iPhones with third-party batteries will now be eligible for Genius Bar and Apple Authorised Service Provider (AASP) repairs.
The report was first highlighted by French blog iGeneration. It’s a noteworthy change for Apple, with Genius Bar and AASPs previously having to turn away users with an iPhone with a third-party battery; even if the issue wasn’t related to the battery.
Now, however, if the repair is unrelated to the battery, both Genius Bars and AASPs are able to proceed with the service, dismissing any presence of the third-party battery. Apple’s internal document suggests that this may extend to repairs to the display, microphones, logic board etc. There will be no extra charge because of the third-party battery.
Apple relaxed its policy for iPhone repairs back in 2017 after allowing devices with third-party displays to be serviced.
Kay-Kay Clapp, iFixit’s director of communications said: “This decision proves that now, more than ever, the third-party repair ecosystem is an integral part of maintaining Apple’s high-quality customer experience. If Apple is getting enough third-party repaired phones for a policy change, they clearly don’t have the reach or capacity to maintain all the iPhones that they’ve sold. All of us, including Apple, benefit from the service provided by the repair community.”
Conditions of repairs
If the pair is battery related, Apple will provide an official Apple battery replacement for the standard fee. Though, prior to the repair, the Genius Bar must drain the third-party battery to a charge of 60% or below.
Should the iPhone’s battery tabs be broken or missing, or if there is excessive adhesive, the Genius Bar and AASPs are required to replace the device for the cost of a general battery replacement.
Such guidelines came into effect in early March and will apply worldwide; users should remember that iPhones with third-party microphones, lightning connectors, headphone jacks, volume buttons, logic boards, enclosures, TrueDepth sensor arrays, and several other components, still remain ineligible for repair by AASPs and Genius Bars.
