Apple is going to start replacing worn out iPhone batteries for $29

[bimmer456]

So Apple is replacing batteries but you have to send in the device and there is a $5 shipping fee. So what do you do in the meantime are you supposed to go without a phone for a week? If you have apple care plus there is an express loaner they give you does this apply if you're out of warranty?

[pz619]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

So Apple is replacing batteries but you have to send in the device and there is a $5 shipping fee. So what do you do in the meantime are you supposed to go without a phone for a week? If you have apple care plus there is an express loaner they give you does this apply if you're out of warranty?

You can do it in store as well, takes maybe an hour. I did it last year on an iPhone 6s.

[XCRN]

I wonder if they will force update your phone if you give it to them. I am at least a year behind on updates on my 5S and plan to stay like that.

[JohnnyCanuck]

And you're OK with this? Somehow making the price point decent for a replacement battery excuses their actions? Consumers need to show Apple that there are consequences for their contempt. Because they never do ... Apple continues with its high-handed anti-consumer business practices.

[Crimson92]

Originally Posted by XCRN

I wonder if they will force update your phone if you give it to them. I am at least a year behind on updates on my 5S and plan to stay like that.

From a security perspective. That's dumb.

[Uber Commuter]

Originally Posted by Crimson92

From a security perspective. That's dumb.

You are assuming he wrote that post... I bet it was a hacker in Russia

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by XCRN

I wonder if they will force update your phone if you give it to them. I am at least a year behind on updates on my 5S and plan to stay like that.

Originally Posted by Crimson92

From a security perspective. That's dumb.

From a personal security perspective, yes, it's troubling if Apple has back doored their way into your device to be able to do a firmware upgrade.

From an overall security perspective, no, it's not dumb. With many of the firmware update versions comes security patches and enhancements. To not upgrade your firmware will expose your device to potential security risks.

An example of lax patching practices which had a wide sweeping implication across the general public was the Code Red Worm.

This is why many Federal agencies are grappling with issues with old hardware. By security policy/mandates, devices connected to the network have to meet specific security requirements. One of which is having current support for up to date patches. One of my clients is NIH where one of the sub institutes is dealing with this very issue. The software the principle investigators/scientists are using was programmed for Windows XP. Well, Microsoft has stopped doing security patches for this OS. But the software they use is either no longer made, company has gone bankrupt, or there is no port to the latest OS. The IT staff is working to build a walled garden/quarantine area where these out of date workstations are closed off from the rest of the network.

[XCRN]

Originally Posted by Crimson92

From a security perspective. That's dumb.

What would anyone get, my BP login info?

Sent from the Kremlin

[cxp213]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

And you're OK with this? Somehow making the price point decent for a replacement battery excuses their actions? Consumers need to show Apple that there are consequences for their contempt. Because they never do ... Apple continues with its high-handed anti-consumer business practices.

Yeah, people way too damn submissive to companies like Apple, accepting/condoning/allowing these sorts of behavior that's only thinly veiled by some bullshit excuse. LOL @ battery replacements at a nominal fee.

[JohnnyCanuck]

Originally Posted by cxp213

Yeah, people way too damn submissive to companies like Apple, accepting/condoning/allowing these sorts of behavior that's only thinly veiled by some bullshit excuse. LOL @ battery replacements at a nominal fee.

It's especially the case with companies that have cult-like followings such as Apple and Tesla. There is no reasonable prospect of consumer outrage denting the mass devotion that afflicts iLemmings and Muskites. Other companies are held to higher standards because their business model is not built upon religious like fervour.

While Tim Cook has improved Apple's corporate values noticeably, considering how low the bar was set that's not anywhere near enough progress for consumers to be so easily bought off.

[ItsGary]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

It's especially the case with companies that have cult-like followings such as Apple and Tesla. There is no reasonable prospect of consumer outrage denting the mass devotion that afflicts iLemmings and Muskites. Other companies are held to higher standards because their business model is not built upon religious like fervour.

While Tim Cook has improved Apple's corporate values noticeably, considering how low the bar was set that's not anywhere near enough progress for consumers to be so easily bought off.

Batteries degrade over time. Everyone should know this.

Someone made the comparison that out of warranty items with batteries should get their batteries replaced for free.

I could use the same argument with cars, does it make sense then? No.

They could charge you a petty penny and people would still bitch about the price.

[eluded]

Originally Posted by ItsGary

Batteries degrade over time. Everyone should know this.

Fake news.

[c1pher]

What about iPads?

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by ItsGary

Batteries degrade over time. Everyone should know this.

Someone made the comparison that out of warranty items with batteries should get their batteries replaced for free.

I could use the same argument with cars, does it make sense then? No.

They could charge you a petty penny and people would still bitch about the price.

Well, there is a difference between an iPhone/iPad and and a car or an android phone where the user can replace the battery themselves. For you to make my car slower because the battery was getting old would cause lawsuits too.

[ItsGary]

Originally Posted by MGM135is

Well, there is a difference between an iPhone/iPad and and a car or an android phone where the user can replace the battery themselves. For you to make my car slower because the battery was getting old would cause lawsuits too.

Not many phones running an Android OS allow you to change your battery now.

Nothing is stopping you from replacing the battery yourself on the iPhone either. Plenty of guides and tools to use. iFixit kits, show you exactly how to do it. Unless you're(Not you in particular) are too lazy to take on a simple DIY task.

