Amidst all the holiday festivities, don’t forget that Apple’s $29 battery replacement offering is coming to an end one week from now.
The special offer was announced by Apple as an apology this time last year. It followed stories about the company intentionally slowing down older iPhones. One year on, Apple has taken steps to fix the problem. But you’ve only got until next Monday to take advantage of your cheap battery replacement.
Apple made the decision to offer the battery replacement after a Reddit user discovered that swapping out the battery on his old, slow iPhone improved performance.
Apple eventually came out and admitted that it slows down older iPhones using software. However, it said that this was done for avoiding crashing aging iPhones. It has since allowed users to turn off this iPhone “battery throttling” effect if they want to. But this is not recommended.
Usually the cost of an out-of-warranty iPhone replacement cost is $49 to $69 depending on the model. The affected iPhones you can get a replacement battery for including the iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.
Check your battery
To check if you would benefit from a replacement battery, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. The percentage at the top of the screen will show you the current battery capacity relative to when your iPhone was brand new. If you’ve got a number under 80 percent, it may be worth considering taking advantage of Apple’s offer.
To get your iPhone battery replaced you can either mail the handset off to Apple or stop by your local Apple Store. To avoid waiting too long while they switch out the battery, you’ll probably want to make an appointment. Be aware that store opening times may vary over the holidays.
