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Apple finds some iPhone 5 units have battery problems, opens replacement program

Apple-iPhone-Sales

This Friday afternoon, Apple has opened up an iPhone 5 battery replacement program after discovering that a “very small percentage” of units “may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently.” The iPhone 5 was originally launched in September 2012, and Apple says that the affected units were sold between that month and January 2013. Apple’s support website includes a tool to check if your serial number belongs to a faulty iPhone 5…

The replacement program is available at Apple Retail Stores, Authorized Apple Service Providers, and via AppleCare. Apple tells eligible iPhone 5 owners to backup their data, Turn off Find my iPhone, and Erase all Content and Settings before coming in to have the battery system replaced. Apple says it won’t repair phones with other problems like cracked screens. If you’ve already paid to get your battery fixed (and you’re eligible for this replacement), Apple is offering refunds.

The replacement program is available beginning today in the United States and China. Other countries will begin offering replacements beginning August 29th. The program is available through March 1, 2015 and it does not extend your iPhone 5’s warranty. This iPhone 5 battery replacement program is the second in recent history. Late last year, Apple offered a smaller, less-public replacement program for iPhone 5s units with battery life issues. The iPhone 5 has also been affected by sleep/wake button issues.

Image via AP

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Comments

  1. Josh Bartz (@bartzjosh) - 10 years ago

    Finally! Hope my fiance’s matches because it should be part of the list. :)

    • Josh Bartz (@bartzjosh) - 10 years ago

      Horray, it is!

      • Justin Pate - 10 years ago

        MEANWHILE you’ve paid for a defective phone for almost 2 years……

      • Trogg Doggleson - 10 years ago

        This doesn’t automatically mean that her battery will be replaced, though. It only means that her serial number falls under the date range that affected phones were sold. The phone will still be tested as if there was no quality program to see if poor battery life is attributed to the actual battery, corrupted software, or her usage patterns and settings, but if it fails or is consumed according to the diagnostics, then the battery will be replaced.

  2. Haha… and of course, mine is one. I just thought the battery was crap all these years.
    Ready for the 6 either way.

  3. Josie (@josie) - 10 years ago

    I most definitely had a problem with my 5S. The phone would go from 30% to just shutting off and couldn’t be restarted until plugging it in. The apple store replaced it while it was still under warranty.

  4. Taste_of_Apple - 10 years ago

    Yikes. Better start checking your serial number if you have an iPhone 5.

  5. My wife’s had this problem (it was replaced under the power button recall). It would be at say 54% one second, then at 20 literally a minute later. Plugging it in brought it back up in the 50s in a manner of seconds.

  6. accdla - 10 years ago

    Damnit, i bought my iphone 5 between those dates and it serial is not “Affected” and i need to charge the damn thing all day!

    • rogifan - 10 years ago

      I’d still call Apple or take it to an Apple store. Obviously something is wrong.

    • Rysox (@Rysox_AE) - 10 years ago

      You might be in luck. When I’ve gone to the apple store in the past (before this whole thing) they have always said there was no problem and I could pay to have my battery replaced if I felt like there was a problem. Try calling or stopping by a local apple store this weekend to find out.

  7. My iphone 5 is eligible for that, but I already replaced it myself from iFixit battery twice.
    not sure whether Apple’s gonna reject or not.
    But I doubt that it’s actually a battery problem because even though I replaced my battery 2 times,
    it’s still drains 25% battery without doing anything.

  8. robertsm76 - 10 years ago

    Does apple reimburse if you paid for this out of pocket?

    If you don’t live near an apple store and there isn’t a certified repairman within an hour and a half, you should be able to go to a local reputable repairman.

  9. furby8704 - 10 years ago

    Will they replace the whole unit or just the battery??

  10. Say it isn’t so!! But they are “Premium phones”. LOL. People need to stop acting as like the iphone is superior.

    • spiralynth - 10 years ago

      Inferiority complex much? You craplastic, 2 dollar Samdung whores flood this site in droves for what reason, exactly? Has your whoredom not afforded you even an ounce of self-dignity?

