I need to replace my 13 mini battery pretty soon. I’m at 81%. Two questions. First, I see that Apple and Best Buy are able to do it in my area. Is Best Buy authorized, i.e. - will they use an OEM battery? Second, how long does it take? Can i wait for it? Anything else I should know about replacing the battery?
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iPhone 13 mini Battery Replacement Time
- Thread starter ger19
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The wait time for apple depends if they have the part in stock at the store and of course how busy they are. I've received my phone back in as little as an hour before, but I always plan for a few hours just in case.
Can't comment on Best Buy for iPhone battery replacement, but in general I find it's worth paying the extra fee to apple if it's within reason. iPhone battery replacement is one of those few exceptions in where it makes sense to pay what Apple has charged historically.
Can't comment on Best Buy for iPhone battery replacement, but in general I find it's worth paying the extra fee to apple if it's within reason. iPhone battery replacement is one of those few exceptions in where it makes sense to pay what Apple has charged historically.
Go with Apple. I have had 3 previous battery services with them and plan on returning soon with my iPhone 13.
They’ve been brilliant each time.
They’ve been brilliant each time.
I wasn’t trying to save money. The benefit of using Best Buy would be convenience. If there was a difference in the product, I’d definitely go with taking it to the Apple Store.
I have been thinking about getting the battery in my iPhone 13 Pro replaced. Battery health just recently hit 88% and the degradation is starting to become noticeable. I'm not exactly interested in a new device when this one otherwise works perfectly fine for my needs aside from the battery.
1. Will Apple replace the battery for this assuming I'm willing to pay the $79 or whatever it is even if it's not yet at 80%?
2. Do I need to log out of anything aside from Find My for them to do this? My phone is in as mint condition as a nearly 4 year old device can be and has lots of synced media - hoping these music and video files don't need to be wiped for a battery replacement.
3. Will they take or break off the screen protector to get the phone open?
I assume that I could expect close to original functionality and battery life with a replacement (keeping in mind of course that the iOS version here is maybe not necessarily as optimized for this device as the one I originally got it it with) which is why this is so tempting.
1. Will Apple replace the battery for this assuming I'm willing to pay the $79 or whatever it is even if it's not yet at 80%?
2. Do I need to log out of anything aside from Find My for them to do this? My phone is in as mint condition as a nearly 4 year old device can be and has lots of synced media - hoping these music and video files don't need to be wiped for a battery replacement.
3. Will they take or break off the screen protector to get the phone open?
I assume that I could expect close to original functionality and battery life with a replacement (keeping in mind of course that the iOS version here is maybe not necessarily as optimized for this device as the one I originally got it it with) which is why this is so tempting.
Not sure about your questions, but I wouldn’t put in a new battery until you’re at 80% or less. I’ve been watching my battery and it took about a year and 4 months to go from 89% to 81% today. One thing I keep in mind is that there will come a day when Apple will no longer have a battery for the 13’s. My guess is that by the time the replacement battery goes bad, there won’t be another one. So, makes sense to wait as long as possible to do the replacement. I’m waiting until 79%.
interesting how apple batteries seem to last pretty long. Heck I have a well used iPhone 8 Plus that's been around 7 yrs and have about 80% and still going. It's been in the USA to Philippines and back to USA. It's still going strong. Frankly I just charge and don't worry much about it.
Even lower health (and battery failure) can be irrelevant if you don’t update.
I have an iPhone 6s on iOS 10. I recently checked Coconut screenshots (because I have the phone now, but it wasn’t mine at first. It was used by two family members before I kept it). And the battery had pretty much a catastrophic failure, dropping below 80% in less than one year and about 300 cycles (I can’t remember the exact number, but it was around there). Well… nobody cares anyway, so the iPhone remained in use for years on end as a main iPhone. It was retired.
About six years after purchase, I grabbed it as a second phone, back in 2022. Coconut reported 60% with about 1400 cycles. It was still running iOS 10, and I was within 5% of the original battery life of my other 6s on iOS 9… with a six-year-old iPhone whose battery had failed 5 years earlier!! Of course, it was still running iOS 10, so pretty much peak software efficiency, but still. The battery had literally failed and it could still provide excellent performance. Yes, I used it until it was low, and no, it didn’t shut down, not once, and even though the 6s was the first iPhone to have throttling applied to it, my specific 6s never had it. Throttling was added on iOS 10.2.1. That iPhone still runs iOS 10.0.
An interesting aspect? My other 6s on iOS 9 I mentioned? When it had 90%!! Battery health, it was forced out of iOS 9 and into iOS 13 due to Apple’s A9 activation bug on iOS 9. All A9 devices on iOS 9, about two to three years after release, so 2018 onwards, were deactivated and forced out. For the 6s, this happened in 2020. And even with 90% health on iOS 13 vs 60% on iOS 10, my 6s on iOS 13 provided about half the battery life when compared to the one on iOS 10. Talk about updates being garbage…
Based on my 14-year experience with not updating I will call battery health irrelevant if not updated and Apple batteries magnificent. I have never replaced a battery. Hopefully I never will.
