Apple's iPad Battery Replacement Program Forgoes New Battery, Replaces iPad

[steveh]

This is only for out of warrantee. Math: $105.95 divided into $499 => failure has to happen within 4.7 years. That is longer than the $99 battery warrantee. In other words, it ain't worth it folks. Add in the % probability >0 of refusal due to some "customer abuse" and it gets even worse.

Based on standard math for warrantees I come up with the cost to consumers should be $49 to be worth it. That should include standard shipping.

The fact that you'll be without the device for a week is a further reduction in value of the warrantee. Apple once kept my PowerBook for a very extended period. In fact, they thought they had lost it. Most annoying.

I'll pass on this warrantee. Statistically it is better to just get an extra iPad.

Read it again. It's not a warranty. It's the cost to replace [well, iPad+battery] some time in the future.

You don't pay for it in advance, only if/when the battery is worn out.

 

[lilo777]

Finally, someone on this forum who actually reads and then puts in a little effort into thinking.

If I may be so bold as to generalize, most people will not properly recycle their old batteries if you give them the option to replace it themselves. They will think about it for a nano second, then give up because they A) won't know where to look for the proper facilities, or B) the proper facilities will be too far away or C) they are just to plain narcissistic and lazy.

By making the battery non-user replaceable this gives Apple more control over the life of the product, including the recycling. This could be a good thing, because recycling electronics can be complicated and most people will get it wrong. More manufacturers need to be doing cradle to grave control.

And for those who feel their "freedom" is being impinged by Apple's control. Really? There are lots of other consumer choices, please don't let the door hit you on the way out.

That would be great if they did not charge so much. How about they sell me the battery for $15 (which is a reasonable price) and I take care of recycling? All they want is your money. Greedy bustards.

 

[Azurael]

My 2G iPhone has a crack across the top left-hand corner of the glass front, numerous dents in the back and the bottom plastic cover doesn't quite fit onto the frame properly any more. It doesn't obstruct any usage of the device and I would be (and am) perfectly happy to continue using it in this state until something which is actually a worthwhile upgrade to me comes along.

Now as it stands, if the battery failed (and its well on its way there) if I weren't willing to replace it myself (and I'm guessing most consumers wouldn't be), I'd be screwed. Apple is creating disposability in its products and I'm afraid I can't say I'm happy with that, regardless of the arguments presented here.

If they simply opened the user's device, shoved a new battery in it and sent it back to the customer, surely that would be fairer? Cosmetic damage would no longer be an issue and Apple wouldn't be paying out for new shells for every device they get sent in.

If I were an average consumer who sent in such a device for repair and it got refused due to cosmetic damage, I would almost certainly dump the Apple product and buy a competitors' alternative. Not good for the environment, the consumer's pocket, or Apple's. The only winner is the competitor who's product gets purchased.

 

[Stella]

Hmmm... so you send in your iPad, which has a great display, zero dead / frozen pixels and you receive one that has a one more more below the threshold that Apple deems 'defective' screen.

Your toast.

Be far easier and convienient for the consumer if the battery was user replaceable. No having to send the device back to Apple - thus no 'downtime'.

 

[uber_nerd]

That would be great if they did not charge so much. How about they sell me the battery for $15 (which is a reasonable price) and I take care of recycling? All they want is your money. Greedy bustards.

Don't buy the product. Problem solved. Its not like they are holding a gun to your head demanding you buy their products.

Also I highly doubt you will recycle it properly. Will you audit the company that is taking in the battery to make sure they didn't just ship it to China to be burnt? If not you might as well be throwing it away.

Finally, its "bastard" not "bustard" - is that like custard?

 

[steveh]

fail. this shows they are expecting problems. not to mention if the battery is dead how the hell am i going to sync it?

Plug it in to sync it. Works even if the battery is stone cold dead.

Is this a trick question?

 

[DesignerOnMac]

How does this show they are expecting problems? They have a battery replacement program for several of their products and have for sometime. As for the sync question, I hope you were kidding because it's not hard to figure out that once you plug it in to sync it, it gets power from the USB.

I guess we have short memories, (or I do). I remember when the first iPhones and iPod Touches came out. Apple, I don't think was proactive in explaining that the battery wasn't user replaceable or how to replace it. No? There was a lot of noise on this forum as it how to replace the battery and Apples response to replacing it. If my memory is correct in this, I think Apple is being proactive in informing their customers how to replace the battery in the iPad in advance of its availability.

