iFixit: Apple 'Locking' iPhone Batteries to Discourage Third-Party Replacements [Updated]

[44267547]

It’s just like a check battery light on your car that you can’t remove even though everything is fine and checks out. It’s all good.

Actually, you can remove a ‘check engine
light yourself with a diagnostic tool that can be purchased off Amazon for like $20.00. The difference being, you can disable the check engine light with the click of a button, but the problem still exists even with the light off. (And the check engine light will eventually resurface once the ECU does another reading.) I get what you’re saying, but it’s not the same thing at all with your comparison.

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

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.

Actually, it would be "tangential" because the article is about batteries rather than privacy. Nevertheless, as I said, I'm placing a lot of trust in Apple that what might be to their advantage is also to ours (playing devil's advocate). Perhaps it is just greed, but it's not unreasonable to assume a "general" policy of limiting repairs is more managable for Apple. If so (and yes, I recognize it's a big if), I'd rather follow that policy than have Apple abandon its "security overwatch".

And, unfortunately, I don't think we can count on the current Administration to regulate to consumers' advantage anytime soon.

 

[I7guy]

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.

Such as true statement and applies to virtually every for-profit company on the face of the earth.

 

[Khedron]

Do you have a citation or personal experience for this? That is what applecare is for.

https://support.apple.com/en-ie/iphone/repair/service/battery-power

 

[I7guy]

https://support.apple.com/en-ie/iphone/repair/service/battery-power

So they didn’t say what you claim they said. Got it.

 

[mi7chy]

This is setting a bad precedent for Apple gimping non-Apple hardware upgrades across all devices. Macbooks are already a lost cause since SSD is soldered in but imagine upgrading your Mac desktop with Samsung SSD where Smart status/diagnostic won't work forcing you to buy Apple rebranded SSD from Samsung that cost 2x or more.

 

[I7guy]

This is setting a bad precedent for Apple gimping non-Apple hardware upgrades across all devices. Macbooks are already a lost cause since SSD is soldered in but imagine upgrading your Mac desktop with Samsung SSD where Smart status/diagnostic won't work forcing you to buy Apple rebranded SSD from Samsung that cost 2x or more.

The title of the thread is about the iPhone battery, and nothing is gimped...just displayed on a screen.

 

[Khedron]

How about consumer protection do that the consumer knows if the phone is altered? Nah...couldnt be.

Couldn't they just have a service history page on the About screen instead of just arbitrarily deactivating features in the hope that the customer notices the battery health warning and understands the reason?

 

[bruceatk]

What this doesn't discuss is another aspect of Apple and replacing batteries. I had a Verizon provided replacement iPhone 6S that Apple refused to replace the battery in, even though I wanted to pay for it to be done by Apple. They said that it had non-genuine Apple parts in it (back case) and was missing a screw. I assume that Verizon refurbished the phone and this was done at that time.

It left me with no choice but to use a 3rd party to replace the battery.

I now have an iPhone XS Max that also was replaced by Verizon because of faulty bluetooth. Am I in the same boat with this phone where they won't replace the battery in it if/when it is needed. I believe it is time for me to stop buying Apple phones.

 

[Khedron]

What this doesn't discuss is another aspect of Apple and replacing batteries. I had a Verizon provided replacement iPhone 6S that Apple refused to replace the battery in, even though I wanted to pay for it to be done by Apple. They said that it had non-genuine Apple parts in it (back case) and was missing a screw. I assume that Verizon refurbished the phone and this was done at that time.

It left me with no choice but to use a 3rd party to replace the battery.

I now have an iPhone XS Max that also was replaced by Verizon because of faulty bluetooth. Am I in the same boat with this phone. I believe it is time for me to stop buying Apple phones.

I7guy assures me that cases like yours don't exist. Sorry.

