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

[jlc1978]

Depends on the model, but when I replaced the battery on my 2015 model the whole top case was new.

Mine as well. I was referring to the OP claiming Apple replaced the entire device rather than the battery. It just so happens the entire top case and battery are a single unit for repairs. I suspect that makes it easier to do repairs quickly and reduce the overall cost of doing the repair and increases 1st time repair success rates.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

Well, there will always be a friendly Asian iPhone repair guy in every mall in the west, ready to take Apple's business. It's after warranty repair after all. I've even installed my own batteries on occasion. Never a problem at a fraction of the cost Apple charges. Apple really have the worst anti-consumer practices in the industry.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Well, there will always be a friendly Asian iPhone repair guy in every mall in the west, ready to take Apple's business. It's after warranty repair after all. I've even installed my own batteries on occasion. Never a problem at a fraction of the cost Apple charges. Apple really have the worst anti-consumer practices in the industry.

lol. One of the reasons why I give Apple my $ is because of how it treats the consumer vs other companies, specifically when it comes to batteries (which matter a lot to me). Very interesting.

 

[TravelsInBlue]

Spoken as if this isn’t inevitable. Batteries do degrade, they’ll need to be replaced, so there’s no choice on the part of the consumer - especially not, when Apple is shouting environment environment environment.

There are plenty of other smartphone manufacturers.

You vote with your wallet.

Have an issue with it, don’t buy an iPhone. If enough people do that, then you’ll see change, but as long as the consumers and the free market don’t care then that’s what Apple is going to do.

 

[Beau10]

$249 for a battery makes AppleCare+ a no-brainer for the MacBook Pro, IMO. Especially with the accelerated degradation we've been seeing in the 2021 MBPs...mine will likely need a replacement by the end of this year.

I had Apple reject a warranty replacement on a battery that was showing 78% @ 850 cycles saying it was within normal wear and tear... when I argued it didn't last 1000 cycles before dropping down to the 'needs replacement' state, they said that's more of a marketing thing than an official policy.

Right now I'm at 84% at 352 cycles on my 14", but I definitely wouldn't lean on Apple's warranty as a way around this.

 

[I7guy]

There are plenty of other smartphone manufacturers.

You vote with your wallet.

Have an issue with it, don’t buy an iPhone. If enough people do that, then you’ll see change, but as long as the consumers and the free market don’t care then that’s what Apple is going to do.

On fan sites such as MR, some posters want the masses to take up their cause or beef against apple. When that doesn't happen labels get applied at times, or hahas or downvotes etc. It's a common enough theme.

Having said that, there are alternatives to Apple repair and people should do what they feel comfortable with.

 

[webkit]

Well, there will always be a friendly Asian iPhone repair guy in every mall in the west, ready to take Apple's business. It's after warranty repair after all. I've even installed my own batteries on occasion. Never a problem at a fraction of the cost Apple charges. Apple really have the worst anti-consumer practices in the industry.

What is anti-consumer about Apple's after warranty battery replacement practices? If Apple required iPhone owners to go through Apple to get batteries replaced then I might agree but as you noted, people can go to independent repair shops or buy elsewhere and install batteries on their own.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

On fan sites such as MR, some posters want the masses to take up their cause or beef against apple. When that doesn't happen labels get applied at times, or hahas or downvotes etc. It's a common enough theme.

Having said that, there are alternatives to Apple repair and people should do what they feel comfortable with.

We also have the opposite extreme on here though as people who will defend anything Apple does too, even if it is a poor excuse for customer service in certain scenarios/branches etc. No company is perfect, but I’ve never known a forum where consumers discuss experiences only for some to defend a manufacturer at the sake of us getting a better experience.

This thread is a good example in places. If we pay £700+ for a smartphone and it requires a new battery in under 2 years, that’s a manufacturing defect and an unreasonable length of time for a product to maintain functionality. You’ll get people suggesting it’s a good thing though because it’s got potential to make Apple more profit. That is truly bizarre to me, but thankfully we have consumer laws to protect us so it doesn’t matter.

 

[AppleEnthusiast1995]

Perfect timing as my iPhone 11 battery has gone from 84 percent down to 78 percent in less than a month.

 

[bmark]

Well, there will always be a friendly Asian iPhone repair guy in every mall in the west, ready to take Apple's business. It's after warranty repair after all. I've even installed my own batteries on occasion. Never a problem at a fraction of the cost Apple charges. Apple really have the worst anti-consumer practices in the industry.

So you're saying Google and Samsung have better anti-consumer practices? Please put down the crack pipe!

 

[raindogg]

What, you didn't hear? Apple is bleeding money (cough cough laugh laugh)

 

[collin_]

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.

AppleCare+ (Out of Warranty) [Deluxe Edition]

 

[Radeon85]

Batteries aren't that expensive, those prices are absolutely insane.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Batteries aren't that expensive, those prices are absolutely insane.

