iPhone 13 mini Secondhand iPhone - fake battery health?

[bmac89]

Hello,

I purchased a “refurbished” iPhone 13 mini from Green Gadgets. The product was advertised as new battery. I checked the parts & services history in iOS settings and it says the battery replaced June 2025 and “used”. According to Apple, “used” literally means it was taken from another iPhone. So I assume it is genuine Apple battery but not new.

Now I have also learnt that it is really easy and common practice for so called refurb shops to reset or spoof the battery health and apps such as coconut battery simply read the BMS data, so if it is reset it then provide the fake battery health data.

So coconut battery is saying the battery was manufactured October 2023 and battery health is 103% with 0 cycles. It seems highly unlikely that a battery taken from another iPhone would have 0 cycles. It could actually be a degraded battery with BMS data reset.

Thoughts? Anyone experienced something similar? Would happily buy a new iPhone mini if Apple still sold them.

Maybe not relevant, but I notice that coconut battery says the battery manufacturer is huapo technology whilst u3tools says Simplo.

I really wish I had just purchased the less expensive version without new battery and sent it to Apple for battery replacement. If I end up keeping this device, will Apple even replace the battery if I pay or will they not touch it because the battery has been replaced, most likely by a third party repairer.

Many thanks.

 

[Shamalow]

Simplo is a battery brand used by Apple.

Scammers can display 100% in ios and the MaximumCapacityPercent values of the analytics file.
They modify the BMS.

But they cannot modify the number of cycles.
I think your battery actually has 0 cycle. That's a good thing.

To be on, Use this shortcut on analytics files
.

Battery Report Vcard

Verifies the value of NominalChargeCapacity .
This value should be quite significantly higher than a Design Capactiy which is 2406 mAh for the 13 mini. 👍😉

(NominalChargeCapacity / 2406)*100 = % battery health

I bought a reconditioned 13 mini that the BMS had and modified to display 100%. The battery was at 85% for 354 cycles. 🤬

I sent it to Apple to replace the battery (by mail).
They did it without a problem and sent me the iphone with a new battery. 👍

 

[bmac89]

Simplo is a battery brand used by Apple.

Scammers can display 100% in ios and the MaximumCapacityPercent values of the analytics file.
They modify the BMS.

But they cannot modify the number of cycles.
I think your battery actually has 0 cycle. That's a good thing.

To be on, Use this shortcut on analytics files
.

Battery Report Vcard

Verifies the value of NominalChargeCapacity .
This value should be quite significantly higher than a Design Capactiy which is 2406 mAh for the 13 mini. 👍😉

(NominalChargeCapacity / 2406)*100 = % battery health

Thanks for the reply. From what I have read, when BMS is reset, the cycle count can be reset as well. The cycle count is stored in the BMS chip.

Red flags:

1. Product was sold as “new battery”, but iOS says “used” battery.
2. Battery manufactured October 2023, has previously been used in another iPhone and still has 100% health and 0 cycles almost 1 year and 9 months later. Seems implausible.
3. Coconut Battery says manufacturer is huapo and u3tools says simplo. Maybe there is an explanation for this discrepancy.

A “used” battery means it has previously been in another iPhone. Is there any plausible and likely explanation for a used/swapped battery of this age since manufacture truly having 0 cycles? I would expect at least a small amount from use in the original phone.

My understanding is that the shortcut relies on analytics data which would be gathered from the BMS chip, therefore this can only be relied on if the BMS has not been reset or spoofed? I did try the shortcut but there was currently no analytics for battery.

My other concern is whether Apple will replace my battery down the track (at my cost) or whether they won’t touch it due to third-party battery repair? P.S. Just saw your edit with additional information - thanks. So just to confirm, how did you find out the real health was 85% and 354 cycles?

Thanks.

 

[JPack]

Tag-on flex.

 

[Shamalow]

Thanks for the reply. From what I have read, when BMS is reset, the cycle count can be reset as well. The cycle count is stored in the BMS chip.

Red flags:

1. Product was sold as “new battery”, but iOS says “used” battery.
2. Battery manufactured October 2023, has previously been used in another iPhone and still has 100% health and 0 cycles almost 1 year and 9 months later. Seems implausible.
3. Coconut Battery says manufacturer is huapo and u3tools says simplo. Maybe there is an explanation for this discrepancy.

A “used” battery means it has previously been in another iPhone. Is there any plausible and likely explanation for a used/swapped battery of this age since manufacture truly having 0 cycles? I would expect at least a small amount from use in the original phone.

My understanding is that the shortcut relies on analytics data which would be gathered from the BMS chip, therefore this can only be relied on if the BMS has not been reset or spoofed? I did try the shortcut but there was currently no analytics for battery.

My other concern is whether Apple will replace my battery down the track (at my cost) or whether they won’t touch it due to third-party battery repair? P.S. Just saw your edit with additional information - thanks. So just to confirm, how did you find out the real health was 85% and 354 cycles?

Thanks.

The analytics files gave me the actual Battery Health and Cycles values.


It's something I've been monitoring on various forums for months.

BlackMarket sellers, Amazon, ebay all sell iphones at Premium $$$ with the BMS modified to 100% BH. This is a three-stream scam. 🤬

For the time being I have never seen a scammer reset the number of cycles. Never !
I think so they can't do it.

As I mentioned my BMS had ete modified (so iphone unlocked) and yet Apple replaced my battery with no problem.

So yes your battery is not new.
But it has the advantage of being an Apple battery with 0 cycles.

I guess you shouldn't worry. 🙂

 

[Andeddu]

My other concern is whether Apple will replace my battery down the track (at my cost) or whether they won’t touch it due to third-party battery repair?

I brought an OGSE with an aftermarket battery installed to Apple in 2022 and they replaced the battery even after I made then aware that the battery inside wasn’t OEM.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I brought an OGSE with an aftermarket battery installed to Apple in 2022 and they replaced the battery even after I made then aware that the battery inside wasn’t OEM.

Apple “can” replace a 3rd party battery.

Which is not the same as saying Apple “will” replace it. Apple can decide not to service the device if it’s not safe to do so (e.g. issues with adhesive, etc. could prompt them to decline).