Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iFixit Reduces Price of All DIY iPhone Battery Replacement Kits to $29 or Less
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm late to all of this. Saw all the headlines... didn't think much of it.
But for fun... I just ran Geekbench 4 on my 2-year-old iPhone 6S Plus with its original battery at 100% charge and still plugged in.
I got 2566 single-core and 4410 multi-core.
Those numbers line up with another user who tested after they installed a brand-new replacement battery.
So... am I good? No throttling? Or do I need to do other tests? Plugged and unplugged? Various battery levels?
Thanks in advance.
But for fun... I just ran Geekbench 4 on my 2-year-old iPhone 6S Plus with its original battery at 100% charge and still plugged in.
I got 2566 single-core and 4410 multi-core.
Those numbers line up with another user who tested after they installed a brand-new replacement battery.
So... am I good? No throttling? Or do I need to do other tests? Plugged and unplugged? Various battery levels?
Thanks in advance.
Last edited:
Do you run a business yourself? If so the answer is quite easy, you want to maximize your profit. The price you achieve is based on the interplay of demand and supply during a certain time frame. As Apple decreased the price iFIxit will see less demand as long as they don't do the same. But surely they will rise the prices again as soon as Apple stops the discount.
It sounds like you are assuming that iFixit is making money at that price. I don't know if that is the case. They could be selling them at cost simply to clear out inventory knowing that demand for the kit will drop.
Or maybe it is a "loss leader" marketing move to gain some attention and visibility.
Not everyone has an Apple store close to them. And as for Apple's $29 replacement program, the customer doesn't get to decide if they can participate in the program, Apple does. If their diagnostic tool determines that your phone does not meet their criteria, then you can't participate. Then it becomes a matter of $29 for iFixit kit or (whatever Apple charges for an out-of-warranty battery replacement).
Because Apple will know that the phone was previously opened.
BS. Apple don’t automatically upgrade every phone that goes in.
Gotta laugh at ifixit though. They don’t do anything special, just resell cheap junk at higher prices. If there’s anything I would avoid going third party for it’s batteries and chargers.
This is crazy, imagine if your car dealer refused to work on your car after they noticed that you replaced the brake pads yourself.
I'd equate an iPhone battery to something like a spark plug. Not brake pads. Think about it:
- With cheap brake pads, your car still turns on and runs and gets the same efficiency it did before you even took your jack out the trunk; you just have to be aware of the reliability (or lack thereof) of YOUR own work plus materials used during drive time (as you would with any service you do on anything, anyway).
- With cheap spark plugs, you raise the risk of a misfire, which in turn can eventually cause damage to your engine and other components. If you aren't keen to consider this possibility before service and it ends up happening and you don't notice and you get misfires and end up damaging pistons and then your timing gets messed up and your engine is in limp mode all the time... when you bring it to the dealer, you're gonna have a serious repair bill. All because you wanted to replace your "battery" yourself. YMMV though.
iPads are replaced at Apple, the batteries aren't designed to be serviceable... third-party repair shops most certainly do them though.
One big reason is, AFAIK, Apple doesn't actually repair your battery. Instead, what they do is swap your phone with a refurbished one, which might be broken in other ways. They have a mail-in service to change the battery on your actual phone (supposedly - I always try to mark my phone somehow) - but then you have to go a week without your phone!
So the main reasons I did my own repairs is TIME - you lose your device for hours instead of weeks, and you KNOW it's your device and not a swap out.
Incorrect. Batteries are replaced on-site, so long as there are no other issues with the device that would prohibit a successful modular repair. In that case comes the option of a full device replacement, and they are not refurbished.
Also, Mail-In is an option, not a requirement.
If you're tidy enough in your replacement, Apple won't be able to tell anything. And even if they can tell that the phone's been opened previously, they'll probably assume that it was done at an Apple Store.
Also (not directed at sracer), in the past, Apple has done work on my iPhones that had 3rd party parts. My wife's iPhone5 was dropped and the touch screen was wonky. I got a replacement screen from ifixit (obviously not an OEM part) and later, Apple replaced the battery under one of the iPhone5 recall programs.
Yeap, I’d go the ifixit route, because I know despite Apple throttling my 6S, as proven by my tests I’ve done this week, the battery health is too high for Apple to fix it.
In fact I won’t bother and just get an X and hope Apple have fixed the design flaw because that’s what they have.
But I’m more then happy to take things apart, I worked in IT for over 8 years and built far far too many computers. And the fact the nearest Apple store is about an hour and a half drive away.
But if you have an older phone not covered by Apple's new battery policy, you're not risking nearly as much.
[doublepost=1514836344][/doublepost]
Oh, come on.
They might not be making any money on it at all at $29. Maybe they're using it as a loss leader, or a way to attract new customers for other products.
Check their shipping prices though- pushing $45.00 by the time you factor that in.
i'll tell u whut...
i've got an iphone6 which had a failing battery about a year ago. took it to apple and their stupid diag said the battery was fine. 3 months later i went back with even worse battery life and they told me it was still good, but because it had 700+ cycles they would let me pay $80 to replace it. that was march 2017.
everything was fine until i installed iOS11... and then the massive slowdown began. i just assumed it was the software, but geekbench 4 and cpu dasherx have shown me that i'm getting massively throttled. if my battery is below ~80% my CPU is stuck at 600Mhz. meanwhile, my kids iphone6 (both still running ios10, both purchased the same day as mine, and both on original battery) are totally fine speed and battery life wise. so how is apple not causing this slowdown???