You can pay to replace the battery if it’s more than 80%. You need to backup your phone and Apple may replace your whole phone depending on other factors.
Yes, they may try to dissuade you, but they won’t stop you from paying for a replacement.
No, but you should back it up before the repair because if they need to erase it they will.
Maybe, the screen is removed with suction cups and it may need to come off to make them stick.
1. Yes, as long as you're willing to pay, they'll do it anytime for iPhone batteries, but this is only for iPhones, not watches or iPads
2. Just have Find My turned off and you'll be good.
3. They almost always take the screen protector off due to how they open the phones.
I replaced mine in September at the Apple Store.
3 days later I had to go back to them because the iPhone didn't charge the battery and the screen was raised at the bottom.
So they also changed the screen, with AppleCare+.
4 hours for the battery, another 4 for the screen.
I've never used Best Buy for battery replacement either. Though, would they change batteries on obsolete devices, like a iPhone 3GS?
Personally, I’d rather take it to the Apple Store. I've read a bunch of posts that say there was a problem with the battery replacement and they just ended up replacing the whole device for free. I’m not sure with Best Buy's policies on this.
In my experience, Best Buy‘s battery replacement service is identical to apples.
When I had my 12 Mini’s battery replaced there, it was super quick.
Completely real Apple authorized battery, they even replaced the display.
Given that they are an Apple Authorized Service provider, they use the same equipment as Apple as well.
Same diagnostic software, same everything.
When I had my 12 Mini’s battery replaced there, it was super quick.
Completely real Apple authorized battery, they even replaced the display.
Given that they are an Apple Authorized Service provider, they use the same equipment as Apple as well.
Same diagnostic software, same everything.
Just to add my experience on this, I recommend squeezing your original battery, i.e. the one that came in your iPhone when you purchased it new, to the max. Use it as long as you can. Then proceed with the recurring battery changes every 16-18 months.
This is because, at least from my experience, original batteries health or lifespan last much longer than replacements. And I’m talking about original replacements made in the Apple Store. This has happened to me both with my iPhone 8 and my MacBook Pro battery replacement.
My theory is that original batteries come often way above the 100% health capacity, whereas the replacement don’t. So my advice is, use the original battery as long as you can, and when the battery life really becomes unbearable, start with the periodic battery replacements.
Of course, always change the battery on Apple as long as you’re able to.
This is because, at least from my experience, original batteries health or lifespan last much longer than replacements. And I’m talking about original replacements made in the Apple Store. This has happened to me both with my iPhone 8 and my MacBook Pro battery replacement.
My theory is that original batteries come often way above the 100% health capacity, whereas the replacement don’t. So my advice is, use the original battery as long as you can, and when the battery life really becomes unbearable, start with the periodic battery replacements.
Of course, always change the battery on Apple as long as you’re able to.
I think that this battery replacement craze has to end.
Prior to iOS 11.3, people didn’t replace the battery nearly as much. Since the battery health number appeared, the obsession has been insane.
I’ve never replaced a battery. My iPhone 6s on iOS 10 (which was then being used by a family member), failed and dropped below 80% a year and 300 cycles in. What did we say? “Who cares anyway”, and I used the phone FIVE years after that with the original battery. I could still get like-new battery life on iOS 10.
You see people today with original iOS versions replacing batteries with 88%. Ridiculous. People didn’t replace the 6s Plus’ battery 8 months in. Because battery life was still amazing.
Today they do because their obsession with the stupid number has no limits.
I’m using ten-year-old iOS devices with great battery life. I’ve never replaced a battery and I never will. The craziness is insane and an end is long overdue, imo.
If you can back it up to a Mac (not just iCloud), then I believe it will be a full backup with all your synced media and whatnot, so you don't have to download it all again from Spotify/Apple Music/whatever.
(I definitely have done this in the past, anyway, so someone correct me if I'm wrong and it doesn't work that way anymore.)
This is a very odd take. Batteries are consumables. If you use and recharge them until they no longer power the device very long, there's nothing wrong with replacing them. Manufacturers readily say that when they fall below 80% they should be replaced. I agree that 88% is probably too soon to replace. However, I can't agree to holding the line at "never."
The constant misguided blame at battery health for battery life issues since iOS 11.3 has been ridiculous. Instead of placing blame on normal factors (usage patterns) and correct, but sad factors (iOS updates), everybody just gives the same advice: “maybe you should replace the battery”. I’ve seen people say this with iPhone 15 models! 15! I don’t care how much you’ve used it. Blaming battery health on the second-to-last model is ridiculous.
