iPhone X The misadventures of my (non) battery replacement

[marty1980]

My iPhone X is getting old. It runs well and it’s in premium condition for its age and use. The battery health got below 80% and I received the “service” message in Settings. I don’t want an iPhone 12. My plan has always been iPhone 12s/13. So I decided to pay for an out of warranty battery replacement. (Leave me alone about AppleCare+ - I know)

The cost was just above $80 to ship it out to Apple. Good deal. Done. Just fix the only thing wrong and have a decent phone for the rest of the year.

The shipping box shows up and it’s kind of confusing. There was a baggie to put the phone in that didn’t fit in the box they gave me to put the phone in. Anyway, I did my best and got it shipped.

My phone arrives at Apple and sits there for a few days. I’m not worried about time. Just quality of repair.

I decide to check on the status of my repair and find a message that says there were issues with my phone not mentioned in the repair request. There is a message stating there was an issue with “connectivity” on the device. Say what? I took my SIM because I was instructed but also so I could still have my phone number to use during the repair. But my Wifi and cellular never gave me any problems.

I call Apple and inquire for details. They only will tell me that the repair center found an issue and that they will not work on the battery unless I also pay to fix this other issue. The cost? $550+taxes and fees.

F* that! I ask for my repair to be canceled. They refund me and send my phone back.

I get my phone back and everything is working as expected... that is until I went to setup FaceID. The short of it is that FaceID is no longer working on my phone. The camera works fine. I don’t know if they switched parts and didn’t register the new one on the device or maybe they broke it when they popped open my phone. idk I just know they broke my phone and I can no longer use FaceOd and without a TouchID fallback, I no longer have biometric Authentication on my phone.

I’m really upset, but it is what it is. It’s not worth it to me to fight with Apple about how they refused to just change the damn battery and how they broke my FaceID array. The worst part is that I’m still going to buy a new iPhone in the fall. ??‍♂️?

I’m not sharing with you all to discourage doing replacements. Please do. I just wanted to share my misadventure. Seems my phone might hang on for as long as I need it and I’ve got backup devices if not. Just sucks I’ll be recycling this iPhone X as it’s got a death sentence coming executed by its dying battery. I planned to use it for other purposes, but that plan isn’t likely to work out for me.

Please answer the poll, if it’s still open!

 

[mostlynameless]

My answer doesn't fit the categories in the poll. Shortly before everything locked down for Covid, we took my sister's original SE to Best Buy to get a battery replacement. Everything seemed to be going fine. The tests said the battery needed to be replaced. They had the battery. The guy pushes a bunch more buttons, then looks kind of confused.

Then he says Apple wants the phone sent to them and they are now denying the battery replacement. Why? He can't tell. And, sis can't live without the phone long enough to send it in. He suggests that maybe we would have better luck if we went to the Apple store where they might know more. That's not very convenient, but maybe doable.

Then, COVID shuts everything down.

So, she spends the next 8 months or so having to carry around a stupid battery pack until the 12 Mini came out.

I'm still not sure why they wanted the phone, but I did read somewhere that some SE's had a power management issue, so they may have wanted to look at hardware beyond just the battery.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

My iPhone X is getting old. It runs well and it’s in premium condition for its age and use. The battery health got below 80% and I received the “service” message in Settings. I don’t want an iPhone 12. My plan has always been iPhone 12s/13. So I decided to pay for an out of warranty battery replacement. (Leave me alone about AppleCare+ - I know)

The cost was just above $80 to ship it out to Apple. Good deal. Done. Just fix the only thing wrong and have a decent phone for the rest of the year.

The shipping box shows up and it’s kind of confusing. There was a baggie to put the phone in that didn’t fit in the box they gave me to put the phone in. Anyway, I did my best and got it shipped.

My phone arrives at Apple and sits there for a few days. I’m not worried about time. Just quality of repair.

I decide to check on the status of my repair and find a message that says there were issues with my phone not mentioned in the repair request. There is a message stating there was an issue with “connectivity” on the device. Say what? I took my SIM because I was instructed but also so I could still have my phone number to use during the repair. But my Wifi and cellular never gave me any problems.

