I Replaced My iPhone Battery at Home, and You Can Swap Out Yours Too

If you happen to’ve simply put a brand new iPhone 16 in your pocket, then you definitely in all probability need not fear about your battery for a while. However these of you with older iPhones — or older Android telephones — could effectively discover that your battery has began to indicate indicators of growing older and it is time for a substitute. Apple has its personal do-it-yourself repair program, however even in case you do not use that, it is nonetheless straightforward to exchange your iPhone’s battery your self at dwelling. With reasonably priced third-party elements and numerous instruments available for purchase, you’ll be able to open up your iPhone and swap out that outdated, wasted battery — or substitute a cracked display screen — usually for much less cash than having an organization do it for you. 

I did precisely that, changing the outdated battery of a well-used iPhone 6 to provide it a brand new lease on life. I used to be happy to seek out the telephone on eBay for less than £75 (about $100 or AU$140) again in 2020. That is an enormous financial savings over a brand new iPhone 16 Professional, however the battery had aged to the purpose the place the software program needed to artificially throttle the efficiency to cease it from shutting down. As an alternative of putting off the telephone and getting purchaser’s regret, I made a decision to buy a substitute battery and instruments from iFixit and have a go at altering out the battery myself.

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It took a bit of over an hour, however I used to be in a position to safely swap out the battery and get the iPhone 6 working completely once more. I am not giving step-by-step directions right here — head to iFixit and grab a kit if that is what you are after — however I do wish to describe my expertise, together with how straightforward the method was, and hopefully reply a number of the questions you will have in case you additionally want a brand new battery.

When you have a more moderen mannequin (an iPhone 12 or newer), then be sure that to first test Apple’s new repair options and see in case you’d be capable of put in a substitute with components immediately from the corporate. 

Observe that any upkeep you do by yourself units is totally at your individual threat.

1. Why would you should substitute an iPhone battery?

Batteries age over time, and contemplating that the iPhone 6 was launched 10 years in the past, it is no shock that the one I purchased wasn’t working in prime situation. One time, the telephone unexpectedly restarted whereas in use, and it flashed a warning that learn, “This iPhone has skilled an surprising shutdown as a result of the battery was unable to ship the mandatory peak energy. Efficiency administration has been utilized to assist stop this from occurring once more.” Even the telephone itself knew it had a bum battery.

Briefly, a telephone’s efficiency may be throttled if it will probably not address energy calls for. There may be the choice to show throttling off, however this can end in extra frequent crashes. Neither state of affairs is right, so a battery substitute appeared like a wise manner ahead for me, because it wasn’t my essential telephone and I used to be prepared to take the dangers. 

2. How a lot does a substitute iPhone battery value?

The issue with my state of affairs particularly was that I purchased the telephone for thus little within the first place that spending extra money on a battery substitute service negated a few of these preliminary financial savings. Apple’s substitute service prices £49 ($49), which is greater than half what I paid for the iPhone 6 I purchased. As I used to be in the midst of a coronavirus lockdown once I tried this, I wasn’t in a position to get to an Apple retailer to take it in, and sending it in by means of the mail would carry the entire value to round £56 (about $75 or AU$105).

iFixit, nevertheless, sells a DIY substitute pack for £35 (together with postage to my dwelling in Scotland). It prices $30 within the US, and with delivery prices that involves about $38. It is not an enormous saving over Apple’s substitute, however each little bit helps. It additionally means you’ll nonetheless have the instruments you want must you wish to do that once more sooner or later. All you’d want to purchase subsequent time is the battery.

3. What comes within the iFixit battery repair package?

iFixit’s package comes with a third-party substitute battery that’s not from Apple, since Apple doesn’t promote its components individually for telephones older than the iPhone 12. It additionally has all of the instruments wanted to open the telephone and take away the outdated battery. The one further factor I wanted was a hair dryer to warmth up and take away the glue.

4. Does changing a battery void your telephone guarantee? 

Opening up an iPhone will void the guarantee, but when your battery is sufficiently old to wish changing, odds are you are already out of the 12-month guarantee interval. 

5. Is it protected to exchange your iPhone battery your self? 

This one is not so easy to reply. iFixit’s information offers very detailed directions on the steps concerned, however there have been a few factors that made me nervous. One step concerned heating up the again of the telephone with a hair dryer as a way to loosen the glue holding the outdated battery in place. 

Particularly, it stated to warmth it to “barely too heat to the touch comfortably,” which I discovered a bit of imprecise. Particularly since that part additionally warned that “overheating the iPhone could ignite the battery.” However how sizzling is simply too sizzling? What indicators would I see if it was overheating? I could not discover this data, and as such wasn’t certain how near overheating it I could be.

Shortly after, whereas attempting to pry out the outdated battery, I unintentionally ripped into what regarded just like the black wrapping round that battery. I used to be fairly certain that the battery itself wasn’t punctured — there was no smoke or hissing — however I would have felt much more snug if I had “emergency” directions available about what to do if the battery did ignite. 

6. Can I substitute my iPhone battery myself?

Up to a degree I discovered I may, and I am not the perfect at DIY. iFixit’s directions had been straightforward to comply with, and there have been solely seven inside screws to take away, which had been straightforward to exchange. 

One factor I discovered complicated was that the directions on iFixit’s web site finish on the level the place you take away the outdated battery. The one instruction within the conclusion was to comply with the earlier steps in reverse order. Admittedly, that wasn’t significantly tough, however I’d have appreciated extra steerage at that time. 

I bumped into one different difficulty within the course of: Once I eliminated the display screen, I cracked the display screen protector that was in place. I seen the hairline cracks and was frightened that I would broken the show itself, however fortunately that was unhurt.

7. Is it value changing an iPhone battery?

It is dependent upon the age and worth of your telephone. If, like me, you purchased an inexpensive used iPhone and simply wish to get it again in control, then it may very well be an effective way to breathe new life into outdated tech with out spending a fortune. Keep in mind, although, that this wasn’t going to be my essential telephone, nor did I purchase it with my very own cash. For me, the chance was low. If I would made a mistake and ruined the telephone, it would not have been an enormous downside. You may want to think about whether or not you actually can handle with out the telephone, and weigh your tolerance for different dangers.

If you happen to’re utilizing a more moderen machine, like an iPhone 14 or 15, for instance, I’d simply take it on to Apple. The financial savings you may get from doing it your self aren’t so nice as to justify the potential value of damaging a extra beneficial telephone.

Watch this: Apple declares DIY repairs for iPhones and Macs

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