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To give another perspective: I bought a used iPhone SE about a month ago and was worried about battery health because many sellers didn‘t mention it. After pass

To give another perspective: I bought a used iPhone SE about a month ago and was worried about battery health because many sellers didn‘t mention it. After passing some more shady offers I found an SE for cheap (around 100€) that claimed 95% battery health. And I could verify that in the settings. Seller mentioned the iPhone was never serviced and only used as a backup phone. Perhaps that should have ring an alarm, but I bought it. Two days later battery health was down to 71%. A week later the battery was dead. And of course it was not an original Apple battery by any means. So, it might be bad communication by Apple, but for buyers a sign that the battery isn‘t original is very welcome.

addicted 7y ago
I’m not sure how this is supposed to help you in your situation. In fact it has muddied the waters for all situations because now even perfectly fine batteries will show a bad battery status.
- ghostpepper 7y ago
  Presumably when the seller showed OP the phone, before money had changed hands, the battery would have shown "non original" or simple "battery no good" and the OP would not have bought it (or bought it for a reduced price knowing he would need to replace the battery with a genuine one)
- close04 7y ago
  Having a status page in the phone that tells you which parts are original and which are aftermarket is very helpful when you buy a used phone or fix your own in a shop. You could easily see if you're getting an original battery or screen. Of course you should be allowed to fix your own phone in any shop and with any parts but this should be obvious in the phone to discourage fraud.
- kalleboo 7y ago
  In the situation where you're buying a used phone, it's better for some fine batteries to show a bad status than for some bad batteries to show a good status.
metalliqaz 7y ago
This anecdote so closely matches Apple's messaging on the topic, it makes me wonder if you are an Apple employee. However since it involves aftermarket sales, I suppose it's prudent to assume not. Let's look at it from a different angle. You got to take advantage of an aftermarket in order to find a cheap phone. In this case you got scammed, but for the time being you still have the option of getting a cheap battery replacement to fix your device with minimal losses. Apple's moves are clearly designed to squash an aftermarket. I'd prefer to have the option to buy cheap old phones. I'd especially prefer to be able to replace the batteries on my own old phones.
- dmonitor 7y ago
  I have had a similar experience, so it is not very uncommon for used phones. My phone's battery actually started expanding and nearly pushed the screen off of the back. Apple wouldn't touch it, though, so I just took it to another 3rd party battery replacer. If there was a way to have known that the battery was replaced by a shit one before I had bought the phone, I would've had a much easier time
  - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
    Mind if I ask where you took the phone? I have a Jailbroken iPhone, and I'd love to find a good non-Apple repair place for the next time I need to get my battery swapped.
- dijit 7y ago
  There is an added incentive to do this with iPhones and Apple products in general though; because they hold such a high aftermarket value. It’s quite common to refurb expensive things because you can be relatively sure you will get a return on it. Double so if you can refurb with discount parts.
- caycep 7y ago
  My impression is batteries are more finicky, and things can go wrong more than other components. Repair a 3rd party screen, the worse that go wrong is maybe your contrast and image quality is a smidge worse than original But w/ all those reports of battery fires, explosions, or just duds, my suspicion is this is both more of a QC but also a "cover your ass" liability kind of move by Apple.
baxtr 7y ago
I see your point and adding to it: I believe the title is missing a half-sentence. "...to discourage repairs, because... Because of what actually? The "because" part mainly defines if Apple is doing "good" or "bad". Many people believe it is because they want to sell more new iPhones. I believe they're doing it to protect people like you. Likewise: "iFixit wrote this article, because..."
robocat 7y ago
I like the Apple approach here: don't prevent the phone from being fixed by third parties, but allow someone buying a second hand iPhone to check that parts are genuine and fitted competently. If buying a second hand device, you want to know the screen and parts are original. If they are not original parts, you can still choose to buy the iPhone, but you are likely to offer less. Or you might just say no if you are nervous about batteries exploding, or security. That helps everyone avoid a market for lemons. Third party components are very often lower quality in my experience. And if you've ever watched anyone fixing a phone, you would understand why many people don't want a phone "fixed" by phone technicians or DIY repairers. Preventing repairs (a la error 53) is evil. A place to see unofficial repairs is fine so long as it isn't obnoxious (no popups) and doesn't arbitrarily disable functionality (Apple shouldn't report battery health of a battery they didn't fit, as they can't do so reliably. Disabling truetone seems wrong: it's ok if a replacement screen looks bad). Disclaimer: generally I'm not an Apple fan.

