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Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
I recently noticed (last 2-3 months) that my iPhone's battery life had reached a point where I feel like I cannot leave home or the office without a charger.

I downloaded coconutBattery on my iMac to get a sense of the cycle counts and battery life. It's saying it's gone through 837 cycle counts and that full charge capacity is 1357 mah out of 1810 mah.

Has my phone passed the point of no return? I'm not really desperate for an upgrade to a new model because of the expense and because my phone seems to be able to handle everything fine (except that battery life is disappointing).

What is the cost of replacing an iPhone 6 battery through apple? Is there a DYI option through one of the usual retailers like OWC?
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,159
10,163
Yes you need a new battery. You are below 80% health and over 500 cycles. Your battery is now consumed and will be erratic.
 

praterkeith

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2005
417
111
Montgomery, AL
I replaced the battery in my iPhone 6 a few weeks back with a kit from ifixit. Actually found it cheaper on eBay than on their website. It's working great.
 

Foggydog

macrumors 6502
Nov 8, 2014
408
492
Left Coast
I’m still rocking my 6 Plus and still get about 16 hours of battery life.
Does anyone know why one battery goes bad so early and another lasts longer?
 

Starfyre

macrumors 68030
Nov 7, 2010
2,905
1,136
Had the exact same thing happen to me! The iPhone 6 battery is 12 bucks on Amazon, very easy to replace yourself. It's a waste of money if you take it to the Apple store.
 

krishmk

macrumors 6502
Feb 11, 2010
441
191
I’m still rocking my 6 Plus and still get about 16 hours of battery life.
Does anyone know why one battery goes bad so early and another lasts longer?

Cycles tells the story. Usage.. if you are constantly on phone and charging it, the cycles go up and the battery life goes down.
 
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Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
So I scheduled a battery replacement at my local Apple store. They scheduled me for today as the earliest possible date. I went in, had to wait a half hour for someone to be free, and then an employeee says they have to do a battery diagnostic to check cycles and life. I tell him what they are and point out that this is a replacement appointment and not a diagnostic. He confirms that the cycles were high and my battery basically dead. He then tells me there are no dates for a minimum of two weeks to replace a battery.... no joke, they scheduled me for an appointment to replace my battery, have me come in and the tell me that my battery needs to be replaced... unbelievable waste of time. The guy basically proceeds to tell me that most iPhone users are crayon eating morons and that they don’t replace batteries at battery replacement appointments.

I’ve never had such a bizarre experience with Apple. Suffice to say, I’m ordering a kit and will just replace my battery myself.
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,159
10,163
So I scheduled a battery replacement at my local Apple store. They scheduled me for today as the earliest possible date. I went in, had to wait a half hour for someone to be free, and then an employeee says they have to do a battery diagnostic to check cycles and life. I tell him what they are and point out that this is a replacement appointment and not a diagnostic. He confirms that the cycles were high and my battery basically dead. He then tells me there are no dates for a minimum of two weeks to replace a battery.... no joke, they scheduled me for an appointment to replace my battery, have me come in and the tell me that my battery needs to be replaced... unbelievable waste of time. The guy basically proceeds to tell me that most iPhone users are crayon eating morons and that they don’t replace batteries at battery replacement appointments.

I’ve never had such a bizarre experience with Apple. Suffice to say, I’m ordering a kit and will just replace my battery myself.
It clearly states online when making a battery appointment that supplies are constrained and to call Apple Support to reserve a battery ahead of time.
 
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Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
It clearly states online when making a battery appointment that supplies are constrained and to call Apple Support to reserve a battery ahead of time.

I called and they said they’re doing battery replacement appointments and gave me a date a week out.
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,159
10,163
I called and they said they’re doing battery replacement appointments and gave me a date a week out.
Yes. But that’s not reserving the battery. Apple Support calls the store to make sure it’s in stock. If not, they tell you when it will be.
 

Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
Yes. But that’s not reserving the battery. Apple Support calls the store to make sure it’s in stock. If not, they tell you when it will be.

If they give me a specific appointment a week out for replacing my battery, then they are saying they have a replacement for my battery. When they specifically give me the date and time for a call, there is no excuse on their end. It’s not a replacement appointment if they don’t replace the battery.
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,159
10,163
If they give me a specific appointment a week out for replacing my battery, then they are saying they have a replacement for my battery. When they specifically give me the date and time for a call, there is no excuse on their end. It’s not a replacement appointment if they don’t replace the battery.
You made a Genius Bar appointment. There is no guarantee they will have the product in stock. Apple gives this warning online.
 
