Oh my goodness I’ve never been more disappointed in Apple and I have been loyal to them for many many years. It all started with my 3 yr old iPhone X starting to have battery charging issues and ultimately a neon green line that went down the display. I decided it was time to upgrade to the iPhone 11 and also figured it was worth the shot to see if they would take my ailing X as a partial trade-in credit. When the trade-in center received it, they could not get it to charge and sent it back to me denying the credit. No big deal, I figured that was probably going to happen but was worth a try. When I receive My iPhone X back from the trade-in center, I inspected it and realized the front glass was being pushed out of its casing. I contacted Apple support online and they instructed me to take it to a Best Buy to have it looked at. When I got to the Best Buy they immediately told me it appeared I had a swollen battery, that it was very dangerous and that I had keep it powered off and to mail in the phone to Apple repair instead. So I went home initiated the mail-in battery replacement, paid $79 and waited a few days for an update. The update came today saying They found “additional hardware damage” and increased the repair fee to $549. I called them to find out what the additional damage was and it turns out they were refusing to replace the battery without replacing the glass because of micro scratches on the display glass. My phone was in a case from day one and always had a glass screen protector on so whatever scratches they found must have been extremely tiny because I never noticed any. I went around and around speaking to a couple different service support agents and was told unequivocally that Apple’s policy was to not replace any battery for $79 if the phone had any sort of cosmetic damage at all, including the most minute micro scratches. They explained my options were 1: pay the $549 to get a new screen fitted and new battery inserted or 2: cancel the repair and they will return the bulging phone back to my hands to use as I see fit. This absolutely floored me because they are willing to put a customer in danger all because of some ridiculous policy they’ve instated to squeeze money out of their loyal customers. I find this absolutely disgusting that they are taking advantage of customers like this. Now I will say that after a couple of hours of emailing and escalating phone calls they finally conceded to by-pass the cosmetic damage and replace just the battery at the original $79. And while I am relieved and appreciate it, I am extremely disappointed for the hassle.
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iPhone X Absolute NIGHTMARE iPhone X swollen battery replacement
- Thread starter quamsi
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Sounds like the display will be damaged due to the green line down the screen.. Considering the phone is 3 years old and Apple has absolutely no responsibility to help you at all I'd say you should appreciated what they did for you and hope the display isn't damaged no matter how much trouble it caused you. Many have had Apple simply refuse to repair the phone where others have had the battery or even the phone replaced for the $79.. The screen replacement even from a 3rd party repair facility will be $300 unless you use a crappie LCD replacement in which case the phone would only be worth the parts as nobody in their right mind would want an iPhone X with a LCD screen, the screen looks horrible..
The green line was found to be caused from the bulging battery pressing against the display.
I hopeful your sake the line isn't there when you get the phone back. Once any green lines appear usually the display is permanently damaged. Search green lines on OLED screens and 95%+ usually need a new display..
I explained to them that I did not care about the green line at all I just wanted a safe device to get me through for the next two or three months until the 12 is released. It was annoying but it did not affect the functionality of the phone.
It’s always good to know what the repair policies are, especially if not getting Applecare+, so a person isn’t totally surprised.
There’s nothing in your description that’s out of line with Apple’s published policies: “If your iPhone has any damage that impairs the replacement of the battery, such as a cracked screen, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair.”
support.apple.com
There’s nothing in your description that’s out of line with Apple’s published policies: “If your iPhone has any damage that impairs the replacement of the battery, such as a cracked screen, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair.”
iPhone Battery Replacement - Apple Support
Need more power? An Apple Store or Authorized Service Provider near you can replace your iPhone battery. See the associated cost by coverage type.
But my phone did not have a cracked screen. When we inquired multiple times about why we are having to pay for a new display they continued to tell us they could not replace the battery with “scratches on the front glass”. When I asked about the green line they said that because it was caused from the swollen battery that would be covered but the micro scratches negated that. When I asked hypothetically if I had a small dent on the very top of the device if that would impede battery replace, they told me “Any damage, cosmetic or otherwise minor or major must be fixed before replacing a faulty battery”. In other words they can refuse to replace a faulty battery for $79 unless the phone is in mint, like new condition.
