I revved up an iPhone 6s Plus with a new battery | iGeneration

When word started that old, worn out batteries could slow down iPhones, I immediately thought of my husband's iPhone 6s Plus. He's been using this phone for over a year — after a year in my hands — and he started complaining about performance issues a few weeks ago. It was not iOS 11 that reduced the execution speed, it never suffered from the famous keyboard bug for example, its apps worked normally, just like the system... until it was. no longer the case.

In particular, he frequently complained of slowdowns in the animations, blockages (or freezes) which do not even last a second, but which can be particularly annoying, especially if they are present everywhere. I could see that they were indeed very present, if only by opening the Settings: the scrolling of the lists was blocked almost every time you opened a new section.

Before hearing about a battery connection, I thought iOS 11 was to blame and hoped an update would fix the problem. This new explanation seemed rather credible in the case of this iPhone 6s Plus, where the battery had never been changed since the acquisition of the phone in September 2015 and the device had been used a lot. It was approaching 600 cycles (one full discharge and one full charge) and was probably not in good condition.

Moreover, its user also complained of having to recharge the phone several times a day and he always had an external battery with him when he went out. Replacing the battery was something I was considering doing in the medium term anyway and if that could fix the performance issue as well, that's even better.

Apple replaced the battery with bad grace

So I booked an appointment at the local Apple Store's Genius Bar to swap out the iPhone 6s Plus battery. I knew that the operation was billed 89 € for a phone out of warranty. It's more expensive than in the shops that you find everywhere, but it's the assurance of a perfectly done job and of keeping an official battery in the device. The new battery installed by Apple is also guaranteed for 1 year, an advantage that few third-party players offer.

What I didn't know when making the appointment was that I was going to have to fight to get Apple to accept my €90 and replace the battery. “Beating” is a strong word, but official policy is to only replace defective batteries and not those that are simply worn down by time and use. And Apple has a very precise definition of abnormal and supported wear: the battery must reach 80% of its capacity after 500 cycles.

This measurement is made in relation to the theoretical manufacturing capacity of the iPhone. In the case of the 6s Plus, the battery has a capacity of 2,915 mAh: when you fully charge the phone, you have this electrical charge available. Over time, the theoretical capacity decreases. It's perfectly normal, it's linked to the components that are used to create the batteries and Apple must also comply with it, for lack of having (yet?) found a reliable way to circumvent the fundamental rules of physics and the chemistry.

In short, a battery wears out over time and that's normal. Unless it wears out faster than it was designed for, which is then a sign of abnormal premature wear. Apple puts the slider at 80% capacity loss for 500 cycles, which in my case means that the iPhone 6s Plus battery must have reached a capacity of 2332 mAh or less.

I tried to find out if the iPhone 6s Plus used by my spouse fell into this category before the appointment, but there is no reliable way to tell. At most, you can know the number of cycles and whether the battery is faulty, in the sense that there is a problem that requires replacement as soon as possible. I knew the cycle count was above Apple's benchmark, but that's about it.

Apple, fortunately, has more reliable tools to measure this information. Whether you go to the Genius Bar at an Apple Store or call AppleCare, you'll do a full remote diagnosis either way. This tool provides a lot of information on an iPhone and in particular a very complete profile of the battery.

This profile generated during the diagnosis determines if the battery is in poor condition, or if it has worn out prematurely. In general, the instruction is to propose a replacement if the remaining capacity has fallen below the bar of 80% of remaining capacity. The replacement will be free if the device is under warranty or if you have subscribed to an AppleCare+ contract and if the report is made before the end of the contract. Otherwise, it will cost €89.

Until then, it's easy, but the situation becomes more complicated if the diagnostic tool establishes that the battery has not dropped below 80% capacity remaining. In this case, the employees of the Apple Stores and those you will have on the phone are instructed not to offer the replacement of the battery, even if the customer is ready to pay the requested amount and claims it.

That's actually what happened to me. The battery of the iPhone 6s Plus brought to the Apple Store was diagnosed with a capacity of 85%, not far from the limit therefore, but still in the green on the graph produced by the tool. This graph contains three distinct areas: a green one indicating that everything is fine, a yellow one for dead batteries and a red one for defective batteries. A point represents the state of the inspected iOS device and in my case, this point was well in the green, even if it was not very far from the yellow, recognized the Apple specialist.