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Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
You made a Genius Bar appointment. There is no guarantee they will have the product in stock. Apple gives this warning online.
That’s not accurate and it’s ridiculous of you to keep suggesting it. It was specifically stated to be a “battery replacement appointment” which was confirmed and scheduled specifically a week in advance because that was the earliest date they had for the battery replacement appointment.
 

Thor_1

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2016
950
624
Texas
That’s not accurate and it’s ridiculous of you to keep suggesting it. It was specifically stated to be a “battery replacement appointment” which was confirmed and scheduled specifically a week in advance because that was the earliest date they had for the battery replacement appointment.

I received an email saying my battery was in (chatted with them as there were no appointments available) and I had a week to go to the store to get it replaced. No appointment, just walked in and was seen right away. They ran the battery diagnostic on the phone remotely.
 

Newtons Apple

Suspended
Mar 12, 2014
22,757
15,254
Jacksonville, Florida
That’s not accurate and it’s ridiculous of you to keep suggesting it. It was specifically stated to be a “battery replacement appointment” which was confirmed and scheduled specifically a week in advance because that was the earliest date they had for the battery replacement appointment.

Did you ask them if they had your battery in stock?
 
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Lancetx

macrumors 68000
Aug 11, 2003
1,991
619
The way it works right now with batteries in such short supply is that you call Apple Support to reserve a battery for your specific iPhone. They then contact you later (sometimes it even takes a few weeks) when the battery has arrived and you then have a 7 day window to take it to the selected Apple Store to get it replaced.

My brother is currently waiting on one for his daughter's iPhone 6 Plus. It's been two weeks now and the status on the battery arrival at the store he selected is still pending.
 
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Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
Did you ask them if they had your battery in stock?
I asked when they could schedule me to replace the battery with a new one. They gave me the day which was a week out from my call as when They would replace it. My gut says this particular Apple store has literally run afoul of the old Seinfeld bit on reservations..
 
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Newtons Apple

Suspended
Mar 12, 2014
22,757
15,254
Jacksonville, Florida
I asked when they could schedule me to replace the battery with a new one. They gave me the day which was a week out from my call as when They would replace it. My gut says this particular Apple store has literally run afoul of the old Seinfeld bit on reservations..

Me thinks they were not telling you they had a battery, they were just setting up your appointment to start the process.
 

Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
Me thinks they were not telling you they had a battery, they were just setting up your appointment to start the process.
Me thinks that a specific reservation to replace the battery, scheduled more than a week in advance is a reservation to replace the battery.

Interestingly, I just checked the battery's condition and the decline has accelerated quite rapidly since I started this thread in October. Full charge capacity is now 713 mAh. Cycle count is 933. It basically confirms that the deterioration of lithium ion batteries seems to increase significantly toward the end of their life. coconutBattery suggests that it's at 39.4% of its design capacity.
 

Vermifuge

macrumors 68020
Mar 7, 2009
2,067
1,589
Me thinks that a specific reservation to replace the battery, scheduled more than a week in advance is a reservation to replace the battery.

Interestingly, I just checked the battery's condition and the decline has accelerated quite rapidly since I started this thread in October. Full charge capacity is now 713 mAh. Cycle count is 933. It basically confirms that the deterioration of lithium ion batteries seems to increase significantly toward the end of their life. coconutBattery suggests that it's at 39.4% of its design capacity.

1. The first step is an appointment to confirm the battery is in fact whats going on with your phone. 2. The second step, once they confirm the battery needs to be replaced is to put you in line for a new battery.

With so many people needlessly replacing their 6/6 plus batteries supplied have been severely constrained. replacements are out as far as March or April.
 
Last edited:

Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
1. The first step is an appointment to confirm the battery is in fact whats going on with your phone. 2. The second step, once they confirm the battery needs to be replaced is to put you in line for a new battery.

With so many people needlessly replacing their 6/6s batteries supplied have been severely constrained. replacements are out as far as March or April.
The 6 batteries are more likely to be exhausted simply by virtue of how long the 6 has been out there. More time to go through more cycles, simple age, etc..

Though I recall there being something about some 6s batteries that were more or less defective.
 
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