Apple Is Locking Batteries To Specific iPhones, a Nightmare for DIY Repair (vice.com) 281
A longtime nightmare scenario for independent iPhone repair companies has come true: Apple has tied batteries to specific iPhones, meaning that only it has the ability to perform an authorized battery replacement on the newest versions of iPhones, two independent experiments have found. From a report: Battery replacements are among the most common repairs done by Apple and by independent repair companies. This is because lithium ion batteries eventually lose their ability to hold a charge, which will eventually make the phone unusable. Replacing the battery greatly extends the life of the phone: Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged earlier this year that battery replacements are resulting in fewer people buying new iPhones, which has affected Apple's bottom line. It's concerning on many levels, then, that on the iPhone XS, XS Plus, and XR, that any battery swap not performed by Apple will result in the phone's settings saying that the new battery needs "Service." An iPhone will still turn on and function with an aftermarket battery, but several important features are unavailable, and the iPhone warns users that they should seek service, presumably from an Apple Store.
New? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Correct. This is not news at all.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Here's a foolproof method to replace a locked iPhone battery :
1. Remove the used battery from the iPhone, set them side-by-side on the table.
2. Toss the old battery in the trash.
3. Place an Android phone battery in the spot it occupied.
4. Throw the iPhone in the trash.
5. Place an Android phone in the spot it occupied.
6. You can now safely insert battery into phone.
"That's a stupid plan" I hear you say, "I couldn't possibly do that!".
Good point, you shouldn't throw electronics in the trash, especially not ba
Re: (Score:3)
Cute (Score:5, Interesting)
What next, a big countdown to zero starting with first phone boot?
Time remaining: 364:23:59:59
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You have 31535999 seconds to comply.
(iPhone points ominously at user)
Re: (Score:2)
Apple touts their company's green stance (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Impact (Score:5, Insightful)
Send (Score:2)
It might be inconvenient timing-wise, but you can send your phone in to Apple for a battery replacement.
https://support.apple.com/ipho... [apple.com]
Re: (Score:2)
The Apple store charges several times as much. In turn, that reduces the potential for a battery change to be economically sensible.
Re:Impact (Score:5, Informative)
Apple: $49 [apple.com] to replace an iPhone 8 battery
Somewhere else:
Granted, the battery is $29.99 at iFixit (including tools and gasket), but $20 doesn't leave much for labor cost (either DIY or elsewhere)
Re: (Score:3)
I did a quick google and saw offers from $5 to $20 for the battery. Granted, the $5 battery is probably a bad idea, but the $10-12 weren't hard to find.
As others point out, for some people the nearest Apple location is hundreds of miles away.
The service cost would be much lower (or even free) if Apple designed the phones appropriately.
well ... (Score:2)
You buy Apple, this is what you get (Score:5, Insightful)
How is this not fraud? (Score:5, Interesting)
No reasonable person would purchase a phone knowing that a wear item like a battery can only be obtained by having the manufacturer replace it. Therefore, Apple suddenly adding technological checks to prevent replacing such a wear item without informing the buying public prior to purchase seems like clear and evident intent to defraud the public.
I encourage every person who owns one of the affected products to contact his/her state's Attorney General and demand that legal action be taken on behalf of the public against Apple before other companies decide that they can get away with it and follow suit.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:How is this not fraud? (Score:5, Informative)
Almost everyone who buys a phone would "purchase a phone knowing that a wear item like a battery can only be obtained by having the manufacturer replace it". Very few people care.
Re: (Score:2)
I have a 4-year-old iPhone SE I got for "free" with a contract extension. The battery only requires a charge once per day.
I most definitely don't care about this.
Re: (Score:2)
"No reasonable person would purchase a phone knowing that a wear item like a battery can only be obtained by having the manufacturer replace it."
The dumbest thing you're read today. More like the vast majority of phone buyers would have no problem with this and most would never even think of it. Most have never even had to replace a battery in a phone.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, electric cars are pretty easy by comparison. The batteries are huge, and use large, easy-to-work-with cells, so most repairs are likely to involve rebuilding one or more subpacks in the existing packs using commonly available round cells of the same size, plus some basic soldering. Cell phones are much harder to deal with because they use bag cells instead of round cells, with embedded electronics and custom wirin
Re: (Score:2)
All prior iPhone models had batteries that were user-replaceable, for a given class of user. I've replaced more than one myself. You can even buy battery kits that come with a suction cup, spudgers, and the right set of weird pentalobe drivers or whatever new wacko type of screw Apple is using this week.
Your argument, therefore, is without merit.
