iPhone SE (2016) Be aware if wanting to change iPhone battery

[wenopalis]

I thought it was going to be easy, watched a video tutorial and it took the guy less than five minutes, easy job i thought.

Ordered a replacement battery and got to work. First thing i realised was that one of my bottom pentalobe screws was stripped, must have spent a days worth of hours trying to get it out, i tried rubber band, several types of tape, steel wool, different size bits, super glue, nothing worked. In the end i bought a 1.3mm drill bit and drilled it out, but the drill bit may have been a little too big as the hole i created is too large, no big deal at least i can open it up and change the battery.

So then got to work with the battery, noticed the adhesive underneath, started pulling it and it snapped, i thought i will just pry up battery slightly and grab the remaining adhesive but it kept breaking. So trying to pry up the battery and lift it out, it wouldn't lift up. I then tried heating the back with a hair dryer, didn't work.

Now i've heard fish line and isopropyl alcohol could work, but need to buy some.

All in all this is A LOT of hassle and time spent, additional cost of tools to remove it.

 

[Tagbert]

Probably why most people just have Apple do the job.

 

[spikeymike]

Probably why most people just have Apple do the job.

Yep and why Apple tells people to make sure they have backed up their data before having the battery replacement done.

In cases like this where things don't go as planned.

 

[Splitrail]

I thought it was going to be easy, watched a video tutorial and it took the guy less than five minutes, easy job i thought.

Ordered a replacement battery and got to work. First thing i realised was that one of my bottom pentalobe screws was stripped, must have spent a days worth of hours trying to get it out, i tried rubber band, several types of tape, steel wool, different size bits, super glue, nothing worked. In the end i bought a 1.3mm drill bit and drilled it out, but the drill bit may have been a little too big as the hole i created is too large, no big deal at least i can open it up and change the battery.

So then got to work with the battery, noticed the adhesive underneath, started pulling it and it snapped, i thought i will just pry up battery slightly and grab the remaining adhesive but it kept breaking. So trying to pry up the battery and lift it out, it wouldn't lift up. I then tried heating the back with a hair dryer, didn't work.

Now i've heard fish line and isopropyl alcohol could work, but need to buy some.

All in all this is A LOT of hassle and time spent, additional cost of tools to remove it.

What would the difference in cost have been to have Apple do it? 🤔

 

[canuckRus]

What would the difference in cost have been to have Apple do it? 🤔

Learning experience on several levels?

 

[Isamilis]

If possible, get 3rd party repair shop to do this. They’re not as expensive as Apple does.

 

[GoofyCyborg]

With the right tools and a bit of patience it’s an easy enough process. I haven’t done one in a while though! These days I would just pay Apple. The battery I purchased from iFixit way back when was crap! It only lasted 3 months before it wouldn’t hold a charge.

 

[eyoungren]

I thought it was going to be easy, watched a video tutorial and it took the guy less than five minutes, easy job i thought.

Ordered a replacement battery and got to work. First thing i realised was that one of my bottom pentalobe screws was stripped, must have spent a days worth of hours trying to get it out, i tried rubber band, several types of tape, steel wool, different size bits, super glue, nothing worked. In the end i bought a 1.3mm drill bit and drilled it out, but the drill bit may have been a little too big as the hole i created is too large, no big deal at least i can open it up and change the battery.

So then got to work with the battery, noticed the adhesive underneath, started pulling it and it snapped, i thought i will just pry up battery slightly and grab the remaining adhesive but it kept breaking. So trying to pry up the battery and lift it out, it wouldn't lift up. I then tried heating the back with a hair dryer, didn't work.

Now i've heard fish line and isopropyl alcohol could work, but need to buy some.

All in all this is A LOT of hassle and time spent, additional cost of tools to remove it.

And by this point in the process, if it had gone like this for the Apple techs, you'd have had a new phone.

 

[eyoungren]

If possible, get 3rd party repair shop to do this. They’re not as expensive as Apple does.

If the third party shop messes up or something goes wrong do you get a new phone instead?

 

[Isamilis]

If the third party shop messes up or something goes wrong do you get a new phone instead?

I wouldn’t worry for battery replacement, but not for others.

 

[canuckRus]

If the third party shop messes up or something goes wrong do you get a new phone instead?

Excellent point. Apple sent me a refurbished 6s on a second battery replacement.

 

[Clamjuice65]

Trust Aplls

 

[winxmac]

One YouTube channel I can recommend regarding iPhone repair: Hugh Jeffreys

You need to have the right tools for the job... Watching it being done is not enough... It may look easy but you need to first practice on an already damaged device before attempting to fix a working one but needs battery replacement or any repair...

I can repair a few things here and there but for iPhone, since I don't have the tools, as much as I want to do it myself, I leave it to those with tools and the right know-how and pay them accordingly...

 

[Reggaenald]

And by this point in the process, if it had gone like this for the Apple techs, you'd have had a new phone.

Considering it’s an SE, no.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

You need to have the right tools for the job... Watching it being done is not enough... It may look easy but you need to first practice on an already damaged device before attempting to fix a working one but needs battery replacement or any repair...

Well, benefit for the OP now… they have an already-damaged device for practicing 😬

 

[Andeddu]

I dropped off my 2016 SE at the Apple Store for a battery replacement earlier this year because I am not qualified to open up and replace the battery myself. I then went to Starbucks for 30 mins and drank a lovely latte before picking up my phone, no hassle whatsoever.

 

[JPack]

At this point, you want to make sure you bought a high quality replacement battery. I hope after all this work, you didn't cheap out. Otherwise, you'll have to do this again in 6 months.

 

[FeliApple]

I dropped off my 2016 SE at the Apple Store for a battery replacement earlier this year because I am not qualified to open up and replace the battery myself. I then went to Starbucks for 30 mins and drank a lovely latte before picking up my phone, no hassle whatsoever.

I’ll never replace a battery, but I’d totally recommend this. It isn’t as if you need a new battery every 5 minutes anyway.