Change iPhone Battery?

[Sawday]

Our three year old iPhone 4's are losing their battery charge at an increasing rate. I see that you can buy replacement batteries for around £5 on a well know auction site and diy videos abound. Has anyone here gone that route? Did battery life improve? Recommended?

 

[MacInWin]

I am very very leery of el-cheapo batteries. Mostly they are poorly made, don't actually hold a charge and are generally poor quality. You get EXACTLY what you pay for. A £5 battery is probably worth about £2 at best, mostly as a door stop.

 

[Sawday]

I am very very leery of el-cheapo batteries. Mostly they are poorly made, don't actually hold a charge and are generally poor quality. You get EXACTLY what you pay for. A £5 battery is probably worth about £2 at best, mostly as a door stop.

I thought that hence my post. But can 'real' ones be bought anywhere? And do THEY work better than our three year old ones?

 

[MacInWin]

Yes, at Apple and yes, they work better than three year old ones. It's not so much the age as the number of charge/discharge cycles. If you keep them shallow, you get more years than if you let it deeply discharge and then have a larger recharge. For example, if you let it go to zero and then charge, that's ONE cycle. If you let it get to about 75% and then charge, that's about a quarter cycle. So keeping your phone plugged in when ever you can is a good idea, as it shallows out the cycles. But no matter what you do, after about two years the chemistry (for now) just begins to decay no matter how gently you treat it.

 

[chscag]

Our three year old iPhone 4's are losing their battery charge at an increasing rate. I see that you can buy replacement batteries for around £5 on a well know auction site and diy videos abound. Has anyone here gone that route? Did battery life improve? Recommended?

I don't usually disagree with Jake, but we are talking about iPhone 4's which can be had for free from most US carriers. And are really not worth very much on the used market. If it were my iPhone 4, I would take a chance on the cheap battery and install it myself. Apple will gladly replace it for a fee; likely more than the phone is worth.

 

[Sawday]

I don't usually disagree with Jake, but we are talking about iPhone 4's which can be had for free from most US carriers. And are really not worth very much on the used market. If it were my iPhone 4, I would take a chance on the cheap battery and install it myself. Apple will gladly replace it for a fee; likely more than the phone is worth.

In the new UK 4's don't seem to be available. 4S's on the other hand they are typically £290 without a contract. Presently, I've got a great SIM only deal that serves my needs at just £7 a month so the last thing I want is a new contract. The 4, or 4S would serve my needs very well - I have a DSLR for photos, an IPod for music and there is no 4G signal for miles around. Nor do I need an iPhone 6 - I already have an iPad!

 

[chscag]

I guess I keep forgetting that there is a substantial price difference between the UK and US for Apple hardware. If an iPhone 4S is going for £290 there, then I agree with Jake's advice to use a quality battery. Apple will charge $80 here in the US to replace a battery in an iPhone which includes the price of the battery and labor.

 

[Sawday]

I guess I keep forgetting that there is a substantial price difference between the UK and US for Apple hardware. If an iPhone 4S is going for £290 there, then I agree with Jake's advice to use a quality battery. Apple will charge $80 here in the US to replace a battery in an iPhone which includes the price of the battery and labor.

Thanks - I'll check out Apple. Pity there's no store locally but I'll cope