How to get your old iPhone battery replaced by Apple

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2020
If you have an older or heavily-used iPhone, and you're worried about Apple's admission that it slows down models with degraded batteries, here's how to get your battery swapped instead of paying for a new device.




The best scenario likely involves AppleCare+, an extended warranty available on its own or as part of the iPhone Upgrade Program. If Apple tests your iPhone and determines that its battery holds less than 80 percent of its original capacity, you're golden, since Apple will replace the battery for free. You can make this happen in person at an Apple store, or mail in your iPhone after going through an online process.

Be cautious however, especially if you choose the mail-in route. If Apple decides your battery is fine, you'll end up paying the full service fee -- plus another $6.95 for shipping if that's required.

Most other people will probably end up paying that service fee, which is $79 plus tax. Yes, even people under an iPhone's default one-year warranty, since that only covers defective batteries and not worn-out ones.

It's also possible to get repairs done through authorized service providers. Apple warns though that third parties are allowed to set their own prices, which could mean paying extra if you don't shop around.

Regardless of which route you take, note that mailing in an iPhone will probably take a little while. Once Apple receives a unit, it'll take another 3 to 5 business days to get it back. AppleCare+ subscribers do have the option of Express Replacement Service, which gets you a new iPhone right away, along with a box to ship out the old one -- but that uses up one of your two $99 "accidental damage incidents," and should you fall outside of coverage, you'll pay out-of-warranty fees ranging from $269 for an iPhone SE to $549 for an iPhone X.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    AppleInsider said:
    and should you fall outside of coverage, you'll pay out-of-warranty fees ranging from $269 for an iPhone SE to $549 for an iPhone X.
    That's what battery replacement costs if you're not under some special policy? That's kind of crazy. I guess I'll just hope the battery holds out for a long time yet.
  • Reply 2 of 40
    Roger_FingasRoger_Fingas Posts: 148member, editor
    cgWerks said:
    AppleInsider said:
    and should you fall outside of coverage, you'll pay out-of-warranty fees ranging from $269 for an iPhone SE to $549 for an iPhone X.
    That's what battery replacement costs if you're not under some special policy? That's kind of crazy. I guess I'll just hope the battery holds out for a long time yet.
    To clarify, that's only what it costs if you use the Express Replacement Service without AppleCare+ coverage.
    cgWerkstekfranz
  • Reply 3 of 40
    I understand why Apple would do this in regards to prolonged hardware life, but even if one does their battery replaced does the performance go back to "normal" on an older phone? I guess it would depend how old the ph is. As older hardware is not optimized for the newer software etc. So performance decline is inevitable either way. New battery or not. 
    racerhomie3lkruppcgWerksmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 4 of 40
    I have been reading about people who have been told their battery is fine by Apple, so they refuse to replace it, but they are still experiencing the throttling. I hope this isn't true. I had a battery related issue with my last iPad Pro. It was draining way too fast and giving me sporadic percentages. The guy at the Apple store refused to believe it was an issue after his battery test said it was fine. I sold the iPad in the end (honestly describing the issue in the description). That experience really put a dampener on my Apple enthusiasm.
  • Reply 5 of 40
    Has anyone even thought of the fact that normal people,like my mom, would rather see a few frames drop here and there, rather than having random reboots on her phone. 
    If you want Apple to annoy you about every little change ,here & there ,you should probably use Android with a custom rom , and make your processer run at 100% all the time.
    mike1chiamackerr
  • Reply 6 of 40
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    hypoluxa said:
    I understand why Apple would do this in regards to prolonged hardware life, but even if one does their battery replaced does the performance go back to "normal" on an older phone? I guess it would depend how old the ph is. As older hardware is not optimized for the newer software etc. So performance decline is inevitable either way. New battery or not. 
    Performance goes back to normal for the phone.
    bb-15
  • Reply 7 of 40
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator

    I have been reading about people who have been told their battery is fine by Apple, so they refuse to replace it, but they are still experiencing the throttling. I hope this isn't true. I had a battery related issue with my last iPad Pro. It was draining way too fast and giving me sporadic percentages. The guy at the Apple store refused to believe it was an issue after his battery test said it was fine. I sold the iPad in the end (honestly describing the issue in the description). That experience really put a dampener on my Apple enthusiasm.
    "I understand you're telling me the battery is fine. However, I would like a new one anyway, and here's my $79 for it."
    mwhiteroundaboutnowchiacgWerksspheric
  • Reply 8 of 40
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    cgWerks said:
    AppleInsider said:
    and should you fall outside of coverage, you'll pay out-of-warranty fees ranging from $269 for an iPhone SE to $549 for an iPhone X.
    That's what battery replacement costs if you're not under some special policy? That's kind of crazy. I guess I'll just hope the battery holds out for a long time yet.
    No, that’s not what was said. Those prices are for accidental damages outside any warranty. It costs $79 to get your iPhone battery replaced. My iPhone 6 (completely out of warranty) had its battery replaced back in August for... $79+tax. 
    chiabb-15GeorgeBMactedcranmore
  • Reply 9 of 40
    djsherlydjsherly Posts: 1,031member

    I have been reading about people who have been told their battery is fine by Apple, so they refuse to replace it, but they are still experiencing the throttling. I hope this isn't true. I had a battery related issue with my last iPad Pro. It was draining way too fast and giving me sporadic percentages. The guy at the Apple store refused to believe it was an issue after his battery test said it was fine. I sold the iPad in the end (honestly describing the issue in the description). That experience really put a dampener on my Apple enthusiasm.
    "I understand you're telling me the battery is fine. However, I would like a new one anyway, and here's my $79 for it."
    What you're actually thinking at the time is - "You think I am a liar and there is no problem and you want me to pay $79 for a new battery?"

    This is the problem with intermittent issues - I had a problem with my mbp a couple of years ago and i just kept making appointments. In the end, they took it in to replace the part, but did such a poor job fixing it (the "repair" led to a series of successive sensor detections) they just quit the machine in the end and gave me a new one.

    I can see both sides of the situation here but as a consumer it does dampen enthusiasm.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 10 of 40
    mimacmimac Posts: 872member
    So... question...

    I have an old iPhone 4 which is slower than snailshit hibernating in a drawer. Rather than pay Apple an extortionate amount for a battery replacement (which they probably won't anyway in such an old phone) I could get one fitted by a local repair shop for about $20. Given that its not an "official" Apple replacement and under the impression that it will charge and discharge normally, will that battery replacement allow the phone to run at previously normal operating speeds?

    As Hypoluxa pointed out above, updates could potentially spoil any chance of getting the phone to operate anywhere near as well as it previously would have. Putting an older version of the phones OS back on is not an option as, even if it were possible, newer apps wouldn't run on it.

    Therein lies the "planned obsolescence".

    Wadaya think?
    edited December 2017 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 11 of 40
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    I have been reading about people who have been told their battery is fine by Apple, so they refuse to replace it, but they are still experiencing the throttling. I hope this isn't true. I had a battery related issue with my last iPad Pro. It was draining way too fast and giving me sporadic percentages. The guy at the Apple store refused to believe it was an issue after his battery test said it was fine. I sold the iPad in the end (honestly describing the issue in the description). That experience really put a dampener on my Apple enthusiasm.
    I had Apple test my battery, it tested within acceptable range, though everyone aknowledged the observable rapid battery drain, and refused to replace it under AC+, despite being the only suggestion they had to attempt to fix the issue, aside from paying to replace the phone.
    jdiamond
  • Reply 12 of 40
    robjnrobjn Posts: 280member
    I just replaced a battery in an iPhone 5. It’s easy to do.