OK, so i've got a 9-month old battery and i'm getting the snot throttled out of me. i know, KNOW, that if i go into the store they will tell me to pound sand and that there's nothing wrong. but my iphone6 is completely unusable at this point.
so to me, the $29 iFixit battery makes sense, at least for the 6 where i don't have to worry about waterproofing. and i can do it myself instead of wasting hours pleading with some kid to make me whole. that's what's frustrating. they brick my phone, then i have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it to work again. F that.
i've been an apple user since 1978 when i got my first apple ][. i've probably spent over $200,000 on apple products over the last 30 years. i'll never use an android phone, but from this point on i'm going to buy used iphones and take my chances. i'm never going to give apple another dollar for a new iphone.
i've got an iphone6 which had a failing battery about a year ago. took it to apple and their stupid diag said the battery was fine. 3 months later i went back with even worse battery life and they told me it was still good, but because it had 700+ cycles they would let me pay $80 to replace it. that was march 2017.
everything was fine until i installed iOS11... and then the massive slowdown began. i just assumed it was the software, but geekbench 4 and cpu dasherx have shown me that i'm getting massively throttled. if my battery is below ~80% my CPU is stuck at 600Mhz. meanwhile, my kids iphone6 (both still running ios10, both purchased the same day as mine, and both on original battery) are totally fine speed and battery life wise. so how is apple not causing this slowdown???
OK, so i've got a 9-month old battery and i'm getting the snot throttled out of me. i know, KNOW, that if i go into the store they will tell me to pound sand and that there's nothing wrong. but my iphone6 is completely unusable at this point.
so to me, the $29 iFixit battery makes sense, at least for the 6 where i don't have to worry about waterproofing. and i can do it myself instead of wasting hours pleading with some kid to make me whole. that's what's frustrating. they brick my phone, then i have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it to work again. F that.
i've been an apple user since 1978 when i got my first apple ][. i've probably spent over $200,000 on apple products over the last 30 years. i'll never use an android phone, but from this point on i'm going to buy used iphones and take my chances. i'm never going to give apple another dollar for a new iphone.
Seriously people? You are complaining about $29? At $29 they must be losing money. Buy a couple of Lithium AAA batteries at a store and it will run you over $10. Add in some tools and a custom sized battery and connector and the cost rises. Instead of complaining about what they originally charged, look at it as an opportunity that you can enter the market and do quite well by slightly undercutting iFixIt's price.
At $29 I'm guessing iFixIt is losing money on each kit so they don't get stuck with a bunch of kits. How many people are going to replace their battery twice? By that time, the phone will be so dated the owner will most certainly buy a new model.
At $29 I'm guessing iFixIt is losing money on each kit so they don't get stuck with a bunch of kits. How many people are going to replace their battery twice? By that time, the phone will be so dated the owner will most certainly buy a new model.
The first kit I found in stock was for the 5C. Shipping to my location was $9.75. Add it to the $25 cost of the kit, that's about $35. Yes, it costs more than Apple's $29. I don't think that's an unreasonable shipping charge.
most folks will feel the same. especially when they find out that having a 3rd party battery in your iPhone means Apple will tell you to F off. no battery repair, no swaps. you just screwed yourself completely. been that way for years
Have to say this is not a great deal for the models covered by Apple. Why? Between the self labor and the SHIPPING the cost is way higher.
For an older phone NOT covered the $5 break is welcome, but its still misleading.
iPhone 5 Replacement Battery / Fix Kit1 ×$24.99
Sales Tax$0.00
Shipping Cost$12.75
Total$37.74
That is a pretty hefty shipping cost for a small battery. While I know some of it is overhead for the LiPo shipping and making, I am sure their 'discount' is made up for in shipping costs.
[doublepost=1514992796][/doublepost]Now Apple will fix that battery no questions asked. Scheduled my 7+ battery exchange today
Historically they would need the battery to 'fail' some ambiguous test. But now they will replace it for $29.00 Other than time an hassle its a solid deal.
For an older phone NOT covered the $5 break is welcome, but its still misleading.
iPhone 5 Replacement Battery / Fix Kit1 ×$24.99
Sales Tax$0.00
Shipping Cost$12.75
Total$37.74
That is a pretty hefty shipping cost for a small battery. While I know some of it is overhead for the LiPo shipping and making, I am sure their 'discount' is made up for in shipping costs.
[doublepost=1514992796][/doublepost]Now Apple will fix that battery no questions asked. Scheduled my 7+ battery exchange today
Historically they would need the battery to 'fail' some ambiguous test. But now they will replace it for $29.00 Other than time an hassle its a solid deal.
i posted my screed before apple announced that they would replace batteries that still pass their diagnostics. my main gripe was having to go through the hassle of convincing apple that the battery needed to be replaced.
in light of the new policy, obviously i think it's better to pay $29 to apple to just do it, assuming they really do replace the battery no questions asked.
the elephant in the room is that i believe they are still needlessly crippling older phones. as i mentioned my kids iphone6 phones are still fine, never unexpectedly shut down, run fast... and are running ios10.