Dick move buuuut.... (Score:3)
I do not like that move either, but let me play the devils advocate in this particular case:
Imagine your friendly neighborhood independent repair shop turns out to be a shoody place, and replaces your old and tired Apple Genuine battery with a Galaxy note 7 Class battery...
If something, anything happens, who will get the bad publicity, bad reps and possible lawsuits?
Will the press hold off sensationalist headlines until mnore info is known?
Will you admit not doing and original repair?
Will the shoody place pay for the lawsuits?
So, in something as a fire hazard as a Battery, and something with risk of electric shock as cables and chargers, and things with security implications as fingerprint readers, I thend to side with apple.
Now, screens, cameras, flash et al that lock up if not get a specific switch flipped, or elements glued like mad, yes, I agree, dick move apple.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
What if people write shoddy apps?
What if advertisers get ahold of your phone number and call you with shoddy ads?
What if you get shoddy spam email on your Apple device?
What if you use a shoddy charger?
What if you buy a shoddy accessory?
What if you buy a shoddy case and it doesn't hold up?
Making batteries easier to replace is how we keep device service life higher and keep electronics out of landfills.
Apple needs to stop their bullshit.
Re: (Score:2)
Which ones of those cause deadly fires?
Re: (Score:2)
Making batteries easier to replace is how we keep device service life higher and keep electronics out of landfills.
I call bullshit on this.
A quick search of Apple Authorized repair spots in my tiny little Midwestern town shows a half dozen of places willing and able to do an iPhone battery replacement, all within a short drive. Some of them will even do it while you wait, meaning they aren't just shipping it overnight somewhere and leaving you without a phone for a day or three.
If there is a Best Buy near you then you can quite likely get your iPhone battery replaced in hours. Take your iPhone to the little shop or ki
Re: (Score:2)
If Apple didn't have a history of screwing over their customers with similar practices then maybe I could give them the benefit of the doubt. But Apple has pretty much always been this way. The original Mac had essentially no expansion built in and required warranty breaking modifications, it also had the cathode of the display exposed right above the motherboard. Be sure not to kill yourself if you open it up!
Yeah no, Apple wants you to buy a new device every year and if you have to get it serviced they ar
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Dick move buuuut.... (Score:2)
Apple's Walled Garden... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Other alternatives do exist. (Score:2)
Google and their cronies are watching your every move.
1. There exist other lesser OSes. my personnal favourite example: Jolla's Sailfish OS [sailfishos.org].
2. Google can only whatch you if you run their services (Google Play Services). The interesting thing is that there are alternatives that implement the same API (that some abs are absolutely dependent upon), but doesn't do the tracking: opensource reimplementation microG [microg.org]. (This comment is valid both for smartphone running Android or AOSP (LineageOS, etc.) AND for the Android applications compatibility that some of the alt
Not anit-trust, but. . . (Score:2)
There's a lot of phone competition, so anit-trust law will be a tough sell in the courts, but how is this NOT false advertising?
Can't wait to see the video ..... (Score:2)
.... from Louis Rossman on this little nugget of info. Should be very entertaining
Ob. YT video (Score:3)
.... from Louis Rossman
Linky [youtu.be].
You're welcome.
Re: (Score:2)
.... from Louis Rossman
Linky [youtu.be].
You're welcome.
Thanks! Mod DrYak's post +1 Informative! :)
BMW of Phones (Score:2)
Third party batteries are a hazard (Score:3)
They probably don’t want to get blamed for not notifying users of the danger when one of these batteries starts on fire.
I admit I am bad at groupthink. Go ahead and post a bunch of profane groupthink replies telling me I don't understand the groupthink though. I know you have to — I understand at least that much about groupthink.
Re: (Score:3)
Being good at groupthink seems to turns people into complete jerks.
Re: (Score:2)
Bwahaha! (Score:2)
LOL serves the dumb noobs right! Good thing they're made of money...right? ;-)
Doesn't this sound like Lexmark? (Score:3)
Didn't they get in trouble several years ago by requiring customers to buy their ink cartridges? And then when someone make a clone they tried to sue them out of oblivion. But it backfired. And the courts said the printer manufacturers could not stop off-market cartridges from being made.
How would batteries be any different?
Okay, decided not to be lazy, here's an article about it....
https://www.techdirt.com/artic... [techdirt.com]
Battery monitor apps work? (Score:3)
So you lose the battery life indicator... can you use an App to replace the functionality? On Android, there was a handy Battery Life indicator that turned its screen icon into a live battery life gauge. I wonder if that would be possible on the iPhone.
