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Apple today announced it is making its reduced $29 battery replacements available immediately for iPhone 6 and all newer models.

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Apple previously said it would offer the cheaper battery replacements in late January, but it has removed that timeframe from its letter to customers, and has confirmed immediate availability in a statement to TechCrunch.Apple normally charges $79 for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements, but it reduced the price by $50 following a wave of controversy over its process of dynamically managing the peak performance of some older iPhone models with degraded batteries to prevent unexpected shutdowns.

Given a lack of nuance in some mainstream coverage, many headlines have fueled speculation that Apple artificially slows down older iPhones to drive customers to upgrade to newer models, but the actual issue was Apple's lack of transparency about the power management changes it made starting in iOS 10.2.1.

When it released iOS 10.2.1 in February, Apple only vaguely said it made "improvements" to reduce occurrences of unexpected shutdowns. It only chose to explain that the changes it made may result in temporary slowdowns on some older iPhone models with degraded batteries after controversy recently reignited.

The issue came into the spotlight in early December after a Reddit user claimed that his iPhone's performance significantly increased after replacing the device's battery. Soon after, analysis of iPhone 6s benchmarks visualized an apparent link between lower performance and degraded battery health.

Apple responded by noting the power management process is a "feature" rolled out to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE, but since it didn't fully communicate this change, some iPhone users may not have realized all they needed was a new battery.

Apple said it will release an iOS update in early 2018 with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance. It's unclear if Apple will ever let customers opt out of the power management process.

Apple said the cheaper iPhone battery replacements will be available worldwide through December 2018. The $29 fee applies to the United States, with prices varying in other countries based on exchange rates.

To initiate the battery replacement process, we recommend contacting Apple Support by phone, online chat, email, or Twitter, or scheduling a Genius Bar appointment at an Apple Store with the Apple Support app. You can also inquire about a battery replacement with select Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Article Link: Apple Makes $29 Battery Replacements Available Immediately for iPhone 6 and Newer


This IMHO this move is total BS and unsavory to say the least on Apples behalf. To elaborate I have been commenting for years that Apple just might be playing games with it's loyal customers like myself who buy most new products. My personal experience has been disappointing with regard to 2...I repeat "2" MacBook Airs. When I would upgrade to the latest build
the battery would burn out and the operating system became useless. I literally had to trash my 2011 MBA in 2014 and after purchasing a new 2014 MBA the same problem occurred in 2017 when again after upgrading to the latest build AGAIN the battery and the OS went bye bye ( I use my computers for basic tasks, nothing elaborate). I went ahead an purchased a new MBP w Touch Bar and so far no problems (maybe because I refuse to upgrade to new builds). My personal feeling is that Apple must keep the Board happy and keep that stock price climbing and their ridiculous salaries and HIGH bonus structure intact.
I have now become suspect of every move that Apple makes. Im also suspect that they release products early and before fully tested for flaws (ex: iPhone X). I won't touch that product for at least another year when it's out of the beta system. LAST - If Steve was still with us this would NOT be happening. The man had sometime that the present Executive Management and R&D staff lacks....INTEGRITY!! The current staff again IMHO are nothing but pompous, arrogant, elitist creeps. From here on in I will be hesitant in buying any new product that Apple releases. They have blown ALL of their credibility with me. Can you imagine they had the gaul and the ball's to ADMIT that they were playing games with this latest public relations disaster? <rolling my eyes in disbelief>
 
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Since this is a paid for service even for phones that is already out of warranty. If a phone is previously repaired by a 3rd party, can we still pay the $29 for the battery to be replaced by Apple?

Read post #410. Apple prefer that you buy a new phone so if you send in a phone to them that was previously serviced by a 3rd party they may return it in worse condition.
 
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Apple got caught looking like an ******* crippling year old products... Hmm, I don't want to hear any more BS from Apple about the environment, world peace, social justice, etc... They are just another predatory corporation. That's fine but drop the politics. Instead of dating landfills by drilling for phone books, we can do it with iPhones now. FU Apple!
 
That’s up to the individual to decide.

I do, and still will, in the near foreseeable future at least.
You're giving Apple a free pass. They sold, still selling, a device thats not fit for purpose over it's life time. Mistake 1: faulty product. Then they knowingly slowed it down, without consumer knowledge to cover up that original fault. Mistake 2: lack of honesty.

You can't make a mistake of something, then try to fix that by making another blunder.
 
Given a lack of nuance in some mainstream coverage, many headlines have fueled speculation that Apple artificially slows down older iPhones to drive customers to upgrade to newer models, but the actual issue was Apple's lack of transparency about the power management changes it made starting in iOS 10.2.1.

But. If you wanted to deliberately make the old phones look poor in comparison to newer models and incite customers to upgrade, then isn't purposefully slowing down older handsets (for whatever reason) exactly what you'd do?

No, we don't want our phones to suddenly shut down in the middle of a call (though this frequently happens "naturally" when the juice runs out, as it will), but equally we would have been more likely to believe Apple had they been open. But they weren't open and people quite rightly therefore doubt their original motivations.
 