I call Apple and inquire for details. They only will tell me that the repair center found an issue and that they will not work on the battery unless I also pay to fix this other issue. The cost? $550+taxes and fees.

F* that! I ask for my repair to be canceled. They refund me and send my phone back.

I get my phone back and everything is working as expected... that is until I went to setup FaceID. The short of it is that FaceID is no longer working on my phone. The camera works fine. I don’t know if they switched parts and didn’t register the new one on the device or maybe they broke it when they popped open my phone. idk I just know they broke my phone and I can no longer use FaceOd and without a TouchID fallback, I no longer have biometric Authentication on my phone.

I’m really upset, but it is what it is. It’s not worth it to me to fight with Apple about how they refused to just change the damn battery and how they broke my FaceID array. The worst part is that I’m still going to buy a new iPhone in the fall. ??‍♂️?

I’m not sharing with you all to discourage doing replacements. Please do. I just wanted to share my misadventure. Seems my phone might hang on for as long as I need it and I’ve got backup devices if not. Just sucks I’ll be recycling this iPhone X as it’s got a death sentence coming executed by its dying battery. I planned to use it for other purposes, but that plan isn’t likely to work out for me.

Please answer the poll, if it’s still open!

Are you sure they opened the phone? I believe they do diagnostics/inspection of the device before opening the case that way they can’t be blamed for prior damages.. They replace plenty of phones due to damage done while a battery or screen replacement as there are many things that can go wrong during the repair

 

[marty1980]

Are you sure they opened the phone? I believe they do diagnostics/inspection of the device before opening the case that way they can’t be blamed for prior damages.. They replace plenty of phones due to damage done while a battery or screen replacement as there are many things that can go wrong during the repair

The repair status page included photos of the phone open. It wasn’t clear what they were trying to show me. Possibly a WiFi chip? Idk

 

[Apple_Robert]

I would still contact Apple again and politely inform them, that the phone was in perfect working order when it was sent to them.

 

[LFC2020]

I would still contact Apple again and politely inform them, that the phone was in perfect working order when it was sent to them.

This, seems like you got some tool who has no idea what he was doing, demand a free replacement phone.

 

[Bluetoot-]

Idk if anyones mentioned this, but you should have an option for "yes, but not through Apple!"

I've changed the battery myself a couple of times on older iPhones. However, I'm not sure I'd attempt it now with all of the seals and such.

Also, I find the "service" message reminiscent of a Volkswagen or something; "service now!"

In the past, I had an iPhone 5 with a battery issue, and the Genius was a bit reluctant to replace anything; I don't remember the details or what exactly happened. I miss that phone.

tl;dr I miss the iPhone 5

 

[Taz Mangus]

If it were me, I would first call Apple support and ask to speak with a senior level advisor. Explain the situation as calmly as you can. Apple wants happy customers and they will come through, at least that has been my experience in the nearly 20 years that I have been an Apple customer. If you don't get anywhere with Apple support write an e-mail to Tim Cook directly at tcook@apple.com asking for assistance. Be detailed as possible when you contact Apple. I do hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction.

 

[marty1980]

If it were me, I would first call Apple support and ask to speak with a senior level advisor. Explain the situation as calmly as you can. Apple wants happy customers and they will come through, at least that has been my experience in the nearly 20 years that I have been an Apple customer. If you don't get anywhere with Apple support write an e-mail to Tim Cook directly at tcook@apple.com asking for assistance. Be detailed as possible when you contact Apple. I do hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction.

calling was a waste of my time. It just irritated me. They refuse to acknowledge that they broke my phone and want me to pay to replace it. So f* them.

I’ll be fine with my iPhone X for as long as it holds on with me and without FaceID. As much as I’d like to rally against Apple and not buy another iPhone, I’m 90% sure I’ll still be getting a new iPhone this fall. So I guess I’m a sucker.

I guarantee if I had AppleCare+, my experience would have been different. My bad?