Swollen iP5 battery, Genius offers to replace whole phone

[2457248]

So, i went to the apple store in my town to get my iphone checked. the display glass popped open and i suspect the issue to be a swelling battery.
the guy at the genius bar, after running a diagnose, confirmed it's a battery issue, it's swelling and it may leak, not likely explode, but suggests to stop using the phone or replace the battery soon.
the phone is out of warranty and i don't have apple care, so he offered to replace it for 80€.
actually the deal was: at 80€ instead of changing the battery, we give you a whole new iphone 5.

Now, i'm not a mouthful and not the kind of person who argues directly with a person, so i kindly told him, "i'll think of that, but i don't want to pay that kind of money on such an old phone" to be honest, the deal he offered is lame to say the least.
the battery is the problem, but since it's under a special warranty condition, at the same price of the battery replacement, he will replace the whole phone (which normally would cost 280€). ok, but the rest of the phone works fine!! why would i want to replace the whole phone?
what's the special offer??
i thought they would treat defective batteries in a different way, instead, i should pay the same price of a normal battery replacement... very disappointed.

 

[willmtaylor]

Let me see if I've got this right:

• You took an an iPhone 5 (a phone released in 2012).
• The phone was admittedly out of warranty.
• The Apple store offered to replace the entire phone for ~$100.
• You thought this was a bad/disappointing deal?

Is that correct?

 

[lordofthereef]

I do believe apple's policy is replacing swelling batteries even outside of warranty, though I don't know how far outside.

Are they saying that can't simply do a battery replacement for you?

 

[maxsix]

Apple...Profit first, safety second or third

 

[DeltaMac]

Sounds like your iPhone was already damaged by a swelling battery, so a simple battery replacement may also not be satisfactory.
So, Apple steps "out of the box" to offer a fair deal on a replacement iPhone, rather than leaving you with a repair that you might complain about (the display is not seated, and likely other results from the swelling battery), and you could have a "new" iPhone for a decent cost.
What exactly were you hoping for when you went in to the store?

 

[Newtons Apple]

Apple can not make everyone happy Especially for a 4 year old iPhone.

 

[tomjleeds]

Had the same problem recently. Told that there was a "quality programme" but at nearly four years old I was well past that, and quoted £59 to replace the phone with a white box one.

The justification for replacing the whole phone was that they couldn't be sure what other damage had been caused or might be caused by the repair process.

I paid the £59.

 

[RedOrchestra]

What exactly were you hoping for when you went in to the store?

Apple has an acknowledged the battery bloat problem. the store acknowledged it was battery bloat, I expect Apple to replace the phone for FREE - I've already gone through this crap with Apple with my wife's phone - the store manager was called over and the phone was replaced for FREE - as it damned well should be.

 

[sunapple]

he will replace the whole phone (which normally would cost 280€) [for 80€].

Your phone is four years old an they give you this 200€ discount deal where they replace the entire phone for a new one... Take it!

They're acknowledging that this is a common problem by offering that deal, but I don't think you can expect them to do it for free. Swollen batteries occur with old MacBooks too, but they don't replace them at a discount as far as I know.

 

[2457248]

maybe i was psyched by people on the internet saying they got it replaced for free, but you know, there's always a guy who knows a guy who got something for free...

 

[willmtaylor]

Had the same problem recently. Told that there was a "quality programme" but at nearly four years old I was well past that, and quoted £59 to replace the phone with a white box one.

The justification for replacing the whole phone was that they couldn't be sure what other damage had been caused or might be caused by the repair process.

I paid the £59.

Which was the logical thing to do.
[doublepost=1472828283][/doublepost]

maybe i was psyched by people on the internet saying they got it replaced for free, but you know, there's always a guy who knows a guy who got something for free...

Indeed. The occasional exception, not the rule.
[doublepost=1472828350][/doublepost]

Apple has an acknowledged the battery bloat problem. the store acknowledged it was battery bloat, I expect Apple to replace the phone for FREE - I've already gone through this crap with Apple with my wife's phone - the store manager was called over and the phone was replaced for FREE - as it damned well should be.

 

[RedOrchestra]

You can label it whatever you like BUT ... a manufacturing defect has NO timeline.

 

[willmtaylor]

You can label it whatever you like BUT ... a manufacturing defect has NO timeline.

Such is the life of li-ion. It's not an Apple thing; it's a lot-ion thing.