Just my experience with relatives/friends I know - a lot of them have had problem doing the cheap battery replacements at malls.... from losing sensitivity on the screen, having the screen pop off, having the replacement battery die in less than a year, and having the phone break during the replacement process. Now, I understand that there are a lot of success cases too but - I think the prices include labor and a good chance at failure (from my own experience).

 

[BigMcGuire]

We also have the opposite extreme on here though as people who will defend anything Apple does too, even if it is a poor excuse for customer service in certain scenarios/branches etc. No company is perfect, but I’ve never known a forum where consumers discuss experiences only for some to defend a manufacturer at the sake of us getting a better experience.

This thread is a good example in places. If we pay £700+ for a smartphone and it requires a new battery in under 2 years, that’s a manufacturing defect and an unreasonable length of time for a product to maintain functionality. You’ll get people suggesting it’s a good thing though because it’s got potential to make Apple more profit. That is truly bizarre to me, but thankfully we have consumer laws to protect us so it doesn’t matter.

Definitely. 2 years would be too low. I'm surprised how many old devices I see at universities these days. I still see a lot of iPhone 5/6/8 in the wild - even MacBook 12s!

From my perspective people wanted super light thin phones that are water resistant. That came at the cost of replacing batteries. I don't think Apple sat there and decided: "Money money money - let's make sure to not let users replace batteries, money money money - planned obsolescence!" That's inferred a lot on Macrumors. My experience with Apple devices - they last longer than most devices with batteries that I've used.

Yes, Apple is a company whose #1 goal is to make money. But forcing users to upgrade every 2 years, intentionally making batteries crap out after 2 years would not be conducive to making money. Battery technology needs to advance. Across the board - most people complain about battery life after 3-5 years on XYZ devices.

And yeah, I don't join in on the Apple is pure evil bandwagon that seems to be so popular today. But I don't kid myself - it's #1 goal is to make $ and usually putting out a quality product and service makes $.

 

[jlc1978]

Batteries aren't that expensive, those prices are absolutely insane.

There's also QC costs, customizing the battery for validation purposes, labor, shipping and storage.

A quick check shows BatteriesPlus wants $80 to do it; so Apple isn't really that out of line.

 

[benwiggy]

Can someone here explain to me what happens when you get your battery replaced. I was told by an Apple employee that they don’t actually replace the battery, that they actually replace the device. That sounds weird to me but I’ve also seen it mentioned elsewhere. Does anyone know if that is true?
For reference, I have a 10.5 inch iPad Pro.

Some iPad models can't be repaired: they literally just give you a new one. I've had this with several iPad Mini models.

But for a phone: just last week, I took in my old iPhone SE (2nd gen). It cost £49, and it took an hour. (FWIW, although the battery was completely unreliable, they said it was still showing 85%, but they still replaced it anyway. I've had similar with a 2014 MBP: they replaced the top case at the 'battery' rate, even though it was above 80%.)


Bigger phones cost more, obvs.

 

[Spotlighter9]

I had Apple reject a warranty replacement on a battery that was showing 78% @ 850 cycles saying it was within normal wear and tear... when I argued it didn't last 1000 cycles before dropping down to the 'needs replacement' state, they said that's more of a marketing thing than an official policy.

Right now I'm at 84% at 352 cycles on my 14", but I definitely wouldn't lean on Apple's warranty as a way around this.

This is not "more of a marketing thing" and "less than 80%" is stated very clearly on the Apple Support pages. https://support.apple.com/mac/repair

I would have gone to a different Apple Store.

 

[usagora]

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.

What you're doing is called "poisoning the well" and is a logical fallacy.

It's simple economics. The number of people on this forum who think it is "greed" for a for-profit business (especially a publicly traded one) to try to maximize their profits whenever/wherever possible is astounding to me. You guys act like Apple is your personal friend who owes you favors.

 

[Spotlighter9]

Can someone here explain to me what happens when you get your battery replaced. I was told by an Apple employee that they don’t actually replace the battery, that they actually replace the device. That sounds weird to me but I’ve also seen it mentioned elsewhere. Does anyone know if that is true?
For reference, I have a 10.5 inch iPad Pro.

The new MacBook Pros are designed for easy replacement, so they'll likely replace in store. I had my iPhone 8+ less than 80% battery replaced at no charge under my monthly Apple Care+ last year at the Apple Store. They put some fresh scratches on the side of my pristine display...when I complained they just said "sorry bout that." Could have made more of a stink, but I was too tired.

I would suggest installing a cheap screen protector -- to protect the display from the Apple Tech -- before having this done on any device.

 

[I7guy]

We also have the opposite extreme on here though as people who will defend anything Apple does too, even if it is a poor excuse for customer service in certain scenarios/branches etc. No company is perfect, but I’ve never known a forum where consumers discuss experiences only for some to defend a manufacturer at the sake of us getting a better experience.

I definitely defend apples right to run their business legally the way they want and consumers right to walk if they don’t like the business practices. However some comments are immature and hyperbolic. And in between people both criticize and agree with things apple.

