I 6 Plus phone could use a new battery. Batteries Plus will replace it for $60 if I remember correctly.
Is there other/ better options out there?

What's the likelihood of messing up an iPhone during a battery change?

If there's a good possibility of doing something wrong, the Apple store is probably a good bet. If they make a mistake, they'll probably fix it.

recently hunted down youtube 'easy change' demonstration on iPhone 5. Weighing the risk vs savings potential myself.

While 'perhaps doable' as it seems straight forward, there's some nuances .....

You can do it for around $30 if you are brave enough to do it yourself, via iFixit.com

They sell a kit with the battery, tools needed and extensive instructions. I've done a couple older iPhones (4 models) and will be doing one for a 5c I'm refurbishing for my Dad who is finally leaving the flip phone world.

Just GO SLOW and follow the instructions to the letter, there's a million tiny bits in there easily lost, bent or broken!

Just did this on my iPhone 6.
The Apple store charged me $79 to replace the battery and it only came with a 90-day warranty. I might have been better going to one of the independents (Experimac around the Atlanta area) where they would charge $39 to do the same.

Be wary of battery quality. I went to one of the cheap jobbers and their $39 battery replacements were worse than what I was replacing. Ended up refunding and going to a place that charged almost as much as Apple. Worked much better. Any work not done by Apple or Apple authorized and Apple won't touch your phone at a later date if that matters.

Check apple support first. There is a known issue with a certain batch of 6 and 6S IPhones. My wife and I had our batteries replaced for free at the Apple Store. Even if they are not under this program, I think it would have been $60. They do a great job if you have one nearby.

I'd use the Apple Store, if you get a "non-Apple" battery there's no telling how long it will last.

I replaced the battery in my 5. I bought the battery and tools on Amazon for about 75% less money than the local non-Apple affiliated store wanted. The replacement went smoothly, the battery ran like a champ, and about 6 months later sold the iPhone 5 in under 5 minutes on Fleabay.

Did it in the past with an older iPhone. Wasn't too difficult. Bought the battery and tool from ifixit.com. Followed some online videos.

I would go to apple and pay the $60. With my last phone it had a user replaceable battery. I bought one that was labeled factory casio (same as my phone), within a month it was worse than the battery I replaced. So i compared the two batteries and the writing on the label on the battery was slightly off and it was clearly a knock off........There are so many fake batteries out there, at least with apple you know you're getting a new OEM battery.

I'm now leaning toward taking it to the Apple Store.
I don't think I want it tackle the DIY option.

quote:

Originally posted by Hammer1967:
I'm now leaning toward taking it to the Apple Store.
I don't think I want it tackle the DIY option.

Also check with your cell phone carrier, you might be able to upgrade to a new phone for a reasonable price and be able to sell yours on ebay and might come out cheaper.

I just had a great experience at the Apple Store. I dropped my IPhone 7 plus off my motorcycle at 75mph. It was in a life proof case and survived the fall and bouncing across 2 lanes of traffic. The camera didn't was the only victim and the case was tweaked from the impact so it wasn't fixable. I had AppleCare so the cost was $99 to replace the phone. They were helpful and when I left the new phone was fully working with everything.

quote:

Originally posted by Hammer1967:
I'm now leaning toward taking it to the Apple Store.
I don't think I want it tackle the DIY option.

I think this your best bet. You could save a few bucks but your consuming your time and there are no guarantees.

In this case, at least how I use my phone, I would pay for convenience.

A very good friend of mine works at the Apple Store.

This is his reply:


Out of warranty battery replacements are $79.

We will not replace a battery if it is third party due to safety concerns for the customer and our employees:

If the battery is swollen we will replace the entire phone at the cost of the battery.

If the battery is swollen under warranty full swap at $0.00.

If phone is in warranty and not swollen. And battery fails then it would be a battery replacement at no cost.

quote:

Originally posted by wxdave:
Check apple support first. There is a known issue with a certain batch of 6 and 6S IPhones. My wife and I had our batteries replaced for free at the Apple Store. Even if they are not under this program, I think it would have been $60. They do a great job if you have one nearby.

We bought two new iPhone 6 Plus phones at The Apple Store in December 2014. Two years later, just about a week or two short of warranty expiration, my wife noticed that her battery was swollen -- the phone looked like it was gonna 'splode all over the wall (John Pinette reference).

Apple store just gave her a replacement phone. My phone, same model (different color), purchased from the same store at the same time, has not manifested any problems.

I did a battery swap-out this past friday night on an iPhone 5C that my Dad now has.

Got the kit from iFixit for around 30 bucks, and it came with the tools needed, I also downloaded and printed out the step-by-step instructions for the disassembly/reassembly.

Those screws are TINY if you have less than 20/20 eyesight, I'd say forget it. It also helped to make a piece of paper up with the steps and the screws from each step along with their lengths as there are several and not all the same length, putting the wrong screw in the wrong place could fubar your logic board pretty quick.

I recommend the Apple Store. About a year ago, the battery of my iPhone 5 was having short battery life. I took it to the Apple Store to have the battery replaced. But the Genius said that the battery was expanding, and gave me a brand new iPhone 5 for free. I suspect that Samsung, the battery manufacturer, paid the bill.