Being above 80%, but not much above, I was in a gray area where Apple does not necessarily refuse the exchange, but where instructions are given to check if there is not another explanation to my problems. Basically, my interlocutor was encouraged to check if there was not another reason for the problems of slowness that I mentioned, rather than replacing the battery. This is the instruction, but he was all the more motivated since he had obviously not heard of the controversy and even less of Apple's official response published the night before.

That the message is not passed in all Apple Store less than 24 hours after the official communication of the manufacturer, it is quite logical. I also understand very well that the instruction is to check if there is not another explanation, before replacing the battery. Apple has several reasons to argue and they are all perfectly defensible:

All of these reasons are valid on their own, although it could be argued that Apple Store congestion is not the customer's problem and any repair shop will happily change a battery without caring in the least. recycling of the old. Although I must admit that I was surprised at this policy initially, I am now convinced that it makes sense, but that more leeway should be left for cases like mine.

The specialist who handled my case was very diligent in disproving the idea that my weak battery had anything to do with the slowness and I don't think he ever really believed me. Convinced there was another reason, he inspected the apps that were draining the battery the most and blamed Geekbench, an app he didn't know about. It was the biggest use of the last seven days, sure, but that's because I had done a battery life test the day before to gauge the battery.

Even though the person picking me up at the Genius Bar had the best of intentions, the conversation shifted from whether the battery was really the cause of the issues to a detailed and sometimes misplaced analysis of actual battery usage. 'iPhone. I've been treated to all the urban myths, from closing apps in the multitasking interface to improve performance, to short hour-long recharges that would be bad for the battery, and I felt like I was scrutinized and even criticized for my request.

I'm not trying to overwhelm anyone in particular, but this somewhat painful exchange in the Apple Store underlines that there is a problem right now. Apple ended up, under pressure from the media and probably from its customers, by recognizing that performance was deliberately limited to preserve aging batteries. But at the same time, the manufacturer still instructs its teams not to replace iPhone batteries, except when absolutely necessary.

I hope that the guidelines will change and that cases like mine will be handled more quickly and easily. Because yes, changing the battery of this iPhone 6s Plus had the desired effect.

Conclusion: (almost) a new iPhone for 90 €

Before taking the iPhone to the Apple Store, I evaluated its theoretical performance by performing a measurement with Geekbench, our benchmark tool for testing. The score obtained was quite low: less than 1,400 points in single-core, barely 2,500 points in multi-core. After changing the battery, I repeated the same test and the scores were better, to a point that I hadn't imagined: more than 2,500 in single-core, around 4,400 in multi.

On this iPhone 6s Plus, simply changing the battery improved the theoretical performance dramatically. A gain of around 80% against €90? I think it's a great deal! And the theoretical tests are good, but the impact is also present in use.

It's been about 24 hours as of this writing since he picked up an iPhone with a fresh battery and the primary user is thrilled. He did not spot any blockage of the interface, in particular in Messages which often posed problem before. It's naturally very subjective, but he has the feeling of having found a phone like new, in any case with performances at the level of those he had six months or a year ago.

My example is far from isolated, many of you have testified in the comments to report very clear performance gains by changing a battery. Upsilona, ​​for example, was very clear:

Or for Nathalex:

It should be noted, however, that not everyone has made this observation. Some readers have changed the battery of their iPhone and found no difference, which probably means that it was, indeed, not the cause of the problem.

This is why Apple is right to ask its employees to check if there are no other causes than the battery in the event of a problem. And if a battery is in perfect condition, the manufacturer is also right to refuse a replacement, even if a customer requests it. However, now that we know that performance is indeed reduced when a battery begins to fail, we should also relax the rules and accept the installation of new batteries for this reason.

In addition, Apple would undoubtedly be interested in giving more information to its users. The battery section of the iOS settings warns when the battery needs to be replaced, when it is in the diagnostic red zone, but that is no longer enough. There should at least be a notification somewhere when the system begins to be restricted to preserve the battery. And why not use the tools reserved for Apple Stores to integrate them in one form or another? They are complete while remaining simple to understand and they are very educational for those interested in the subject.

To conclude, if you are using a two or three year old iPhone and you find its performance poor, do not hesitate to ask Apple to carry out a diagnosis. You can do this at an Apple Store or by calling AppleCare, either way and it'll be free and you'll at least get an idea of ​​the battery's health.

If you are offered to change the battery, you can then decide whether the €89 requested is justified. I cannot guarantee that the performance will be improved for sure after the operation. I can simply bring my testimony and that of several readers: changing the battery has indeed brought a boost to performance. What extend the life of an iPhone, at least until the next generation, which is significant.