Apple Now Charging More for Out-of-Warranty Battery Replacements on iPhones, iPads and Macs

[The-Real-Deal82]

How can an iPhone 13 be out of warranty? It’s less than 2 years old and a battery needing a replacement within such a short time is unacceptable. This is probably more a problem in the American market but they should push harder for better after sales care.

 

[Lakersfan74]

I never keep my stuff long enough to worry about the battery

 

[AlanMarron]

I've replaced several iPhone batteries myself with batteries from Amazon, and every one has bulged within 12 months. MacBook Pro batteries as well.

When I'm in the USA, I have my batteries replaced at an Apple Store. Never had bulging issues with an OEM battery. And as other posters have mentioned, when Apple was unable to unstick a battery, I was given a refurbished device on the spot.

My 2¢ -- you get what you pay for.

 

[ShivneelSingh]

Every time I went into the Apple Retail Stores for battery replacements for iPhones, iPads, etc., they simply replace it with a refurbished one. I liked that because it feels like I received a brand-new device due to no scratches, etc.

As for the MacBooks, it's worth the $249 since they clean out the fans and remove all of the dust that has accumulated for the past 3 years.

 

[collin_]

Battery replacements are really important and can extend the lifetime of a device by years and years. Really crappy of them to raise the prices so high. I'd bet anything they did it solely because they know that battery replacements can help people keep a product for longer instead of having to buy a new one.

Consumer awareness of battery replacements is still quite poor. I've seen so many people spend $1,000+ to buy a new device when their only issue with it was that the battery was run down.

 

[webkit]

Prior to temporarily reducing iPhone battery replacement prices in 2018 in response to "batterygate", Apple had been charging $79. Adjusting for inflation, $79 in 2017 would be around $96 today which means current prices of $49 to $99 (even after increases) are still mostly lower.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Battery replacements are really important and can extend the lifetime of a device by years and years. Really crappy of them to raise the prices so high. I'd bet anything they did it solely because they know that battery replacements can help people keep a product for longer instead of having to buy a new one.

Consumer awareness of battery replacements is still quite poor. I've seen so many people spend $1,000+ to buy a new device when their only issue with it was that the battery was run down.

Curious - from my perspective these are normal prices from before the 6s debacle where substandard batteries were causing problems. They lowered the price of changing batteries then and handed out a ton of reimbursements for those who fixed those batteries.

So $89 is bout what it always was. From my perspective.

The fact that the last 2 "fixes" my wife had - Apple Store geniuses themselves destroyed the phone and had to give us a free replacement tells me there's probably a lot of failures at actual replacement, lol.

 

[JM]

I would get AppleCare if it covered for more than two years. What battery is going to be less than 80% in less than two years? :/

 

[BigMcGuire]

I would get AppleCare if it covered for more than two years. What battery is going to be less than 80% in less than two years? :/

It does. If you do monthly. And right, on all the devices I've had, even after 2 years, I was still in the 9x%. My wife did have a failed battery on her MBP and it tanked on the 3rd year (free replacement).

I do monthly (or yearly for MBP) AppleCare+ on all my devices. You can do that indefinitely now.

 

[erikkfi]

They call it a battery replacement but in my experience with my iPad it's a whole device replacement.

 

[subjonas]

Not shocking, it's greedy Apple after all. What is shocking is that their most loyal consumers will defend this... you'll see them in this thread, book it.

I have no loyalty to any company, but I think anyone who calls any business greedy, and tries to preemptively label anyone who disagrees with them as merely "loyal", is being naive and immature.

 

[deebinem]

Not shocking, it's greedy Apple after all. What is shocking is that their most loyal consumers will defend this... you'll see them in this thread, book it.

As a loyal Apple consumer since 2000, I certainly do not defend this.

iBook G4? Swaped the battery myself
PowerBook 12"? Swapped the battery myself
Macbook Aluminum Unibody? Swapped the battery myself
Macbook Pro 15" Retina? *record scratch
Since this point, I've fervently cussed Apple out for making it more difficult to replace the battery or in many cases, swapping out the entire lower body to replace a battery. Coming from a company that touts itself for having such a high standard of being environmentally friendly...

