How Long Does Servicing Iphone Battery Take

Here'south What It's Like to Replace Your iPhone Battery

Thinking about pulling the trigger on that iPhone battery replacement that Apple is currently offering, but concerned about roughing it without your phone for an extended catamenia of time? So was I.

Editor's Annotation: Apple's discounted iPhone battery replacement program ends on December. 31. After that date, out-of-warranty battery service costs volition rise. Refer to our guide if you want to know how to go yours before it's also tardily.

I bought my iPhone 7 in Dec of 2016. After a footling less than a twelvemonth and a half of use, I noticed the bombardment life began to take a precipitous downturn. The iOS 11.iii update confirmed my suspicions, with the new Battery Wellness tool telling me my iPhone was working with just 88 percentage of its original capacity.

That may not sound too serious, because Apple only recommends servicing batteries that take fallen below lxxx percentage. However, since joining Tom's Guide terminal September, I've always been on the go — commuting to the office hours every solar day and using GPS to help me traverse New York City for diverse events. My data programme feels a hell of a lot less luxurious now that I'm rarely on Wi-Fi. After Mobile World Congress, my colleague Caitlin McGarry swore off traveling with me always again unless I brought a backup battery.

MORE: Cheque out the best Mac VPN and the all-time iPhone VPN

In other words, information technology's been a challenging few months for my trusty iPhone 7, and they've but accelerated the slow expiry of its bombardment. I had been debating cashing in that $29 replacement for weeks, simply I assumed there would be a wait. And so I didn't get around to it until I happened to exist within feet of an Apple Store one day.

If you haven't been keeping tabs on the iPhone battery saga since it began belatedly last year, here's what happened. Apple tree admitted information technology had been throttling performance on iPhones with degraded batteries. Devices running iOS x.2.1 — which includes every model from the iPhone half-dozen onward — were programmed to automatically limit clock speed to extend longevity on a accuse and stave off random reboots, which are common during times of stress on the processor.

MORE: ten Tips to Boost Your iPhone'due south Battery Life

The just trouble? Apple didn't tell anyone what was going on backside the scenes. As a consequence, in January the company discounted out-of-warranty battery replacements from $79 to $29 until the end of 2018 for affected products. Unsurprisingly, rather long wait times were reported correct out of the gate, with firms like Barclays citing delays ranging from two to four weeks due to curt battery supplies for sure models. Apple tree also added Battery Health in iOS 11.three, which allows users to both monitor the state of their phone'due south battery and deactivate automatic throttling if their handset has lost 20 percent or more of its chapters.

Anyhow, back to my story. I told the representative I wanted to see about getting my iPhone 7'due south battery swapped. Given that my phone was simply downwards 12 percent downwards from a fresh unit, he recommended I wait until later in the year to become a ameliorate bang for my buck. And I well-nigh did — until I thought to myself that come up November, in that location could exist a lot of people like me who had washed the same, and needed those new batteries right now.

I told the rep I wanted to become through with it, expecting to fix an appointment sometime in May. To my surprise, the answer to the question "how long will it take" was a thing of minutes, not weeks.

Long story short, my iPhone 7 was back in my hands with a new battery in less than two hours. Wandering the mall alone without a phone was a strange experience, particularly when I was told to return to the Apple Store to selection upwards my device by a specific time, and they were in possession of the but way I could easily bank check the clock. (Peradventure this is just an Apple plot to goose smartwatch sales.)

To my surprise, the technician didn't fifty-fifty remove my handset's matte screen protector, which I appreciated. Granted, Apple had no reason to, and my iPhone 7 is in pretty good shape, simply I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a piffling concerned if the plastic film would survive the surgery.

More: How To Replace Your iPhone's Bombardment for $29

I was also worried the rep would give me a difficult fourth dimension for requesting a battery substitution because my telephone hadn't crossed the eighty percent threshold yet, when iOS begins throttling functioning. Technically nether Apple's program, owners of iPhone 6 devices or newer are eligible for one discounted out-of-warranty replacement until the end of 2018, no thing the condition of the original battery. Merely I was never pressured against ordering the service — just given a sensible recommendation to put off the upgrade until later on, which I chose to ignore.

The moral here? Everyone (Tom's Guide included) is reporting on await times for iPhone batteries, with data from surveys and insider sources. But the simply way to actually know how long y'all'll be left phoneless is to ask your local Apple Store yourself. If they warn you of delays lasting days or weeks, there's never any damage in checking elsewhere. You may merely be pleasantly surprised.

Oh, and another recommendation: Earlier you brand that trip, back up your iPhone. I had lucked out and by chance continued my telephone to my Mac to sync music a few days before (streaming services be damned!) If y'all don't, Apple isn't liable for whatever data loss your iPhone may experience when it'due south nether the pocketknife.

Photograph Credit: Shaun Lucas/Tom's Guide

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Adam Ismail is a staff writer at Jalopnik and previously worked on Tom's Guide roofing smartphones, machine tech and gaming. His beloved for all things mobile began with the original Motorola Droid; since then he's owned a variety of Android and iOS-powered handsets, refusing to stay loyal to ane platform. His work has besides appeared on Digital Trends and GTPlanet. When he'due south not fiddling with the latest devices, he'south at an indie pop show, recording a podcast or playing Sega Dreamcast.