      It’s a fricken faulty battery issue, genius. A Ferrari could have a faulty battery. Since you need it spelled out for you: Apple doesn’t make batteries, you irrelevant and pointless clown.

      • You have an insecurity problem!! How do you get Samsung out of what I posted? Schizo…

      • spiralynth - 10 years ago

        >>Teejay1100 said: How do you get Samsung out of what I posted? Schizo…

        Let’s take a gander at your intrawebs posting history shall we? http://disqus.com/TeeJay1100/

        The entire world knows who you are: a dim, slow, cheap Samdung troll, and you’ve been checked. Punkass sissy.

  11. Mike Jones - 10 years ago

    From Apple’s website

    To prepare your iPhone 5 for the battery replacement process, please follow the steps below:
    Back up your data to iTunes or iCloud
    Turn off Find my iPhone
    Erase data and settings in Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings

    Why do I need to do any of that to get the battery replaced?

  12. Rysox (@Rysox_AE) - 10 years ago

    Finally….After going to 3 different apple stores talking to them about my phone’s battery problems this happened. So glad my phone is eligible. Appointment with apple store…check!

  13. Gabriel Peterson - 10 years ago

    Does anyone know if they tend to take it back and replace just the battery or change the whole phone for a referbs?

  14. Nick David (@N1ck2D) - 10 years ago

    The iPhone 5 is also affected by the Scren lift issue. Google iPhone 5 screen lift, you’ll get tons of results. I spoke to a Apple Exec and he denied me a free repair, they said the issue is from accidental damage! PRICKS! Livia Silacka is the Apple Exec.

    • Trogg Doggleson - 10 years ago

      You’re talking about the glass separating from the rest of the display assembly? A “ton” of results on Google doesn’t mean anything when Apple sells over 200 million iPhones per quarter. The bottom line – you either got AppleCare or you didn’t, and since the iPhone 5 was released Sept. of 2012, had you gotten AppleCare, you’d still be covered if your hardware was defective.

  15. George Kyriakos - 10 years ago

    My iphone5 is affected by the power button issue as well, but have yet to turn it in. Do you think they’ll be able to do both button and battery in one go?

    • malcolmtucker1 - 10 years ago

      Well, to replace the power button, it took 10 days to ship it out for repair and have it returned. They probably could have mailed the repaired phone directly to me, but instead, I had to make two trips to the Apple Store, and also be inconvenienced with syncing, re-loading, and restoring a loaner phone. Note– with the loaner, I was also locked-out of iTunes and the AppStore- you can only re-sync purchases with one device per 90-day period.

      During the phone warranty check-in, the store, made multiple attempts to sell a new phone. They had the nerve to tell me my 64GB iPhone 5 was only worth US$80 in trade-up value.

      You may be better waiting for the iPhone 6. It took about 2 hours waiting at the Apple Store for the genius to fill out all the repair paperwork.

      Just beware.

  16. Gabriel Hutchinson - 10 years ago

    My iPhone is eligible! Thank god. My battery has been driving me insane.

  17. It happened to me. Got it replaced last week. Perhaps my old battery was the final piece of intelligence they required…It was covered under Apple Care anyway though.

  18. jbuss112 - 10 years ago

    Thank you for this article, and I’m glad I started following this website! Because of this article I found out my iPhone 5 qualifies for not only the free battery replacement, but also the free sleep/wake button replacement! Called apple and have my appointment scheduled at my local store this afternoon. Thank you very much for reporting this, or I would have missed this one like the sleep/wake button one!

  19. Rodolfo Ferreira (@djmc7) - 10 years ago

    Goddamn right, Apple!

    On the last day of the standard AppleCare warranty last year in October, they did NOT replace my phone because the battery was “just above the line” between bad battery/good battery.

