(Rhetorical Q): Would you trust Amazon for iPhone batteries? (NOPE!)

[eti]

I'll start by saying that I am posting this to show to my dear friend, who knows better, but is considering Amazon for a replacement iPhone battery for an XS Max (I might add, at 2x the prices of a carefully tested, certified 3rd party reseller - "Replace Base" (UK))  - hopefully you can dissuade him and put him off this somewhat foolhardy errand.

I do not understand the logic of LITERALLY putting one's life in one's hands, when one knows that DECENT, trustworthy repair specialists exist.... and he is the very person who recommended this decent, trustworthy repair specialist TO ME, years ago!

This is a replacement from said DECENT company who vet, exhaustively test and warrant their parts: https://www.replacebase.co.uk/for-iphone-xs-max-battery-replacement-3174mah-with-adhesive-kit-by-replacebase


What say you guys?


https://www.reddit.com/r/computertechs/comments/g3hwjd/be_careful_buying_batteries_off_amazon/ <---- Reddit cautions firmly!

Thanks

[tooki]

Remind your friend that Apple performs battery replacements at perfectly reasonable cost. And that guarantees it’s a quality battery and that the phone’s waterproofing is correctly restored.

[Ranayna]

Batteries have always been iffy on Amazon.
Ages ago, when user replaceable batteries were still common, i read a test where a dozen "original" Samsung batteries where ordered from Amazon. Including from the official Samsung Account.
Many, if not even all of them, were fake. Some obvious, even to a layman, some not so obvious.

The underlying problem of this was, that Amazon merges identical articles from different sellers. So a truly original Samsung battery lands in the same bin as all those fakes that only claim to be original and have the same barcode than the originals.
As far as i know this still happens, unless you pay Amazon to get your own separated stock

[TomKatt]

I replaced the battery in my old iPhone 5S...  I'll never attempt that again.  Even with that older model not requiring thermal glue issues, the micro sized fasteners and fragile ribbon connectors appear to require steadier hands than mine have become over the years.  I went full on drunk sailor vocabulary on that one.  Although my repair was successful, I'd much rather not risk a more expensive device when Apple will do it for a quite reasonable price and provide a warranty for the work.

I can't imagine working on modern phones with glued screens and everything else these days with no prior experience.  Not to mention the availability of 'trusted' parts and batteries, or the anti-repair software tools required in many current models.

I'm guessing any decent mobile device repairperson has destroyed a few devices in practice sessions...

[tom66]

Batteries have always been iffy on Amazon.
Ages ago, when user replaceable batteries were still common, i read a test where a dozen "original" Samsung batteries where ordered from Amazon. Including from the official Samsung Account.
Many, if not even all of them, were fake. Some obvious, even to a layman, some not so obvious.

The underlying problem of this was, that Amazon merges identical articles from different sellers. So a truly original Samsung battery lands in the same bin as all those fakes that only claim to be original and have the same barcode than the originals.
As far as i know this still happens, unless you pay Amazon to get your own separated stock

I have made the mistake in the past of getting a replacement laptop battery from Amazon.  It lasted less than a year, rapidly falling to holding no useful charge, and was out of the seller's warranty (and Amazon were not helpful.)  When I dismantled the battery, I found it had two obviously different cells in use, so very likely recycled/reused Li-Ions.  I didn't go any further than that, but I suspect one cell had just failed in the pack, but using recycled cells in such an application is very dubious IMO.

[TomKatt]

Replacement batteries in general is a bit of a crapshoot.   Even if you are able to locate an original OEM battery, my understanding is that the li ion chemistry begins degrading immediately after it's been manufactured, so NOS cells are likely not to be as good as the ones that originally came with the device.  If you are lucky, the battery you need is designed around some kind of standardized cell but oddballs and flatpacks are hit & miss.

[kripton2035]

for people in europe, https://www.duracelldirect.com/ has a decent battery stock for many phones and laptops
at a decent price, and with one year warranty. I sell them to customers for years and the few issues have been resolved quickly with them.


as a certified apple technician, I can confirm the extreme difficulty to change your iphone battery yourself, better go to the nearest applestore for around EUR 80 to get a manufacturer battery changed...

[PlainName]

for people in europe, https://www.duracelldirect.com/ has a decent battery stock

They might be good except for the name - no-one around here would touch Durahell's after seeing so many reports of them leaking and corroding equipment, so a website trading on that same name... 

[tom66]

for people in europe, https://www.duracelldirect.com/ has a decent battery stock for many phones and laptops
at a decent price, and with one year warranty. I sell them to customers for years and the few issues have been resolved quickly with them.

Meh, had a look at a few products and they go on and on about quality and reliability but offer only a 1 year warranty... 

[kripton2035]

Quote from: tom66 on Today at 15:03:19

>Quote from: kripton2035 on Today at 14:04:39

for people in europe,

https://www.duracelldirect.com/ has a decent battery stock for many phones and laptops
at a decent price, and with one year warranty. I sell them to customers for years and the few issues have been resolved quickly with them.

Meh, had a look at a few products and they go on and on about quality and reliability but offer only a 1 year warranty... 

one year warranty for non original batteries is HUGE. all others offer at best 3 months... (and chinese sellers disapears before battery is dead...)

[tom66]

The Amazon battery I bought had a 1 year warranty, yet died within 18 months.  I'd definitely like to see manufacturers offer 36+ months if these are non-OEM.  The original battery for my Dell lasted 6+ years, so it's definitely achievable.