This thread is a good example in places. If we pay £700+ for a smartphone and it requires a new battery in under 2 years, that’s a manufacturing defect and an unreasonable length of time for a product to maintain functionality. You’ll get people suggesting it’s a good thing though because it’s got potential to make Apple more profit. That is truly bizarre to me, but thankfully we have consumer laws to protect us so it doesn’t matter.

If a two year old phone battery has been subjected to abuse, for example leaving it in a hot car for hours. The battery will wear abnormally. Batteries do fail for reasons beyond normal wear and tear. Those reasons could include abuse and manufacturing defects.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

If a two year old phone battery has been subjected to abuse, for example leaving it in a hot car for hours. The battery will wear abnormally. Batteries do fail for reasons beyond normal wear and tear. Those reasons could include abuse and manufacturing defects.

That’s down to a manufacturer to prove to the consumer if a product has been abused within a reasonable amount of time here in Europe. A warranty is a ‘voluntary service agreement’ that a manufacturer can state, but it’s not worth the paper it’s written in if the product is deemed to not last a reasonable length of time. For example if a washing machine comes with a 2 year warranty and fails soon after, a manufacturer/retailer is obliged under law to repair it or replace it up to 5 years after purchase. The same applies to electrical goods like televisions and laptops. Mobile phones tend to be deemed around 36 months. Retailers will try it on by telling you its ‘out of warranty’ but unfortunately for them the law isn’t on their side. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 was brought in to protect consumers against manufacturers designing products to fail prematurely and I’m surprised America has never pushed to have the same protection.

A battery on an iPhone should not be depleting within 2 years to an unacceptable level (-80%).

 

[zarmanto]

That’s down to a manufacturer to prove to the consumer if a product has been abused ...

I'm no expert in law (in any country) but are you sure that's how the European law in question is written? I would have assumed that it's actually a matter for the manufacturer to prove to a court or some other regulatory body, when such things are in dispute... not to the consumer.

A battery on an iPhone should not be depleting within 2 years to an unacceptable level (-80%).

I entirely agree -- and under ordinary circumstances, they don't deplete that quickly. Same is true of pretty much any Android, actually, because it's more a matter of physics than anything else. The batteries in Android phones and iPhones aren't all that different -- but the fact is, batteries eventually wear down. Mind you, modern cell phone batteries are a fairly well established industry, so they don't usually wear down to below 80% within such a short time span, unless there is unusual wear and tear or a defect.

But quite frankly, a lot of people don't really comprehend what constitutes unusual wear and tear, and so almost all users who routinely abuse their electronic devices are going to be prone to claiming it was a defect when the device ultimately fails. It is my opinion that codifying a three-year warranty accomplishes two things: 1) it encourages users to ignore best practices and freely abuse their devices, and 2) it forces manufacturers to increase the price of those devices, in order to accommodate a very realistic expectation of a higher number of warranty repair claims. (Feel free to double check me on this, if you like... but a two second Google search suggests that the premium in Europe may indeed be as much as ~30%.)

My old iPhone X (which my daughter inherited from me when I upgraded to a 12) presently shows that it is at 73% of its original life. The only reason I know this is that she only just started complaining that it was draining too fast. That iPhone X is the one and only time that I have ever pre-ordered an Apple device for day 1 delivery... so it is nearly 5 1/2 years old. While this is of course anecdotal, I mention it to illustrate that it is perfectly plausible for an iPhone to live a useful life well beyond that 2 year timeframe that you mention. And I would suggest that such long life expectancies are quite common... at least, for people who do not routinely abuse their devices.

 

[I7guy]

That’s down to a manufacturer to prove to the consumer if a product has been abused within a reasonable amount of time here in Europe. A warranty is a ‘voluntary service agreement’ that a manufacturer can state, but it’s not worth the paper it’s written in if the product is deemed to not last a reasonable length of time. For example if a washing machine comes with a 2 year warranty and fails soon after, a manufacturer/retailer is obliged under law to repair it or replace it up to 5 years after purchase. The same applies to electrical goods like televisions and laptops. Mobile phones tend to be deemed around 36 months. Retailers will try it on by telling you its ‘out of warranty’ but unfortunately for them the law isn’t on their side. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 was brought in to protect consumers against manufacturers designing products to fail prematurely and I’m surprised America has never pushed to have the same protection.

A battery on an iPhone should not be depleting within 2 years to an unacceptable level (-80%).

If the EU forces retailers and manufacturers to provide warranty service for abused products, good for the consumer. Abused products may not last a reasonable amount of time.

Rechargeable batteries can be abused and fail in two years or less. But good for the EU for putting the onus on the retailer.

 

[bmark]

If the EU forces retailers and manufacturers to provide warranty service for abused products, good for the consumer. Abused products may not last a reasonable amount of time.

Rechargeable batteries can be abused and fail in two years or less. But good for the EU for putting the onus on the retailer.

Abused products void warranties! You might want to figure out how warranties actually work.