    I am eligible, so I can’t wait to stick this in their stupid faces at my Apple Store. I might even call up their Team Leader to have a word with him and see if he remembers all the time I wasted before trying to solve this.

    • macmann1980 - 10 years ago

      Or maybe you shouldn’t hassle a couple of retail store employees who are only doing what they’ve been told to do?
      Try not to take these things personally.

      • Trogg Doggleson - 10 years ago

        Well said macmann1980. Everyone has policies and procedures that they have to follow no matter what product they are supporting, and Apple retail is no exception.

    • herb02135go - 10 years ago

      Write a letter to Tim Cook.

  20. malcolmtucker1 - 10 years ago

    Well, my iPhone 5 needs charging more often… Ever since I took it to the Apple store for a power button repair, another warranty issue.

    To replace the power button, it took 10 days to ship it out for repair and have it returned. They probably could have mailed the repaired phone directly to me, but instead, I had to make two trips to the Apple Store, and also be inconvenienced with syncing, re-loading, and restoring a loaner phone. Note– with the loaner, I was also locked-out of iTunes and the AppStore- you can only re-sync purchases with one device per 90-day period.

    During the phone warranty check-in, the store, made multiple attempts to sell a new phone. They had the nerve to tell me my 64GB iPhone 5 was only worth US$80 in trade-up value.

    I thought about that valuation, and the fact that my wife’s second phone which stopped working earlier. Her iPhone 5, a 32GB version had a badly-soldered memory chip which Apple wanted US$280 to repair. The 1-year warranty expired two months prior. Apple thought I was born yesterday.

    So, yeah, the iPhone 5 is a pretty shoddy product and from a shady company. If I was Jonny Ive’s mother, I’d be very embarrassed. The warranty seems to be setup to get people into the store to buy a new phone with a contract.

    • tohaklim - 10 years ago

      Oh hey, mine is eligible – I knew it was faulty! A pity I swapped the battery myself. The joys of the non-S cycle

    • Wow unbelievable, yup I’ convinced Apple sucks!! They charge all that money only to treat the consumer shady… Sorry to hear that

      • Haha, you’re funny. You must actually love Apple though, since you spend so much time here. Nice try, though.

  21. Jeff Scott (@ElJefedor) - 10 years ago

    So I understand backing up the phone before taking it in, but can anybody tell me why they want you to wipe the device clean?

    • Jeff Scott (@ElJefedor) - 10 years ago

      Wanted to follow up, took my phone in this week and had the battery replaced today. They had to order more since so many people were coming in and that took a few days. But as far as erasing the phone or even turning off ‘Find my iPhone’ they said it wasn’t necessary. Now here’s to hoping this battery lasts longer.

  22. acumagnet - 10 years ago

    I got this problem with my iPod5, when I try to use the camera. What gives?

  23. dm33 - 10 years ago

    Ours is on the list. Why do you have to erase the phone? Are they gonna give you a different phone back?

    • Trogg Doggleson - 10 years ago

      I wouldn’t recommend erasing the phone. My battery passed, but I was told that it could’ve been a software related issue or how I use my phone that caused poor battery life, but b/c I wiped it, they could not verify the issue. Because it passed and they couldn’t definitively say what causes my poor battery life, mine was not replaced. It’s working fine w/o my data on it though, so it probably was software.

    • makenoize (@makenoize) - 10 years ago

      My question exactly. Can someone who’s been to the Apple Store for this battery replacement program, answer this for us?

      Thanks

    • herb02135go - 10 years ago

      You never know what you’ll get back during this latest battery fiasco.

      But I hear Maps is improved. Is Siri working yet?

  24. Josh (@Joshua_Cochrane) - 10 years ago

    Mine was part of the battery issue group –

    Took it to the Mall of America store – Took my phone – ran the diagnostics… Took 2 hours to replace the battery… No replacement phone, no need to erase the phone… just make sure it is backed up.