 

[Stately]

Turn in my ipad for battery issues and get a new / refurbished one?! Have my first machine with all my personal info on it floating around for who knows how long? Could this get any worse? I really can't believe so many people bought one already if the rumors are true. They either just want something new or want something like the Kindle that surpasses it by far. I have been waiting for eons it seems for this thing. I have really tried to psyche myself up over it and be excited, but I'm just disappointed, bottom line. I know it's only the first offering but still.

It just seems like the next step above an e reader. I hate that, that just came from me, but it lacks so much to be taken seriously.

1 - Its a great platform to build off of, but what about those of us who waited so long for this device? There's no Office? FINE, Apple puts out a great little package that addresses that, Keynote, Pages, Numbers etc... How the heck do you print when there is no usb? I don't want to hear about any ridiculous wireless printers that are out there either. Wireless printing is not the norm right now and everyone is not gonna go buy a new $600 printer just so they can use their ipad. That takes business people out of the picture.

2 - It's not compatible with Adobe CS? FINE, we have Brushes. Let's pretend for a second that that will suffice. How on earth do I get my artwork off? Maybe I will be able to hook it up to my computer somehow to get files off of the ipad and use them or work on them further? I'm not even sure, because none of this was explained to me in the Keynote or thereafter. Not to mention, if I want to continue working on Brushes in say, C Painter or Photoshop, it may or may not even be compatible. So that takes graphic artists out of the picture.

3 - As far as photography, the photographers are loosing out because it obviously doesn't run PS or Aperture. We have no idea wether or not if when I take a pic and put it onto the ipad, if it will be stored as a raw file or just a default jpeg. I'm almost positive that it will only store as a jpeg. Which means, I still have to keep the photos on my camera until I can get to my MBP, which is a waste. As a pro photographer, I don't want to download pics only for fun to show my friends and family, I need to be able to do serious work as well and this device would have been a serious boon as opposed to carrying a laptop around.

4 - Just as a side note, video editing could have been added, even the iphone has a watered down version of this and from what I have seen is halfway decent, at least for leisure.


So my question is, what is this? This would have been the perfect device if there was even only one usb, if it could run Office, on top of the Apple offering of Pages, Numbers and Keynote, if it could run Adobe CS and had a front facing camera and / or one in the back. They could have sold them for $750 - $1200 and I guarantee you they would have flown of the shelves by themselves. No one minds spending as much when true high quality is at hand. In doing so, they would have been catering to the graphic artist, the photographer, the business man and people of other fields like the medical field, with apps specifically created for professionalism like medical journals / texts / and real time like the ECG guide app or the i murmur app or the chest xray interpreter or the medicine on call app, not apps like Brushes that mimic Photoshop / Corel. Granted, it's probably very good but is not the professional industry standard. It's fairly obvious that something like painter has far more than a one up over something like brushes. Even though it can be used professionaly, it is still lacking a lot and as of now is not up to par.

So taking all of this into consideration, who the heck is this for? EXACTLY! Those that want an e reader with more functionality, nothing more and nothing less. Apple, not this time around. I am probably one of the biggest fanboys Apple has, but this is a sour apple. From the Air to this
thing . . I just don't know. I am a professional and this is not for professionals as yet. So I guess they will be keeping this as the norm just for the consumers which is fine. The problem is, it's the creatives, the professionals first and foremost who wait for this stuff. I feel they should be catered to first and then create a version that everyone can use just so they can have some nifty little device that doesn't take up room and can handle all their basic computing needs on the go.

 

[German]

data privacy protection

iPhone 3GS: Encryption
iPhone 3GS offers highly secure hardware encryption that enables instantaneous remote wipe. You can even encrypt your iTunes backups.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/more-features.html

What about the iPad?

 

[Nostromo]

I work in an Apple Authorized Service center and never ever have we seen Apple give a new unit as a warranty replacement.

They are always refurbished units when exchanged due to service issues.

If a unit's battery fails after three years, the iPad, if successful, will probably be in its second or third generation.

Where to they take the old iPads to send to you? Does Apple keep a stock of outdated, but mint products for exchanges of this kind?

Turn in my ipad for battery issues and get a new / refurbished one?! Have my first machine with all my personal info on it floating around for who knows how long? Could this get any worse?

I agree. This would be terrible.

I wonder if there would be the chance of zeroing out the iPad's hard drive yourself. A zero-out reset is possible with solid state memory.

 

[DreamcastDC]

Shows how cheap is the hardware is in the iPad if they are able to replace the whole thing for $99, wouldn't it be cheaper to just replace the battery.

 

[lilo777]

Don't buy the product. Problem solved. Its not like they are holding a gun to your head demanding you buy their products.

