Here's How You Can Still Replace Your iPhone Battery For $29
Apple caught some heat over its throttling mechanism in iOS, which reduces performance when the built-in battery degrades to a certain point. In response to the outrage that followed, Apple offered to replace out-of-warranty batteries at a discounted price—$29, versus $49. Unfortunately, the discounted offer expired at the start of 2019. However, if you're willing to take matters into your own hands, you can still install a fresh new battery for $29.
This means going the do-it-yourself (DIY) route, which can be frightening when you're working with an expensive and delicate electronic device. Nevertheless, if you're willing to get your hands dirty and want to breathe new life into your aging iPhone, you can save yourself a bit of coin. Who knows, you might even find that you have a knack for working on electronics.
To make things easier, and more affordable, the folks at iFixIt are still selling discounted $29 battery kits that come with everything you need to swap out an old battery for a brand new one.
"When Apple announced their $29 battery replacement program in December 2017, we lowered the price of our iPhone battery fix kit to match. Apple’s battery replacement program ended on December 31, 2018, and they raised the price of their battery service from $29 to $49 (or $69, depending on your model). That blows. Because there are still hundreds of millions of affected iPhone owners who didn’t get a battery replacement—or didn’t know they needed one," iFixIt wrote in a blog post.
"So in a fit of righteous solidarity, our iPhone battery prices will remain at $29.99 for at least the rest of the year," the site continued.
Obviously this will not appeal to everyone. By going the DIY route, you risk breaking something along the way, and then facing a much bigger repair bill than had you simply paid Apple $49 or $69 to swap out the battery for you.
For those who are comfortable working on electronics, as well as those who want to give it a shot, the $29 kits come with all of the necessary tools and a brand new battery that has been "tested to confirm that there are no cycles on the cell and that the capacity is 95 percent or higher."
There are a bunch of iPhone battery kits available, each with their own set of step-by-step instructions. They include the following models:
- iPhone 8 Plus Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 8 Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 7 Plus Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 7 Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 6s Plus Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 6s Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 6 Plus Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 6 Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone SE Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 5c Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 5s Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 5 Replacement Battery—$29.99
- iPhone 4S Replacement Battery—$16.99
Even if you're not interested in going the DIY route, you have to applaud iFixit for making this sort of thing as accessible as possible, especially since companies like Apple make it more difficult than necessary to perform at-home repairs.
Thumbnail/Top Image Source: iFixIt
