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iPhone 4S Apple Store battery replacement

D

Dallas Pilgrim

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 11, 2012
26
0
So I was casually about to unlock my 5s ahead of a trip to Europe next week when I saw the ridiculous prices they're now charging for unlocking AT&T phones. No problems, I thought, I'll just use my old out of contract 4s. The only thing is, the battery life in it is terrible, and it has a few nicks and scratches (pretty minor). I thought I'd take it to the Apple Store and ask for a new battery (which I thought would bag me a new/refurbed immaculate iPhone).

After some Googling, I saw that Apple are now servicing iPhones and replacing the parts. The only thing is, I cannot find any answers on Google that completely confirm that they're doing battery replacements in the iPhone 4s or if they're still replacing the entire handset. Would appreciate a definitive answer on this. Would much rather pay $79 for a 'new battery' than $199 for a replacement 4s.
 
Dallas Pilgrim said:
So I was casually about to unlock my 5s ahead of a trip to Europe next week when I saw the ridiculous prices they're now charging for unlocking AT&T phones. No problems, I thought, I'll just use my old out of contract 4s. The only thing is, the battery life in it is terrible, and it has a few nicks and scratches (pretty minor). I thought I'd take it to the Apple Store and ask for a new battery (which I thought would bag me a new/refurbed immaculate iPhone).

After some Googling, I saw that Apple are now servicing iPhones and replacing the parts. The only thing is, I cannot find any answers on Google that completely confirm that they're doing battery replacements in the iPhone 4s or if they're still replacing the entire handset. Would appreciate a definitive answer on this. Would much rather pay $79 for a 'new battery' than $199 for a replacement 4s.
Click to expand...

I believe they swap out the entire unit for $79.99.

You can pay $29.99 for a battery from iFixit and do it yourself;

http://www.ifixit.com/iPhone-Parts/iPhone-4S-Replacement-Battery/IF115-005-2

I would ask someone at the Apple store. If they are swapping the entire unit for $79.99, it may be worth it. If it is just the battery, I would NOT pay $79.99 for that.
 
Xenomorph said:
I believe they swap out the entire unit for $79.99.

You can pay $29.99 for a battery from iFixit and do it yourself;

http://www.ifixit.com/iPhone-Parts/iPhone-4S-Replacement-Battery/IF115-005-2

I would ask someone at the Apple store. If they are swapping the entire unit for $79.99, it may be worth it. If it is just the battery, I would NOT pay $79.99 for that.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm trying to find out for sure. If they swap the entire unit for $79 then I'll do it, as I want to give it to my mom when I get back anyway. But if they are literally opening it up out the back and replacing the battery then I'm not sure it's worth having them do it. I asked the store, in a roundabout way, how long it would take for them to replace the battery and the Genius said "about 20 mins" but kept encouraging me to just pay $199 to replace the entire phone. Understandable that they'd dodge the phone-replacement question if you're essentially paying the extra money for the exact same thing.
 
They don't replace the whole phone. Last week I went into the store to inquire about a battery replacement and they told me to walk around the mall for a half hour and it will be done, so I assume this to mean they open it up in the store and swap it out.
 
It's $79 to get the battery replaced in store, and they just replace the battery and not the device. it takes them longer though, and its more work I'm guessing than opening up a new phone; possibly why the genius was trying to get you to pay the $199 for a device swap.
 
Hrhnick said:
It's $79 to get the battery replaced in store, and they just replace the battery and not the device. it takes them longer though, and its more work I'm guessing than opening up a new phone; possibly why the genius was trying to get you to pay the $199 for a device swap.
Click to expand...

On the 4S it definitely is easier to just swap out the phone. On the 5 they made the battery replacement process MUCH MUCH easier. Only 4 screws need to be removed altogether.
 
Thanks for the clarifications. That's sadly what I thought.

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Jbenn425 said:
On the 4S it definitely is easier to just swap out the phone. On the 5 they made the battery replacement process MUCH MUCH easier. Only 4 screws need to be removed altogether.
Click to expand...

Wonder if I chanced it I might get lucky, and they just deem it easier to just replace the phone. Possible I suppose!
 
Dallas Pilgrim said:
Wonder if I chanced it I might get lucky, and they just deem it easier to just replace the phone. Possible I suppose!
Click to expand...
Forget what I just said. I confused myself. The SCREEN was much harder to replace on the 4S than on the 5, the battery replacement is pretty much just as easy on both devices. However, you might still get lucky depending on the genius, it also might depend on the condition of your current 4S. Are there a lot of nicks and scratches on it?
 
Jbenn425 said:
Forget what I just said. I confused myself. The SCREEN was much harder to replace on the 4S than on the 5, the battery replacement is pretty much just as easy on both devices. However, you might still get lucky depending on the genius, it also might depend on the condition of your current 4S. Are there a lot of nicks and scratches on it?
Click to expand...

Not really, a few pretty minor nicks and scratches consistent with 2 years of use. Does that make it more or less likely?
 
Dallas Pilgrim said:
Not really, a few pretty minor nicks and scratches consistent with 2 years of use. Does that make it more or less likely?
Click to expand...

I would say less because if it was flawless they would be able to refurb it and use it as someone else's replacement. But I'm not even sure of they reuse returned iPhones as future replacements, so maybe it really has no effect. In all honesty they're going to just replace your battery, therefore you're better buying yourself a battery off eBay or amazon for $5-$8 and do it yourself, it takes 2 seconds.
 
I payed 5$ for a battery on eBay, including shipping, for the 4S, and it works fine and was really easy to install.

You might want to consider that, since it is just a replacement for your regular phone.
 
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