Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone SE (2016) Older IPhone SE 1st Generation Battery Replacement Options?

F

Francobarry

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 1, 2025
13
3
I'm in NYC. I like to get a battery replacement for this older iphone. Is it worth it or not? Is it even safe to use because there isn't anymore IOS update. Battery Health is below 70% but the phone is unusable as it is lagging nonstop. When I charge it to 100% and then try to use it, I can barely click on anything and by then the battery went down to 70%. The battery goes to 0% pretty fast and is this unusable.


Would a reset make it better or it won't? I don't believe any apple store even has a battery because of how old this phone is? This is my secondary phone. Otherwise, I would just buy a new iPhone.


How much would it cost to get a battery replacement? Apple shows $69+tax but even if they have it, is that worth it or not? How much would a repair shop cost and do they use decent batteries or bad ones? I do see batteries on Amazon and eBay but those don't seem good? Ifixit sells it as well but over $30 and the instructions to do it yourself is pretty hard for someone with no experience? So you can easily break the iPhone yourself if you don't know what you are doing when replacing the battery yourself?
 
i would just buy a new iphone at this point that phone is getting too old and parts might be getting harder to find for it pluse its no longer getting IOS updates and support for apps i bet now days you need at lest IOS 15 or above in order to used most apps now day
 
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: _Mitchan1999 and kitKAC
Your OGSE requires a new battery. I would just take it on the chin and purchase a new one from Apple. I did that was my OGSE back in 2023 and the battery is still pretty decent (95% battery health).
 
  • Like
Reactions: klasma and Parowdy
Francobarry said:
Is it even safe to use because there isn't anymore IOS update.
Click to expand...
I'm just going to address this part since people seem to think that the INSTANT an iPhone no longer receives iOS updates their security is blown to hell and their phone is WIDE OPEN for anyone to hack or do anything to.

Don't use the phone as a primary phone for all your banking and financial matters. Don't be a high value target. Don't be stupid with what you do with your phone.

Lots of people use older iPhones every day as backup phones, secondary phones, iPods, game consoles, etc.

The boogie man is not coming to screw you over.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMStearnsX2, BugeyeSTI, Parowdy and 2 others
Go Apple Store if you can. Snatch that original battery, third party stores most likely don’t have it anymore. Some people still use iPhone SE 1 here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parowdy
eyoungren said:
I'm just going to address this part since people seem to think that the INSTANT an iPhone no longer receives iOS updates their security is blown to hell and their phone is WIDE OPEN for anyone to hack or do anything to.

Don't use the phone as a primary phone for all your banking and financial matters. Don't be a high value target. Don't be stupid with what you do with your phone.

Lots of people use older iPhones every day as backup phones, secondary phones, iPods, game consoles, etc.

The boogie man is not coming to screw you over.
Click to expand...
AAAAAAH! THE BOOGIE MAN! SO SCARY!

2D0890E4-3D02-4D92-A662-A3FD83854BE3.jpeg


Of course, I completely agree with you!
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: winxmac, _Mitchan1999, Parowdy and 1 other person
I had mine replaced earlier this year by a third party, works like a charm at 85%, all considered.

re: iOS updates, if the apps you rely on continue to be supported on your current one, it's all that matters, personally I'd like a heads up before they stop, but I don't think that's likely, so will just have to wait and see.
 
  • Love
Reactions: _Mitchan1999
snow755 said:
i would just buy a new iphone at this point that phone is getting too old and parts might be getting harder to find for it pluse its no longer getting IOS updates and support for apps i bet now days you need at lest IOS 15 or above in order to used most apps now day
Click to expand...
This is my secondary phone. it isn't my primary phone. So that is why I don't want to buy a new iPhone yet. My current phone is fine except it needs a new battery as well.
 
I don't think any apple store has it in stock? I called and it was mentioned they do not have it in stock. I believe apple no longer keeps batteries for phones older than a certain amount of years? Does anyone know if any apple store in NYC has it in stock? If they do, it would still be $69+tax right?


I am doing everything on my primary iPhone. I want to have a backup iPhone so that is why I want the battery replaced. It's unusable even when I fully charge it to 100%. The lag is not even usable. By the time you could even click on anything, the battery is maybe 30%. The other issue is it doesn't seem to charge correctly whenever I
charge it. It usually takes a few tries until it starts charging so there is some issue with the charging port right? It does charge but it takes a lot of trial and error with unplugging and plugging it back. The other issue is this. Wouldn't the apple store need to do a test on it or not for this? So when I'm at the apple store and it doesn't turn on, would they still replace the battery? Now at a regular repair shop, that is no issue right? So I assume people bring phones with a battery that doesn't even turn onto?
 
whatnot said:
I had mine replaced earlier this year by a third party, works like a charm at 85%, all considered.

re: iOS updates, if the apps you rely on continue to be supported on your current one, it's all that matters, personally I'd like a heads up before they stop, but I don't think that's likely, so will just have to wait and see.
Click to expand...
How much did you pay for it? Where are you located? Do you know if it's a good battery they put or a not good battery?
 
Francobarry said:
With Ifixit? Or Amazon or Best buy? I have zero experience replacing a phone battery so isn't this a bad idea? You can easily break a phone this way right? The other issue is what about it being dangerous as well?
Click to expand...
You can purchase parts and tools from iFixit and Amazon. The SE first generation is pretty straightforward, except the touch ID cable is a little annoying.
I teach a regular workshop for people with zero experience fixing phones, and of a few dozen repairs, none of the phones were permanently damaged and it's not dangerous provided you don't poke the battery with something sharp.
 