Re: (Score:3)
Apple can lock out such apps, like they do any app which would show you WiFi band you are on, detailed signal strength, channel number, and other tech info relating to WiFi. No wonder by the way, in my house we have Galaxy 9 and iPhones X, iPhones have very poor WiFi reception compared to Galaxy phones (my access points do report the details on the connections, even if the iPhone hide it). Actually, iPhone X's have the worst WiFi reception of all devices in the house (about 20 of them), even older iPhones (
This sounds better than the alternative. (Score:2)
Aplle's repair policy is costing them a lot of cus (Score:2)
The Apple store will then tell you that because you replaced the battery by something other than Apple, they will no longer service the phone at all, explaining you need a new phone. They argue that they cannot deal with somebody else's battery due to fire risk. I know, this happened to me - a former Apple fanboi since the 1980's.
Batteries should be end user replaceable. Memory should be expandable with SD cards
Doesn't prevent you (Score:2)
As the summary points out, it just lets you know you don't have an original battery but for most intent and purpose the battery works. It's a management chip that's missing which can probably be obtained from certain Chinese sources.
Contrast this with Nintendo (Score:2)
Mac pro will have locked ram and pci-e cards as we (Score:2)
Mac pro will have locked ram and pci-e cards as well?
DOJ, FTC or FCC? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:DOJ, FTC or FCC? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
The FTC deals with trade. The FCC deals with communication. So while the FTC is the correct organization, you really should rely more on the appropriate role of the organization rather than your personal disposition towards the people in charge.
Re: (Score:2)
There's no FCC issue because this isn't about denial of service or the phone going outside the bounds of what a cell phone is allowed to do in terms of broadcast strength and frequency.
There's no FTC issue because no one is forced to buy an Apple phone and there's no end-user expectation of being able
Re: (Score:2)
Nobody was forced to buy a windows PC but we still saw anti-trust suits fought, some successfully, over internet browser bundling.
You weren't forced to buy a Windows PC, but PC manufacturers were forced to purchase a Windows license for every PC they shipped, whether it had Windows on it or not. Thus the monopoly - there was no financial incentive to sell a PC with anything but Windows on it, and so there was no OS competition except for the single-digit rounding error sold by Apple itself and people doing their own builds from components.
Re: (Score:2)
but PC manufacturers were forced to purchase a Windows license for every PC they shipped, whether it had Windows on it or not.
False. If they wanted the best high-volume discount, then they had to pay a license for everything - but they could always just buy smaller blocks (or even one-at-a-time) of licenses for their sales. I worked a short time at a small, specialty builder in the Seattle area, and that's what we did - bought 100 licenses at a time, and installed as requested.
But for most high volume makers, the fact that 95%+ of their builds had Windows anyway, made it economically sensible to take an extra 10% discount in OS
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
About the only thing that made sense in your post. Go post AC crap elsewhere.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Yep, Apple is shooting themselves in the foot and alienating loyal customers. My wife loved her iPhones and I could never convince her to get an Android until her iPhone 7 kept losing wireless connections intermittently and it was a known issue that Apple admitted to. But when she took it into the authorized shop for a free repair, it would work at least some of the time and so they wouldn't repair it. She now uses it wifi only as a second phone to her primary Pixel 3. I don't know if she'll ever go back to
Re: DOJ, FTC or FCC? (Score:2)
Apple's walled garden has a way of keeping people from knowing if their privacy is being infringed on. Proprietary silo operations have a way of being like that.
Re: DOJ, FTC or FCC? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
No, I'm saying that anyone that cares can buy from a different brand.
And I'm saying they can't. When a device dies the cost of a new Android device if you're an Android user is simply the hardware. The cost of an Android device when you're an iPhone user:
- Hardware
- All apps you've previously purchased
- All music you've purchased
- All movies you've purchased
- Any Apple subscription services
- Your payment systems
- Your iCloud integration on all your devices.
The cost of changing an ecosystem is very significant. The effort required to do so is incredibly large. As a result peo
P.O.S. (Score:2)
DOJ, FTC or FCC? None of them.
Sounds more like a POS.
don't buy.
Re:DOJ, FTC or FCC? (Score:5, Insightful)
Ehh, this is more like a CYA item with a healthy side dish of FUD, since the headline and summary are somewhat misleading.
Rather than preventing users from replacing batteries, as the headline would have you believe, what's actually happening is that they're disabling certain battery diagnostic features and showing a warning message in their stead. To be clear: the batteries work fine, it's just that Apple won't show you stats about the battery's health. And really, this approach isn't exactly surprising, given that:
1) Apple likely wants to head-off any complaints/litigation arising from their battery diagnostics being inaccurate because a third-party battery is non-spec.
