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Wait Times for iPhone Battery Replacements Increasing

Zangetsucar15 said:
I have worked for an Apple Premium Service Provider for 8 months. And I have seen the absolute worst out of people because of this battery fiasco. It’s completely asinine the way that people act about this, and it has completely changed my view of people. As many are crying over nothing, and there is no excuse for people to act as horribly as they do to me and my coworkers. People should be very grateful that Apple gave them an opportunity to do this because other companies would have never done that. It’s made our workplace a living hell from literal mountains of battery paperwork and boxes, and almost everyone yelling to the point where people want to quit. So maybe when you walk into an Apple Store or Premium Service Provider, you should think about how awful it has been and will continue to be bad for us. Because Apple never gave us a heads up. They just threw us under the bus, and we are all suffering for it.
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While I understand that people shouldn't go crazy about this and scream at you guys, there is no defense for apple on this. Apple has been in smartphone business from 2007 and battery replacement has been 79$. Why suddenly people are screaming about battery replacement? Because Apple created the issue by adding the power management and then admitting later about it. If Apple didn't add power managament, this type of uproar wouldn't have happened.

Second apple throwing you guys under the bus is not consumers' problem. It's you who do your business with Apple at your own peril. If it sucks that much, let apple know and see if they sympathize with you. I bet they don't care!
 
I guess I was lucky when I had my iPhone 6 done early this month. The whole process, from reserving a battery by phone with Apple to getting an email when the battery arrived, took about a week and a half. I waited about an hour and a half for them to replace the battery.
 
magicschoolbus said:
Oh please. Apple doesn’t even pay their taxes. Some people on these boards are so blind they would follow Apple off a cliff. The company messed up and got caught. Timmy has been to concerned about SJW issues rather then innovating and keeping products competitive, all while refusing to pay taxes and practice what he preaches. Talks about income inequality while he flies around on his private jet and hoards his cash in sketchy tax laws not even practicing what he preaches. Outdated hardware, a speaker with Siri, watch bands, no headphone jacks, soldered computers together, using google cloud services, a mess of Apple Music, an OSX that is buggy as hell. Amazon will blow past Apple in less than 5 years.
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You had me until "SJW". People *should* fight to get what they deserve. Until we hold business and political leaders accountable for things like "fly[ing] around on his private jet and hoards his cash in sketchy tax laws not even practicing what he preaches" then we're going to keep getting this kind of garbage. Apple's making billions while selling crap products, and Cook is pretending to care about social issues while making insane amounts of money personally.

But I agree with you on the rest. If Apple is making no money on these battery replacements, maybe they will realize they need to start focusing again on their business of making amazing products first, instead of avoiding taxes and taking hypocritical stances on social issues.
 
I7guy said:
Correct, with the competition if your phone is crippled due to a dead or deteriorating battery after warranty, you are paying for the repair.
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I think you are missing the point here. We very well understand phone being crippled by battery degradation and we are fine too pay for battery replacement. But we doing expect a company to proactively cripple the phone and not inform us.
 
neutralguy said:
I think you are missing the point here. We very well understand phone being crippled by battery degradation and we are fine too pay for battery replacement. But we doing expect a company to proactively cripple the phone and not inform us.
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That point is now in the past. You/we can continue to hold a grudge or move on. I already stated in prior posts it’s a transparency issue for Apple.
 
redpandadev said:
The problem is that the media has grossly misreported the issue. Everyone is running to get a battery, including those who don't actually need it. If it were limited to people that actually needed a battery - those with below 80% capacity and those with performance issues (regardless of capacity) - there would likely be not nearly as much of a supply issue. The way the media is reporting the issue it's as if ALL batteries automatically need replacing, regardless of having any issues. This is absolutely what the general public believes. In fact many of them are referring to the issue as a recall of all iPhone batteries.
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You’re wrong. This is impacting a LOT of phones. Yes The fact that their older phones are still useable in the first place is a testament to Apple. Yes the fix they put in to extend the life of the phone was a plus. However not telling everyone a simple battery swap would return their phone to new was a mistake. And now there is a supply chain constraint that can’t be overcome. My phone is flying now with a new battery. It was at “82%” battery health per Apple. It’s definitely not a rash of people who don’t need it. Anyone with a 2 year old + phone who uses it everyday is impacted. Just do the math on battery cycle count.
 
Nicksd84 said:
You’re wrong. This is impacting a LOT of phones. Yes The fact that their older phones are still useable in the first place is a testament to Apple. Yes the fix they put in to extend the life of the phone was a plus. However not telling everyone a simple battery swap would return their phone to new was a mistake. And now there is a supply chain constraint that can’t be overcome. My phone is flying now with a new battery. It was at “82%” battery health per Apple. It’s definitely not a rash of people who don’t need it. Anyone with a 2 year old + phone who uses it everyday is impacted. Just do the math on battery cycle count.
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Coconut battery said my iPhone 6 battery was at 54% (650~ cycles) while Apple said it was in the mid 80s with (650~ cycles).
The phone was a piece of crap and super slow. I couldn't even switch between 3 apps without iOS closing one of them. I hate to know what Apples "50%" was.
With the replacement I can have almost all of my apps open and it's much faster. Still gets some lag
 
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I saw this article and it prompted me to try to book a battery replacement for our two phones in a couple of weeks’ time when I know we would be near an Apple store. Basically you can’t. You can’t make an appointment for more than 7 days hence. You can order a battery but no one can say how long it will take. Once it’s at the Apple store you then have to be there within 7 days or you lose. For us it’s 120 mile round trip and I couldn’t be certain that I could beat that 7 day deadline. I’m not saying I can’t get the batteries replaced at some point in future, but the whole process feels a little odd.
 
neutralguy said:
I think you are missing the point here. We very well understand phone being crippled by battery degradation and we are fine too pay for battery replacement. But we doing expect a company to proactively cripple the phone and not inform us.
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Who cares if they should do it or they shouldn't do it...

