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Apple Addresses Alleged Throttling of iPhones With Degraded Batteries
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The problem is that they refuse to replace batteries if the device passes their “tests”.
I don't think it's sinister. It's like if you were running super low on gas, you would drive delicately and not slam the gas, in hopes of extending your mileage.
But they make it oh-so-difficult not to update.
Automatic download, and then two options of "update" or "later", and if you click "later" it asks you to put in passcode so the phone will update on its own that night. (It's only in very small print at the bottom that says "remind me later" that will let you go in and delete that automatic download.... until it downloads it again and you have to wash-rinse-repeat it all again)
This might actually explain why older devices tend to slow down with updates. Perhaps it wasn't the update that caused the slowdown, but rather the bad battery?
I think I'm willing to trade performance if it means my device will function properly otherwise, even if my battery is shot. It also sounds like a safety feature.
I think I'm willing to trade performance if it means my device will function properly otherwise, even if my battery is shot. It also sounds like a safety feature.
This analogy is nowhere applicable. Apple Keeping an iPhone online as long as possible has nothing to do with killing off the after-refill cottage industry.
I think the feature was originally designed with 6s faulty batteries in mind and is being extended to other devices. You can say the reverse for the 6, it didn't need it on iOS 8 or 9 but it does now?
I'm a big Apple fan, but this is a bit shady, if only because it took people digging this up to get them to admit it.
The problem with them not saying anything about it is this scenario:
1. iPhone battery degrades after 1.5 years. iPhone slows down.
2. This user notices the phone is really slow, but they don't notice a battery issue. In their mind they need a newer, faster phone to fix it.
3. They buy a new iPhone and things are fine, for now.
The issue is that by not disclosing this, and by throttling versus letting the battery degradation become apparent, they are misleading people into a $700 upgrade rather than a $100 repair.
Apple needs to disclose this information in software now that they have been outed, showing info like battery cycles and whether performance is being throttled in the battery settings menu.
Can't be... I've seen people getting new(older) iphones that came with the latest iOS version and they are already slower than they should be if they came with the original OS.
That’s because they want you to buy a new phone instead, a fact many on here will deny, even though it’s simple business tactics.
Just like this long winded blah blah rubbish story misses the main point, the fact that Apple CHOSE NOT TO TELL ANYONE IT WAS DOING THIS!!
It was hoping you’d buy a new iPhone instead.
I had a 5s that shut down randomly when below 40% in cold weather, until I replaced the battery (and before that, Sony-Ericsson and HTC phones that did basically the same). I much prefer throttling to random shutdowns. Even if you believe Apple is trying to push you to upgrade, random shutdowns would push a lot better than slowdowns... so I actually believe them, this feature actually does prolong the ownership, not shorten it. If you can only accept “as new performance”, the net result is the same, you will need a new-ish battery. How could anyone not accept slowdowns, but be fine with shutdowns?
Agreed. I had a 5S with battery issues and AppleCare and they made me sit in the store and use the phone while someone watched to see how it drained for 3 hours before telling me "Nope, everything looks good from our diagnostic" So I flipped out and got it replaced for free.
Same thing with an iPhone 6 Plus that had a sticking home button. "Nope, all the tests passed it seems to be working fine!" even though you can hear it clicking as you push the button down.
These experiences were all after Jobs died.
The end result could be Apple creating a new program to replace batteries free of charge because there could be a bad batch of batteries causing issues.
Feels like Touch Disease all over again.
Feels like Touch Disease all over again.
I smell a class action lawsuit coming from this. Apple not informing the customers of this is wrong.
i wonder if they can now that iphones are watertight and sealed
My wife is a non-tech person. She has been complaining for a few months about her 6(s?)plus running ridiculously slow and I mean to the point that opening up the camera takes 10-15 seconds and most other apps take just as long. I've closed out all the apps, restarted and even refreshed her phone to new with the latest 11.x update and it still runs slow as can be - only since I've seen this information coming out about the battery and that Apple knowingly "slows down the processor a little" (paraphrasing here...) does it start to make sense. I'm not complaining about having to replace a battery or anything but damn it at least be transparent about it and admit that you have been doing this Apple. I've talked to a few Apple retail associates and all seem to be *shrugs*, "Have you tried x, y, or z" and when I answer yes they run the test and are all "it passes the test. no problems here". agghhhhhh.
As far as I am aware, Apple has been upfront about what it does, even if they haven't gone into painful detail on everything they do each and every time, so as to placate many forum and Reddit users.
I have no problem raking Apple over the proverbial coals when I think it is warranted. In this scenario, I don't think it is.
When you want to see darkness, darkness is what you shall find.
Sure, it's logical to run users' phones at half their rated speed without telling them, to avoid incurring the corporate expense of replacing batteries and/or fixing the underlying issue that is causing the phone shutdowns. It's logical for Apple. Not so logical (or fair) for their users.
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Nice for them to come out and admit what they are doing - and I think it was probably the best thing to do in their situation. This is really going to piss off customers more than anything though. Sadly, those of us who suffered from this know that this was as a result of defective batteries in the 6s 6s+ series (my wife had one). Any amount of CPU load or walking outside in cold weather would poof, pop the phone off. Slowing down the CPU to half is great, but replacing the defective battery would have been better. Taking her phone to the Apple Store just got us the "Sorry, but the diag says your battery is green, we can't do anything." When her 6s+ lasted a quarter as long as mine and shut off randomly (my 6s+ didn't have problems) - yeah, her battery was "green" ... bs - even coconutbattery saw fluctuations in the design capacity (less than 200 cycles!).
The Apple Store initially refused to replace her battery even if I offered to pay.... after some insisting, they let me do it only to destroy my wife's iPhone 6s+ in the process. We got it replaced for free but my $80 went down the drain (they refused to refund).
Then soon after we got the 8+.
Imo, the 6s and 6s+ batches came with some defective batteries. Apple replaced some of the 6s phones but some of the 6s+ had the problem too. Apple did FAR BETTER than a lot of companies imo so I don't hold anything against it. We got a free 6s+ when they destroyed it attempting to put in the $80 battery we paid and AppleCare+ has paid for itself, for me, handfuls of times over and over.
I would just be furious if I had a 6s+ limited to 600mhz and a battery that randomly shut off and Apple refusing to replace the battery.
The Apple Store initially refused to replace her battery even if I offered to pay.... after some insisting, they let me do it only to destroy my wife's iPhone 6s+ in the process. We got it replaced for free but my $80 went down the drain (they refused to refund).
Then soon after we got the 8+.
Imo, the 6s and 6s+ batches came with some defective batteries. Apple replaced some of the 6s phones but some of the 6s+ had the problem too. Apple did FAR BETTER than a lot of companies imo so I don't hold anything against it. We got a free 6s+ when they destroyed it attempting to put in the $80 battery we paid and AppleCare+ has paid for itself, for me, handfuls of times over and over.
I would just be furious if I had a 6s+ limited to 600mhz and a battery that randomly shut off and Apple refusing to replace the battery.
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I totally agree with you, I wonder how many people have bought a newer model iPhone because their older one was slow with newer IOS releases because Apple kept quiet that they could regain the speed on their device by simply replacing the battery, then again I guess Apple doesn't make as much profit on its battery replacement service compared to profits from selling the person a new iPhone.
is there anything worthwhile in what you just said?
How is that relevant and based on what?