2) They stand to profit by scaring users into turning to them for either battery replacements or device upgrades instead of third-party battery replacements.
So, CYA with a side of FUD. Perhaps it's anti-trust territory, but that seems like a stretch.
Except it applies to Genuine Apple batteries too (Score:2)
From TFA:
this problem is occurring even when the phone's original battery is swapped with a genuine Apple replacement battery... The iPhone will not show the battery’s maximum capacity or its “peak performance capability,”
I'm fine with warnings about third-party batteries of unknown quality - but not warnings AND losing fairly important info just because a genuine part was not installed by an "authorised repairer".
Re: (Score:2)
Great idea, but there's currently nothing to slam them on here. At least in this subject. Battery making could potentially be licensed out to multiple people. The design and IC layout is most definitely under IP protection. So long as Apple allows open bidding on licensing that IP, that's not a monopoly. IP protections allow a company to be the sole arbitrator in components or required material for a protected technology. Right to repair bills have talked about this kind of thing where it isn't so muc
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What you may get then is that the board stores the last known capacity of the battery during its life time. There's no saying what happens if you graft a new cell on: best case scenario the board goes 'huh, extra capacity' and adapts; next best case it will insist on keeping the worst-case stats it saw from the previous runs and that'll throw your battery indicator off, worst case Apple programmed it to recognize the situation and flag the battery as tampered with.
Re:You agreed to this in the EULA... (Score:4, Insightful)
Why is it only AC's make arguments like this.
The only thing I agreed to in the EULA is that EULA's don't mean squat... It's an agreement between exactly 1 side of the debate.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm glad Apple is doing this. Batteries can be dangerous and can blow up or cause fires. Making sure they are serviced by qualified people who know what they are doing, as opposed to some hack can be the difference between a house fire or not.
It would be nice if Apple would just disable the phone if it is opened, and keep it disabled until it is brought back to Apple and reprogrammed. That way, you know a used, working phone hasn't been tampered with.
Oh... BMW does the same thing. Newer BMWs won't start until the battery is registered with the ECU when they are replaced.
I'm actually OK with this so long as there is a customer-focused service life in mind. Maybe it wasn't a thing back then, but will BMW register the battery on a 1994 vehicle? Will they service a 2019 vehicle in 2040?
I'm fine with Apple holding the keys to the battery kingdom, so to speak if they are still willing to service a 2019-model iPhone in 2029 (even if the OS is out of date -- this has no impact on physical battery replacement)
Re:but but but (Score:5, Informative)
The battery health feature doesn't work, but other than the one-time warning, the phone still works as it should.
Is this better or worse than the non-replaceable batteries on *droid phones which are all different and can't be obtained at all? Or the phones being orphaned without software updates, rendering them useless long before the battery renders the handset useless?
Re:but but but (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Lineage is great and I'm not sure what the OP meant with regards to batteries being hard to find... I managed to get a OnePlus One battery replacement and there were plenty of options for it. And with Lineage, I am able to run the latest Android versions and can even play Wizards Unite on a 5 year old phone (albeit slowly).
Re: (Score:2)
Re:but but but (Score:5, Informative)
TFS is fake news.
-Batteries are not "tied to certain phones"
-It is not a "nightmare for DIY"
-it is false that only Apple can repair the device
-there are not "several important features unavailable". There's the battery health feature.
Wait for the upgrade (Score:4, Informative)
there are not "several important features unavailable". There's the battery health feature.
Currently, on 2019-08-08, it's only the battery health that's still stuck to a "needs service" message, even after replacement even with a genuine apple part ripped out of a similar model.
But just wait a couple of iOS upgrades and witness how suddenly due to a bug^H^H^H sorry... security feature some iPhone with such non matching battery will suddenly brick themselves into non bootable.
But you know, this feature now protects the poor customers from the evil self-destructing counterfeits that all the independent repair shop use, go pay 200$ at the genius bar instead!~~~
Re: (Score:2)
So your comment is that Apple has not yet done anything evil, but it's possible that that they might decide to do something evil in the future?
Re: (Score:3)
but it's possible that that they might decide to do something evil in the future?
Well while you wait on DrYak's answer, let me ask you something. Have they ever disappointed in doing something evil? I'm just saying, if the $5 bet was "$5 that Apple doesn't do something that hurts consumers within the next three years", I'm pretty sure that would be $5 gone.
Home button (Score:2)
but it's possible that that they might decide to do something evil in the future?
"Possible"? "Might"?