[JohnnyCanuck]

None of which is the point. The point is Apple secretly crippling the OS on older phones without disclosure. If it was for the altruistic purpose now claimed by Apple, they would have publicly disclosed and given consumers an opt-in option. No, it was done simply to make the phones operate less effectively driving sales for upgraded hardware.

[ItsGary]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

None of which is the point. The point is Apple secretly crippling the OS on older phones without disclosure. If it was for the altruistic purpose now claimed by Apple, they would have publicly disclosed and given consumers an opt-in option. No, it was done simply to make the phones operate less effectively driving sales for upgraded hardware.

Secretly slowing them down for you so they stay on longer.

Would you rather have a phone that dies within 1hr running at its peak performance or a phone that can at least try to pump out 3 hours on a battery thats reaching its lifespan at a slowed down speed?

You realize how much of a hit your phone internals take on battery right?

Apple didn't hold a gun to your head saying buy our new phone! No one was forced to buy a new device. If you simply bought a new phone cause of that reason alone its on you. I have a 5S and a 7Plus, I swapped the battery on my 5S after a while cause it kept dying faster than usual which actually helped.

Again, no one is forcing you to buy Apple products or any products that "doesnt allow you to work on it yourself".

Also Android OS has improved and does allow you to bring in your iOS backup with all your contacts etc. so you really have no excuse for not wanting a different device other than an Apple one.

[JohnnyCanuck]

Originally Posted by ItsGary

Secretly slowing them down for you so they stay on longer.

Would you rather have a phone that dies within 1hr running at its peak performance or a phone that can at least try to pump out 3 hours on a battery thats reaching its lifespan at a slowed down speed?

You realize how much of a hit your phone internals take on battery right?

Apple didn't hold a gun to your head saying buy our new phone! No one was forced to buy a new device. If you simply bought a new phone cause of that reason alone its on you. I have a 5S and a 7Plus, I swapped the battery on my 5S after a while cause it kept dying faster than usual which actually helped.

Again, no one is forcing you to buy Apple products or any products that "doesnt allow you to work on it yourself".

Also Android OS has improved and does allow you to bring in your iOS backup with all your contacts etc. so you really have no excuse for not wanting a different device other than an Apple one.

Are you being deliberately obtuse? The point is Apple's decision to secretly cripple phones. If they had simply told customers (and even better, given them an option) there would be no issue. Do you even read posts before you reply to them?

What makes you think I use Apple products? Google and Microsoft have more compelling and wildly superior platforms in every space and I use both. I am not a disgruntled Apple user at all. If it was up to me, I'd just tell all of the Apple users out there (including you) that they get what they deserve for making the choice to use Apple's products. However, my wife is a dedicated Apple user and therefore their operating mode of contempt first does have an impact in my household.

[stylinexpat]

Price in Shenzhen has always been under $30 lol.. They have changed so many there they can change them with their eyes closed now

[cxp213]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

None of which is the point. The point is Apple secretly crippling the OS on older phones without disclosure. If it was for the altruistic purpose now claimed by Apple, they would have publicly disclosed and given consumers an opt-in option. No, it was done simply to make the phones operate less effectively driving sales for upgraded hardware.

This

[jmg]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

And you're OK with this? Somehow making the price point decent for a replacement battery excuses their actions? Consumers need to show Apple that there are consequences for their contempt. Because they never do ... Apple continues with its high-handed anti-consumer business practices.

It's not JUST contempt. It's physics. The batteries get less efficient as they age, and overloading them will cause problems with the batteries like expansion and maybe even venting. Remember the samsung phones catching fire? By the ios slowing down for older batteries, this is exactly what apple was trying to prevent.

The outrage is a bit convoluted people are mad that they devices are slowing down. They are right, but Apple is actually doing something right slowing them down. Who wants their iphones to catch fire? This is a good safety "feature".
Yes, it's a feature, because Samsung didn't have it and their phones caught fire.

Apple's problem is that they did not fully inform consumers what it had been doing for years. A negative side effect being that consumers felt tricked into upgrading because they thought their devices were slowing down because they were getting more obsolete, which was not true: they could have just replaced their batteries for $79. Shame on Apple for that.

What apple should have done is what they are doing now, informing the consumer and making it relatively easy and affordable to replace the battery. No, having a removable battery is not the solution, because a big part of what makes the iphone an iphone is the form factor. Equipping an iphone with a removable battery slot would destroy that. I think the $29 solution is pretty good. $15 would be better, but, hey, it's still Apple and they still have APPL to think about.

In summary, Apple did the right thing protecting against overloaded batteries, but they took advantage of it by not informing the consumer which influenced more upgrades/sales. Yes, I think slowing down the ios is a good idea with older batteries, so long as replacing them brings it up to speed again. Apple needs to be more transparent when it comes to these issues so that consumer trust is maintained. No, replaceable batteries are not the answer, and not slowing down the ios is not the answer. Affordable and convenient battery replacements are the answer.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

None of which is the point. The point is Apple secretly crippling the OS on older phones without disclosure. If it was for the altruistic purpose now claimed by Apple, they would have publicly disclosed and given consumers an opt-in option. No, it was done simply to make the phones operate less effectively driving sales for upgraded hardware.

It was done for both. Apple took advantage of a situation and wasn't transparent enough.