Im shocked people think this is acceptable. We are not talking about a shattered screen, or a bent enclosure, we are talking about minute micro-scratches that are purely cosmetic and do not, in any way at all impede actual battery replacement.
Im shocked people think this is acceptable. We are not talking about a shattered screen, or a bent enclosure, we are talking about minute micro-scratches that are purely cosmetic and do not, in any way at all impede actual battery replacement.
You knew Apple policy ahead of time. You couldn’t get trade-in credit due to the poor condition of your phone, which you were ok with. And now, you want to try and turn this to being Apple’s fault? I don‘t think so. Apple hasn’t done anything wrong here.
The “poor condition of the phone” was caused from a bulging battery which has been a continuous problem with the iPhone X’s and is highly documented here on these forums and elsewhere.
The only thing that is Apple‘s fault is the fact that they are trying to screw customers over by making them pay for cosmetic damage when a simple battery replacement can be achieved.
Just wanted a safe phone without having to jump through all the unnecessary hoops. 🤷🏻♀️
I understand your point. Like I said, Apple is adhering to its policy you already knew about. If a bulging battery hadn’t been involved, Apple may have exercised some discretion. As is, they were strictly adhering for good reason.
The bottom line is Apple didn’t bend the rules for you and you are mad they didn’t. That doesn’t equate to bad customer service. That equates to you not getting your way.
Apple replaced my bulging iPhone X, which is actually not quite three years old, free of charge. They should be consistent. I don’t have AC+.
EDIT: theoretically, there are no 3+ year old iPhone X in consumer hands.
Unless Apple has an actual ‘course of action‘ plan in place, what you said is inaccurate in bold. There’s no such thing as consistency when you’re dealing with a level of representatives that may have a different understanding in terms of handling a resolution for a problem that doesn’t have specific guidelines. What I’m trying to tell you, is without something that has a designated plan for a mass recall or program, you’ll never achieve a level of consistency, when every Apple employee might handle every situation differently.
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We live in a global pandemic where we can’t send our kids to school and we are trapped in our homes, but having to jump through a few hoops so that Apple does what you wanted them to do is an “absolute NIGHTMARE?”
First world problems.
First world problems.
This is horrible. The back glass of my iphone X cracked after a slight fall. I covered the back with a screen guard and used it for further two years before the battery started swelling. Now, I am getting the same answers. There's nothing anyone can do and don't use a swollen battery phone.
I had the same thing happen w/o the green line and w/o the bulging battery. I just wanted my battery replaced for the $79. They said they wouldn't replace the battery due to screen. Honestly, I have no idea what the hell they were talking about. My screen was perfect. I know we all love Apple but this is a BS move. Also, how do they figure that screen is worth $549? That has to be the biggest mark up on planet earth. I do most of my own work, Samsung screen replacements, LG, ect, but working on iPhone is extremely annoying and I know why. I continue to use iPhone's simply because of iOS, I'm good with the rest.
I agree with the OP. I was charged for the battery replacement for my expanding battery iPhone X this summer. Thankfully, I did it in the brief period, during which the stores were open.
It’s VERY frustrating to hear that Apple has replaced some free of charge, some for battery replacement fee, and some for full price replacement. It’s unacceptable for this many people to have battery swelling issues and there to be such an inconsistent response.
It’s VERY frustrating to hear that Apple has replaced some free of charge, some for battery replacement fee, and some for full price replacement. It’s unacceptable for this many people to have battery swelling issues and there to be such an inconsistent response.
![20200827_233712[2112].jpg](/data/attachments/866/866546-1f0066abfee09f72a2153cfa47fc80e1.jpg)
It simply means the display is defective. It's a relatively common defect on the iPhone X. The battery may or may not be swollen.
If I can get $400 for this phone as it is now and then upgrade to a iphone 12, would you recommend this as opposed to pay to get it fixed as I assume the screen and battery will be expensive.
The display assembly is about $100-$150 depending on the quality. Battery is about $20. Labor is maybe $75. These prices are based on third-party parts. I'd probably sell it for $400 if I were interested in the new iPhone features.