Yesterday I traveled almost 2 hours to an Apple Store to get the battery of my iPad Pro 10,5" replaced, since it only lasts 5/6 hours instead of the advertised 10 hours. Unfortunately the Genius refused to replace my battery, because an Apple internal tool stated that the quality was still 91% (both coconutBattery and iMazing show that about 75% of the original design capacity is left).
Before I made the appointment I let Apple check the quality remotely. At that time they said the quality was 80%⌠This is exactly the cut-off point for free repairs if you still have warrantee. My iPad is far too old for that, but I was more than happy to pay the advertised âŹ109 myself to get this problem solved. Escalating to a manager did not help; instead, he said so many stupid things that my customer experience only got worse⌠(I saw Apple at its worst?)
Is Apple allowed to refuse an advertised/paid battery replacement, just because they consider the battery to be too good?
Or do we have a âright to repairâ here in the EU as well?
When I took my iPhone 6S to an Apple Store to have the battery replaced it was so old there was no question it was out of warranty. So they replaced my battery without question.
Were you asking Apple to install a third party battery?
Were you asking Apple to install a third party battery?
No.
I think their attitude might be related to the fact that they are unable to actually replace the battery (due to their bad design) and have to replace the entire iPadâŚ
Iâm in Canada so I canât speak for the process in the EU, but I tried to get my battery replaced on my 2018 iPad Pro for similar reasons and they said no (though very politely). When I asked for reasons, given that they will do replacements for iPhones before the cutoff, they told me it was just a corporate policy not to replace the battery if their tool shows the health above 80%, regardless if the customer is happy to pay or not.
I suspect it might be because the replacement in store is more likely a swap for a refurb and they send in the iPad to get a proper battery replacement in a central facility or something, but thatâs really just a guess on my part.
They would argue that you donât need a new battery, and you (the customer) is not qualified to say you need one. Fixing the battery is unlikely to solve the issue if your existing battery is healthy.
This of course assumes that the test is accurate, which they will say it is, and your experience says it is not, so
A battery replacement (which apparently means an iPad swap for iPads) was advertised as costing âŹ109, but they refused that because the tool reported 91%.
After complaining to the manager I got an âofferâ to buy the same 7 year old model for a bit more than âŹ550⌠(well actually in a different color, because Apple no longer has space gray models in stock)
Apple is free to contract, with whoever they want. So they could refuse the service, if you do not have a valid contract (guaranty) with them.
There is currently, as far as I know, no âRight to repairâ for SmartPhones/Tablets and so on in Europe, and even if we get there in the future, it is a âDesign Regulationâ, which means it is only applicable onto future designed products, not reaching backwards.
I would look for an independent service to replace the battery, if you really thing it is worth it, and, if you had an appointment (so you have a Apple-Filenumber or something like that), after an Check with Apple Service on the Phone in advance, I would send Apple a Bill for the time and travel costs you had during that âExperienceâ.
Your complaint that the battery no longer lasts 10 hours may not have been considered valid by Apple. It is possible that an âofficialâ battery test (as Apple performs one for an iPad) would have been close enough to 10 hours that, given the age of the iPad, would have been deemed acceptable.
Apple uses that 80% standard for battery health and will not accept a 3rd party source for an accurate diagnosis. Their system requires them to run a Diagnostic test and if that device does not fail per the internal testing, it will not allow the Genius or Tech Expert/Specialist to create a repair or swap. Managers are unable to override this.
The iPad is one of the few Apple devices that the battery is not replaced via an in-store repair. The entire device is swapped out for a like product (ie: new or refurbished/remanufactured) under warranty or cost if out of warranty.
Sorry you had a poor experience at that store. Sometimes we would run that Diagnostic test multiple times in the off chance it would show 79% or lower. You should have been told after the Remote Testing that your iPad did not qualify for a battery swap at this time. That would have saved you a long drive and frustration. That person should have known that fact and they did you a disservice in not sharing that info with you.
I showed them the Battery page on my iPad, which clearly shows that the battery is empty after 5/6 hours. They then looked at the activity graph (to see whether there was much background activity, which there was not) and told me that I should try using different Apps (not pointing out which ones, just blaming App developers in general).
I looked but did not find a statement of the age of your iPad and whether you had purchased Apple Care. Sounds like you were out of warranty, regardless. The terms of Appleâs warranty and service offerings seem quite clear. iPad Repair & Service - Apple Support. Please read the entire page again. On a phone call and in the store (probably more accurate), your battery tested okay (80% or greater). Iâm not sure that you have any recourse other than taking Apple to court (which I donât recommend).
Perhaps is environmental policy? Like, not changing batteries if they are still in what they deem is good shape. Other than that, itâs absurd that they would refuse selling a new battery, is it not?
I think your best solution is to wait it out a month and hope the battery can then be replaced.
BTW, my iPad Pro 10.5 does not get 5-6 hours by any stretch, itâs more in the 4 hours range.
This
does not say, that your iPad is working 10h, independent of its usage.
It just says, that you could âUp to 10 hours surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to musicâ
If you are doing anything else than that, you could not expect that 10h, and if you have a look onto several tests of the 10,5ââ Pro, a lot of those test came to around 5-7h of normal working capacity of the batteries.
So from that point, it seems to me, that your iPad is still doing pretty good.
As @Ulli said there are so many variables that go into how long your iPad will last on a charge, not just apps (I can kill my iPad Pro in about 3 hours) but also things like brightness, room temperature, etc.
Itâs like a carâs advertised MPG - sure itâs possible but you need perfect conditions.
Could be (and I say could because I have no idea what you are doing) that your iPad is fine, and this is why apple wonât replace your battery.
