iPhone Battery Repair Options For Yourself

So you've an iPhone that alright except for one thing: the battery. Nowadays you're lucky to make it to midafternoon before the power gives out. A common issue.

Alas, all phone batteries lose capacity with time. You'll probably first start to find it following a year, then really detect it after 18 months. Once it gets intolerable, you've only several options:

purchase a brand new phone

Begin using a battery case

Replace the battery

Purchasing a brand new phone seems ridiculous, especially given the cost. Along with the last few iPhone models have yielded more than boosts in speed and camera quality convincing reasons to upgrade, in my view. (And perhaps you don't want to give up your headset jack.)

A battery case may help, however it is going to add bulk and weight to your phone while forcing you to change from Lightning wires to Micro-Universal Serial Bus. Both are hassles.

That leaves replacing the battery, which is not a simple solution. It's the best one, because a brand new battery will buy your iPhone another couple of years of useful service. The only question is whether or not or not to do the job yourself or seek out a professional.

But first the warranty

Considering replacing the battery entails breaking open the iPhone, it's only logical to ask: Won't this void my warranty? In case the telephone is more than a year old, the warranty has already died -- unless you purchased an AppleCare+ plan, wherein case you may be entitled to a battery replacement from Apple.

But assuming you're post-coverage, it doesn't matter if you go Do it yourself or 3rd party. Nevertheless, if you hire a service or provider to replace the battery, then you may receive a warranty on that repair -- something you won't get if you do the work yourself.

The Do it yourself option

A kit like this one is going to cost you everywhere from $10-$30.

How hard can it be to substitute an Apple iPhone battery? Remove some screws, open the case, take out the old battery, then plug into the new one and you're done, right?

Right. Except those screws are little. The case is not easy to get open. Inside, you've to remove a bunch more screws and a few fragile ribbon wires only to get in the battery. That is glued in position. Then you need to do all of it .

In case you've never ventured inside an Apple iPhone before, this might be some nerve-wracking operation. It can help to get video-tutorial guidance (see below), but trust me when I say it's easy to make a mistake. And if you flub on the way, you'll brick your phone.

The Do it yourself option, however, is the most economical -- even when it only saves you about $20. Replacement battery kits are available from Amazon, eBay and countless other resources, nearly all of them priced everywhere from $10-$30. Personally, I recommend spending a couple of dollars more to purchase from a reliable (and customer-reviewed) vendor on Amazon.