Battery replacement refund

If you had had Apple replace the battery you might have gotten a refund. But you will have to ask Apple about a 3rd party replacement. Why did you pay $81 when Apple would have replaced it (even before the latest news) for less?

Since as far back as I can remember. If you don't buy AppleCare the warranty is over in one year. You can still take the device in and get it repaired for a fee unless the product is considered vintage or obsolete: Vintage and obsolete products - Apple Support

JAYCO1966 wrote:

Why are you chastising the man? The first that I heard about the battery replacement was on the news. Obviously, you get a quicker updates from Apple than he does.

For the past 8 or more years Apple has replaced batteries in iPhones for $79. It isn't new news. It has always been their policy. This assumes, of course, that the only problem with the phone is the battery. They have also replaced entire phones for $79 if a failing battery has physically damaged the phone. The only new part is that Apple will now replace some batteries for $29. See: iPhone Service Pricing - Apple Support

Battery replacement is near the bottom. A battery replacement by Apple includes a 90 day warranty on both the battery and the phone.

While I don't recommend 3rd party battery replacement, it is typically around $40. So paying $81 is really foolish. You have all of the disadvantages of 3rd party service (loss of Apple support, no guarantee) and none of the advantage of a lower price.

pjane1111 wrote:

They did not deal with my issue, they transferred me to several other people, only to direct me here to express my concerns with you lovely people.

I agree they simply should have said, no, you're outside the refund period and not transferred you.

I suspect they were actually directing you here:

Product Feedback - Apple

It's very unlikely Apple will touch your phone. It's a mystery why you would pay someone other than Apple more money to replace your battery in the first place. But Apple won't work on a phone that has been touched by an aftermarket service provider. More importantly why would you even think Apple would refund the difference for a battery you didn't purchase from Apple in the first place. I would be embarrassed to even ask them, to be honest.

I wouldn't be embarrassed to ask for a refund on the difference in cost. In fact, I will be, although I have an iPhone 5s that I bought new, after the 7 models had come out. Despite the news saying this temporary price drop to replace the batteries only applies to the 6 and 7 models, I saw significant slow downs and shut-downs on my 5s after updating to iOS 10 versions. I have not updated to the 11 due to other reasons.

I began having these problems early this year, or maybe it was last year. However, I was out of town in March and was having major problems with my phone being unreliable and I need it when traveling. It was running slowly and shutting off at random, often at critical times. I was on the verge of buying a new iPhone SE when I decided to take it to an authorized Apple repair and retailer shop (there's no Apple store in that area) to ask what's wrong with it.

The tech ran a diagnostic on the phone and said, well you don't appear to have any apps that are causing these issues, and you don't allow them to run in the background or update in the background either, that's good. What we see is it's the battery - it's old so it's not charging up as well anymore. However, your phone is out of warranty at this point, so no getting a new one from Apple. From us it would cost $79 + sales tax to replace it, same as what the Apple store charges. I told him I'd think it over.

When I got home the following day, I went to my local Apple store to double check his findings. The tech there came to the same conclusion. Same price to replace the battery though slightly more due to the sales tax differences. No offer of trading in my phone right then for a discount on a new SE. I then said I'd think about it.

I talked to a friend who has the same phone and he told me I could replace the battery myself by buying a kit on ebay (which he had just done recently) for less than 1/4 the price Apple charges, or I could try any number of 3rd party shops in my city. Since I couldn't afford to be without my phone for a day, and I needed it to work properly all day every day, and I didn't trust myself to not mess it up by using a DIY kit, I opted for replacing the battery at a 3rd party shop for $35 + sales tax = $38.08, which is less than half the cost Apple wanted. The shop did it in an hour and it's worked great ever since. I saved myself from having to buy a new iPhone this year, which I really couldn't afford at the time, even though the SE is much cheaper than the newer models. If I'd taken my 5s to the Apple store and paid the $79 Apple charged, plus sales tax, it would have cost me $86.01 total.

The cost of the replacement battery the OP paid for probably includes sales tax.

I'm not holding my breath for a refund of the price difference, but I'm going to give it a try. Might start a lawsuit for people like myself and the OP, who feel Apple is unjustly gouging customers on the battery replacement cost, and hiding things from us.

Since you are using an older model phone and not using iOS 11 the slowdown does not apply to you.

Batteries go bad and your phone was in the range where it needed to be replaced. You also may run into problems with upgrading the iPhone with your 3rd party battery but let us hope not.

The fact that someone sells you a 3rd party battery for 1/2 price does not mean Apple is gouging. The fact they are reducing the price for the 6 and 6s is for a specific program and will be temporary. If you are nice they might consider swapping your 3rd party battery for one at the $29 price but they won't refund you anything. You have no basis for a lawsuit.

Well I would be embarrassed to ask Apple to refund me a portion of the cost I paid to have the battery replaced at a service provider other than Apple. I think that takes gall. Apple didn't receive money for nor replace the battery. Why should they have any responsibility for refunding any money?

If you take your car to a service shop and pay for a repair, then find out your dealer was providing the same service for less. Would you ask your dealer to refund the difference of what you paid the service shop? Of course you wouldn't and your dealer would laugh at you. No difference in this analogy and asking Apple to refund what you paid an aftermarket service provider for.

I had to replace my iPhone 6 battery last month because it was becoming unreliable. The battery meter would drop for no reason and the phone even shutdown a couple of time even though the battery meter had shown 20% or more a few minutes earlier. I could not no longer trust the battery/battery meter so I went to the Apple store. They checked out the phone and battery and said both were fine. I insisted that they replace the battery because the phone was becoming unreliable. I had to pay $79 plus tax. The phone with the new battery has been working fine. The issue all along was likely their throttling software screwing with the battery/meter.

Add me to your lawsuit if they decide not to backdate refunds for all battery replacements that occurred after they pushed their throttling software.

I beg to differ deggie. I'm not about to buy another battery from Apple now, not at any price. Why should I?

The one I had installed early this year works perfectly. No over heating issues, long life on a full charge (charging it every day or two, depending on usage), and who really knows what Apple, or the 3rd party dealer, is replacing the batteries with? I can't just open the phone to see and compare the old battery to a replacement one from either of them. It could be the exact same battery, for all anyone knows.

I've never upgrade my cellphones in the past, at least not through Apple or my service provider, to the newest iPhone model. I either resell them on Craigslist or have given them away, after restoring them to "new" and making sure all data on it is erased completely. I do the same with my Macs.

As for not having a basis for a lawsuit, you might be right, but you might not be.

Apple does not sell their batteries to 3rd parties. Period. You do not have an Apple labeled battery unless it is a used one scavenged from another iPhone.

Go ahead and talk to any attorney. The first hour is free but it won't take an hour. You chose to go have a 3rd party battery installed in your iPhone. So how does Apple owe you anything?

Never has any car dealership's service shop I've bought a car from charged less for a repair than any indy shop I've used (and I've been driving since the mid-1970s), unless it was for something recalled. I even have a case just like this. I had a newish Subaru Outback Wagon in the last 1990s. It had an alternator issue which was causing lack of battery charging, and thus I'd lose power to some things, while driving. The things being effected were the power steering, power brakes, power windows, wiper blades, etc.. I used a Subaru indy shop for my car repairs. They replaced the alternator. A year or so later, I got a notice in the mail of a recall for this part. Subaru reimbursed me for the total cost of the repair.