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

[jlc1978]

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.

IIRC, the warranty is for a minimum of 2 years. It’s the retailer who is responsible for warranty, so you have to return it to the original point of sale. The manufacturer is not on the hook for repairs, unless you bought it from them, than whatever agreement they have with the retailer. So a phone bought in Spain by a German would require it to be returned to Spain under EU regulations. A phone bought in the US would only have any worldwide warranty by the manufacturer, in Apple’s case 1 year.

The minimum warranty period is 2 years, although states may make it longer via national law. Also, IIRC, after a fixed period (1 year by directive)it is up to the consumer to prove it was a defect Should the retailer claim it was not an issue caused by a defect. Covered under warranty.

In addition, such warranty costs are included in the sales price based on a manufacturers anticipated warranty costs over that period required by EU regulation.

 

[BigMcGuire]

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

How does Apple or Samsung know I’ve left my phone in my hot car repeatedly over and over resulting in an early death?

 

[webkit]

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%.)

Not necessarily (and this has been discussed at length in other threads) as the exchange rate plays a role as well as the fact that advertised prices in countries outside the U.S. often include VAT or GST (a sales tax equivalent) while U.S. prices do not include sales tax. Price comparisons between the U.S. and other countries can be very misleading.

The pre-VAT price of a 128GB iPhone 14 Pro in the UK is around £915. Using the exchange rate on September 27th as an example, £915 was around $979 USD. The pre-VAT UK price in USD was actually lower than the pre-sales tax price for the same phone in the U.S. ($999).

 

[MysteriousStain]

Replaced my Xs battery in January to avoid the price hike (pretty crummy battery life on that model to begin with). Replaced the battery on my 2012 cMBP with an amazon battery a couple of years ago, it stays plugged in 99% of the time. That 2012 is a champ, love that little thing.

 

[Allahu Akbar]

29% inflation @ Apple.
This is how the rich benefit from the inflation.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

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.

I don’t think it applies to abused products. If something has obviously been mistreated and failing due to that, that’s on the consumer. Your example of the battery being abused, i.e. being exposed to heat etc is very difficult to prove. If a product is returned as faulty and has been clearly battered and dropped, that would be entirely different. My iPhone 12 battery was at 82% as it reached the 2 year mark and for me that was very close to being a free battery replacement. It was never abused yet ended up being the worst battery performance of any iPhone I’ve owned. The phone was immaculate and for me the battery was on the verge of not lasting a reasonable amount of time. Had I kept the phone longer, I’d have been at Apple discussing a repair on them.

 

[bmark]

How does Apple or Samsung know I’ve left my phone in my hot car repeatedly over and over resulting in an early death?

Apple has diagnostic tools! The the same way car manufacturers know if you are keeping up the maintenance for your vehicle.

 

[jlc1978]

Not necessarily (and this has been discussed at length in other threads) as the exchange rate plays a role as well as the fact that advertised prices in countries outside the U.S. often include VAT or GST (a sales tax equivalent) while U.S. prices do not include sales tax. Price comparisons between the U.S. and other countries can be very misleading.

Very true - you need to compare list in the US vs. pre-VAT prices in Europe. If you look at the pricing, prices in the UK and EU are higher pre-VAT. Exchange rates will impact it, and I suspect the warranty premium is relatively small since it is spread out over all phones rather than a % as with AC+. Poland is ~100 EUR more than its neighbor Germany.

 

[giebe]

Didn't need any replacement in the last 13 years.

 

[AlanMarron]

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

They have been assorted brands made in China. iFixit is not one of my go-to companies and is not on my radar. I see its batteries are also made in China. (They all are, aren't they?)

 

[webkit]

29% inflation @ Apple.
This is how the rich benefit from the inflation.

Ok, let's talk about inflation. 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.

 

[mmm...really]

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.

iPhones and Macs can have their batteries replaced in store. Macs have screws and adhesive that are pretty straight forward to remove. For iPhone there are jigs that hold the iPhone securely to remove and reinstall the display during repair. Also if anything were to go wrong during the process parts and if necessary whole devices are available to make the problem right.
Stores do not have the equipment to remove displays and replace batteries for iPads and Watches. iPad displays are very tricky to remove and require a rather large support device to prevent breaking the display when removing or reinstalling. Watches it's the water resistance that limits repairability (and they are freaking tiny inside).
So with iPad an exchange device is ordered or provided from service stock. Watches are shipped to a repair facility.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

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.

Whoever is telling you that is being misleading. Apple's policy defines a defective battery as dropping below 80% within 500 cycles on iPhones and 1000 cycles on everything else. I've had that happen a couple of times and got them replaced under warranty with no questions asked.

 

[_Spinn_]

The price of everything has gone up. So not surprised.

 

[Aston441]

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.

Are they really loyal consumers, or part of the PR machine? There's no way to know.

 

[Aston441]

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.

I've had ZERO issues with iFixit batteries, and I've replaced at least 10, in iPhones and MacBooks. I find the batteries from iFixit are fresher and last much longer than the "new" old stock batteries that Apple dredges out of the warehouse.