Apple has set up a system to replace batteries for whatever reason they decided and they should honor it and make it happen. They are purposefully dragging their feet.
 
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racerhomie said:
Or you know since your device is out of warrenty ,get an iFixit battery
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I did just that well before the sh*t hit the fan on apple slowing down iPhones. my iP6 was at a crawl and couldn't last an hour off the charger. purchased an iFixit battery and worked well for a month before i got my iPhone X. the phone seemed like brand new after i replaced it.
 
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I went to Office Depot last month and had my battery replaced for $30 and they did the job in less than an hour.
 
I7guy said:
That point is now in the past. You/we can continue to hold a grudge or move on. I already stated in prior posts it’s a transparency issue for Apple.
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So Because this happened a couple of months ago it’s ok now? If Apple stole from you last month would it be ok this month because it took place in the past.
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SeattleMoose said:
Still have my 4S from 2012, use it every day, and have never had to replace the battery.
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Funny how the older phones used battery’s that don’t need throttling. They just don’t last as long, unlike the new ones.
 
It would not surprise me if the demand for replacement batteries outnumbered new iPhone sales during the same period of time. My gf reserved hers soon after the announcement and is still waiting to hear when it is in stock.

Now that customers realize that the battery is the chief reason for a phone's declining performance, maybe they'll hesitate to upgrade unnecessarily or as often.
 
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Defthand said:
It would not surprise me if the demand for replacement batteries outnumbered new iPhone sales during the same period of time. My gf reserved hers soon after the announcement and is still waiting to hear when it is in stock.

Now that customers realize that the battery is the chief reason for a phone's declining performance, maybe they'll hesitate to upgrade unnecessarily or as often.
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We can hope but the Apple fanatic will by anyways. Remember to some Apple is god.
 
Phonephreak said:
So Because this happened a couple of months ago it’s ok now? If Apple stole from you last month would it be ok this month because it took place in the past.
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What you did is a false equivalency. IMO, Apple didn’t steal from me (imo) and I don’t care about what happened in the past. To me, Apple made it right in the present. I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel differently, I’m saying to me it’s water under the bridge.
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Phonephreak said:
We can hope but the Apple fanatic will by anyways. Remember to some Apple is god.
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I’m not sure why this appears to be an issue. Certainly how people spend their own money is none of my business.
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whohasaquestion said:
What's the root cause for the transparency issue?

Greed.

Apple can't possibly "forgot" to inform users, can they?
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Disagree, the root cause for the transparency issue is stupidity. That’s my take, I’m not attempting to sway your thinking on your take.
 
My local Apple Store won't even take an appointment right now. Booked solid for weeks, every day, every time slot, and they won't open up dates on calendar that are further away. So frustrating. I told them I don't mind waiting a long time, just let me make an appointment, they won't do it...
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B4U said:
The most unacceptable part is the forced downgrade out of iOS 9.
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Wait, if you get the battery service done, they force you on to the newest OS?
 
Mcmeowmers said:
Coconut battery said my iPhone 6 battery was at 54% (650~ cycles) while Apple said it was in the mid 80s with (650~ cycles).
The phone was a piece of crap and super slow. I couldn't even switch between 3 apps without iOS closing one of them. I hate to know what Apples "50%" was.
With the replacement I can have almost all of my apps open and it's much faster. Still gets some lag
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Yup. Similar experience. I’m not even faulting Apple for that. It’s battery tech. No different than routine maintenance on a car. The fact that they hid it is deplorable and now they’re up against an onslaught with an impossible task considering the number of phones out there.
 
cocky jeremy said:
Literally every battery made does this.
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Issue #1 Poor Battery Quality
All batteries degrade but higher quality batteries degrade slower over time usually after 2, 3 or more years while low quality batteries degrade after 1 year or sooner.

Issue #2 Bad Engineering (Defect) or Engineered for Obsolescence
When batteries lose capacity they normally just have shorter battery life between recharges but don't prematurely shut down at ~30%.

Issue #3 Used Car Lot Ethics
Not even cheap off-shore phones resort to secretly throttling performance to force you to buy a new device. It doesn't get any lower than this.
 
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christopherjac said:
My local Apple Store won't even take an appointment right now. Booked solid for weeks, every day, every time slot, and they won't open up dates on calendar that are further away. So frustrating. I told them I don't mind waiting a long time, just let me make an appointment, they won't do it...
[doublepost=1519847041][/doublepost]
Wait, if you get the battery service done, they force you on to the newest OS?
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This is my concern too. I have iPhone 6S & iOS 9. No intention on upgrading to iOS 11. So if I get the battery replacement, will they upgrade the iOS to 11?
 
giannipenne said:
This is my concern too. I have iPhone 6S & iOS 9. No intention on upgrading to iOS 11. So if I get the battery replacement, will they upgrade the iOS to 11?
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I hear mixed stories where some got forced iOS upgrade while others didn't and even one Apple repair employee went on record to state that it's not a policy to force iOS upgrade. I think the important thing to do is make it clear and have it noted in your account that they are not to upgrade/downgrade iOS. Now, if they they broke your phone in the process of removing the battery and have to replace it then it's another issue.
 
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