I’m confused. Is that supposed to be $29 (Canada; $35) all-in, or is there a separate cost for labour? Before Apple decided to reduce their battery cost, I went to the Apple Genius Bar in Toronto and was quoted $99 for the battery replacement plus $429 labour. So tell me about that labour cost: does it still exist or is Apple now waiving it? Because let me tell you, that small reduction in battery cost means next to nothing if that labour cost is still there. Here’s a copy of my work order from Apple (p.s. I cancelled after seeing this bill, and purchased a battery replacement elsewhere.)

Wait, what? $528 to replace a battery!!!!
 
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But. If you wanted to deliberately make the old phones look poor in comparison to newer models and incite customers to upgrade, then isn't purposefully slowing down older handsets (for whatever reason) exactly what you'd do?

No, we don't want our phones to suddenly shut down in the middle of a call (though this frequently happens "naturally" when the juice runs out, as it will), but equally we would have been more likely to believe Apple had they been open. But they weren't open and people quite rightly therefore doubt their original motivations.
How about you force an OS update on them, which cant be removed after the fact, that slows it down. Every phone I've ever owned has a battery warning system; never "shut down in the middle of a call" without warning you in advance.
 
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I’m confused. Is that supposed to be $29 (Canada; $35) all-in, or is there a separate cost for labour? Before Apple decided to reduce their battery cost, I went to the Apple Genius Bar in Toronto and was quoted $99 for the battery replacement plus $429 labour. So tell me about that labour cost: does it still exist or is Apple now waiving it? Because let me tell you, that small reduction in battery cost means next to nothing if that labour cost is still there. Here’s a copy of my work order from Apple (p.s. I cancelled after seeing this bill, and purchased a battery replacement elsewhere.)
According to the Apple Canada website, the maximum out-of-warranty repair fee for an iPhone 6 Plus is $429 CAD. This almost always entails receiving a warrantied refurbished iPhone which already includes a new battery. The standard cost for the battery replacement service is $99 CAD. Your repair estimate appears to be a simple error accidentally charging for both possible repair options, likely caused by the holiday rush.
 
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Yes and no, you would think the 6s would be the bug free release -- in some ways it is since they only added that force touch thing and Apple fixed the soldering issue that causes the iphone 6/6+ touch disease.

I agree with you, though sometimes it takes time to see how a device will deal with aging batteries , you test as much as you can, it sounds more like they made changes to the 6S power managetment, cause that is the model that had the worst shutdown issues . When I went on a holiday to Norway with mine to see the northern lights it was horrible, replaced the battery now and it's okay, but all my other phones has experienced cold conditions and the 6S was in a league of its own not handling.
 
I get it. I've made the same argument for different reasons for different effect but same overall outcome.
 
After they pay the labor, the $29 is going to be a drop in the bucket. You know how many $29 battery replacements they’ll need to make to mean *anything* to their bottom line? Even if 50M people take advantage of this, that’s about $1.5B top line. That’s about 1.5% of their projected sales for this QUARTER.

Apple is doing this because they believe it’s the right thing to do, not to make an extra buck.

Apple is doing this cause they want you to buy future products, regain trust, it's definitely about money. They don't want you to have doubts about dropping £1K on a phone which slows down after a year.

This is also the cheapest way for them to deal with the situation that is escalating . Free replacements would cost them, a repair program would cost them, $29 is a balance of winning trust and not loosing money.

They also want this to die ..... asap..... if people start poking around and discover that in fact the 6s as a example has a design flaw that led to this.... a recall / repair program on a model that was sold on such numbers is the thing they want to avoid at all costs.

Question you can ask yourself , why was the 6S plagued so badly by shutdowns/restarts ? Apple hopes you Take (pay) the $29 and all is fine .
 
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Before this fiasco began, Apple would NOT swap your iphone battery if it tested >80% capacity, even if the customer wanted to pay for it, and going third party voided the warranty -- WTH were people supposed to do then ?

Nothing . They were told the battery was fine, the phone was fine, all diagnostics passed, so if you were annoyed by any performance issues, you had to accept them or think about a faster phone.

One think people learned over time , if a computer gets slow, it's upgrade time. What is slow, depends on the individual.
 
Question you can ask yourself , why was the 6S plagued so badly by shutdowns/restarts ? Apple hopes you Take the $29 and all is fine .
Completely agree with the sentiment; but you've missed a trick here; if you take the $29 then you're just repeating the problem, that battery is still going to be as faulty as the the one it's replacing. Problem never goes away, Apple is happy.
 
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Completely agree with the sentiment; but you've missed a trick here; if you take the $29 then you're just repeating the problem, that battery is still going to be as faulty as the the one it's replacing. Problem never goes away, Apple is happy.

You are spot on . The root cause is never addressed , you are getting a temp solution , until the battery gets old again.

This is why Apple does not want attention moving to the root cause.... and the root cause is not battery tech.... other iPhones have gracefully handled poor batteries .
 
