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

[realtuner]

You're asking a non legit question. Apple is trying to make more money. That's why this issue exists.

The irony of you accusing someone of making things up. This issue exists because people are swapping batteries triggering the built-in mechanism Apple has to identify batteries.
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They do know the specs, though; otherwise, battery percentage wouldn't work. There should be no loss of accuracy, but if they really wanted to they could display a message indicating that the statistics may be less accurate than for an OEM battery.

"Quality" is near-nonexistent. They're all lithium-ion batteries, and there's only so much you can do.

The Note 7 would like to have a talk with you. So would this guy:

 

[jonblatho]

Seems nobody thought about waterproofing an iPhone after replacement, Apple certified service centres most likely does this, a third party though....???

Replace the adhesive around the edge of the device. iFixit sells replacement strips for every iPhone that's had adhesive around the edges (iPhone 6s and later).
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The irony of you accusing someone of making things up. This issue exists because people are swapping batteries triggering the built-in mechanism Apple has to identify batteries.
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The Note 7 would like to have a talk with you. So would this guy:

That's in manufacturing processes and damaging the battery respectively, not battery chemistry.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

Except they already saw a huge backlash with that kind of thing - the TouchID error that bricked the 5Ss back in the day.

Sure, but they can’t say they are worried about consumer safety, and then go ahead and allow a battery to continue to operate in the device that may be unsafe. It takes that whole safety argument off the table.

 

[realtuner]

What about the possibility to “tell” the phone that it’s a new battery? Like the printer toner

This is what authorized repair facilities can do. Unless you're suggesting Apple should build that software into iOS so people can "reset" their battery when they wish?

I wonder how many people will perform this "reset" with their used iPhone so they can tell people it has a new battery when they try to sell it?

 

[mattster16]

Beyond Apple presumably using asymmetric cryptography for something that seriously doesn't need it, no, there's not.

Thank you. So basically the phone cannot determine itself whether a battery is or isn't genuine. To determine authenticity, the software has to rely on manual input from whoever changes the battery. Allowing any old person to do this obviously is fraught with problems, so Apple only lets authorized providers do this through proprietary software.

If the phone could automatically determine a battery is or isn't genuine I would probably take issue with Apple's practices here. Since it can't, I don't.

 

[oneMadRssn]

If Apple really meant it, they would sell reasonably-priced OEM batteries online.

I'm all for battery safety, that is an important thing. But unless they separate safety and profits, it's impossible to know which is more fo a priority for Apple.

 

[mattster16]

This is what authorized repair facilities can do. Unless you're suggesting Apple should build that software into iOS so people can "reset" their battery when they wish?

I wonder how many people will perform this "reset" with their used iPhone so they can tell people it has a new battery when they try to sell it?

Exactly! Or they could throw some crappy third party battery in there they find on eBay and tell the phone it is "genuine OEM" and then go sell the phone to some unsuspecting person.

 

[JPack]

Do you have a source for this or some kind of qualification that would back this up?

Anybody who's opened up their phone and disconnected the battery can confirm this. Otherwise, any battery that gets disconnected during service would show up as non-genuine.

 

[mattster16]

If Apple really meant it, they would sell reasonably-priced OEM batteries online.

I'm all for battery safety, that is an important thing. But unless they separate safety and profits, it's impossible to know which is more fo a priority for Apple.

That would be a huge liability. These batteries are inherently dangerous with very little armor/shielding. Putting them into the hands of just anyone who wants one would be asinine. I can only imagine the lawsuits that would come.

 

[realtuner]

That's in manufacturing processes and damaging the battery respectively, not battery chemistry.

And do you know which manufacturing facility made the third-party battery you're installing into your iPhone? Or do you trust the guy you bought it from who states "It's ISO Certified AAA Quality"?

 

[jonblatho]

Thank you. So basically the phone cannot determine itself whether a battery is or isn't genuine. To determine authenticity, the software has to rely on manual input from whoever changes the battery. Allowing any old person to do this obviously is fraught with problems, so Apple only lets authorized providers do this through proprietary software.

If the phone could automatically determine a battery is or isn't genuine I would probably take issue with Apple's practices here. Since it can't, I don't.

Reading comprehension is a useful life skill. I'd strongly recommend rereading my comment and the comment to which I was replying.

 

[justperry]

Hate posts like this. When you take your car to the garage and have the tyres changed for a set that's not the OEM tyre I bet you'd be well annoyed if a warning came up that said the tyre pressure monitoring can no longer be trusted.
Or any other part.
Pattern brake pads??? Car tells you the ABS cannot be trusted.

Oh but you spent $X on a car so you deserved to get fleeced right?

Air pressure is something totally different than a battery, bad analogy.
A battery has voltage, power rating, degrades with age, over or under voltage and so on, air pressure is just that, pressure of a gas.

