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iPhone Time to upgrade my 4S or change the battery?

I

iPhone20

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 28, 2014
187
66
Using 4S now for around 3years. With total battery cycles arnd 980 and total capacity around 1150mAH out of 1430. I get a usage around 4hrs without any games only Whatsapp, Facebook, Messages, Browsing and sometimes i watch videos on Protube.

None of the iPhone has urged me to upgrade because i think if it's working and doing my daily tasks then there's no need to upgrade. But it becomes very laggy and even settings.app sometimes take few seconds to load and sometimes it works fine.

What you guys say? Replace the battery or buy 6?
 
I'm in much the same position. My experience with the battery life on my own 4S has been a bit better (not sure about the cycles - have charging cables close by at home/work/in the car just in case), but during my daily use (Facebook, email, music, light browsing) I can notice a bit of sluggishness in certain instances.

I'd say it's just a natural thing, your 4S is approaching the end of its lifespan or what have you. When it finally does come time to replace it, I'd say upgrading would be a better choice than replacing the battery (what I plan on doing)......though if you don't mind the cost/expense and are largely satisfied with the day-to-day performance of it, then go for it (the battery replacement).
 
GalileoSeven said:
I'm in much the same position. My experience with the battery life on my own 4S has been a bit better (not sure about the cycles - have charging cables close by at home/work/in the car just in case), but during my daily use (Facebook, email, music, light browsing) I can notice a bit of sluggishness in certain instances.

I'd say it's just a natural thing, your 4S is approaching the end of its lifespan or what have you. When it finally does come time to replace it, I'd say upgrading would be a better choice than replacing the battery (what I plan on doing)......though if you don't mind the cost/expense and are largely satisfied with the day-to-day performance of it, then go for it (the battery replacement).
Click to expand...

From where are you thinking to replace the battery? Apple or any local dealer? I was thinking to get it replaced from any local dealer because apple charges way too much and spending that much amount on 4S doesnt make sense.
 
I wouldn't consider having it done by Apple, as it (along with many other repairs/upgrades) would be too hideously expensive for my tastes (too much for a 3 y/o phone). I've never investigated whether there are any local dealers/shops in my area that could do it, so I can't necessarily speak to that part, but if you've got one in your area that you're okay with and they'll do it for a reasonable amount of money/time, then it's a valid possibility - entirely up to you though.
 
GalileoSeven said:
I wouldn't consider having it done by Apple, as it (along with many other repairs/upgrades) would be too hideously expensive for my tastes (too much for a 3 y/o phone). I've never investigated whether there are any local dealers/shops in my area that could do it, so I can't necessarily speak to that part, but if you've got one in your area that you're okay with and they'll do it for a reasonable amount of money/time, then it's a valid possibility - entirely up to you though.
Click to expand...

Replacing the battery in the 4S is pretty easy. I did one for a person I work with and it took me about 45 minutes. It was the first time I had done one.

Got the battery and tool kit from fixit.com About $30.00 total
 
If the 4S meets your needs then I would just change the battery. As mentioned previously, it's quite easy.

But if you want handoff, personal hotspot, airdrop, CarPlay, apple watch support , dual band wifi, 4G and a smoother iOS 8 experience. Perhaps pick up a cheap iPhone 5.
 
The 4S is an awesome and beautiful phone, still very capable despite what most people think. I'd say replace the battery, clean it, do an iTunes restore when 8.2 comes and set up as new phone to have that new iPhone feeling #
 
IndyBob said:
Replacing the battery in the 4S is pretty easy. I did one for a person I work with and it took me about 45 minutes. It was the first time I had done one.

Got the battery and tool kit from fixit.com About $30.00 total
Click to expand...

If you like your 4S, this looks like your best bet :cool:
 
I think i'll go for battery replacement. My 4S works really well for me except the battery life. :) Will let you know how it works after getting replaced.

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IndyBob said:
Replacing the battery in the 4S is pretty easy. I did one for a person I work with and it took me about 45 minutes. It was the first time I had done one.

Got the battery and tool kit from fixit.com About $30.00 total
Click to expand...

Is it fixit or ifixit?
And how's your 4S now after replacing the battery? How much usage are you getting?
 
With your iPhone currently at 80% capacity, looks like a new battery would give you just one more hour of usage.
 
Do what makes YOU happy :)
I can appreciate your dilema as my 4s is fast approaching the 'gadget drawer of spares' and I'm not for some of the newer functions apple are implementing into iOS or on the newer phones.

Let us know what battery you opt for and where to get it ;)
 
iRoRo said:
Do what makes YOU happy :)
I can appreciate your dilema as my 4s is fast approaching the 'gadget drawer of spares' and I'm not for some of the newer functions apple are implementing into iOS or on the newer phones.

Let us know what battery you opt for and where to get it ;)
Click to expand...


Sure i'll let you know. ;)
Me too don't see any benefit of upgrading. Maybe 6s will change that :D or 7 :p

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mangomind said:
Well if you are getting 4 hours at 80% capacity, you'll get 5 hours at 100% capacity.
Click to expand...

Your mangomind seems to be sharpmind. :p
Still 1hr more will be fine. :)
 
iPhone20 said:
I think i'll go for battery replacement. My 4S works really well for me except the battery life. :) Will let you know how it works after getting replaced.

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Is it fixit or ifixit?
And how's your 4S now after replacing the battery? How much usage are you getting?
Click to expand...

Sorry, it is ifixit.com

Battery life is back to what it was before.
 
IndyBob said:
Sorry, it is ifixit.com

Battery life is back to what it was before.
Click to expand...

You know what i'm really pissed of right now. Since i dont live in US so ifixit was charging very high international shipping rates. So i decided to get it done from a local dealer.

As i have jailbroken my 4S, so i looked at the current capacity of the battery he installed. It's about 90% and has 44 battery cycles already. I told him to give me new and he said it's like that only. Each battery will have this much capacity. Seriously?

And the worst part : After he replaced my battery my mute switch has stopped working!! I noticed this once i reached home and when i went back to him he said sir this cant be possible. Your mute switch must be faulty before replacement and started making excuses. I know my mute switch was working perfectly fine before the replacement.

So now i'm with 90% battery capacity and faulty mute switch!!
The lesson i've learnt always get your hardware repaired from Apple or do it on your own if you can.
 
iPhone20 said:
You know what i'm really pissed of right now. Since i dont live in US so ifixit was charging very high international shipping rates. So i decided to get it done from a local dealer.

As i have jailbroken my 4S, so i looked at the current capacity of the battery he installed. It's about 90% and has 44 battery cycles already. I told him to give me new and he said it's like that only. Each battery will have this much capacity. Seriously?

And the worst part : After he replaced my battery my mute switch has stopped working!! I noticed this once i reached home and when i went back to him he said sir this cant be possible. Your mute switch must be faulty before replacement and started making excuses. I know my mute switch was working perfectly fine before the replacement.

So now i'm with 90% battery capacity and faulty mute switch!!
The lesson i've learnt always get your hardware repaired from Apple or do it on your own if you can.
Click to expand...

Hmm. not so good, I always raise to the challenge of DIY.
 
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