    I don't remember who the toolbag was that I debated with here a few months ago, but they insisted that Apple was under no obligation to replace the battery on my (now eligible) iP5, which showed signs of this defect 1 month after its warranty expired. Actually my battery showed signs of decreased capacity after about 8 or 9 months but I didn't think of it being an actual problem until I had a genius test it 13 months after purchase. At the time, the offer was to either pay the $79.99 for a replacement or live with it. I wasn't happy

     

    Apple may have reacted slower than I would've preferred but at least I will ultimately receive satisfaction for what I knew was a faulty component. Now, next month when it's time for my upgrade, my daughter gets my hand-me-down iPhone 5 rather than a new iPhone 5C.

     

    As a user since '89 and an investor since '97, Apple has never given me a reason not to continue being both.

     

    Well, maybe a few reasons in the early days of OS 8….

  • Reply 31 of 89
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I don't remember who the toolbag was that I debated with here a few months ago, but they insisted that Apple was under no obligation to replace the battery on my (now eligible) iP5, which showed signs of this defect 1 month after its warranty expired. Actually my battery showed signs of decreased capacity after about 8 or 9 months but I didn't think of it being an actual problem until I had a genius test it 13 months after purchase. At the time, the offer was to either pay the $79.99 for a replacement or live with it. I wasn't happy

    Apple may have reacted slower than I would've preferred but at least I will ultimately receive satisfaction for what I knew was a faulty component. Now, next month when it's time for my upgrade, my daughter gets my hand-me-down iPhone 5 rather than a new iPhone 5C.

    As a user since '89 and an investor since '97, Apple has never given me a reason not to continue being both.

    Well, maybe a few reasons in the early days of OS 8….

    Oddly there are a lot of people here that think that just because the warranty is over the device is allowed to fall apart because of large scale component defects.


    PS: (Dickprinter knows this so I say this to everyone else) The day you buy your Phone add a calendar event for one year minus a couple weeks to a month (or 2 years if you get AC+) to make an appointment at an Apple Store to have your device checked out before the warranty is over. If you're sure your device is working perfectly then simply it ignore that calendar event, but if it's not you'll have something to remind you that your warranty is just about to expire.
  • Reply 32 of 89
    markdomarkdo Posts: 18member
    Went to the local Apple store tonight... swapped mine out... Has been shutting down on me at 50%... then nothing.

    I will still get the iPhone 6 next month... and give the 5 to my mother... She will love it... and I will also be a very happy man.
  • Reply 33 of 89

    How long does the process take to replace the battery ?

     

    I live approx 150 miles from my nearest Apple Store in the UK.  Once the program goes live in the UK, Can i take it along to the Apple store and they'll fix it right away or will I have to leave it with them and collect at a later date ?

  • Reply 34 of 89
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post



    Wow, mine qualifies! Last year Apple replaced my 2010 MBP i7 15" motherboard this year this. Way to go Apple.

    Ya know, I really hope your experience means that Apple will soon provide the same to all those folks with defective early 2011 MBPs.

  • Reply 35 of 89
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee View Post





    Apple stated a very small number are affected. Yet in every forum ice seem that posted this it seems EVERYONE has this battery problem.



    So funny how that works. Quite the coincidence, I'd say.



    So you are impllying I and others are lying.  Why don't you have some guts and state your veiled accusation explicitly, then I can post the serial number and you and everyone else can go see if it qualifies, as I stated, and then, if you are man enough, you can apologise.

  • Reply 36 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by markdo View Post



    Went to the local Apple store tonight... swapped mine out... Has been shutting down on me at 50%... then nothing.

     

    That's exactly what mine has been doing. For months I've kept a battery case on mine and switching it on as it neared 50%, before it spontaneously shut down.

  • Reply 37 of 89
    cnocbui wrote: »
    So you are impllying I and others are lying.  Why don't you have some guts and state your veiled accusation explicitly, then I can post the serial number and you and everyone else can go see if it qualifies, as I stated, and then, if you are man enough, you can apologise.
    Ooooohhh, an Internet tough guy. You are a liar. Maybe not about this issue, but you have been called one in the past by several posters here at AI. Perhaps you should think about why so many have "implied" that about you in the past.

    Yes, many people are lying. That doesn't mean ALL people are lying.

    You made a stupid post awhile back to TS about battery life and got ripped by several posters. You had NO EVIDENCE that there was a battery issue with iPhones other than your personal experience. If I had a faulty LCD screen on my iPhone that needed replacement and went around telling everyone that Apple has a "known issue" with LCD screens than I'd be lying too.

    As they say, a broken clock is right twice a day. You made a lucky guess, nothing more.
  • Reply 38 of 89
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,594member
    You are a liar....
    you're a liar..
    ...makes you a liar.
    ...makes you a liar.
    You're an outright liar.
    makes you a liar...


    Put that in your signature line and save a lot of typing.
  • Reply 39 of 89
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EricTheHalfBee View Post



    As they say, a broken clock is right twice a day.

     

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post



    Put that in your signature line and save a lot of typing.

     

    Maybe he's hoping that a broken record is right twice a day, too.  :D

  • Reply 40 of 89
    Spoiler:
    applezilla wrote: »
    Genius bar appointment made for tomorrow morning. Hopefully they'll just give me a whole new phone.

    They just swap out the battery... No new phones.
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