addicted 7y ago

I’m not sure how this is supposed to help you in your situation. In fact it has muddied the waters for all situations because now even perfectly fine batteries will show a bad battery status.

ghostpepper 7y ago
Presumably when the seller showed OP the phone, before money had changed hands, the battery would have shown "non original" or simple "battery no good" and the OP would not have bought it (or bought it for a reduced price knowing he would need to replace the battery with a genuine one)
close04 7y ago
Having a status page in the phone that tells you which parts are original and which are aftermarket is very helpful when you buy a used phone or fix your own in a shop. You could easily see if you're getting an original battery or screen. Of course you should be allowed to fix your own phone in any shop and with any parts but this should be obvious in the phone to discourage fraud.
kalleboo 7y ago
In the situation where you're buying a used phone, it's better for some fine batteries to show a bad status than for some bad batteries to show a good status.

metalliqaz 7y ago

This anecdote so closely matches Apple's messaging on the topic, it makes me wonder if you are an Apple employee. However since it involves aftermarket sales, I suppose it's prudent to assume not. Let's look at it from a different angle. You got to take advantage of an aftermarket in order to find a cheap phone. In this case you got scammed, but for the time being you still have the option of getting a cheap battery replacement to fix your device with minimal losses. Apple's moves are clearly designed to squash an aftermarket. I'd prefer to have the option to buy cheap old phones. I'd especially prefer to be able to replace the batteries on my own old phones.

dmonitor 7y ago
I have had a similar experience, so it is not very uncommon for used phones. My phone's battery actually started expanding and nearly pushed the screen off of the back. Apple wouldn't touch it, though, so I just took it to another 3rd party battery replacer. If there was a way to have known that the battery was replaced by a shit one before I had bought the phone, I would've had a much easier time
- Wowfunhappy 7y ago
  Mind if I ask where you took the phone? I have a Jailbroken iPhone, and I'd love to find a good non-Apple repair place for the next time I need to get my battery swapped.
dijit 7y ago
There is an added incentive to do this with iPhones and Apple products in general though; because they hold such a high aftermarket value. It’s quite common to refurb expensive things because you can be relatively sure you will get a return on it. Double so if you can refurb with discount parts.
caycep 7y ago
My impression is batteries are more finicky, and things can go wrong more than other components. Repair a 3rd party screen, the worse that go wrong is maybe your contrast and image quality is a smidge worse than original But w/ all those reports of battery fires, explosions, or just duds, my suspicion is this is both more of a QC but also a "cover your ass" liability kind of move by Apple.

baxtr 7y ago

I see your point and adding to it: I believe the title is missing a half-sentence. "...to discourage repairs, because... Because of what actually? The "because" part mainly defines if Apple is doing "good" or "bad". Many people believe it is because they want to sell more new iPhones. I believe they're doing it to protect people like you. Likewise: "iFixit wrote this article, because..."

robocat 7y ago

I like the Apple approach here: don't prevent the phone from being fixed by third parties, but allow someone buying a second hand iPhone to check that parts are genuine and fitted competently. If buying a second hand device, you want to know the screen and parts are original. If they are not original parts, you can still choose to buy the iPhone, but you are likely to offer less. Or you might just say no if you are nervous about batteries exploding, or security. That helps everyone avoid a market for lemons. Third party components are very often lower quality in my experience. And if you've ever watched anyone fixing a phone, you would understand why many people don't want a phone "fixed" by phone technicians or DIY repairers. Preventing repairs (a la error 53) is evil. A place to see unofficial repairs is fine so long as it isn't obnoxious (no popups) and doesn't arbitrarily disable functionality (Apple shouldn't report battery health of a battery they didn't fit, as they can't do so reliably. Disabling truetone seems wrong: it's ok if a replacement screen looks bad). Disclaimer: generally I'm not an Apple fan.