 

[citysnaps]

Makes sense. Good move on Apple’s part.

 

[JPack]

Sure, but does the phone know that? Does the software know that? That is my question. Is there some kind of special encrypted code in a genuine battery that a third party battery doesn't have that the phone can query and determine authenticity?

Yes, the phone knows. Nobody has broken the TI encryption on OEM battery packs.

 

[jonblatho]

And do you know which manufacturing facility made the third-party battery you're installing into your iPhone? Or do you trust the guy you bought it from who states "It's ISO Certified AAA Quality"?

Well, I'd ask Apple, who keep buckets of sand in the back of most (all?) Apple Stores should a battery combust during a repair. Apple's batteries aren't special.

Of course, Apple could end that near-nonexistent risk tomorrow by selling genuine batteries.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

...and at 3X the price.

 

[justperry]

There's no technical reason. The battery pack has a TI chip with encrypted data.

If you take a genuine OEM battery pack out of an iPhone, it will display as non-genuine in another iPhone. If you return the battery pack to the original iPhone, it will display as genuine.

Nope, I bet that even if you disconnect the battery you will get the same message.

 

[mattster16]

Anybody who's opened up their phone and disconnected the battery can confirm this. Otherwise, any battery that gets disconnected during service would show up as non-genuine.

Can they? I'm pretty sure this feature was only recently rolled out on select phones. Have you confirmed it personally or do you have another source for this info?

 

[JPack]

Can they? I'm pretty sure this feature was only recently rolled out on select phones. Have you confirmed it personally or do you have another source for this info?

This battery feature has been active since iOS 12.1 or October 30, 2018.

Source: Apple

 

[mannyvel]

There's nothing to stop you from replacing your battery or using your iPhone after you do so. One feature is gone. Stop your whining.

This also probably means that Apple won't throttle your phone, since it can't do an accurate battery check.

As someone that buys a lot of old iPhones, I like this because I can pay less for user-replaced equipment.

 

[justperry]

The battery is "paired" with the iPhone. We don't know how exactly, but common sense means either the serial number of the battery is recorded in the iPhone or the serial number of the iPhone is recorded in the battery.

Either way, it's super easy for the iPhone to realize the battery is not the one that came with it, and that it wasn't installed by an authorized repair facility as it would have been "paired" if it was.

Since this micro-controller is likely very simple and limited in its capabilities it makes the most sense that all battery information (and usage statistics collected over time) are stored in the iPhone, not the battery. So swapping a battery from one iPhone to another will not transfer over the usage history of the battery. Hence the new iPhone can't tell the condition of the old battery.

Again, I don't think it's that difficult, makes it more expensive to add electronics, I bet if you disconnect the battery and reconnect it, it will get the same message.
The battery is always connected to the iPhone, there will always be power to the phone, even when it's 0%, a 0% lithium cell still has several volts on it, it's around 2.7 Volts, that's where the cutoff (0%) is, under it's a dead cell.

 

[mi7chy]

Seems nobody thought about waterproofing an iPhone after replacement, Apple certified service centres most likely does this, a third party though....???

There's no such thing as a 'waterproof' iPhone. It's water resistant which is still a gamble even when factory sealed because a drop in a shallow water can render it useless and it's not covered by warranty. As for display adhesive for water resistance, it's standard procedure for DIY and 3rd party repairs.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+Display+Adhesive+Replacement/93983

 

[realtuner]

Well, I'd ask Apple, who keep buckets of sand in the back of most (all?) Apple Stores should a battery combust during a repair. Apple's batteries aren't special.

Of course, Apple could end that near-nonexistent risk tomorrow by selling genuine batteries.

You didn't answer my question. How do you verify the quality of third party batteries?

I find your comment that "Apple batteries aren't special" to be quite ridiculous considering the huge difference in quality of batteries from various manufacturers.

 

[mattster16]

Reading comprehension is a useful life skill. I'd strongly recommend rereading my comment and the comment to which I was replying.

I can read and comprehend just fine. Thanks for the personal insult though! You must be great at having civil discussions with others.

What I'm simply getting at here is that Apple cannot automatically (according to you) determine if a battery is or isn't a genuine OEM part without some kind of manual software reset or input. Apple obviously isn't going to trust just anyone to determine and input this status into the software. Therefore, Apple does not know whether the battery is some really crappy knock-off with low quality control and doesn't feel comfortable reporting battery health metrics for said unknown quality battery.

 

[realtuner]

This battery feature has been active since iOS 12.1 or October 30, 2018.

Source: Apple

Then what took the whiners so long to raise a stink about it? They're losing their touch. Should have been a class action lawsuit filed on Oct 31st, 2018.