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Replacing iPhone battery: why the process wasn't worth it for me

By Derek Kevra
Published  January 24, 2018 1:44pm EST
Tech Talk
FOX 2 Detroit

(WJBK) - Around Christmas, Apple publicly announced they intentionally slow down old iPhones due to battery performance issues. They claim replacing the battery would alleviate the problems, but, actually getting the battery proved to be difficult.

December 21, 2017: Apple admits that they purposefully slow down old iphones because the batteries are old.

December 28: They apologize and offer to drop the price of battery replacements from $79 to $29.

I have an iPhone 6+. The battery is getting worse, but ever since the new phones and the new OS came out, its performance is awful. The battery life is gone at least halfway through the day and I'm charging it twice. Apps are lagging, too. 

So, I decided to do what Apple suggested. Replace the battery.

Three weeks ago, Apple told me to come back in 3-5 days and that they'd email me. The email came almost 20 days later. 

A day after I got the email saying the battery was ready, I got a phone call from Apple saying there's been a backorder of iPhone 6+ batteries -- and it wouldn't be ready until April. 

I pressed my luck, though, and went to the Apple store -- and guess what? The battery was there!

But after waiting in a special "battery line" I was told I'd have to wait over three hours for it to get installed.

So, after two trips to the Apple store, waiting in the check out line, waiting in the help line, phone calls, emails -- and then being told I had a three hour wait -- I decided it wasn't worth it and walked away. 

He says he wasn't the only one that walked out of the store either. 

But wait. There's more. 

I reached out to Gadget Drop, a thrid party cell phone repair company in Southfield, to get a better understanding of how long the replacement service takes. They told me it takes less than 20 minutes.  

I understand Apple is inundated with customers trying to get a new battery, but in my opinion, they have botched every part of this process so far -- and I'll tell you, I'm not the only upset customer.