iPhone XR iPhone XR “important battery message” and now Phone shuts off every two minutes.

[luckylisp]

Well, here’s a new one. First some background. I bought my iPhone XR at the AT&T store (new obviously) in April 2019. Today my phone battery was at 60% when I left the house. Suddenly the battery display dropped to 0% and I then got a message saying unable to verify you have a genuine Apple battery. To be clear, the battery has never been changed. The phone has never been opened. I can now only use my phone for 2 minutes before it shuts off. I turn it back on, same thing. I can only use for exactly 2 minutes and it shuts down. It’s like it’s on a timer.

I took the phone to AT&T as I have insurance on it. He tried numerous things, like trying to update which cant be done due to the two minute usage. He advised me to try apple first because hes never seen this issue before of being locked out of your phone on a time limit. They can replace my battery there under my insurance but he feels there’s a defect in my phone. earliest appointment I could get at Apple is august 3rd. You can probably imagine how angry I am. Can’t use my phone (Which technically works fine, and the battery life is fine, I’m just being locked out of it) and I have to Wait a week to sort it.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Any advice to get it working?

 

[Shirasaki]

I have a sneaky suspicion that Apple will claim this issue is due to user error no matter what and charge replacement device cost to get a new one. I hope I am wrong.

 

[luckylisp]

I hope you’re wrong too. I’ll see what AT&T says then as I do have insurance on it. They just felt I should try Apple first.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Don't wait until August 3. Call Apple support now.

The "can't verify this is a genuine Apple battery" message is similar to a message folks sometimes get when using a genuine Apple cable. It doesn't necessarily mean the battery or cable isn't genuine - sometimes the systems designed to protect from non-genuine parts malfunction - a "false negative."

Meantime... Does it shut down after two minutes even when you're connected to a charger? If it does stay on when connected to charger, start by updating the OS while connected to charger.

If you haven't already done a hard reset of the iPhone, give it a shot: Press the volume up button for a moment and then release, then immediately press the volume down for a moment and then release, then press and hold the Sleep/Wake (power) button until you see the Apple logo.

And as far as warranty/insurance coverage goes? By all means, get some advice from Apple. But if Apple tells you that the battery has to be replaced at your expense, you're going to end up calling AT&T again to make an insurance claim.

 

[luckylisp]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, this is definitely a false negative as it’s a genuine Apple battery. I also treat my phone with care, it’s not user error or mistreatment either. The phone is technically charged but still shows 0%. The phone only stays on for 2 minutes even if plugged in. I’ll try calling Apple support tomorrow from a friends phone, but I think they’re going to tell me to bring it in. It’s really pretty baffling. They said they never saw the issue before at AT&T. I bet Apple says the same thing.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, this is definitely a false negative as it’s a genuine Apple battery. I also treat my phone with care, it’s not user error or mistreatment either. The phone is technically charged but still shows 0%. The phone only stays on for 2 minutes even if plugged in. I’ll try calling Apple support tomorrow from a friends phone, but I think they’re going to tell me to bring it in. It’s really pretty baffling. They said they never saw the issue before at AT&T. I bet Apple says the same thing.

Apple has about 2 billion devices in active service around the world. Nothing that happens is unique - it's only a question of how often something happens (how rare it is). If the first person you speak to has no clue, ask to speak to someone more senior.
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Also, I edited/updated my first reply - check it again to see if I added something you haven't yet seen.

 

[luckylisp]

Yes, I did try a hard reset, it didn’t help. I just found my old iPhone so I’m going to switch my SIM card to my old iPhone and I’ll call them tomorrow. I appreciate your tips and trying to help. Very curious if anyone else on here has had this issue? My Phone never gave me a problem until this.

 

[luckylisp]

Would you have AT&T put in a new battery? That’s what I wanted to do initially but his concern was a new battery wouldn’t solve it. He seemed to think some other defect was at play because my phone isn‘t really usable because of the shut off. He also felt that since it wasnt that long past warranty they might just sort it for me without charge, but I’m doubting that.

 

[now i see it]

Your experience is reason enough for everyone to always have a functioning older iPhone as a backup device.
I bet if the battery is replaced by Apple, it'll work fine.
I get cable warning messages all the time when my genuine Apple lightning cable connected to a genuine apple charger doesn't make a secure connection in the phone's lightning port. After a couple warnings the charging circuitry shuts down and it's impossible to charge the phone without rebooting it.
I bet you're experiencing something similar internally with the battery connection.

 

[luckylisp]

Thank you for your input. I'm grateful I was able to find my trusty old iPhone 5 (old as it is! lol) otherwise I'd be without a phone. No idea what's up but it seems to be rare. What's weird is how it shuts down as if on a timer. Then is restarts on its own quickly and gives me that battery message. I still haven't called support yet, busy day, but will get around to it.

 

[luckylisp]

Reporting back for anyone interested. I called apple support (more than a 30 minute wait to talk to them) and it was useless, unfortunately. Frankly, I knew more about their product than she did, as I'm sure most people on here would have as well. Not trying to insult her, just being honest. She was a very nice person, very apologetic, but she only knew the basics. Hard reset etc. She was just reading apple support docs basically, something I already did online.

I should say that she did connect to my phone and performed diagnostics on it. She announced that she saw the error I was getting and repeated about it not being a genuine apple battery etc. I told her it was a genuine battery and she started reading me more apple help docs. She said I'd send them to you, but it's nothing you can't find online so you've probably read them. In the end she told me to keep to my Apple appointment on Monday. I'll report back then in case anyone is interested in the outcome. I have a feeling I'll end up back at Best Buy and dealing with my insurance, but I'd like to see if Apple thinks it's the battery. AT&T feels it's some other defect due to the shutting off/restarting and not being able to use the phone even though the battery life is fine.

 

[MrMiyagi1]

To me it feels like AT&T would rather hope that Apple resolves the issue instead of allowing you to make a claim on the insurance you pay. Hope you get it sorted though.

 

[freeagent]

You paid for it, I would try the battery. If that doesn’t help bring your supporting documents to Apple and tell them what’s going on. I’m sure they will help you out.

 

[luckylisp]

There is still a fee for the battery replacement I assume, so I guess my feeling is if I pay to have it replaced and it's not the battery, then I'm out that money. I'd rather have Apple tell me it's the battery or something else and then proceed from there. Thank you both for the input.

 

[luckylisp]

For anyone interested. Apple couldn't help. They said the main board was fried so I had to file a claim with my insurance. My replacement phone arrives tomorrow. Pretty much what I expected but was curious what they might say.

 

[mariak15]

hello, may I know what steps you have done? we have the same issue. thank you