iPhone 7/Plus Refurbished iPhone battery capacity

[zanoii]

I had my jet black iPhone 7+ serviced at an Apple store a while ago due to a dust speck inside the camera lens. When I got it back the back plate was scratched and I refused to accept it, so the Apple store employee simply gave me a new phone since they can't replace the back plate. I assume the phone they gave me was a refurbished one.

On my original iPhone 7+ I had 90% battery health.
When I received the replacement phone, it also had 90% battery health.

I don't think they could have swapped the battery from my old phone into the replacement unit since I think I remember holding and using them side-by-side in the store. I also remember the replacement phone being wrapped in plastic just like a brand new iPhone is.

Either they gave me a replacement phone with a worn battery, which is unlikely, or my iOS backup did not reset the maximum capacity for the replacement phone, which also seem a little far-fetched.

I have since used the phone for a few months and it is now at 89% battery health.

Anyone have experienced this? Anyone have a guess as to what has happened?

 

[Newtons Apple]

Coincidence. The 90% capacity could be just because of the sheer age of your replacement phone.

 

[JPack]

Either they gave me a replacement phone with a worn battery, which is unlikely,

Why is that unlikely?

Replacement phones are refurbished. Some people are under the impression replacement phones are new when they aren't.

 

[barkomatic]

Why is that unlikely?

Replacement phones are refurbished. Some people are under the impression replacement phones are new when they aren't.

They aren't necessarily new iPhones, but Apple is supposed to swap out the battery on refurbished units along with the outer shell to make them look new. I had a replacement just last week and it has 100% battery health.

 

[Ebok]

I have since used the phone for a few months and it is now at 89% battery health.

could be a faulty battery or you use your phone a lot therefore putting more stress on the battery in the few months than someone normally would in a year.

 

[Lyn2012]

When the WiFi antenna broke while having the battery replaced on my 8 recently, I was given a new/refurbished phone. Just checked and battery health is 100%.

 

[zanoii]

Why is that unlikely?

Replacement phones are refurbished. Some people are under the impression replacement phones are new when they aren't.

They aren't necessarily new iPhones, but Apple is supposed to swap out the battery on refurbished units along with the outer shell to make them look new. I had a replacement just last week and it has 100% battery health.

When the WiFi antenna broke while having the battery replaced on my 8 recently, I was given a new/refurbished phone. Just checked and battery health is 100%.

One explanation would be if refurbished phones are different from replacement phones. Refurbished iPhones are not sold by Apple in my country (Sweden). This explanation also seem a little unlikely to me.

I would never expect a refurbished phone to be brand new, but like new. This means no wear on parts that normally show wear after some time of usage; screen, backplate/shell, buttons and battery.

At the same time I don't demand that a replacement product is better than the one replaced, but I was surprised to see the battery health being exactly the same on my replacement phone.

I think I'll talk to Apple today to hear what they say about this. Thank you all for the input.

 

[Zune55]

One explanation would be if refurbished phones are different from replacement phones. Refurbished iPhones are not sold by Apple in my country (Sweden). This explanation also seem a little unlikely to me.

I would never expect a refurbished phone to be brand new, but like new. This means no wear on parts that normally show wear after some time of usage; screen, backplate/shell, buttons and battery.

At the same time I don't demand that a replacement product is better than the one replaced, but I was surprised to see the battery health being exactly the same on my replacement phone.

I think I'll talk to Apple today to hear what they say about this. Thank you all for the input.

Please let us know.

 

[zanoii]

I have now talked to Apple support.

1: I brought up my repair report from June this year and realized the replacement unit normally is (the equivalent of) about USD 300. So if this replacement had not been due to Apple store's fault, they would have charged me this amount for the replacement phone.

I think this boils down to reasoning about what a replacement phone is. Should I expect the replacement phone to be of equal value and wear as the original phone I brought in, minus damages, or should I expect to receive a less worn out product in return?

My reasoning is like this: If i had brought in my phone with a cracked back plate and worn out battery, would i have been charged for a replacement phone PLUS a replacement battery? Would I have to accept a slightly worn out battery? I think the answer is no to both of these questions.

2: While talking to the Apple support employee I was told that 11% deterioration in 4 months is considered normal wear.

I proceeded to ask about my new iPhone XS. If battery deterioration is linear (which it most likely is not) I can expect to be down at about 70% in a year. He had no explanation if this was the case and ignored my question about what the "normal wear" threshold is.

Also, the battery of my original 7+ deteriorated 10% in 20 months. That is what I consider normal.

All in all it was a less than stellar support experience. The process was slow, he pronounced the XS "iPhone X S" instead of "iPhone 10 S" (which is no big deal to me but I know it is important to Apple), kept talking about their article on how to extend battery life and in the end I booked a time for a battery replacement at my Apple store WAY quicker than him. Guess he was new. Working with tech support myself I didn't give him a hard time even though I was a bit annoyed.

I just want my battery replaced, and with the battery exchange program it's no big deal, really. I'm going to replace the battery even if I have to pay for it, but I find it a little surprising that 11% deterioration in four months is considered normal.

Also this is my old phone which I'm going to sell. I'm replacing the battery just to make it more attractive on the second-hand market and more valuable to the next owner. I don't expect to make more money from it but thought I'd spare the next owner of going through the battery replacement process.

I'm replacing the battery on Tuesday. If anything new comes up I will update this thread.

 

[zanoii]

Sorry about the lack of a follow-up in this thread. I actually got a fair offer on my phone prior to replacing the battery so I sold it without visiting the Apple Store. As far as I know, the buyer took the phone to the Apple Store and paid them to replace the battery.