 

[RedOrchestra]

NOPE ... it's an Apple thing since said bloated battery was used by Apple in it's manufacturing process.

 

[willmtaylor]

NOPE ... it's an Apple thing since said bloated battery was used by Apple in it's manufacturing process.

Do a little research on lithium batteries. They have a finite life which can be reduced or elongated with either contribution of a variety of factors.

I'm sorry you feels as though you got the short end of a stick, but your situation is neither abnormal nor nefarious.

 

[2457248]

would you guy rather have it replaced at the apple store for 80€, or would you buy a chinese/ifixit battery replacement?
on amazon i read that "many" of those batteries die after 6 months, maybe ifixit has better parts, in this case i would spend not more than 20€.
considering it's an old phone, and i don't intend to use it for much longer (1 more year?) i don't want to spend too much on it.
on the other hand, if i have a device that looks "as-new", resale value can be higher. not that iP5 are worth much anymore.

ah the problems..

 

[Newtons Apple]

Hope all have a great Labor day weekend!

 

[RedOrchestra]

NO research required ... the battery didn't die from use or any other end of life senarios that can be dreamed up ... bloated batteries are defective batteries, Apple used defective batteries, Apple have acknowledged they used defective batteries ... hence, Apple should replace the iPhone for FREE.

 

[tomjleeds]

NO research required ... the battery didn't die from use or any other end of life senarios that can be dreamed up ... bloated batteries are defective batteries, Apple used defective batteries, Apple have acknowledged they used defective batteries ... hence, Apple should replace the iPhone for FREE.

While clearing out some junk last weekend, I found my old Blackbook in a drawer. It hasn't been used in years, but the last time it was, the screen was broken but battery was fine. In the years since then, the battery has swelled slightly, at a guess because it's been slightly under pressure under a pile of stuff.

I bought it new back in 2007. Should it be replaced for free?

ETA: Your assertion that "bloated batteries are defective batteries" is, I'm afraid, just not correct. The fact that you say "no research required" reveals your approach...which seems to be stamping your foot until you get what you want, regardless of whether or not that's reasonable.

 

[willmtaylor]

Apple...Profit first, safety second or third

Maxsix...Apple bashing/trolling first, helpful, constructive responses...every once in a while.

 

[JulesJam]

You can label it whatever you like BUT ... a manufacturing defect has NO timeline.

This isn't a manufacturing defect. These batteries have a finite lifetime and swelling is one of the things that happens with time. They don't last forever.

What you are saying is that if the tread on your tires wears down, then that is a manufacturing defect.

 

[2457248]

This isn't a manufacturing defect. These batteries have a finite lifetime and swelling is one of the things that happens with time. They don't last forever.

What you are saying is that if the tread on your tires wears down, then that is a manufacturing defect.

must add that the battery has <900cycles and <4years.

it could even be that it's been swelling since long ago, but the glue came loose only recently because of the heat/humidity of these days!

 

[sracer]

would you guy rather have it replaced at the apple store for 80€, or would you buy a chinese/ifixit battery replacement?
on amazon i read that "many" of those batteries die after 6 months, maybe ifixit has better parts, in this case i would spend not more than 20€.
considering it's an old phone, and i don't intend to use it for much longer (1 more year?) i don't want to spend too much on it.
on the other hand, if i have a device that looks "as-new", resale value can be higher. not that iP5 are worth much anymore.

ah the problems..

80€ for a refurbed (I doubt it would be brand new) iPhone 5? If you were planning to get something like the iPhone SE as your next phone, then I'd say pass up the iPhone 5 and just put that 80€ toward the SE now. If not, then that isn't too bad to have a workable phone for another year or so.

 

[willmtaylor]

80€ for a refurbed (I doubt it would be brand new) iPhone 5? If you were planning to get something like the iPhone SE as your next phone, then I'd say pass up the iPhone 5 and just put that 80€ toward the SE now. If not, then that isn't too bad to have a workable phone for another year or so.

A valid point.

 

[2457248]

80€ for a refurbed (I doubt it would be brand new) iPhone 5? If you were planning to get something like the iPhone SE as your next phone, then I'd say pass up the iPhone 5 and just put that 80€ toward the SE now. If not, then that isn't too bad to have a workable phone for another year or so.

I agree.
i wasn't planning a major expense at the moment, let's see if the SE gets some price cut once the 7 is out, i can dream right?