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iPhone 15 Pro AppleCare battery replacement 80% or 79%

I

ignatius345

macrumors G3
Original poster
My iPhone 15 Pro battery health is sitting at exactly 80%. When I look at the Apple guidelines for getting free battery replacement under AppleCare it says the battery life has to be “below 80%”. Reading that very literally, it would indicate you need to hit 79% before they’ll replace it.

Are they actually that nit-picky about it in practice, does anyone know? Obviously would prefer to get a new battery sooner, versus waiting around for it to wear out 1% more...
 
Mrbobb said:
The above writing is probably under WARRANTY REPAIR.

Worst come to worst, use the "I am going to Africa soon, where there are no Apple store.
Click to expand...
Apple will always allow a phone user to pay for a battery replacement. They changed this policy some years back after losing a lawsuit about it. Prior to that, they wouldn't replace any iPhone battery unless it was below 80%.
 
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And it’s always curious that an iPhone battery health stat will stay on 80% for a long long long time. Why do you think that is?
 
ignatius345 said:
My iPhone 15 Pro battery health is sitting at exactly 80%. When I look at the Apple guidelines for getting free battery replacement under AppleCare it says the battery life has to be “below 80%”. Reading that very literally, it would indicate you need to hit 79% before they’ll replace it.

Are they actually that nit-picky about it in practice, does anyone know? Obviously would prefer to get a new battery sooner, versus waiting around for it to wear out 1% more...
Click to expand...
I don't have experience with iPhone but for AW they absolutely are "sticky" with the 79%, but then again, they replace the entire watch and not just the battery.
I'd contact Apple support and see what they have to say, since it is a battery exchange, they might be more flexible
 
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now i see it said:
And it’s always curious that an iPhone battery health stat will stay on 80% for a long long long time. Why do you think that is?
Click to expand...
chrfr said:
That is correct, it has to be below 80%, so the battery must read 79% or less.
Click to expand...
Ah. Well, I guess it's time for me to repeatedly let my battery crash to 0% and then fast charge it with a nice, hot MagSafe charger...
 
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Andeddu said:
I’ve been charging my 17 Pro with MagSafe charger each night and still have 100% BH after 148 cycles and counting.
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The 17 Pro has one wicked battery and battery management. They’ve basically perfected li-ion phone technology. It always lasts me all day (6a-9p). I only charge it when going to bed using MagSafe (Belkin’s with a stand). I also have 100% Battery Health, with 114 cycles.
 
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Your battery will say "Service Battery" when it can be serviced under warranty. (It may even be above 80% if it senses an issue with the battery).
The system will NOT allow them to service a battery under the warranty until Diagnostics flag it as requiring service. (Even if it's at 80%... or 81%, etc)

(Located in the Battery section. Where it says "Battery Health & Charging", it will say "Service" in grey lettering beside the > icon on the right side)

On the next screen, it will then say "Important Battery Message" "Your battery's health is signifigantly degraded..."
 
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QuarterSwede said:
The 17 Pro has one wicked battery and battery management. They’ve basically perfected li-ion phone technology. It always lasts me all day (6a-9p). I only charge it when going to bed using MagSafe (Belkin’s with a stand). I also have 100% Battery Health, with 114 cycles.
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My battery was great too when it had that few cycles on it. Wait till it hits like 800. I promise you you’re going to be seeing dramatically lower battery life.
 
ignatius345 said:
My battery was great too when it had that few cycles on it. Wait till it hits like 800. I promise you you’re going to be seeing dramatically lower battery life.
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I’ve been using iPhone’s since the original. So far the 17 Pro’s battery is already outpacing any I’ve owned before.
 
jz0309 said:
I don't have experience with iPhone but for AW they absolutely are "sticky" with the 79%, but then again, they replace the entire watch and not just the battery.
I'd contact Apple support and see what they have to say, since it is a battery exchange, they might be more flexible
Click to expand...
Funny thing is that here in Sweden Apple won’t replace the whole watch, just the battery.
My Wife AW hit under 80 and it said
”service recommended” or similar.
I called Apple but this and also asked him if they swap the whole watch and he said no, just the battery.
So apparently it’s different where you live in the world🙂

For iPhones it’s gonna be under 80% before Apple change the battery under AC+, even in Sweden😅
 
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chrfr said:
Apple will always allow a phone user to pay for a battery replacement. They changed this policy some years back after losing a lawsuit about it. Prior to that, they wouldn't replace any iPhone battery unless it was below 80%.
Click to expand...
This is simply not true, I tried doing this about a year or two ago and they clearly stated it has to be 80% of below
 
Andeddu said:
I’ve been charging my 17 Pro with MagSafe charger each night and still have 100% BH after 148 cycles and counting.
Click to expand...
Same here: MagSafe + occasional car charge via USB: 146 cycles and 100%. Main trick: keep your phone cool, don't charge in a pocket, a small drawer, or a in car in direct sunlight.
 
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I changed my battery (iPhone 15 Pro) at 85% last month, without AppleCare. I told them it was getting hot, especially when I took videos. They changed it without saying anything.
 
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now i see it said:
And it’s always curious that an iPhone battery health stat will stay on 80% for a long long long time. Why do you think that is?
Click to expand...
Bah, my partner's 14 Pro battery has been at 80% for ages. No service battery message either. Still on Apple Care.

Some lessons learned with this experience. I wish my Home Owners Personal Articles policy covered iPhones like they insure Apple Watches, iPads or MacBooks. Then I wouldn't care about Apple Care.
 
dominiongamma said:
This is simply not true, I tried doing this about a year or two ago and they clearly stated it has to be 80% of below
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I've done it several times with batteries that are above 80%. You do have to pay the full battery replacement price. I'm in the US, so if you're somewhere else the policy may differ.
 
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My iPhone 17 Pro has never had a cable plugged in; it’s always charged via MagSafe. The cycle count is 168 and the battery health is 100%.
 
Andeddu said:
I’ve been charging my 17 Pro with MagSafe charger each night and still have 100% BH after 148 cycles and counting.
Click to expand...
That means your battery health when new was probably a good 4% higher than the 4252 mAh minimum rated battery size when new. This is common but still a part of the battery lottery. Sometimes you get one that’s very close to the minimum rated size when new and sometimes it’s a good 4-5% higher. Both will still show 100%
Your battery is wearing normally, it just takes a lot more time to get to 99% because it’s starting from 104% counting down and not 100.
 
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