Anyone with an iPhone 6 or later can get a new battery in their phone for $29. Here’s how Apple’s program works.
After admitting that it was purposefully throttling some older iPhones in order to conserve battery life, Apple has announced a new program that offers replacement batteries to all customers that may be affected. Here’s how you can get one:
If you have an iPhone 6 or later you are eligible to receive a battery as part of the program. The complete list of phones included are:
It seems that you are. But you have nothing to lose by heading to your local Apple Store and talking to one of Apple’s Genius repair technicians.
Apple is charging $29 to install the battery, a savings of $50 over the usual $79 out-of-warranty price for replacing the battery.
Apple has already begin swapping out batteries and says the program will last through December 2018.
The battery replacement program also includes the iPhone SE.
AppleCare+ provides two years of hardware repair coverage, so if you phone is within the coverage window, Apple will replace your battery for free.
Head over to Apple’s support page, choose iPhone, then Battery, Power & Charging, and select the problem you are having. From there you can choose to chat online or over the phone, or schedule an appointment to bring it into an Apple Store for repair.
You don’t have to make an appointment, but it will likely cut down on the wait time if you do, especially if you plan on visiting the Apple Store on a weekend. Apple Stores tend to be very crowded on Saturdays and Sundays.
Battery repairs are generally completed within an hour. However, the precise wait time will depend on the work load at your particular Apple Store.
Yes, the program is available via mail, though that means you’ll likely be without your iPhone for a few days. When you initiate a repair via mail, Apple will send a pre-paid shipping box for your iPhone and promises to return it in 3-5 business days.
Run a backup. While Apple probably won’t need to reset your phone, a cracked screen or damaged enclosure could cause issues with the swap that requires a full restore. So you’ll want to run an iCloud or iTunes backup before you head to the Apple Store to make sure your data won’t be lost.
Possibly. French Apple enthusiast site iGeneration is reporting that Apple will refund the $50 difference to customers who recently paid $79 for a battery replacement on one of the affected models. However, Apple has not officially announced a refund program, so it may depend on the Apple specialist that you speak to.
If your phone has been sluggish over the past few months, your battery is likely the culprit. Back in iOS 10.2.1,Apple added a power-management feature to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE that throttles the maximum performance to compensate for declining battery life. When you take your phone in for repair, Apple will run a diagnostic test to check the battery life, but iGeneration is reporting that batteries will be replaced regardless of the results.
coconutBattery will give an overview of your iPhone’s battery health.
Battery life will be an issue for as long as iPhones use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, but Apple is promising to be more transparent about the issue going forward. As part of an upcoming iOS update, Apple will be adding new features to the battery tab in Settings that provide some visibility into the health of the battery, something users have wanted for years. While this won’t fix the problem, it will let users target potential issues before they affect performance and get them rectified.
