Apple Will Replace Your Old iPhone Battery Even If It Passes A Diagnostic Test

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Apple has reportedly been struggling to meet its sales projections on the iPhone X (which arrives with a hefty $999 starting price), so it makes sense that they’re pulling out some stops to make existing customers happy. This includes Apple’s decision to lower the price on older iPhone battery replacements from $79 to $29 after it was revealed that they were slowing down the phones in an attempt to prevent battery and performance issues. Now, Apple has confirmed that there won’t be any Genius Bar haggling over whether they’ll replace batteries after witnessing diagnostic test results.

French tech blog iGeneration initially revealed details from an internal memo — which told employees to replace batteries in iPhone 6s (or any newer phones) regardless of diagnostic test outcome — that has circulated in Apple Stores. MacRumors did some legwork to confirm the report:

Apple has since independently confirmed to MacRumors that it will agree to replace an eligible battery for a $29 fee, regardless of whether an official diagnostic test shows that it is still able to retain less than 80 percent of its original capacity. The concession appears to have been made to mollify the anger of customers stoked by headlines suggesting that Apple artificially slows down older iPhones to drive customers to upgrade to newer models.

MacRumors also makes note of so-far unsubstantiated anecdotes about Apple refunding $50 to customers who paid $79 for battery replacements prior to December 30, which is when the $29 price officially came down. However, it appears that those who claim to have received refunds approached Apple with requests. So if true, these retroactive refunds will require customers to take the initiative before becoming a reality.

(Via MacRumors)

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