 

[Aston441]

The battery is the main weak part in a smartphone today. If you could switch the battery very easily, you could use a phone for more than a decade, if you do not need any new features.

😂 you could never work for Apple 😂

 

[Aston441]

I was quoted $700 at the Apple Store to replace my MacBook Pro 15" 2018 battery. The online estimate was $250. I asked the associate why the online estimator would be so wildly off, and the associate just kept repeating because it was "so old", and "I didn't have Apple Care" and that they would have to mail it away. There is nothing else wrong with the computer than that the battery is in "Service Recommended" mode. I asked for a call back in my customer review, and the manager offered no further detail on why the actual price was so significantly higher than the online quote for the same model, just restated that it would have to be mailed away.

It is important to keep in mind that future proofing your devices by buying the best model will easily backfire a few years down the line.

This times 1,000,000%


I NEVER buy high end electronics any more, that now always face the very real probability of support suddenly ending in a year or two. Especially from Apple. Buy the bare minimum for immediate needs, accept that the device may need to be tossed in a year or two. The days of hand me down Apple devices are long gone.

Apple is biting the hand that feeds it. Soon the consumer will bite back.

 

[Aston441]

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.

That's what I've been doing. My Apple stuff is now all officially ancient. I refuse to support that anti-social compqny any more while they continue to discontinue perfectly good, fast hardware because their financial analysis dept determines they can make more money that way. I used to love having the latest MacBook and iPhone, and pass the old, perfectly good devices along to people that could ould use them. No more. Screw Apple!

 

[0924487]

I went in last Friday to have the one in my 12 PM replaced. The Genius said battery health was at 83% and at peak performance. Yep, and it’s been sitting at 83% for over a year. $73 (including tax) and 2 1/2 hours later, I walked out with a new 12 PM. Serial # check says it was manufactured in January 2023. No complaints I guess!

How? Don’t they have batteries to replace?

 

[BornAgainApple]

How? Don’t they have batteries to replace?

He said that the battery was replaced, but that the volume down button stopped working after they put everything back together. I’m a little skeptical but like I said, no complaints. I really didn’t want a new phone because it meant having to set up two factor authentication and other sensitive information again. I do practically everything on my phone including banking and bills.

 

[Beau10]

Whoever is telling you that is being misleading. Apple's policy defines a defective battery as dropping below 80% within 500 cycles on iPhones and 1000 cycles on everything else. I've had that happen a couple of times and got them replaced under warranty with no questions asked.

It was a genius who told me that when I brought it in for replacement. He ran a bunch of tests, went to the backroom, came back stating there was no official published policy on warranty replacements and that mine didn't qualify.

When I mentioned the above policy, he stated that was a marketing thing, that it doesn't necessarily align with how they process warranty issues. If you read the above policy carefully, it does use the word "designed", but is not explicit about what type of performance necessitates "defective" battery.

 

[Beau10]

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.

That's what the genius said to me, that "it's a suggested expectation for performance, but an official policy is not publicly available". The above only states for AppleCare+, and interestingly doesn't mentions cycles, so it seems to be more of a gimme for those who front the extra cash rather than a general warranty policy. If you note the policy linked in the prior post it's very weasel-worded, using "designed" and "defective" but not linking the concepts.

You're probably right about going to another store, because it wasn't a quick rejection, they still ran a battery of tests and took it to the back to likely discuss with a manager.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

It was a genius who told me that when I brought it in for replacement. He ran a bunch of tests, went to the backroom, came back stating there was no official published policy on warranty replacements and that mine didn't qualify.

The next thing you could have asked is that since Apple has language about the warranty covering defective batteries, what the definite threshold would be for a battery to be considered defective. Although it's pretty rare, sometimes you do come across a genius that doesn't know Apple policy that well (or wanted to discourage a repair because of the occasional slow turnaround times). For future battery repairs, you should either escalate to a supervisor or go to another store.

When I mentioned the above policy, he stated that was a marketing thing, that it doesn't necessarily align with how they process warranty issues. If you read the above policy carefully, it does use the word "designed", but is not explicit about what type of performance necessitates "defective" battery.

"Designed to be" implies that it is outside of design parameters if it doesn't achieve that at the minimum (i.e. a defective battery), especially since the sentence that follow it is about replacement for defective batteries.

 

[Beau10]

The next thing you could have asked is that since Apple has language about the warranty covering defective batteries, what the definite threshold would be for a battery to be considered defective. Although it's pretty rare, sometimes you do come across a genius that doesn't know Apple policy that well (or wanted to discourage a repair because of the occasional slow turnaround times). For future battery repairs, you should either escalate to a supervisor or go to another store.


"Designed to be" implies that it is outside of design parameters if it doesn't achieve that at the minimum (i.e. a defective battery), especially since the sentence that follow it is about replacement for defective batteries.

Again, I was told it wasn't publicly available - ie. it's an internal policy they can't share with customers.

To your second point, implied does not explicitly link. Again, marketing speak.