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I’m confused. Is that supposed to be $29 (Canada; $35) all-in, or is there a separate cost for labour? Before Apple decided to reduce their battery cost, I went to the Apple Genius Bar in Toronto and was quoted $99 for the battery replacement plus $429 labour. So tell me about that labour cost: does it still exist or is Apple now waiving it? Because let me tell you, that small reduction in battery cost means next to nothing if that labour cost is still there. Here’s a copy of my work order from Apple (p.s. I cancelled after seeing this bill, and purchased a battery replacement elsewhere.)

Holy crap, that is scandalous! WTF Apple!
 
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You're giving Apple a free pass. They sold, still selling, a device thats not fit for purpose over it's life time. Mistake 1: faulty product. Then they knowingly slowed it down, without consumer knowledge to cover up that original fault. Mistake 2: lack of honesty.

You can't make a mistake of something, then try to fix that by making another blunder.

I have explained a few pages back in some detail why I feel Apple did things the way they did and why I feel it was not entirely unjustifiable.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...one-6-and-newer.2098263/page-13#post-25655092

In summary, the long-term solutions proposed by some of you like improved batteries, I believe Apple is actively working on them, but it's not something that can or should be rushed, and it's not something that Apple can make happen overnight however huge an uproar there is. It will happen, people just need to give Apple time.

In the meantime, throttling the processor and replacing the batteries for a nominal fee remain reasonable interim measures until a more permanent solution can be found. I am not saying the solution doesn't suck, but again, if you give my linked response above a glance, you will hopefully have a better understanding of why I seem to be "giving Apple a free pass".
 
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To be honest, this was a bit annoying for me to deal with on iPhone 6 and 6s... but I actually don’t really fault Apple for doing it. I think the news story twisted it to be more nefarious than what it actually was/is. I’m not saying it’s right, but I honestly don’t think Apple was attempting to be evil here. *Of course I could be dead wrong, but eh. ;)



Kallum.
 
As they should have. They should also make the price permanent.
Definitely.
No, no, no, Apple. You profited massively from the sales of new phones by conveniently failing to tell your customers that you were slowing their current phones, thereby making them falsely believe they needed to upgrade. Yet you think we should go out of our way and take time from our day to travel to your stores, and *still* pay you more money to fix it? Had you been upfront and given customers the option to decide how their phones perform from within the OS, a replacement battery fee would be perfectly acceptable. I got a kit from Amazon that included tools and replaced my own for $24.95.
You really think people were desperate to hold on to old phones but traded up because they slowed down? Right. After all, the original 2007 iPhone is all we ever needed right? Who needs all the features added since??
[doublepost=1514716584][/doublepost]
To be honest, this was a bit annoying for me to deal with on iPhone 6 and 6s... but I actually don’t really fault Apple for doing it. I think the news story twisted it to be more nefarious than what it actually was/is. I’m not saying it’s right, but I honestly don’t think Apple was attempting to be evil here. *Of course I could be dead wrong, but eh. ;)



Kallum.
I find it hard to believe Apple had malicious intent. They are noted for their unparalleled customer service. No one else comes even close.
 
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I have explained a few pages back in some detail why I feel Apple did things the way they did and why I feel it was not entirely unjustifiable.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...one-6-and-newer.2098263/page-13#post-25655092

In summary, the long-term solutions proposed by some of you like improved batteries, I believe Apple is actively working on them, but it's not something that can or should be rushed, and it's not something that Apple can make happen overnight however huge an uproar there is. It will happen, people just need to give Apple time.

In the meantime, throttling the processor and replacing the batteries for a nominal fee remain reasonable interim measures until a more permanent solution can be found. I am not saying the solution doesn't suck, but again, if you give my linked response above a glance, you will hopefully have a better understanding of why I seem to be "giving Apple a free pass".

Have you ever asked why the 6S is plagued by these shutdowns? Let's not blame battery tech when iPhones before the 6S managed to deal with older batteries .
[doublepost=1514716701][/doublepost]
To be honest, this was a bit annoying for me to deal with on iPhone 6 and 6s... but I actually don’t really fault Apple for doing it. I think the news story twisted it to be more nefarious than what it actually was/is. I’m not saying it’s right, but I honestly don’t think Apple was attempting to be evil here. *Of course I could be dead wrong, but eh. ;)



Kallum.

What Apple did is understandable . Much better experience for the user, though also sounds like the 6 series might have a design flaw that needed such drastic action . Worth considering .
 
Have you ever asked why the 6S is plagued by these shutdowns? Let's not blame battery tech when iPhones before the 6S managed to deal with older batteries .
I actually stated my thoughts a few posts back as well.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...one-6-and-newer.2098263/page-14#post-25655257

To be precise, it's not entirely a battery issue, but replacing the battery can stave off the issue until whatever is causing the problem degrades the battery past that critical threshold again. Specifically, I suspect it's the bursty nature of the Apple processor stressing the battery out. Features such as rush to sleep / wake can be great for battery life, while also being bad for the longevity of your battery in the long run.

In summary, yes, Apple is treating the symptom, and that will have to suffice until they can find a more permanent solution.
 
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