Also I highly doubt you will recycle it properly. Will you audit the company that is taking in the battery to make sure they didn't just ship it to China to be burnt? If not you might as well be throwing it away.

Finally, its "bastard" not "bustard" - is that like custard?

Can I audit Apple? Are you sure they don't just ship it to China to be burnt? Your advice about not buying Apple products sounds reasonable though.

 

[3282868]

Hmmm... so you send in your iPad, which has a great display, zero dead / frozen pixels and you receive one that has a one more more below the threshold that Apple deems 'defective' screen.

Your toast.

Be far easier and convienient for the consumer if the battery was user replaceable. No having to send the device back to Apple - thus no 'downtime'.

Not true. As an ex "Genius", tests are necessary from each Apple location to ascertain that everything properly functioning aside from the already known issue. Most tests are to be conducted in front of the customer, signed off by the "genius" and manager, then sent to the nearest Apple facility for repair/replacement. Essentially a "CYA" approach, it ensures that all the bases are covered and if the unit does return damaged Apple has and will replace the unit.

 

[Serelus]

Interesting, I'll have to try this with my Touch. I've never let it drain that far - but with my older 3G iPod I know this wasn't the case.

Well, knowing the USB voltage is not enough to turn on an iPhone when the battery is completely empty, I'll assume that it won't be able to turn on the iPad either... since it's also running iPhone OS and it needs more power to be turned on.

It also amazes me that VERY few people here know this.. everyone went and told goobot how wrong he was turns out he wasn't that wrong at all.

Plug it in to sync it. Works even if the battery is stone cold dead.

Is this a trick question?

I lol'd when I saw you tell someone else to read earlier post, when you don't do it for **** yourself.

Let me lay it down for you.
An iPhone OS device needs atleast 5% battery power to be able to sync.
When the battery is dead and it does not charge, this would be impossible.
Know your apple gadgets, smartass.

 

[uber_nerd]

Can I audit Apple? Are you sure they don't just ship it to China to be burnt? Your advice about not buying Apple products sounds reasonable though.

Its much harder for large companies to hide environmental violations than smaller companies. For example there is incentive to expose and publicize such violations, where a small companies can fly under the radar no problem. If you could show Apple was dumping toxins into a river you could sell the story for $$$ and destroy Apples public image (and their sales too boot). Apple is not dumb, they want to make money, and the future is green.

While you may not be able audit Apple, Federal agencies can and will. Besides, I would be surprised if you could audit your way out of a paper bag.

The one thing we do seem to agree on is that you shouldn't buy any Apple products.

I lol'd when I saw you tell someone else to read earlier post, when you don't do it for **** yourself.

Let me lay it down for you.
An iPhone OS device needs atleast 5% battery power to be able to sync.
When the battery is dead and it does not charge, this would be impossible.
Know your apple gadgets, smartass.

And when you plug in a dead iPod, it waits a while, gives you a stern warning about letting the battery get so low, then after a minute or two it starts up and begins sync after it gets 5% into the battery.

Besides batteries usually slowly fail. Its pretty rare that it would go from working great to never taking a charge overnight.

Show's over folks... move along.

 

[German]

Let me lay it down for you.
An iPhone OS device needs atleast 5% battery power to be able to sync.
When the battery is dead and it does not charge, this would be impossible.
Know your apple gadgets, smartass.

Don't forget: Securely Delete Data (if there is no encryption)

 

[3282868]

Well, knowing the USB voltage is not enough to turn on an iPhone when the battery is completely empty, I'll assume that it won't be able to turn on the iPad either... since it's also running iPhone OS and it needs more power to be turned on.

It also amazes me that VERY few people here know this.. everyone went and told goobot how wrong he was turns out he wasn't that wrong at all.

Question: do batteries ever lose ALL their charge? I have yet to see one in person, although I am not denying it is possible, maybe in an extreme example. Certainly batteries lose the capacity to hold their original 100% charge, but to lose any energy capacity altogether is a tad extreme.

Its much harder for large companies to hide environmental violations than smaller companies. For example there is incentive to expose and publicize such violations, where a small companies can fly under the radar no problem. If you could show Apple was dumping toxins into a river you could sell the story for $$$ and destroy Apples public image (and their sales too boot). Apple is not dumb, they want to make money, and the future is green.

While you may not be able audit Apple, Federal agencies can and will. Besides, I would be surprised if you could audit your way out of a paper bag.

The one thing we do seem to agree on is that you shouldn't buy any Apple products.