 

[ToneWilliamsUSA]

I'm getting close to boycotting Apple altogether. It is utterly acting as a behemoth corporation without a heart, certainly for it's customers. All it cares about is generating shareholder profits. Period. It's customers are simply a means to that end. That's not good enough for me. I want a relationship with Apple. I had one for decades. Apple excited me and I was passionate for it. I spent $ thousands on Apple products over that time and sold many more thousands for them as champion of their products to anyone who cared to listen why they should drink the Kool-Aid. I gladly paid the Apple tax. Wh? Because Apple delivered products that were easily repaired and readily updated and expanded. The build quality was first rate; they lasted forever (in tech terms). The software was elegant but flexible, and its power was readily discoverable. The devil was in the details, and that's where its products stood out above the competition. By a long shot. In short, Apple gave its customer the very best user experience possible for a modest premium. What was there not to love? Today, Apple is anything but that; doing a near 180º turn from the culture that Jobs' built. It sickens me, worse and worse with each passing year. Nothing is as good as it once was with Apple but for its profits. I want Apple to be profitable. I want Apple to succeed. But I want the value that Apple gave me for decades, today. And tomorrow. And until it delivers that again, Apple can count me out. Well, as a champion of its products and services anyhow. I'm in maintenance mode treading water waiting for it go get its soul back. Mine has not changed. Apple has changed. And shame on the media for still talking about Apple like its golden. Those days passed with Jobs. It's just taken a while for Tim Cook to show his hand, and it's just not pretty... if you like the Apple that once dared to fly a pirate flag over its campus to as it continued to lead the personal computer revolution it started. Planned obsolescence. Form over function. Locked down. Buggy. Good enough. Poor value. These describe Apple today, to a T. Perfectly. How can I love that? Where is the excellence in that? Those who truly love Apple should reconsider your support for it. Demand that Apple do better. Because it can. It can do much better. Much of what I say here is easily seen in just stepping back and taking a hard look its products and services. Mix in a little iFixit to glean a more technical side of the BS. And throw in some Louis Rossmann to gain keen insight into the nitty gritty. What you get then is a pretty good understanding of just how we are being screwed today by Apple. Apple has gone rogue. Period. For Apple has lost its soul.

 

[curtvaughan]

Whoah, relax. Take a deep breath.

You're not reading this poorly written article very carefully. There's nothing to stop you from replacing the battery in your phone with a third party battery. Apple just doesn't have its software set up to determine the health of that unknown 3rd Party's battery made in some unknown factory with unknown components.

So, save a few bucks, and go ahead and dump whatever battery you find on the Internet in your phone- no one is stopping you. Just don't expect Apple to somehow have developed software to be able to determine the health of that battery.

Ah, but did you miss the part where the original battery is replaced with another Apple battery original to another identical iPhone? That would not be a "3rd Party battery made in some unknown factory ...", and the "servicing" message still pops up. If _any_ battery, Apple or otherwise, is used to replace the original, the "needs servicing ..." message will appear unless the lockdown firmware is reset. Apparently only Apple or Apple authorized technicians are able to reset the firmware. That is why the implication is that Apple is trying to cripple third party repair. I, for instance, would be perfectly trusting of someone like Louis Rossmann or iPad Rehab to competently replace my iPhone battery. The caveat would be that regardless of how good the replacement might be, the phone would still put out the "battery needs service ..." message. That is not only annoying to the customer, but cripples the ability to get a good resell of the phone. No one wants to buy a second hand iPhone that says "battery needs servicing" at the outset.

 

[NT1440]

This is setting a bad precedent for Apple gimping non-Apple hardware upgrades across all devices. Macbooks are already a lost cause since SSD is soldered in but imagine upgrading your Mac desktop with Samsung SSD where Smart status/diagnostic won't work forcing you to buy Apple rebranded SSD from Samsung that cost 2x or more.

What functionality is lost here other than reading the battery stat directly on the phone? If you’re technically inclined enough to think of looking for that info, just use coconut battery through a computer.

Nothing is gimped by this action.

I’m on my 6s that I’ve replaced the battery 3 times in its long lifetime. Phone works great, never been able to use the battery health feature on it (which wasn’t even an iOS feature until recent years). The phone still works flawlessly.

What’s gimped here?

 

[code-m]

Such as true statement and applies to virtually every for-profit company on the face of the earth.

Except in this case the substance dealer is also the producer and when what is being consumed is not strong or appealing enough to get that fix people look elsewhere, so the answer is to get them younger and unexposed potentials.

 

[aliensporebomb]

Can people use coconut (or whatever it’s called) on a mac with the phone attached to get battery health?

I do this with all of my IOS devices. It works pretty well but how well it jibes with what Apple spec is can't really be known. Apple probably hates the fact that people can do that. Coconut battery used to be an IOS app on the phone.