I have two questions first: what’s your usage pattern? And what iOS version are you on? Then we can start talking. But the obsession with replacing a battery as soon as it has 79%, the fact that people are now removing and suggesting to remove 40% (or more) of their batteries with a ridiculous charging pattern and so they’re suggest other people should be tied to chargers all day… I think it’s a little too much. You can do whatever you like, but I think that this is too much, especially when it comes to recommendations (as I’ll never criticize a usage pattern, but I will be critical of recommendations).
15 years of iOS experience tell me that the device will be obsolete before the battery matters if you don’t update iOS. So the issue isn’t the battery, it’s iOS updates.
Sure, if you update a battery replacement will improve it a little, but it will still be garbage when compared to my original iOS version device with 73% health. Good luck saying this to people and getting them to believe you. “There’s no way”. Only when I show screenshots do they buy it (sometimes). Due to how updates work (they increase load and power consumption so batteries can’t provide the required power eventually), battery replacements help relative to degraded batteries on updated devices, but an original iOS version device will lose compatibility and be obsolete before the battery is an issue. This is an unpopular opinion, but people don’t know because they don’t try.
I can go along with you to not change out the battery quickly (like once it goes under 80%), but I can’t agree with not updating the iOS. I’m not sure how everything works but it seems like that would mean that you’re not doing security updates. Beyond that, I generally like the new features in the iOS updates. I think I’d rather figure out some functions that hurt the battery and shut them off if they’re things I can do without, rather than not update the iOS.
Of course! The vast majority of people think like you and agree with you. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You might be okay with updating even if you know that regardless of battery health battery life will suffer. And if you accept that, update until the device is unsupported.
But I will always take issue with recommendations. People have settled into a groove of replying to battery-concerned people who stay behind with “everything will be fine, just update and replace the battery”… and no.
It won’t be the same, having 100% battery health will not give you the same battery life I get with original iOS versions, and there’s nothing you can do, as Apple disallows downgrades. Once you update, you update forever. People recommend blindly updating with no regard to individual situations and blame everything on battery health (which is why I originally replied).
Maybe people can’t buy a device every two years, so they’ll suffer if you tell them to update their iPhone 11 or 6th-gen iPad from their original iOS versions. Some people even see this as the natural cycle of iOS devices: you buy them, you update them, battery life (and performance) suffer, and when it bothers you, you throw it away and buy new. Which is… okay I guess, but don’t make blind recommendations to update if you don’t know how they use them.
On iPads, it is even more difficult, so you have millions of iPads that are just gone because perhaps some people updated when they shouldn’t have, and theres nothing they can do.
So I prefer to go with the truth. You can expect anywhere from 40% to 60% of permanent and irreversible battery life loss, alongside moderate performance issues if you update far enough. Battery replacements will allow you to stay on that 40% loss, but nothing better (vs original versions). It’s your call. I like to give people as much information as I can when advising on an irreversible decision.
As far as battery replacements go, yeah, I think it has gone a bit too overboard, like I said. People aren’t even going to 80%, some even close to 90%, it’s beyond ridiculous.
I had Best Buy replace the battery in my iPhone 11 Pro Max 256GB last February (14 months ago). It cost the same as Apple and they said the new battery would be Apple. I chose Best Buy for convenience. I'd booked an appointment for the service, which was to take an hour or so. When I went to pick it up, they said they didn't have the new battery in stock so I had to wait a few days and it was over a weekend so it took a little longer. So I had to start up on older phone to at least take calls. They said they order their batteries when they have the device checked in and they open it up. iOS 18.4 says the battery is Genuine Apple. However after 14 months, the max capacity is down to 91%. It's dropped that much sooner than I expected. I have it on charge every night and set to just charge to 80%. Only occasionally will it not last the day. They did a neat job putting the phone back together.
Best Buy was far less crowded than Apple normally is but they only had one or two people working the desk. One of the two customers in front of me was having the tech trying to diagnose a problem printing from his phone. The tech stayed with that customer rather than checking for drop-offs. It took q u i t e a w h i l e standing in line.
So I think the only real difference between my Best Buy experience and what I've experienced at Apple is that Apple staff are well trained in customer service and if you have an appointment, you usually don't have to wait.
People have repeatedly stated that replaced batteries (from everywhere, even Apple Stores themselves) have a worse time-to-cycles-to-health ratio than original batteries.
Some people have theorized that replacement batteries have 100% capacity, at exact spec, unlike original batteries, which frequently have over 100%. I cannot confirm that. But I have repeatedly read statements by people saying that replaced batteries drop faster with fewer cycles.
Just curious, how many cycles does your replaced battery have?