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iFixit: Apple 'Locking' iPhone Batteries to Discourage Third-Party Replacements [Updated]
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Most people have a best buy near them. Geek squad is an authorized Apple repair center and can replace batteries and screens.
Yeah, so a 3rd party battery doesn't contain a hardware feature that Apple's original batteries have, and that's Apple's fault?I agree on the tone of the article, you'd think a 3rd party battery was limited to 15 minutes runtime then the phone automatically shuts off or something.
Also as usual, the tone of the comments will be as if people read the headline but didn't read the actual description.
I presume you and the forum member quoted did not read the article in full. The article clearly says that the replacement battery was from the same generation iPhone model.
To clarify:
iPhone XS (A) took battery out and put in iPhone XS (B) which is genuine by Apple not some third-party replacement. Battery Health information does not report any information even though the appropriate battery controllers are available and reporting it, however being blocked due to a battery software unlock. If the code is applied the information is unblocked.
It is another restrictive step in the "Right-to-Repair" movement where even purchasing a genuine battery from Apple to do a repair or replacement yourself will result in limited or no information being provided to iOS and the user. Due to iOS being integrated with many sensors and apps available we do not know what effect this has by not reporting this information and how it is used for a better user experience.
It seems like a move on Apple's part even if "Right-to-Repair" gets passed to give consumers and third-party repair shops the middle finger and have these users come in to get enter the unlock code for this feature/function to work again. For example Apple charges $150 USD fo a battery replacement, Apple sells genuine replacement battery for $60, Third-party repair shop charges $50 or do it yourself for free. Apple says bring the out of Apple Store repair job to us to verify and unlock the battery controller code, this will cost you $50 to complete, for a grand total of $160 if the repair is completed outside Apple.
It is a very sneaky and malicious way on Apple's part to discourage "Right-to-Repair" in the event it looses the fight, but gains in the end.
Now imagine this with replacing every other component on any Apple device or computer and you being to see they true intention. It has been proven that in many locations Apple simply will claim that something cannot be repaired and to buy a new product, when third-party have proved them wrong and completed repairs. I understand the financial motive behind it, however if you lost hundreds if not thousands of pictures on your phones and forgot to back-up either on your computer or cloud, it should not be impossible to obtain information from a NAND Flash chip. There is a trust issues and it is being eroded when users are being misinformed or mislead, not a good image that Apple wants I believe but here we are.
Apple doesn't offer full functionality to third party batteries, but doesn't offer OEM batteries to customers.
Do they like getting sued? At this point it almost seems like they enjoy getting their asses sued. They clearly have a formula of what the lawsuit(s) will cost compared to how much they'll make in repairs that wouldn't happen otherwise.
Do they like getting sued? At this point it almost seems like they enjoy getting their asses sued. They clearly have a formula of what the lawsuit(s) will cost compared to how much they'll make in repairs that wouldn't happen otherwise.
Again I am considering going to a non-apple phone on my next upgrade. Thing is, I rarely need battery replacements so there's my subconscious telling me to just stay apple since the hassle isn't too much of a big deal. Moves like that though is what makes consumers mad and go for other choices. Stop being communist apple.
You must be mistaken, any mechanic can reset that code, the charge is simply up to the mechanic if they want to or not. You can even reset it yourself via an iOS app and the appropriate lightening attachment, I have done this several times.
A smartphone is not a car, who replaces their car every year to three years.
This is expert commentary on the exact issue this thread is about by one of the key activists for the right to repair
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Which is exactly the issue here. The problem is not with the actual battery being used as a replacement, but with the PROM chip associated with the battery. Apple has programmed the latest chips to disallow battery health software to access battery information unless Apple authorized dealer/technicians reset the lockdown firmware in the chip. The replacement battery might be perfectly to spec and in good health, but your phone will no longer inform you one way or the other - only that the battery needs "servicing" by an authorized Apple shop. Apparently the chip has always had this PROM in place, but only set it to lock down with the latest generation of phones and with the latest system update.
It is rambling because this is about batteries which—surprise—don’t pose a privacy risk. Their stance on privacy doesn’t give them a free pass on anti-consumer behavior unrelated to privacy.
As I said a bit ago, I can usually see Apple’s side in situations like this. I may not always agree with it, but I can see and understand their point of view. But this, yes, is just greed. Completely arbitrary limitation of software functionality for no functional reason. All batteries report the information that Battery Health uses, but Apple is actively choosing not to report it unless they replaced the battery themselves.
There’s no special “algorithm” — it’s the battery’s current charge capacity relative to its original charge capacity, with either a time average or median because the instantaneously reported value will occasionally fluctuate. It’s not about “safety” or a “proper repair” — we can find numerous Apple Store repair horror stories where people left with a device that was objectively worse off than when they brought it in.
It’s greed, and it’s okay to disagree with a corporation even if you happen to agree with some things they do. They’re not holding a gun to your head.
Apple only makes it worse when it does not offer genuine Apple batteries for third-party and users to purchase.
Even vehicle batteries can be purchased from other manufacturers, are they causing explosions and fires on-mass, seems like poor thermal design.
Rossman's videos are interesting but there are times I think he's going to have a cerebral hemorrhage when Apple does stuff like this.
The most nefarious decisions are made under the guise of "safety" and "security". It is true in all aspects of our life.
In the case of Apple why not cut to the chase and embed a self destruct circuit that forces us to purchase a new phone once a year (or pay a huge "reset" fee).
Isn't that where their anti-repair policies are taking us?
More proof that Apple stopped being run by engineers years ago.
At least we'll be "safe"...
In the case of Apple why not cut to the chase and embed a self destruct circuit that forces us to purchase a new phone once a year (or pay a huge "reset" fee).
Isn't that where their anti-repair policies are taking us?
More proof that Apple stopped being run by engineers years ago.
At least we'll be "safe"...
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Its clearly a click bait from MR
If you feel that way, clearly it worked on you considering you taken the time to comment.
Do you have a citation or personal experience for this? That is what applecare is for.
Apple would prefer it’s customer just lease or subscribe to all they hardware, software and services. Like a substance dealer you will pay anything for the next hit.
Other than not seeing battery health (which shouldn’t matter for at least a year), what exactly is the downside here? The 3rd party battery still works.
MR is full of people that purely just want something to gripe about, and will go out of their way to play up a non issue to pretend it is one.
How about consumer protection do that the consumer knows if the phone is altered? Nah...couldnt be.
The article specifically mentioned the iPhone Xs and XR, meaning this isn't an issue on older models. I've installed third-party batteries into Macs (the older ones that didn't have them glued down) and never had this problem with them either. The battery always reports this info, even third-party ones.
The info reported by third-party batteries is not always accurate, so I don't mind a little disclaimer that says it's not a genuine Apple one. But this is Apple intentionally breaking something as a sort of punishment, and it's a deplorable thing to do.