Apple on iPhone Battery Locking Issue: We Want to Make Sure Battery Replacement is Done Properly

[Jim Lahey]

Apple wishes to ensure that battery replacements in a device they designed and made are carried out by authorised repairers. Quick...to the keyboards! Rah rah rah! Rabble rabble rabble! The Sky is falling down etc. etc. etc.

🙄

 

[Fraye]

What of the countless unscrupulous dealers and repairs shops who put subpar wares in your device?

Why go to a repair shop for subpar wares when apple graciously ships subpar keyboards and batteries themselves?

 

[Joniz]

The article keeps making a point about it being XS, XR, & XS Max models.

So what happens to older iPhone models? Why’s that not even addressed? I’m guessing there’s more iPhone 7s needing new batteries than XSs.

 

[JPack]

Does that battery have the ability to report the number of cycles on it? If not it is the same problem. The battery health is determined based on several factors, including current cycle count. If the phone does not know the cycle count on the replacement battery, it cannot accurately assess the health of that battery.

As stated in the article and release, the phone will work perfectly fine. The only effect is that the health status reporting function will be disabled as Apple is not able to properly assess battery health. Seems like a reasonable approach to me. Rather than reporting potentially false data, do not report anything.

Of course the battery can report its health. The entire health reporting and life cycle info is stored on the battery pack. This info isn't stored on the phone.

 

[newdeal]

This would make sense if anyone had faith that the apple techs would do things properly

 

[diego.caraballo]

This is new ...”after an unauthorized repair.” 😵

 

[NickName99]

In light of MacBook Pro 2015 models being banned from airline flights over battery issues, and the Galaxy Note 7 batteries catching fire in peoples pockets, this seems smart. Apple should absolutely play it as safe as possible regarding batteries.

 

[LorenK]

Wow, $69 to replace the battery, that's ridiculous. In case anyone does not understand, that's called sarcasm. You've spent $700 to $1000 for a phone and you are going to complain that the price to replace the battery might be $10 0r $20 dollars more from an authorized service center? I'm sorry, but I am willing to pay more to be sure that the work is done properly. While that's not a guaranty, and independent service centers probably can do just as good a job, it just doesn't seem worth it to me. Apple is just reminding you that they didn't do it, so don't complain to them if something goes wrong. Remember, a message is just a message, and it doesn't keep you from doing it.

 

[kingtj]

Ok... a couple of things here:

1. Apple "wanting to be sure the battery is replaced properly" is pure B.S. The people getting their batteries swapped without using Apple are generally NOT just random people figuring they'll pry the phone apart and figure out how to do it themselves. You're talking about people who realize the phone has no battery lid or opening to easily change one out, so they take it to a BUSINESS that offers the service. Apple is insulting every single business professional working for a 3rd. party cellphone repair shop or computer repair shop that handles iPhones. I can assure you that Apple's own technicians aren't magically better at this kind of service work than techs doing it for other companies. I had an iPhone X with an earpiece speaker that died on it. The Apple store assured me they'd have it fixed for me within the hour, so I dropped it off. Long story short? They kept asking me to be patient and give them a little more time, when I returned from lunch an hour later. And finally, they admitted they broke the whole front of my phone trying to replace the part with the earpiece speaker on it -- so had to offer me a replacement phone.

2. Failing batteries that bulge/swell up are an industry-wide problem because these lithium-ion high capacity battery packs just fail in that manner every once in a while. The manufacturers need to get more serious about offering free replacements for them when that happens, no matter what. Because it's a potential fire hazard that's not worth all the bad publicity it will generate for them, especially over one of the cheaper/easier parts to replace in a piece of gear. I went through this with ASUS not long ago. TERRIBLE excuse for customer support and a ridiculous quote of around $450 to replace the failed, bulging battery in the laptop. It was only 1 1/2 years old but had a 1 year warranty.....

 

[VulchR]

I see a class action lawsuit in the making here. It seems like Apple is using a scare tactic to reduce competition.

A replacement battery doesn't automatically mean the phone needs 'service'.

Unless there is an obvious and verifiable service issue, battery status should indicate nothing more than the battery may not be an Apple factory replacement.

Exactly - this would affect the re-sale value of iPhones that have been repaired in non-Apple service centres or by users themselves. This imposes a rather large financial cost to Apple's customer's and it is so unnecessary. I've been using Apple products since the Lisa (yes, I have word-processed on a Lisa) and Apple are really beginning to annoy me with poor quality control and intentionally obstructionist design aimed at making Apple's products disposable rather than repairable. The latter is the real issue for me. If a technician has to replace a battery, then the design of the product is poor. There are plenty of consumer devices in which swapping out a battery takes seconds and these devices neither explode or have poor performance. Imagine if you could only replace the batteries of a flashlight at a designated service centre....

