battery significantly degraded

[sovre]

I bought a refurbished iphone 11 nine months ago. I noticed recently my phone's battery has been draining more and more rapidly, so that now I need to charge it multiple times a day. Going to settings, I saw the message: "your battery's health is significantly degraded" and recommending replacement. My impression is that the battery should not have degraded this much so quickly, but I have no previous experience with refurb products, so I'm wondering if this is typical for a refurb phone? - or is it a sign there was an issue with the battery in the phone I received?

Also, has anyone tried to replace a battery themselves using any of the kits found online? I'm wondering if I'd be able to replace it myself, or it's too risky?

 

[hexagenia]

Did you buy it from Apple? If so, Apple should replace the battery for free as they warranty all their refurbished iPhones for a year.

 

[sovre]

Did you buy it from Apple? If so, Apple should replace the battery for free as they warranty all their refurbished iPhones for a year.

I bought it through Amazon, through the Amazon renewed program. I wanted to buy it through Apple, but unfortunately they weren't offering the 256GB model I needed.

 

[hexagenia]

Have you tried contacting Amazon? I don't know if it is a Renewed Premium Product, but you might have some recourse through them for a battery replacement or a swap. 11 months on a battery is only appropriate if the battery was improperly refurbished in the first place, which they should own.

 

[sovre]

Have you tried contacting Amazon? I don't know if it is a Renewed Premium Product, but you might have some recourse through them for a battery replacement or a swap. 11 months on a battery is only appropriate if the battery was improperly refurbished in the first place, which they should own.

Thanks for letting me know - this is good information to have! The Amazon renewed warranty is unfortunately only a 3 month warranty. I did contact the seller to let him know the battery was degraded and that I thought it was too short a time for that to happen - hopefully he offers a swap. If not I can use the info you gave me to contact Amazon directly and try to get them to do something on my behalf.

 

[hexagenia]

If you actually live near a retail Apple Store, the cost of replacing an out of warranty iPhone 11 battery there is $69, and that may be the path of least resistance. YMMV. Good luck...

 

[JPack]

It sounds like the iPhone had a battery that was half consumed already when you purchased it. For it to reach the degraded stage usually takes at least a couple years of heavy use.

 

[jetsam]

Have you tried contacting Amazon? I don't know if it is a Renewed Premium Product, but you might have some recourse through them for a battery replacement or a swap. 11 months on a battery is only appropriate if the battery was improperly refurbished in the first place, which they should own.

Amazon states about the iPhone refurbs it sells:

"This product will have a battery that exceeds 80% capacity relative to new."

Likely the OP's phone came with a battery very close to 80%. After nine months of use, it's not surprising it needs to be replaced.

 

[JPack]

If you actually live near a retail Apple Store, the cost of replacing an out of warranty iPhone 11 battery there is $69, and that may be the path of least resistance. YMMV. Good luck...

Agreed, get this done before the price increase on March 1.

Unfortunately, there is no case against Amazon or the seller. If the battery were below 80% on day one, the service message would have popped on back then.

 

[ndouglas]

Yep as others noted replace battery at Apple Store is best. I am never tempted by the “deals” on Amazon for this reason, unlike some of my family members. You just never know the battery status or history or similar history of the device so to me it’s worth the peace of mind to get it from Apple either new or refurbished.