Apple literary pulled this exact shit not so long ago with after-market replaced home buttons.
They have a track record of doing such shit.
The battery is a similar catastrophy waiting to happen.
Apple's stupid excuse (Score:2)
If you can come up with a valid argument as to why Apple did things this way
Apple's current stupid excuse to wage war against independent repair shops, is that it's for the "end users' safety".
Because, you see, according to Apple, every single indie repair shop exclusively sources their replacement batteries from the exact same factory that made the explosive Samsung batteries.
And, Apple tells you, whenever they replace the batteries, all these dangerous shops exclusively use inappropriate tools and dangerous methods (even when replacing with genuine Apple batteries) [youtu.be] that would alw
Re: (Score:2)
That's actually kind of an important feature. With the way Apple has locked down their access to battery data, it is the only reliable way I'm aware of for an iPhone owner to determine whether fast discharge of the battery was caused by software bugs (excessive use) or a failing battery. Not cool, Apple. Not cool.
Also, poor battery health statistics are a strong indication of battery health problems that could bec
iOS upgrades (Score:2)
"but several important features are unavailable," - Which is it? Is apple lying about "important features" or is he glossing over them?
Remember that situation with the replaced home buttons ?
Bet that the "important features" missing is the ability to boot into the iOS upgrade that will be out in 6 months without getting bricked unbootable.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, I'm sure Apple is planning to send through an IOS update that bricks every one of millions of phones that have had a battery replaced. Seems legit.
Re:but but but (Score:5, Insightful)
With Android, you just have a lot of clueless executives making dumb design decisions, most of them trying to ape Apple without knowing why. Even then, there's still plenty of diversity. My $150 Nokia 2.2 has a replaceable battery and Android One, which means 2 years feature updates, 3 years security updates. Also has a headphone jack built-in even after Apple's "courage" inspired idiotic business execs to take it out of their Android phones. I haven't tried, but the screen looks easily serviceable, too. The battery and the screen are the most common points of failure on a phone, so if those are both easily replaceable, the phone's got decent longevity.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
The battery health feature doesn't work, but other than the one-time warning, the phone still works as it should.
Is this better or worse than the non-replaceable batteries on *droid phones which are all different and can't be obtained at all? Or the phones being orphaned without software updates, rendering them useless long before the battery renders the handset useless?
Right. This makes perfect sense, because Apple only has the calibration info for batteries they supply, not some random Chinese shit. It's not like they're blocking the phone's ability to power on, or something major.
This article is much ado about nothing.
Re: (Score:2)
I find it so funny that you refer to random Chinese shit and Apple in the same sentence without a sense of irony. Hint: Lookup where iPhones are manufactured.
Re: (Score:2)
Simple, worse. Much worse.
It's pretty easy to get batteries for most Android (Score:2)
phones. And they tend to be cheap. eBay is your friend.
Android follows Apple (Score:2)
Where Apple leads others follow. E.g. headphone jacks.
Enjoy your replaceable Android battery for now.
Re: (Score:2)
Is this better or worse than the non-replaceable batteries on *droid phones which are all different and can't be obtained at all?
Interesting...
Mine has a replaceable battery, I just haven't had to do so yet.
So I checked to make sure I could get one.
From LG's website: We're sorry.We couldn't find any online sellers for this product.
And they couldn't find any brick and mortar sellers either. I found some 3rd party versions on Amazon easily enough but I 'd prefer not to have to trust them.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Frankly, the newer Android phones are also exrtremely difficult to replace the battery on as well. They may not have this additional wrinkle, but replacing a battery is complex enough in these phones with sealed cases and obscure tools needed once the case is open. The average consumer on any phone is not going to be anywhere near a reasonable third party phone repair shop and will most likely head to wherever they got their phone in the first place for repairs. At which point AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, w
Worse. It's lock out non-Apple *repair service*. (Score:2)
>So basically Apple's battery software doesn't work with none apple batteries.
Worse.
According to repair shops, phone doesn't work with any battery (including Apple's own) that wasn't explicitely signed for this specific phone by Apple.
Take another iPhone X, remove its genuine Apple battery and try to use this genuine Apple battery in your iPhone X: the battery health *still complains* that you need to go to apple. You're using a genuine part, but because it wasn't installed by Apple themselves it's still rejected.
It's not only that the battery needs to be a genuine part. Is that ther
Re: Worse. It's lock out non-Apple *repair service (Score:2)
The fact that the home buttons ever worked was a mistake on appleâ(TM)s part. Security doesnâ(TM)t work if you allow that. There is no reason Apple should help third parties rip people off or put them in danger.