Sure, but why the fuhck don't you as a company love the planet if you have to replace a big majority of my machine just to swap a battery?

 

[BigMcGuire]

As a loyal Apple consumer since 2000, I certainly do not defend this.

iBook G4? Swaped the battery myself
PowerBook 12"? Swapped the battery myself
Macbook Aluminum Unibody? Swapped the battery myself
Macbook Pro 15" Retina? *record scratch
Since this point, I've fervently cussed Apple out for making it more difficult to replace the battery or in many cases, swapping out the entire lower body to replace a battery. Coming from a company that touts itself for having such a high standard of being environmentally friendly...

View attachment 2166723

Sure, but why the fuhck don't you as a company love the planet if you have to replace a big majority of my machine just to swap a battery?

Because most devices today focus on thin as a feature. So most devices today will glue a lithium polymer battery to the case vs making it swappable. Pretty much all the device manufactures out there today have gone this route. Same for soldered SSD/memory (but that's another topic).

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to hot swap these batteries. But I've used the competition and I prefer Apple hardware so it is what it is.

We can't have devices this thin and water tight (phones) with swappable batteries. <shrug>. Consumers want this.

 

[MacPoulet]

Ouch, my 2017 MacBook is $250 CDN. Battery health just dropped to 73% yesterday with less than 400 cycles…

 

[deebinem]

Because most devices today focus on thin as a feature. So most devices today will glue a lithium polymer battery to the case vs making it swappable. Pretty much all the device manufactures out there today have gone this route. Same for soldered SSD/memory (but that's another topic).

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to hot swap these batteries. But I've used the competition and I prefer Apple hardware so it is what it is.

We can't have devices this thin and water tight (phones) with swappable batteries. <shrug>. Consumers want this.

No I understand why it changed but it still doesn't make the pill any easier to swallow.

While the Macbook Air 2015 isn't as anemic as some of the newer devices, you could still swap the battery by unscrewing a couple of T5s instead of needing a solvent to remove the copious amounts of adhesive.

 

[subjonas]

I've replaced several iPhone batteries myself with batteries from Amazon, and every one has bulged within 12 months. MacBook Pro batteries as well.

When I'm in the USA, I have my batteries replaced at an Apple Store. Never had bulging issues with an OEM battery. And as other posters have mentioned, when Apple was unable to unstick a battery, I was given a refurbished device on the spot.

My 2¢ -- you get what you pay for.

Curious- what brand were the batteries? Have you ever tried an iFixit battery?

 

[GMShadow]

As a loyal Apple consumer since 2000, I certainly do not defend this.

iBook G4? Swaped the battery myself
PowerBook 12"? Swapped the battery myself
Macbook Aluminum Unibody? Swapped the battery myself
Macbook Pro 15" Retina? *record scratch
Since this point, I've fervently cussed Apple out for making it more difficult to replace the battery or in many cases, swapping out the entire lower body to replace a battery. Coming from a company that touts itself for having such a high standard of being environmentally friendly...

View attachment 2166723

Sure, but why the fuhck don't you as a company love the planet if you have to replace a big majority of my machine just to swap a battery?

The newer laptops swung back to having easier to replace batteries again. No, it's not 2008-2017 MBA easy, but there's just battery pull tabs now, no solvent needed.

 

[kiranmk2]

I just had the battery replaced on my 2020 SE. I brought my device in, they put it in diagnostic mode, did the tests, I signed the work order and came back in an hour. I received my same device exactly as it was when I brought it in but with 100% battery health. Under Settings -> General -> About, a new section appeared called Parts & Service History which lists the battery, the date it was repaired and that it is a 'Genuine Apple Part'.

