The subject is nothing new: we are talking about the battery replacement program for iPhones. Yes, that case in which Apple reduced the value of replacing old / old batteries after the controversy involving the reduction in the performance of devices without making this clear to users.
In addition to the discount on the service price (which in Brazil went from R $ 449 to R $ 149 – only for iPhones 6 or higher), Apple implemented the “Battery Health” feature in iOS 11.3, so we can choose to let the device explore the full potential of the processor even with an old battery. And isn’t it that we have a new controversy over a controversy? Yeah…
On the page that covers battery replacement information, Apple says the following:
If your iPhone has any damage that could affect battery replacement, such as a broken screen, this problem will need to be resolved before replacing the battery. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair.
I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. To change the battery, you need to open the device. And hardly anyone can mount an iPhone perfectly with a broken screen. So, the rule of having to change the broken part first, which somehow interferes with changing the battery, is perfectly plausible.
What It’s impossible to understand is to consider a small dent (which does not interfere with anything in the reassembly of the device) as something that must be resolved before changing the battery. And that’s what happened to Josh Landsburgh, as reported by BBC. He mailed the device to Apple and received an answer that he could only change the battery if he paid £ 200 (about R $ 970) to solve the problem of the small dent.
They are trying to regain trust and come back to you with, “Give us more money than you originally intended.” I think it is shocking, they have enough money, they are Apple.
Something even worse happened to David Bowler. His phone was working without a problem – except for the old battery. But Apple said there was damage inside the phone – more specifically the microphone and the front speaker, which would be defective. To settle, he would have to pay £ 250 (about R $ 1,210); then, yes, the phone would be able to change the battery.
Both Landsburgh and Bowler gave up on replacing the battery with Apple and opted for outsourced technical assistance. Guess! The batteries were replaced without any problem (the dent apparently did not disturb anything and the microphone / speaker, according to the person who made the change, was in perfect condition).
Attorney Matthew Purcell said, “Consumers are getting angry because at the moment when Apple should be rebuilding trust, it looks like they are putting up barriers in the way of people fixing their phones.”
It would be normal if we were talking about two isolated cases (after all, all companies are subject to errors like this). The problem is that some readers of some sites that commented on such news (such as the 9to5Mac) have already raised their hands saying that something similar is also happening to them.
That is, we have two options here:
- Apple actually made mistakes in these assessments – even if they are “many” customers, we are talking about a very, very low percentage taking into account the thousands / millions of cases of changing batteries;
- The company is purposefully hampering the battery replacement process in order to profit more.
I strongly believe that it is the first case, precisely because of the number of reports as soon as they appeared. Still, groups that protect consumer rights are already eyeing the possible problem. We will see how this story unfolds.