 

[killr_b]

So? Swapping a genuine OEM transmission from one BMW to another identical BMW not only presents a warning, but the vehicle won’t even drive.

I know for a fact that Range Rover does this
edit: whoa brain lol I thought I read battery, not transmission. But yeah, that too

 

[justperry]

Comments are as expected, lots of negativity, how the hell does the phone knows if it's a genuine battery, it can't, Apple is right to disable the battery health feature.

I do agree though replacing a battery should be quite a bit cheaper, don't know what it costs right now in Europe but I am pretty sure it's even more in € than in $.

 

[mattster16]

Sure it can. MacBooks have been doing it for years. It's a basic calculation of the cycle cound and how long it takes to drain to calculate the maximum number if MAh the battery can hold.

Not answering my question.

 

[Rogifan]

The phone still works just fine. What a non-issue.

 

[mattster16]

Except a genuine OEM battery salvaged from another iPhone presents the same warning.

Yeah. Which is why the part of my post you conveniently decided not to quote was asking if there is a technical reason the iPhone can't identify a genuine battery on its own without being reset by a service center.

 

[jwzimm]

Of course the battery can report its health. The entire health reporting and life cycle info is stored on the battery pack. This info isn't stored on the phone.

View attachment 852972

Ah, I didn't realize that. So it has been confirmed that this chip is responsible for battery health monitoring? Or is that just speculation from those who are upset at this functionality? I am genuinely asking.

As I said, this seems like a reasonable move on Apple's part. The overall functionality of the phone is completely unaffected save for the battery health status that Apple cannot confirm. If that chip does perform the health status functions, what is to stop a lesser quality battery manufacturer from replicating it and fooling the phone? Again, if one errs on the side of caution, you do not report data unless it is verified to be accurate.

 

[VulchR]

...Seems like a reasonable approach to me. Rather than reporting potentially false data, do not report anything.

Or - assume that any replacement battery is going to be approximately like the original, provide the information, and simply remind the user of the uncertainties in the estimate. Also, people wll see this if they are buying a second-hand iPhone and devalue it.

 

[Rogifan]

Seems like a very user-vindictive policy. Shame on Apple. My nearest authorised Apple Centre is more than an hour away. I replaced the battery on my iPhone 4S and funnily enough it didn't explode or have 'performance issues'.

So what’s the problem exactly? Apple didn’t prevent you from replacing the battery and the phone worked just fine afterwards.

 

[Nabru50]

In light of MacBook Pro 2015 models being banned from airline flights over battery issues, and the Galaxy Note 7 batteries catching fire in peoples pockets, this seems smart. Apple should absolutely play it as safe as possible regarding batteries.

I kinda agree, this seems more like a liability thing than anything. But I do believe that the people who are paying Apple to fix their battery for them are the same people who would screw up replacing it themselves.

 

[JPack]

Ah, I didn't realize that. So it has been confirmed that this chip is responsible for battery health monitoring? Or is that just speculation from those who are upset at this functionality? I am genuinely asking.

As I said, this seems like a reasonable move on Apple's part. The overall functionality of the phone is completely unaffected save for the battery health status that Apple cannot confirm. If that chip does perform the health status functions, what is to stop a lesser quality battery manufacturer from replicating it and fooling the phone? Again, if one errs on the side of caution, you do not report data unless it is verified to be accurate.

It's been confirmed. In the past, non-OEM battery packs that use a non-TI chip cannot report battery health. But non-OEM battery packs that have the TI chip could report health.

With this recent iOS update, OEM and non-OEM packs with the TI chip no longer report health.

 

[justperry]

Except a genuine OEM battery salvaged from another iPhone presents the same warning.

I bet if you disconnect the battery in your iPhone and reconnect it again you will run into the same issue.

 

[now i see it]

the amount of BS this company spews out is jaw dropping

 

[macfacts]

Throttle gate part 2

 

[mattster16]

Exactly - this would affect the re-sale value of iPhones that have been repaired in non-Apple service centres or by users themselves.

As it should. As a consumer I would like to know whether a component of what I am buying has been serviced or replaced and who did the work. I'm willing to pay more for a used iPhone where the work was performed by a certified technician and I know that a genuine part was used.

No different than buying a car. I want to know if the transmission is replaced and if it was done by a certified mechanic at the dealer or by someone in their garage following a youtube tutorial.

 

[jwzimm]

It's been confirmed.

Source?

And again, it is still a more conservative approach to disable the battery health functions unless the data can be verified. I expect that the aftermarket batteries also have a version or clone of this chip in order for the phone to accept them. Relying on that alone would be no different than not having this function/warning at all.