“At the end of last year, Apple admitted to slowing down older iPhones to preserve battery life and stabilize performance,” Trevor Mogg reports for Digital Trends. “Customers were upset about Apple’s lack of transparency regarding the issue, and the company apologized by offering to replace batteries for a reduced fee.”
“But Apple later said that if it finds any phone damage that could hinder the replacement process, it will have to make the necessary repairs — and charge for them — before it can fit the battery,” Mogg reports. “While that may sound reasonable, the company now stands accused of being overly harsh in implementing the terms of the replacement service, with some iPhone owners claiming they’re being asked to pay large sums of money without good reason.”
Mogg reports, “An investigation carried out by the BBC reveals a range of stories from U.K.-based iPhone owners who say that Apple has been finding ‘unnecessary faults’ with their handsets, with the company refusing to replace the battery unless they pay for the repair first.”
Read more in the full article here.
“Josh Landsburgh sent his phone off to have the battery replaced in February,” Joe Allen reports for BBC News. “Two days later, he received an email from Apple pointing out a small dent to the edge of the phone, and quoting a cost of over £200 before it would make good on its battery promise… ‘They’re trying to regain trust and they come back to you with, ‘Give us more money than you were planning to initially.’ I think it’s just shocking, they’ve got enough money, they’re Apple,’ he told the BBC.”
MacDailyNews Take: That misplaced attitude of entitlement lies at the crux of many of the world’s problems today.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Batterygate was a mistake, but you don’t get to have all of your repairs taken care of gratis simply because Apple has more money than you regardless of whether you were planning on it initially or not.
From Apple’s “iPhone Battery & Power Repair” page, we quote:
If your iPhone has any damage that impairs the replacement of the battery, such as a cracked screen, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair.
It could not be any clearer.
SEE ALSO:
Batterygate: Israeli agency investigating Apple over handling of iPhone slowdown – April 10, 2018
Batterygate: Dozens of iPhone throttling lawsuits filed against Apple look set for consolidation – February 27, 2018
Apple now faces more than 60 class action lawsuits over iPhone batterygate – February 26, 2018
Getting a new iPhone battery is often a frustrating, weeks-long process – February 20, 2018
Apple tells U.S. Senate company may offer rebates for battery purchases amid iPhone blowback – February 6, 2018
Apple previews iOS 11.3 with new battery health features, ability to turn processor throttling on and off, and more – January 24, 2018
Tim Cook: ‘Maybe we should have been clearer’ over throttling iPhones with aging batteries – January 18, 2018
China consumer group seeks answers from Apple over batterygate – January 16, 2018
South Korean consumer group considering criminal case against Apple over iPhone batterygate – January 11, 2018
Republican Senator John Thune, Chair of the U.S. Commerce Committee, has some questions for Apple over throttling old iPhones – January 10, 2018
French prosecutor launches probe into Apple planned obsolescence – January 8, 2018
Apple’s design decisions and iPhone batteries – January 8, 2018
Apple now faces over two dozen lawsuits for ‘purposefully’ or ‘secretly’ slowing down older iPhones – January 5, 2018
Why aging batteries don’t slow down Android phones like Apple iPhones – January 5, 2018
Apple’s $29 replacement batteries expected to hurt new iPhone sales – January 4, 2018
How to see if Apple’s throttling your iPhone – January 4, 2018
Brazilian agency requires Apple to inform consumers on batteries – January 3, 2018
Analyst: Apple’s ‘batterygate’ solution may mean 16 million fewer iPhones sold this year – January 3, 2018
An Apple conspiracy theory blooms – January 2, 2018
Apple clarifies policy on $29 battery replacements: All iPhone 6 and later devices are eligible – January 2, 2018
Apple didn’t “slow down” phones. Just changed the threshold for peak performance…a “peak” that only occurs in milliseconds under very specific circumstances. Overall experience is the same. Applying a filter to a high res photo will take a few milliseconds longer.
What you claim has not been my experience.
You want to know why I don’t go out of my way to take Apple’s claims in good faith anymore? Because the outright lies told to me by Apple Store representatives. In taking in my old phone in for a battery replacement, they gave me the runaround. They claimed the old battery was in good shape when it was crashing repeatedly while showing 65% or more battery charge. I showed them the crash logs. Then they claimed it would be a 6-8 week wait for a replacement battery and the only thing to do was to restore the phone. I said fine, go ahead and restore the old phone to iOS9 which was what it was delivered with. They of course will not do that.
Thanks for nothing Apple.
If Apple built cars….
“Sure we advertised a free oil change, but our design requires we remove the engine to get to the spark plugs, to examine for damage, before we can change the battery. The battery change is free, the other work isn’t.”
And the customers cheer…!
Free batter change….
My experience (in the US) was the exact opposite. They replaced the battery, but when they reassembled the phone the screen (a third-party replacement) wouldn’t stick. They put on a new Apple screen, but it still failed a hardware test. So they just gave us a brand-new phone.
Well my local Apple Store must be run by Nazis. I had an iPhone 6 which was delivered with a poor screen alignment — a common issue apparently. The glass over the front Facetime camera is misaligned so that it doesn’t have the same light aperture it should. During the warranty period when I asked for repair or replacement, they claimed they could do neither.
Sorry, this is not the same level of product quality or service I used to enjoy in the past.
I just had my 6s plus battery replaced by Apple. Great customer service.
However, they made it clear before the repair could begin 1) find my iPhone needs to be turned off (we had trouble doing this, why I don’t know) 2) no 3rd party parts could be in the iPhone (like a repaired screen) and 3) no water damage.
On one hand they are playing hardball, on the other, they are doing what they say they would. I’m happy because they’ve extended the life of my 6s plus by 12 to 24 months for $31.
Unfortunately, I installed a third-party battery in my phone just weeks before Apple announced their battery program. I’m screwed. And the battery I got was a joke — it’s been less than a year, and it’s already starting to fail. That’ll teach me to guy to some no-name guy working out of a storefront in an otherwise dead mall to mess with my phone.
Maybe you could buy a battery directly from Apple and review a iFixit video and replace the battery yourself. Or do what I do when in trouble: talk one of my nephews into doing it. 🙂
In my view, if the phone is already FUBARed you have nothing to loose.
I helped a friend swap a HDD to an SSD in a 2012 iMac (just like mine), and it worked. We were both sweating bullets for almost 3 hours but we followed the OWC video carefully and it booted just fine. The beer afterwards tasted really good. 🙂