Thanks for your earlier comment . Aside from my own work and experiences, I have learned a lot from discussion forums such as MacRumors. Before posting I always read all the comments and read up on the situation, I dislike individuals who utilize propaganda to heighten their own agenda(s) and bias.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover someone agrees with my stance. More often than not, technologically experienced individuals usually shy away from e-waste as it is a topic most don't want to acknowledge to be an issue. I sometimes compare the computer savvy to the car savvy, in that most car aficionados live for muscle cars; the bigger and faster the computer/car, the better. Unfortunately humanity has witnessed what that mindset produces, more waste than is necessary. It is refreshing that a popular and successful electronics corporation is proving that "going green" won't leave you red .

1 - Its a great platform to build off of, but what about those of us who waited so long for this device? There's no Office? FINE, Apple puts out a great little package that addresses that, Keynote, Pages, Numbers etc... How the heck do you print when there is no usb? I don't want to hear about any ridiculous wireless printers that are out there either. Wireless printing is not the norm right now and everyone is not gonna go buy a new $600 printer just so they can use their ipad. That takes business people out of the picture.

Office is a Microsoft product, and as such Microsoft is more than welcome in producing Office for the iPhone/iPad. Same goes for Adobe products (and they have produced products for the iPhone, I'm certain it is just a matter of time before Adobe produces a variation of PhotoShop, etc. for the iPad).

2 - It's not compatible with Adobe CS?

See above

3 - As far as photography, the photographers are loosing out because it obviously doesn't run PS or Aperture.

The iPad hasn't been released yet, general speculation regarding what photographers believe to be an issue with an unreleased device is subjective, not objective.

4 - Just as a side note, video editing could have been added, even the iphone has a watered down version of this and from what I have seen is halfway decent, at least for leisure.

Again, why speculate on what hasn't been released when the iPad hasn't shipped for general consumer use? This seems illogical.

So taking all of this into consideration, who the heck is this for?

What was the iPhone's main purpose? Most in the industry never imagined the impact the iPhone would have on the electronics industry let alone mobile devices. Future speculation on an unreleased device's impact in differing industry's is premature at best. I agree the lack of a USB port and a camera for possible video conferencing is a short coming in the iPad's overall design. However, in 2007 when the iPhone was released, it lacked 3G, copy/cut/paste, a better camera, video recording, MMS, etc. I can guarantee that Apple knew this and intentionally left these features out in order to entice future consumer interest. Companies generally produce a "road map" for any new product, and that road map usually consists of a 4-5 year lifespan. This lifespan must account for the costs in research and development, marketing, and future sales. Certainly Apple has mapped out desired features but with-held those features with the intent on producing long term sales with new "feature" releases. Holding back on certain features also allows the company to improve or change on certain features should anything new or better arise.

Don't forget: Securely Delete Data (if there is no encryption)

I chuckle a little when I read comments about data on mobile devices. Generally speaking, most individuals don't work for the CIA, or they wouldn't bring in a device without securely erasing any sensitive data, or they simply wouldn't put sensitive data on the device. In my experience this excuse of lacking a built in "7 zero out" for data usually results in nitpicking rather than actual concern. If your personal data is that important, don't copy it over in the first place. As it stands, the iPhone can only store contact information, emails, music, movies, photographs, and it can read documents from iDisk, etc. I have a sense most commentators on MacRumors (and possibly in general) have nothing more serious than porn (and if you do, than you should know better than leaving your sensitive data on a mobile device insecurely).

 

[Serelus]

And when you plug in a dead iPod, it waits a while, gives you a stern warning about letting the battery get so low, then after a minute or two it starts up and begins sync after it gets 5% into the battery.

Besides batteries usually slowly fail. Its pretty rare that it would go from working great to never taking a charge overnight.

Show's over folks... move along.

Lol now you're telling me what I already know, thanks alot but Steveh here implied that the USB would even work regardless of the battery being "stone cold dead" which is not the case. Previous users also stated that no battery was even required to power the iPhone, because it would supposedly work on the voltage of the USB alone, which is obviously false.

 

[Stately]

I agree. This would be terrible.

I wonder if there would be the chance of zeroing out the iPad's hard drive yourself. A zero-out reset is possible with solid state memory.

I would hope so, privacy is important.

 

[La Porta]

Regardless of this 5% battery thing, synch possible/not possible, whatever...you know what will be said when you bring anything in for service:

"We said to back things up often."

That's it. Period. It's a total CYA line for sure, but that's Apple's official position, and no matter what the scenario, it's YOUR responsibility to have backed up your info...according to them.

 

[Serelus]

Question: do batteries ever lose ALL their charge? I have yet to see one in person, although I am not denying it is possible, maybe in an extreme example. Certainly batteries lose the capacity to hold their original 100% charge, but to lose any energy capacity altogether is a tad extreme.
.

