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Apple Possibly Planning to Launch iPhone 6 Battery Exchange Program [Updated]
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My wife's iPhone 6 had suddenly begun experiencing really poor battery life. Other than that it was fine. I got her an iPhone 7 for Christmas, and we're regretting it. I've never seen a more buggy phone. We've already gotten a replacement. But at least its battery performance seems to be okay.
I had my 7 out when it was 21F and it shut down when I was using it (Instagram live stream). I had never had that issue before, but cold will cause issues. Apple (and most other phone manu's) rate their devices down to 32F.
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What kind of bugs? I've had a couple of hiccups here and there but nothing drastic.
Yep. Same exact behavior for over a year. Would shut down with anywhere from 5-34% remaining. My 7+ doesn't do anything like that.
This article did not surprise me at all. Like many people in this thread, I've been having the "mysteriously shut off at 30% with no warning" problem with my iPhone 6 for going on a year. In my case, it seems to particularly occur when (a) I'm using the GPS (while running) and sometimes other apps such as music and (b) the ambient temperature is below about 55 degrees Fahrenheit or so. (Yes, I know the phone is designed to shut down below freezing - this is not that. I live in Atlanta so we don't get below freezing temperatures that often).
Like the others in the thread, I've had Apple techs repeatedly tell me the diagnostics on my phone reported nothing unusual about my battery. However, I stuck with it and kept opening new cases. I also kept a detailed log of the temperature, the battery percentages, and other exact details of incidents which did occur so I could relay the details.
Finally, on the third tech case, I got it escalated up the line and the higher-level tech granted me an special exception. Apple swapped out my battery, for free, even though my iPhone 6's AppleCare had expired (last September) and therefore I was WELL out of warranty.
Other than waiting for this battery exchange program to materialize, I would recommend being persistent with Apple Support and give them as many details as you can. In particular:
(1) Set your phone so you see battery percentage on the status line, and keep track of what numbers you see when incidents occur. That makes your report more concrete.
(2) At least once, do TRY the recommended procedure of "Restore your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to factory settings" that the online support help recommends. (Of course, back up your device and restore from backup after the reset). I know its a pain to do this, but it overcomes a hurdle with front line support techs - you can honestly tell them that yes, you did that, and it did not help.
(3) Keep being friendly, honest and persistent with the Support techs, and ask to be escalated if need be.
They ended up swapping out my phone at my local Apple Store, and I've had no issues since then. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Like the others in the thread, I've had Apple techs repeatedly tell me the diagnostics on my phone reported nothing unusual about my battery. However, I stuck with it and kept opening new cases. I also kept a detailed log of the temperature, the battery percentages, and other exact details of incidents which did occur so I could relay the details.
Finally, on the third tech case, I got it escalated up the line and the higher-level tech granted me an special exception. Apple swapped out my battery, for free, even though my iPhone 6's AppleCare had expired (last September) and therefore I was WELL out of warranty.
Other than waiting for this battery exchange program to materialize, I would recommend being persistent with Apple Support and give them as many details as you can. In particular:
(1) Set your phone so you see battery percentage on the status line, and keep track of what numbers you see when incidents occur. That makes your report more concrete.
(2) At least once, do TRY the recommended procedure of "Restore your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to factory settings" that the online support help recommends. (Of course, back up your device and restore from backup after the reset). I know its a pain to do this, but it overcomes a hurdle with front line support techs - you can honestly tell them that yes, you did that, and it did not help.
(3) Keep being friendly, honest and persistent with the Support techs, and ask to be escalated if need be.
They ended up swapping out my phone at my local Apple Store, and I've had no issues since then. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
For the guy suggesting battery recalibration procedure... it does no good.
Nope. I actually had it with 9 and upgraded to 10 when it was released to see if it cured it. It did not.
The other day my iPhone 6 shut down with about 15% remaining, indicating that it needed a charge, but then half hour later it turned back on and worked fine.
My old 6 is exhibiting the same issue; tried doing a full DFU and it seemed to take care of the issue for awhile but the problem is back. I've got a replacement battery on order but might hold off a little longer now in case this rumor is true...
They should. And they will - it's the exact same issue as the 6s.
I wish I could have waited. I had to replace my 6 battery about a month ago after tolerating 3 months of charging my device every 2 hours. Not the most convenient.
Anyone here know if Apple has ever refunded past customers that have replaced parts that wind up under some warranty? I'd be ok with that.
I wish I could have waited. I had to replace my 6 battery about a month ago after tolerating 3 months of charging my device every 2 hours. Not the most convenient.