    A kit from iFixit cost $25 plus shipping. It included the battery and all the tools. It was a bit tricky to get the tiny screws back in but most I think most people should be able to do a DIY battery replacement on an older device that is out of warranty and has no waterproofing seals to worry about.
    shamino
  • Reply 13 of 40
    EphEph Posts: 8member
    My wife dropped her iPhone 6 on the pavement and the screen cracked all over, out of warranty. A little strange, I thought. I noticed that there was a gap between the screen and the rest of the iPhone. I took it in and I was informed that it could be replaced for about $300. I waited six months and took it in again. This time I noted that the battery had swelled and needed replacement. They said "Fine, that will be $79." But that they would have to replace the entire iPhone with a refurb. Worked fine for me.
  • Reply 14 of 40
    It has only been about 5 months since when I have brought my iPhone 7 and at present the battery lasts for about 3 hours at max without rough usages. I don't use many apps the WiFi stays connected most times but I don't use the phone much however still I face this battery drainage issue. Is this something common with iPhone users or do I need to get my battery replaced? Any suggestions will be really appreciated.
    edited December 2017
  • Reply 15 of 40
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    lkrupp said:
    No, that’s not what was said. Those prices are for accidental damages outside any warranty. It costs $79 to get your iPhone battery replaced. My iPhone 6 (completely out of warranty) had its battery replaced back in August for... $79+tax. 
    Pshew... that's much better.
  • Reply 16 of 40
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    mrbtuts said:
    It has only been about 5 months since when I have brought my iPhone 7 and at present the battery lasts for about 3 hours at max without rough usages. I don't use many apps the WiFi stays connected most times but I don't use the phone much however still I face this battery drainage issue. Is this something common with iPhone users or do I need to get my battery replaced? Any suggestions will be really appreciated.
    Bring it in to the Apple Store. Have them run diagnostics on it.
  • Reply 17 of 40
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member
    I replaced the battery in my iPhone 4s 64 GB that I use as an iPod Touch by myself using a sub-$20 kit I purchased on Amazon. After watching a couple of YouTube videos to understand the procedure the actual process took less than 5 minutes. 

    Be forewarned that nothing you do to an iPhone 4s or older device is going to make it fast ever again. Nothing. The last version of iOS that it runs pushes it to its limits. The world has moved on and if you’re also using any contemporary Apple device with newer apps the 4s will feel like a slow pig in deep mud unless you are an extremely patient person. As an iPod it’s okay. 
    cgWerksspheric
  • Reply 18 of 40
    cgWerkscgWerks Posts: 2,952member
    dewme said:
    Be forewarned that nothing you do to an iPhone 4s or older device is going to make it fast ever again. Nothing. The last version of iOS that it runs pushes it to its limits. The world has moved on and if you’re also using any contemporary Apple device with newer apps the 4s will feel like a slow pig in deep mud unless you are an extremely patient person. As an iPod it’s okay. 
    It would be nice to have a green, yellow, red type indication when a new OS comes out. You're right, if you knew to stop like 1 iOS update before the final one that works on a device, you'd be much better off. (Or, be carful as sometimes Apple sells older models at a discount that are already obsolete on the latest OS, like they did with the original iPad Mini).
  • Reply 19 of 40
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member
    The single biggest issue I have with the “frozen” versions of iOS that older devices are stuck with is Safari. The version of Safari on iOS 9.3.5 and older iOS versions does not support content blockers and is incompatible with most ad blockers. The old versions of Safari simply can’t handle the massive ad bloat and auto play video content that is pervasive on most modern web sites. The usability reduction with older devices is much more a result of newer apps and web sites placing a much greater demand on the devices than anything else, including the throttling of more recent vintage iOS devices with weak batteries. If you could attach an automobile battery to an iPhone 4s it wouldn’t make a bit of difference when the old version of Safari encounters a web site with a mountain of ads and banners sitting on it.
    spheric
  • Reply 20 of 40
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    dewme said:
    The single biggest issue I have with the “frozen” versions of iOS that older devices are stuck with is Safari. The version of Safari on iOS 9.3.5 and older iOS versions does not support content blockers and is incompatible with most ad blockers. The old versions of Safari simply can’t handle the massive ad bloat and auto play video content that is pervasive on most modern web sites. The usability reduction with older devices is much more a result of newer apps and web sites placing a much greater demand on the devices than anything else, including the throttling of more recent vintage iOS devices with weak batteries. If you could attach an automobile battery to an iPhone 4s it wouldn’t make a bit of difference when the old version of Safari encounters a web site with a mountain of ads and banners sitting on it.
    The only thing? Apple doesn't provide security updates either, do they?
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