I've done five battery replacements across my family's phones and with two of them they told me that the battery replacement had "failed" and gave me new refurb phones. In the most recent case, I was getting an iPhone 8 battery replaced and they didn't have a refurb to give me and had to order one in - they gave me the original back which looked and worked exactly as it did when I handed it over to them.

 

[citysnaps]

Apples business practices annoy me as much as the next person, but it’s kinda silly when people throw the term “greed” around.

This is Apple pricing to the market rate. If people are willing to pay this price (and or it encourages people to upgrade) then that’s what they are going to do.

If anything blame the consumers that keep paying these prices.

That's because it's easy to only think in terms that castigate Apple with a good whine, while ignoring inflation, increased labor pay/benefits, increased parts cost, increased company overhead, etc.

Yet with all the petty moans, those same people will refuse to vote with their wallet finding happiness with a competitor tech device.

 

[JM]

It does. If you do monthly. And right, on all the devices I've had, even after 2 years, I was still in the 9x%. My wife did have a failed battery on her MBP and it tanked on the 3rd year (free replacement).

I do monthly (or yearly for MBP) AppleCare+ on all my devices. You can do that indefinitely now.

So it’s two year whole price, and then monthly after that indefinitely?

 

[GMShadow]

I've done five battery replacements across my family's phones and with two of them they told me that the battery replacement had "failed" and gave me new refurb phones. In the most recent case, I was getting an iPhone 8 battery replaced and they didn't have a refurb to give me and had to order one in - they gave me the original back which looked and worked exactly as it did when I handed it over to them.

I've sent a phone in for work once with a cracked screen, and they sent back a full replacement saying they'd found it had battery/LB issues as well as a bad camera, so it wasn't worth fixing. Still the same AC+ replacement fee, no extra charge. Was quite pleased.

So it’s two year whole price, and then monthly after that indefinitely?

You can, yes, or just do monthly from the start. Some devices are pay up front only though (stuff like AirPods) and aren't extendable.

Generally accessories are covered under the master umbrella - if you buy AppleCare on an iMac and the mouse dies, that will be covered. Same with power adapters on the laptops.

 

[BigMcGuire]

So it’s two year whole price, and then monthly after that indefinitely?

Right, I'm told that if you're on the 2 year plan, you get an option to continue monthly after that expires.

Now, when you buy a device - you have the option of doing the 2 year plan, or the monthly plan at the on-set. (Same thing - after the 2 year plan expires, should give you the option of continuing monthly).

Most of my devices are on the monthly plan (and my MBPs are on the yearly plan (which is same as monthly for iPhone)).

Edit: GMShadow beat me to it

 

[sofila]

I just had the battery replaced on my 2020 SE. I brought my device in, they put it in diagnostic mode, did the tests, I signed the work order and came back in an hour. I received my same device exactly as it was when I brought it in but with 100% battery health. Under Settings -> General -> About, a new section appeared called Parts & Service History which lists the battery, the date it was repaired and that it is a 'Genuine Apple Part'.

Wow, this is really a complete and exhaustive answer on the subject

 

[GMShadow]

Right, I'm told that if you're on the 2 year plan, you get an option to continue monthly after that expires.

Now, when you buy a device - you have the option of doing the 2 year plan, or the monthly plan at the on-set. (Same thing - after the 2 year plan expires, should give you the option of continuing monthly).

Most of my devices are on the monthly plan (and my MBPs are on the yearly plan (which is same as monthly for iPhone)).

Edit: GMShadow beat me to it

I haven't decided if I want to renew the AC+ on my Intel 16" MBP once it expires in September, especially since I'm going to be getting it replaced in the next month or two due to case damage (long story). It'll probably depend on the price honestly.

 

[dockgaze]

Anyone here ever try or have experience with BatteriesPlus+ national chain? I’m nowhere near an Apple Store and would rather not give up my iPhone for the turn-around time needed. I prolly won’t be keeping my iPhoneX too too long anyway I figure . . .