Anyone here know if Apple has ever refunded past customers that have replaced parts that wind up under some warranty? I'd be ok with that.
I also experienced this with my 6 a little under 1.5 years in. It started doing it with about 20% left and got as bad as shutting down at 50%. I had to visit a few times and eventually get a little stern with them to have it replaced, but they did it. Granted, I had Apple Care. But overall they handled it very poorly.
Anyone here know if Apple has ever refunded past customers that have replaced parts that wind up under some warranty? I'd be ok with that.
Yes! The 6S battery exchange they announced in November specifically allowed for covered phones that had recently paid for an update to get the fee refunded.
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Mine has been misbehaving for about 6 months now, which is about a year after I got it. It'll display 91% for 2 hours, then drops to 77%. It'll be on 50%, I'll watch a 90 second video and then it's at 37%. Then it'll instantly drop to 15%, at which point I might plug it in and see that it's got 53% charge. It's never really died on me from being completely drained, but the unpredictability of it makes it impossible to know how long I can plan to actually use the phone and that's tough since it has things I need on it for my daily commute like my train tickets. I'm planning to upgrade when they release 8, but I'd like to not have battery anxiety for nine months.
I've dealt with this a couple of times with various devices. I was using my iPhone 5 while apartment hunting in January a few years ago and it shut down on me from 80%. It WAS very cold, but it left me stranded without a way to contact the realtor or my fiance. My 6 did this just a couple of weeks ago when we got that real cold front in the northeastern US.
I've dealt with this a couple of times with various devices. I was using my iPhone 5 while apartment hunting in January a few years ago and it shut down on me from 80%. It WAS very cold, but it left me stranded without a way to contact the realtor or my fiance. My 6 did this just a couple of weeks ago when we got that real cold front in the northeastern US.
My battery has started behaving strangely the past few weeks. Shuts down with what appears to be about 30%-40% remaining (i don't have the % displayed), and the battery charge % doesn't work properly half the time. It'll still show a full charge but die unexpectedly. Still decent battery life, but the unexpected dead batteries have been a real bummer at times.
A few times I've gotten the 20% warning only to have the phone completely die seconds later.
A few times I've gotten the 20% warning only to have the phone completely die seconds later.
My iPhone 6s Plus does this, however the exchange program is only for iPhone 6. I'm about 4 months outside of the 12 months warranty and didn't take AppleCare on it. To resolve, I plug the phone into the mains at which point it restarts and after a couple of minutes shows over 30% battery power again.
It's a minor inconvenience, but I wish Apple would admit that it's a wider problem than just the iPhone 6. I haven't spoken to them about it as it's an intermittent problem but perhaps I should phone them up...?
It's a minor inconvenience, but I wish Apple would admit that it's a wider problem than just the iPhone 6. I haven't spoken to them about it as it's an intermittent problem but perhaps I should phone them up...?
I find it weird that all of this issues have started happening recently, it's almost like something new software side is causing hardware issues
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My Dad's 6s Plus does the same, they couldn't see any problem with his so they said they can't do anything about it, diagnostics shows a healthy battery.
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My Dad's 6s Plus does the same, they couldn't see any problem with his so they said they can't do anything about it, diagnostics shows a healthy battery.
Still using a 5s and it has been doing this exact thing for months. (Have not decided if/when I'll be upgrading, or if I'll stick with iOS when I do. A lot will depend on if I stick with macOS moving forward, and that depends on Mac Pro updates and keeping MacBook Pro's a professional tool...)
My wife's 6s battery was already swapped when the recall was first announced and they were reluctant (at best) to replace, but after I stated several times it was under recall (and serial number showed up as for the issue) they finally gave in. Part was about 3 weeks on order before it was replaced. They blamed her for using the phone for the sudden drop in battery.
Once again Apple won't take responsibility of faulty iPhones, I give Samsung credit at least owning their mistakes when it came to the note7gate.
Lucky you. I had to send mine for repair after it's been shutting down randomly. Sometimes even with 70% battery left (but usually around 30%).
Same here. I almost never have to plug in my 6 at the end of the day if it started fully charged. I can usually get through a day and a half, or 2 days, and this is a phone that's over 2 years old.
To those that have been having random shut down problems lately, it is worth mentioning, as some have noted, that this can sometimes happen due to prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.
What? I will be the "guy with a steel ball" number 2 if they refuse to replace my faulty battery. I swear!
This is exactly what I'm thinking also. No problems with my 6 Plus before iOS 10 and now it shuts off at 30%.
Well considering they were exploding, they didn't really have much choice. ;-)