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Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

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Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#61

Post by NovemberWhiskey »

srvmshr wrote: post #13

If made to fulfill the word of the law without actually having to follow it in spirit, this would be my modus operandi too. By designing $1200 deposit, $49 rental & two Pelican suitcases of tools and manuals, while keeping the battery replacement price same at $69 (what you'd normally pay in total at Store), they have entirely disincentivized self-repair without actually breaking any law. Masterstroke /s

Did they conveniently forget to say that Apple will give you a further refund in you return the replaced part? Ah, yes, they did. In the case of the battery for iPhone 13 mini described in the article, that's an additional refund of $24.15.

Since I've never heard of anyone getting back the broken part when getting an in-store repair, it'd be reasonable to compare at the $44.85 price, wouldn't it?

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#62

Post by [deleted] »

mgdlbp wrote: post #46

I wonder why the battery arrived flat—aren't Li-ions charged to ~50% at the factory for maximum shelf life (or rather 30%, the max allowed for shipping)? I don't think the battery in question had time to self-discharge: it's a model A2660 introduced with the iPhone 13 in 2021, and the Li-ion self-discharge rate is only several percent per month at full charge, with discharge plateauing at lower voltages.

[deleted]

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#63

Post by Nextgrid »

fartcannon wrote: post #59
srvmshr wrote: post #13

If made to fulfill the word of the law without actually having to follow it in spirit, this would be my modus operandi too. By designing $1200 deposit, $49 rental & two Pelican suitcases of tools and manuals, while keeping the battery replacement price same at $69 (what you'd normally pay in total at Store), they have entirely disincentivized self-repair without actually breaking any law. Masterstroke /s

I have never understood this kind of compliance. The hordes that buy their disposable garbage aren't going to care, they've shown repeatedly that they're insensitive to, sometimes even aggressive towards their own autonomy. So why do this? Just to _waste_ more? It's so petulant.

There’s also a PR aspect to this in showing that 80 lbs worth of expensive equipment is the only way to replace batteries safely.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#64

Post by thescriptkiddie »

Gigachad wrote: post #33
jeroenhd wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Galaxy XCover 5 is waterproof (IP68) and has a replaceable battery. It's built for extreme conditions so it looks a little funky, but it's clearly possible to have both. Sure, gluing the battery into a closed container is a lot easier than developing novel waterproofing methods, but it's not impossible to do so.

Almost all consumers would prefer to take their phone in for a battery replacement than have it look weird. Considering a replacement is something you do maybe once while the form factor is something you will always be affected by.

I used to carry a spare battery with me and swap them in 10 seconds when the one in the phone died. Now I have to carry a much bulkier battery powered charger and USB cable that takes an hour to recharge the phone.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#65

Post by Aeolun »

srvmshr wrote: post #13

If made to fulfill the word of the law without actually having to follow it in spirit, this would be my modus operandi too. By designing $1200 deposit, $49 rental & two Pelican suitcases of tools and manuals, while keeping the battery replacement price same at $69 (what you'd normally pay in total at Store), they have entirely disincentivized self-repair without actually breaking any law. Masterstroke /s

I think the EU is generally better at designing it’s regulations to avoid exactly this problem.

Probably something to the extend of “tools to repair must be found in any general DIY store”.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#66

Post by totetsu »

lstodd wrote: post #47
jeroenhd wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Galaxy XCover 5 is waterproof (IP68) and has a replaceable battery. It's built for extreme conditions so it looks a little funky, but it's clearly possible to have both. Sure, gluing the battery into a closed container is a lot easier than developing novel waterproofing methods, but it's not impossible to do so.

What's so novel about rubber gaskets? My Nokia 5210 from 2002 was waterproof, and its electronics were actually suspended inside shock-absorbing case so that it survived being thrown against a wall repeatedly.

Rough break up?

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#67

Post by vlovich123 »

fartcannon wrote: post #59
srvmshr wrote: post #13

If made to fulfill the word of the law without actually having to follow it in spirit, this would be my modus operandi too. By designing $1200 deposit, $49 rental & two Pelican suitcases of tools and manuals, while keeping the battery replacement price same at $69 (what you'd normally pay in total at Store), they have entirely disincentivized self-repair without actually breaking any law. Masterstroke /s

I have never understood this kind of compliance. The hordes that buy their disposable garbage aren't going to care, they've shown repeatedly that they're insensitive to, sometimes even aggressive towards their own autonomy. So why do this? Just to _waste_ more? It's so petulant.

Probably to make sure that their iPhone repair business (and that of their authorized partners) doesn’t just collapse by getting massively undercut by unauthorized resellers that can use the official repair kit.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#68

Post by Gigachad »

thescriptkiddie wrote: post #64
Gigachad wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost all consumers would prefer to take their phone in for a battery replacement than have it look weird. Considering a replacement is something you do maybe once while the form factor is something you will always be affected by.

I used to carry a spare battery with me and swap them in 10 seconds when the one in the phone died. Now I have to carry a much bulkier battery powered charger and USB cable that takes an hour to recharge the phone.

That stopped being an issue for most people a while ago. The latest gen phones last all day under reasonably heavy usage and charge within a few minutes on a wall charger.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#69

Post by cmbuck »

mgdlbp wrote: post #46

I wonder why the battery arrived flat—aren't Li-ions charged to ~50% at the factory for maximum shelf life (or rather 30%, the max allowed for shipping)? I don't think the battery in question had time to self-discharge: it's a model A2660 introduced with the iPhone 13 in 2021, and the Li-ion self-discharge rate is only several percent per month at full charge, with discharge plateauing at lower voltages.

I suspect the battery arrived in "cut-off" mode. This is a mode which reduces battery drain specifically during the period between manufacture and customer use. In this mode the battery pack control circuit (inside the battery pack) keeps the battery terminals disconnected (no voltage on the output) until it receives a signal from a control unit (or microcontroller) in the device. Once the charging cable is connected to the phone it powers on control unit which essentially turns the battery on, and it's normal operation from there.

Using battery cutoff mode reduces the discharge rate especially during shipping/logistics periods, where the battery may be in transit for mouths or sitting on a shelf for a long time.

If the battery Apple shipped was the same OEM part, they probably just ship all of them from the battery factory in cut off mode--no special process for the batteries allocated for these repair kits.

Re: Apple Shipped Me a 79-Pound iPhone Repair Kit to Fix a 1.1-Ounce Battery

#70

Post by canuckintime »

NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #61
srvmshr wrote: post #13

If made to fulfill the word of the law without actually having to follow it in spirit, this would be my modus operandi too. By designing $1200 deposit, $49 rental & two Pelican suitcases of tools and manuals, while keeping the battery replacement price same at $69 (what you'd normally pay in total at Store), they have entirely disincentivized self-repair without actually breaking any law. Masterstroke /s

Did they conveniently forget to say that Apple will give you a further refund in you return the replaced part? Ah, yes, they did. In the case of the battery for iPhone 13 mini described in the article, that's an additional refund of $24.15. Since I've never heard of anyone getting back the broken part when getting an in-store repair, it'd be reasonable to compare at the $44.85 price, wouldn't it?

They didn't 'conveniently' forget; it's mentioned and accounted for in the article:

> $49 to rent Apple’s tools for a week, more than wiping out any refund I might get for returning the old used part.

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