Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#91

Post by CamperBob2 » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:31 PM UTC

aejnsn wrote: post #38

roboys wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is Apple is bored of truly innovating and now has to resort to nickle-diming customers to hit quarterly numbers. Tim Cook put on his "Make Changing Batteries Expensive Again" hat.

Don't go buy a BMW anytime soon. Have to recode the battery, and it's been that way for years.

Same with Porsche, but it doesn't actually hurt anything if you don't have the dealer install and code a replacement battery. The car doesn't nag you about it. The coding is primarily used to determine when the auto start/stop feature can be activated and for how long, but many/most owners turn that off anyway.

If Apple doesn't want to show the estimated health state for aftermarket batteries, that's fine, but they should have simply refrained from displaying that field. Displaying scary but meaningless warning messages just comes across as rent-seeking behavior. It will (or at least it should) encourage their customers to contact their representatives to support Right To Repair legislation.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#92

Post by Scoundreller » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:31 PM UTC

aejnsn wrote: post #38

roboys wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is Apple is bored of truly innovating and now has to resort to nickle-diming customers to hit quarterly numbers. Tim Cook put on his "Make Changing Batteries Expensive Again" hat.

Don't go buy a BMW anytime soon. Have to recode the battery, and it's been that way for years.

I profited from this:

Bought the code reader from AliExpress for $150. Then sold it locally once I was done for close to $200.

My biggest gripe was getting the battery in and out of the trunk.

Anywho, a half decent scan tool pays for itself.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#93

Post by dbg31415 » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:32 PM UTC

Torn on this.

1) I want to be able to open and repair my own things.

2) Every time I use a non-Apple battery, or buy a refurbished phone, I have issues ranging from battery life is shorter, to battery swelling.

I bought an 8s from Amazon’s refurbished line last week for a family member and the battery health started at 89% but is now at 81%. Sketch. Hard to trust any refurbished seller. Ultimately that leads to bad experiences with Apple products — my dad gets a replacement phone and all he knows is the battery life is poor.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#94

Post by velox_io » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:34 PM UTC

Apple has a good thing here. They limit repair and parts to only those who they authorise, keeping parts off the second-hand market.

And why replace a cable when you can replace both boards, then maybe the cable too. They do seem very quick to recommend replacing major parts or to buy new. They could try the easy fixes (such as cables), I think people would rather risk a small fee before deciding if it is worth shelling out for more expensive components.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#95

Post by antisthenes » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:37 PM UTC

magashna wrote: post #75

miles wrote: post #32

Have we all forgotten that mobile phone battery replacement was just this easy[0] not too long ago? Now, even a phone listed in "9 Best Phones With Removable Battery In 2019"[1] has a battery replacement process like this[2]. [0] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sxdXuKbivQ&t=1m0s [1] https://thedroidguy.com/2019/06/9-best-phones-removable-batt... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY07MujU2pM

Last time I remember having any easy access was the Galaxy S3. Pop open the back, swap battery. Done. I would even carry spares when on vacation if I needed some extra juice.

Galaxy S5 has fully replaceable batteries as well. As a phone, I'd say it still holds up rather well as a lower end mid-range phone today.

I'm holding onto it until Librem Phone comes out, which also has a replaceable battery.

Having phones with non-replaceable batteries just seems incredibly wasteful to me, so I won't ever buy one on general principle.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#96

Post by Wowfunhappy » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:38 PM UTC

dmonitor wrote: post #68

metalliqaz wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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

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.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#97

Post by buildzr » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:38 PM UTC

rootusrootus wrote: post #70

buildzr wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great, leave the device unplugged for a few weeks and any residual charge will drop off enough to invalidate your battery keys. That'd be a shit show.

If the battery voltage drops that low, the battery will never charge again anyway.

I mean, I hope you're leaving some distance between your RAM and the cutoff.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#98

Post by dymk » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:44 PM UTC

metalliqaz wrote: post #62

mstolpm wrote: post #40

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, b…

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…

What a typical HN reply. “I don’t believe you and I’m going to attempt to undermine your reputation by claiming you’re part of the enemy party”

Maybe it’s inline with Apple’s messaging because Apple’s messaging is inline with the customer concerns?

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#99

Post by tfandango » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:44 PM UTC

aejnsn wrote: post #38

roboys wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is Apple is bored of truly innovating and now has to resort to nickle-diming customers to hit quarterly numbers. Tim Cook put on his "Make Changing Batteries Expensive Again" hat.

Don't go buy a BMW anytime soon. Have to recode the battery, and it's been that way for years.

Even Chrysler is doing things like this. I had a hitch installed, super simple, all of the wires etc plug in to the appropriate places, but if you want to actually use the break lights, you need to visit the dealership to flip a boolean flag somewhere, otherwise the lights just don't work.

Re: Apple Is Locking iPhone Batteries to Discourage Repair

#100

Post by baxtr » Thu, Aug 08, 2019, 7:45 PM UTC

mstolpm wrote: post #40

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, b…

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..."