Yes this might be a rare case but they do actually happen, there's millions of iPhone OS Devices it's not strange that you never experienced anyone having this problem. It seems alot of people here refer to a "dead battery" as one that's empty again within a few hours after recharging extensively. I am sorry to me a dead battery is a dead battery.

 

[SteveSparks]

$99 replacement fee? Sign me up. What if returned ipad has scuffs/scratches/cracked?

I suspect they will give you a clean unit.

 

[Master Chief]

News flash: This has nothing to do with Apple. Dell and probably every other major PC company work the exact same way...

You are missing the point. Intel's warranty [example] is there simply because Intel makes quality products, so it can give consumers and companies a longer warranty period; one that goes beyond the usual limited one year period. No risk for Intel. No risk for Apple.

Same thing for quality RAM, which I tell you normally won't fail before Apple's logic board [or whatever they call it these days] takes a deep dive.

Also. Every single Mac (product) I [and my family of six] have ever owned needed a service in and after the warranty period, yet my OEM PC hardware keeps on going, and thus I want Apple to change the warranty period. And thus yes, this has everything to do with Apple. Pretty simple isn't it.

 

[jragosta]

Turn in my ipad for battery issues and get a new / refurbished one?! Have my first machine with all my personal info on it floating around for who knows how long?

There's secure erase on the iPhone, why wouldn't it work on the iPad?

However, if you're that paranoid about your data security, you're free to blow your iPad up with a shotgun, if you wish. No one is MAKING you turn it in to Apple. There will undoubtedly be third party battery options - just like the iPhone and iPod.

Seriously, why do people insist on getting worked up because Apple gives them an OPTION to get a complete refurb for $99 if the battery dies?

That would be great if they did not charge so much. How about they sell me the battery for $15 (which is a reasonable price) and I take care of recycling? All they want is your money. Greedy bustards.

You don't like it? Don't buy one. Or use one of the third party options. No one is saying this is your only choice. It's not all that likely that the battery will need to be replaced before the unit is hopelessly obsolete, anyway.

Shows how cheap is the hardware is in the iPad if they are able to replace the whole thing for $99, wouldn't it be cheaper to just replace the battery.

I really wish people would learn to read. They're not replacing the whole thing. You're getting a refurb. That means that Apple is replacing the case and battery and checking the unit to ensure proper function. The internals are used. Seems to me that if you've used your unit long enough to wear out the battery that having the system checked and refurbished is something I'd want to do, anyway.

Question: do batteries ever lose ALL their charge? I have yet to see one in person, although I am not denying it is possible, maybe in an extreme example. Certainly batteries lose the capacity to hold their original 100% charge, but to lose any energy capacity altogether is a tad extreme.

It can happen with an internal short in the battery, but those almost always appear in the first few months.

Well, I keep my devices for a very long time. In fact on all of them either the battery or the HD failed and I still have them.

With an 829 dollar iPad I assume I will keep it for 5+ years in service. So it's likely I will need a battery. I still use my iPhone 2G as an iPod touch and plan to do so for some more years.

Just because you don't use the device in a way that makes it likely to encounter a battery swap doesn't mean other people are confused. They just have a wider horizon...........

What's your whining about? If you use it long enough for the battery to die, you can get a refurb unit for $99 (or buy a cheaper third party battery if you wish). So what's the point of your tirade?

The battery should last for at least 3 years, and people should not have to pay an additional fee to get it replaced. That's what quality companies do.

Here's something to think about: The Intel CPU, memory and hard drive in your Mac products are all backed by, at least, three years of warranty (for consumers) and yet when they enter your Mac product, it is immediately reduced to one year.

I call that a rip-off.

p.s. The Corsair HX 850W PSU in my PC comes with a warranty period of seven years.

That's nice. I am still scratching my head to try to understand why you don't understand the difference between a psu and a battery. Please name another consumer electronics vendor who replaces batteries free for three full years.

Another one fooled by Apple. Yes Apple is giving away new devices for $99 (if you believe so)

Who said that? What has been said repeatedly (both by Apple and most of the posters here) is that you get a refurb unit for $99. No one is claiming a new unit (although someone said 'like new' which 99.999% of the population realizes means used).

 

[aristobrat]

Be far easier and convienient for the consumer if the battery was user replaceable. No having to send the device back to Apple - thus no 'downtime'.

You're right, it'd be easier if the battery was consumer replaceable. People have been saying that since the first iPod back in 2001. At least for the majority of people near Apple Stores, the Genius Bar should be able to get this done with pretty much zero 'downtime'.