  • Love
Reactions: _Mitchan1999
Mr_Brightside_@ said:
You can purchase parts and tools from iFixit and Amazon. The SE first generation is pretty straightforward, except the touch ID cable is a little annoying.
I teach a regular workshop for people with zero experience fixing phones, and of a few dozen repairs, none of the phones were permanently damaged and it's not dangerous provided you don't poke the battery with something sharp.
Click to expand...
Well all batteries are different though and it seems amazon and eBay ones are not that good? How do you know if you are getting a good battery then?

Ifixit costs a bit more but it says it isn't an easy task though. How long would it take for someone with no knowledge? At least an hour right? For someone that has done it, it still takes how long?

The thing is if someone is just reading instructions or watching a YouTube video, isn't it most likely possible you can damage it easily?
 
Francobarry said:
Well all batteries are different though and it seems amazon and eBay ones are not that good? How do you know if you are getting a good battery then?

Ifixit costs a bit more but it says it isn't an easy task though. How long would it take for someone with no knowledge? At least an hour right? For someone that has done it, it still takes how long?

The thing is if someone is just reading instructions or watching a YouTube video, isn't it most likely possible you can damage it easily?
Click to expand...
As much as I am in favour of DIY, I think you should give this particular one a skip.
I have used dozens if not hundreds of iFixit branded batteries, and had a couple dead on arrival but otherwise I have been happy with the quality. eBay and Amazon are much more of a quality dice roll.
For absolute peace of mind you can try more Apple stores, noting that the SE 1 is vintage and stock will be low or nonexistent

Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support

Learn about your options for getting service and parts for Apple devices that are past their warranty period.
support.apple.com support.apple.com
 
yes, worth fixing ... I had one replaced by a third party. The old one started swelling.

It is a perfect mini phone to wear or carry when out running. I don't care about screen size, just portability and the ability to stream bluetooth audio. There is no equivalent available today.
 
  • Like
Reactions: klasma
The thing is I don't think any apple store has this battery anymore? I was told they don't carry batteries after a certain amount of years. So the only option is a phone repair store? How much should the price range be around then? I certainly don't want to pay like $80 for it.


It is mentioned in the instructions in Ifixit and other sites, replacing the iPhone battery for this older phone is not easy at all and difficult and takes over an hour. So someone with no experience, this is a very tough thing to do.


How much did you pay for a replacement battery at a 3rd party and how long ago was it?
 
snow755 said:
i bet now days you need at lest IOS 15 or above in order to used most apps now day
Click to expand...

I’ll take that bet! 😁

There’s only 1 app that doesn't work for me on my iPhone SE any more — The New York Times. Simply access the site via Safari.

Have over 100 apps on it, most going back years. They all work wonderfully well, just as they did when I first got them. I’m not kidding.

For sure, in a few cases, I can't upgrade them, but the older versions work just fine. In fact, they often work better as newer versions have shifted to subscription models, dropped features, revamped their interface in regressive ways, etc.

Happy camper! Just put a new case on mine — feels like a new phone. Perfect size phone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FeliApple
Having owned an OG SE since 2016 until it was replaced by a 13 Mini start of 2023, here is my take on it:

I had the battery replaced by Apple (recommended if available) start of 2022 as it had ventured below 80%. Expectations weren't met for that one year on a brand new battery as I felt it ventured too far into latest iOS versions. The European winter didn't do it any favours and by the time it was on iOS 15, it heated up more noticeably and the daily battery life declined fast.

I still have it and it's on iOS 15.8.4, battery health at 89% but tbh no longer useful for various things where it has lost support. Even idling/ sleeping, solely on WiFi will discharge the battery after a whole day.

I will add that I'm for many years close to the 64 GB being absolutely full so perhaps this plays a role? It would be interesting to actually do a complete wipe and re evaluate. So what I'm trying to say, don't expect the new battery to last anywhere as long as when the phone/ battery was new.
 
I have to check which IOS I'm on with iPhone SE 1st Generation. I know it isn't the latest version though. So should I update it or not? Or just check what version it is first?


The thing is you would recommend to get a battery replacement or not? Thing is this isn't my primary phone and secondary. If it was primary, I buy a new phone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alpha Centauri
Parowdy said:
I loved iOS 12 sooo much on my iPhone X, pity it doesn’t have dark mode.
Click to expand...
I completely agree! My 16 Plus running iOS 18 is on Dark Mode 24/7.

When I grab the Xʀ it is so jarring! As a music device, I use an iPhone 8 on iOS 14. The only device I use relatively frequently without Dark Mode is the Xʀ. It is quite jarring!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parowdy
Francobarry said:
I have to check which IOS I'm on with iPhone SE 1st Generation. I know it isn't the latest version though. So should I update it or not? Or just check what version it is first?


The thing is you would recommend to get a battery replacement or not? Thing is this isn't my primary phone and secondary. If it was primary, I buy a new phone.
Click to expand...
If Apple still fits/ supplies the battery then yes, I think it's worth it. In my case it definitely was as I only paid € 29 fitted , post battery-gate program that ran for a year.

I would avoid updating the SE. Pretty much for the same reason my 13 Mini will be staying on iOS18.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back