The other question I prompted Louis Rossman in the comments on that video was (paraphrasing not exactly) "how many iPhone Xs and Xr, ostensibly phones that haven't even been on the market for a year need a battery swap anyway?"

 

[RogerWilco]

Such as true statement and applies to virtually every for-profit company on the face of the earth.

Yes, the Corporate dream these days is a future for plebes where they own nothing and rent everything.

 

[I7guy]

Couldn't they just have a service history page on the About screen instead of just arbitrarily deactivating features in the hope that the customer notices the battery health warning and understands the reason?

Nothing is deactivated in the traditional sense of the word and there is no guarantee the service page would be reviewed. But it seems like a useful idea, from a consumer point of view although the planned obsolescence crew can’t think that far ahead of their noses.

 

[Rogifan]

I did my own with a genuine battery when Apple through an authorised repair centre refused to replace the battery on my iPhone when the water sensors were triggered, not that I could see, however. Battery health status worked immediately and I did a better job than Apple managed on some others who reported damaged cases etc.

Stuff like this is just begging for anti-trust action to kick in, especially when Apple leaves you NO option to have your phone serviced.

Nah. It’s not like the phone stops working. I wouldn’t consider battery health metrics to be a critical feature of a smartphone.

 

[lederermc]

and how can we change the battery when there is not an apple store in our country? is premium reseller considered original?

You can still use a 3rd party battery. You just can't use IOS to tell you about its health.

 

[redheeler]

This is setting a bad precedent for Apple gimping non-Apple hardware upgrades across all devices. Macbooks are already a lost cause since SSD is soldered in but imagine upgrading your Mac desktop with Samsung SSD where Smart status/diagnostic won't work forcing you to buy Apple rebranded SSD from Samsung that cost 2x or more.

The precedent was set 8 years ago when Apple started gluing in the batteries of the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. That model was innovative in many ways which overshadowed this big step in the direction of planned obsolescence.

 

[Rogifan]

Hope people sue Apple. Pure greed.

Sue Apple for what? The battery and device still work.

 

[NT1440]

Sue Apple for what? The battery and device still work.

Don't bother, this thread is just for people to rant at this point. The reality doesn’t matter anymore.

 

[curtvaughan]

This sounds like a good thing for second hand buyers. If as a seller you don’t like it, pay the extra $20-30 to have Apple install it so your buyer has a guarantee.



But it doesn’t say it NEEDS service. Macrumors article was written by someone with no reading comprehension.

The messaging is as follows:

Referring to the "servicing" is a paraphrase. The above message is produced by any battery - Apple or otherwise - which doesn't have the PROM chip lockout reset. Only Apple or its authorized technicians can do the reset, at least until Apple provides that information to independent technicians.

 

[scaramoosh]

Apple really has been annoying me lately, however I’m just not going to buy anything from them again. When my iPhone SE does I’ll just switch to Android.

I’ve had to go to their Stores a few times, each time the “genius” has been really unhelpful. I remember having to constantly go for my iPad speaker vibrating. It took 4 visits and 2 times sending my iPad for repair... it shouldn’t take that to ox an obvious flaw.

I have an iMac and the fan inside has stopped working, it just runs so hot now but they won’t swap out the fan, they won’t even look at it :/

My MacBook 12 had that stupid Keyboard issue, I sold it on eBay as I never used it for a couple years. The next thing I knew the person was moaning at me about then keyboard..... ffs. I’ve never had that on a Laptop ever....

My Left AirPod kept doing weird random stuff, like not connecting and dropping out. The Apple store said it was fine, then 6 months later it stopped working completely when it was out of warranty.

I’ve had so many issues with their products, even their Apple Watch the thing that holds one of the straps doesn’t engage properly.

However now I’ve just switched back to Windows, I’m going to switch I Android and it’s all because Steve Jobs died and Tim Cook couldn’t keep the company running properly.

 

[Khedron]

Nah. It’s not like the phone stops working. I wouldn’t consider battery health metrics to be a critical feature of a smartphone.

This isn't a mistake by Apple or their final goal, it's just one of many steps they're deliberately taking as part of a larger strategy to eventually have third party repairs made illegal or impossible.

First they come for the non-critical features. Next they'd probably deactivate "optional" features like fast charging or wireless charging if an "unauthorised" battery was found. Then they'd refuse to charge at all beyond showing a warning screen to contact your local Apple store.