  25. Has anyone else with a Sprint 5 had issues with service? I got mine the day they were available (pre-order) and when I had my battery issue a year ago Apple refused to honor the warranty – until I started making a wee bit of a spectacle in the store requesting refunds for all my hardware.

    Apparently some of the Spring devices when they left the factory in August, 2012, were missing key stickers and stamps in certain spots and they accused me of voiding the warranty on my phone.

  26. Paul Schram - 10 years ago

    I wonder if it’s the same battery as the iPod Touch 5th gen. Because as of around last Christmas my iPod lasts maybe 4 hours then it’s dead. I have no idea why. And on top of that from dead, it’ll take about 15 minutes or less to give it a full charge. That doesn’t seem right. And of course there’s no rumours about an iPod Touch 6 so I don’t know whether to replace the battery or wait till the fall for a newer model.

  27. Peter Praker - 10 years ago

    everyone is hoping their phone is on that list because the fact is most have horrible problems. Mine gets 2 hours and they refused to do anything about it. They issue this recall and I think – FINALLY! Then I look and it isn’t on the list. Just another scam by Apple to not take care of real problems – too much money. It’s cheaper to lose customers for life.

  28. Brandon Hencey - 10 years ago

    Beware! ‘Eligible’ does not guarantee your battery will be replaced. Also, backup but don’t erase your phone before going to the Apple Store.

    Although my phone was ‘eligible’, the ‘genius’ at the Apple store told me that my battery wasn’t bad enough. This is despite the fact that I can’t use my phone if I have any hope of it making it through a 9 hour day and it randomly dies with 20-50% battery left.

    Basically, I spent over an hour and a half my evening erasing my phone, having the genius flash my firmware, and restoring my phone.

  29. Jason Hay - 10 years ago

    I was one of the eligible few, so I called Apple Customer services to find out my options.

    They initially offered to post a free replacement iPhone 5 to my home, and I would simply hand over my faulty unit and that would be it.

    They Lied.

    Next day I got an email from Apple, estimating my repair at £245 – not “free”, as I had been told.

    I called to query this, and they agreed I’d been fed the wrong information, and agreed to cancel the “Express Replacement” and I would go to an Apple Store and get it fixed the old fashioned way, which I duly did.

    My battery now working well I thought all was well.

    I was wrong.

    Upon checking my bank I found an entry for Apple, extracting £245 from my Debit Card!

    I called to query this – “Yes we can see you refused the Replacement, we can see you had it repaired at the Apple Store, we can see we’ve stolen your money, but you can’t have it back until we investigate. Maybe next week?”.

    That was today – I’m livid.

    Looks like my next MacBook refresh will be a Surface Pro!!

  30. Brandon Ghastin - 10 years ago

    my iphone 5 battery is shot, wont even hardly hold a charge for a hour. bought it as soon as they came out. and im not eligible for this free replacement very upset

  31. tansbysuncity - 10 years ago

    Well it’s nice to know I’m not crazy… However I have 3 legitimate complaints to this “solution”. First, I’m going to have to spend more money to get my screen replaced before they will replace the battery. Secondly, the reason it’s cracked is because I removed it from my life proof case when I noticed that I could feel heat coming through the multiple layers of protection. As I was taking it out, I was so startled by the temperature, I dropped the phone and the screen cracked–yes it was that hot!! I’m assuming that the temperature at the time of the incident affected the ease of the screen cracking as it only fell roughly 18 inches. Most importantly, do they also refund the money I’ve spent on 12 replacement chargers and 3 power packs?
    I’m going to take a wild guess that it was only coincidental that the recall was made less than 2 weeks prior to the pre-sales for the iPhone 6.
    Maybe I’d be better off investing in a support group for iPhone-addicts-gone-android!! I’m going to need it bc I’m seriously reconsidering the order I’ve already placed-especially since that seems to be the culprit of this dilemma I’m in now.

  32. hayden12345674 - 9 years ago

    I wonder if it will cover microwaved phones!!