I replaced my iPhone battery at home and you can replace yours too

If you just put a new iPhone 16 in your pocket, you probably don’t have to worry about your battery for a while. But those of you with older iPhones (or older Android phones) may notice that your battery is starting to show signs of aging and it’s time for a replacement. Apple has its own do-it-yourself repair programBut even if you don’t use it, you can still easily replace the battery of your iPhone at home. With affordable third-party components and various tools available for purchase, you can open up your iPhone and replace that old, dead battery (or replace a cracked screen), often for less money than having a company do it for you.

That’s exactly what I did: I replaced the old battery of a well-used iPhone 6 to give it a new life. I was thrilled when I found the phone on eBay in 2020 for just £75 (about $100 or AU$140). That’s a huge savings over a new iPhone 16 Pro, but the battery was so outdated that the software had to artificially throttle performance to prevent it from shutting down. Rather than put the phone down and have buyer’s remorse, I decided to purchase a replacement battery and tools iFixit and try to replace the battery yourself.

Read more: Best phone for 2024

It took just over an hour, but I was able to safely replace the battery and get the iPhone 6 working perfectly again. I’m not giving step-by-step instructions here — head to iFixit and grab a kit if that’s what you’re looking for – but I do want to describe my experience, including how easy the process was, and hopefully answer some of the questions you may have if you also need a new battery.

If you have a more recent model (an iPhone 12 or newer), check this first Apple’s new repair options and see if you can fit a replacement with parts direct from the company.

Please note that any maintenance you perform on your own devices is entirely at your own risk.

1. Why should you replace an iPhone battery?

Batteries age over time, and considering the iPhone 6 was released 10 years ago, it’s no surprise that the one I bought wasn’t working in top condition. One time, the phone unexpectedly restarted while in use, and a warning flashed that read: “This iPhone unexpectedly shut down because the battery could not provide the necessary peak power. Performance management has been applied to help prevent this from happening again. .” Even the phone itself knew it had a bad battery.

In short, a phone’s performance can be limited if it can no longer meet its power demands. There is the option to disable the throttling, but this will result in more frequent crashes. Neither situation is ideal, so replacing the battery seemed like a smart solution for me since it wasn’t my headphones and I was willing to take the risk.

2. How much does a replacement iPhone battery cost?

The problem with my situation specifically was that I bought the phone for so little in the first place that spending more money on a battery replacement service wiped out some of those initial savings. Apple’s replacement service costs £49, which is more than half of what I paid for the iPhone 6 I bought. Because I was in the middle of a coronavirus lockdown when I tried this, I couldn’t get to an Apple Store to receive it, and if I sent it by post the total cost would be around £56 (about $75 ) come. or AU$105).

However, iFixit is selling a DIY replacement kit for £35 (including postage to my home in Scotland). It costs $30 in the US, and with shipping that works out to about $38. It’s not a huge savings over the Apple replacement, but every little bit helps. It also means you’ll still have the tools you need if you want to do this again in the future. The only thing you need to buy next time is the battery.

3. What’s included in the iFixit battery repair kit?

iFixit’s kit comes with a third-party replacement battery not from Apple, as Apple does not sell its parts separately for phones older than the iPhone 12. It also has all the tools needed to open the phone and remove the old battery. The only extra thing I needed was a hair dryer to heat up and remove the glue.

4. Does replacing a battery void your phone’s warranty?

Opening an iPhone will void the warranty, but if your battery is old enough to need replacing, chances are the 12 month warranty period has already expired.

5. Is it safe to replace your iPhone’s battery yourself?

This one is not so easy to answer. The iFixit manual provides very detailed instructions on the steps involved, but there were a few points that made me nervous. One step involved heating the back of the phone with a hair dryer to loosen the adhesive holding the old battery in place.

It specifically said to heat it to “slightly too warm to comfortably touch”, which I thought was a bit vague. Especially since that section also warned that “overheating the iPhone can ignite the battery.” But how hot is too hot? What signs would I see if it was overheating? I couldn’t find this information and therefore wasn’t sure how close I might be to overheating.

Shortly afterwards, while trying to pry the old battery out, I accidentally tore into what appeared to be the black packaging surrounding that battery. I was pretty sure the battery itself wasn’t leaking – there was no smoke or hissing – but I would have felt a lot more comfortable if I had had ’emergency’ instructions on hand about what to do if the battery would ignite.

6. Can I replace the battery of my iPhone myself?

Until a certain point I realized I could do it, and I’m not the best at DIY. iFixit’s instructions were easy to follow and only required removing seven internal screws, which were easy to replace.

One thing I found confusing was that the instructions on the iFixit website end at the point where you remove the old battery. The only instruction in the conclusion was to follow the previous steps in reverse order. Granted, that wasn’t particularly difficult, but I would have appreciated more guidance at that point.

I ran into another problem during the process: when I removed the screen, I cracked the screen protector that was in place. I noticed the hairline cracks and was concerned that I had damaged the screen itself, but luckily it was unscathed.

7. Is it worth replacing an iPhone battery?

It depends on the age and value of your phone. If, like me, you bought a cheap used iPhone and just want to get it up to speed again, this can be a great way to breathe new life into old technology without spending a fortune. However, keep in mind that these weren’t going to be my headphones, nor did I buy them with my own money. For me the risk was low. If I had made a mistake and broke the phone it wouldn’t have been a big deal. You should consider whether you can really do without the phone, and weigh your tolerance for other risks.

If you’re using a more recent device, like an iPhone 14 or 15 for example, I would just take it straight to Apple. The savings you’ll get from doing it yourself aren’t so great as to justify the potential cost of damaging a more valuable phone.

Check this out: Apple announces DIY repairs for iPhones and Macs

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