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iPad Apple refuses to replace iPad battery
- Thread starter ricketysquire
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Well, that's ok, I guess. Even for a 5th gen, 4-year old iPad? Even if I have it done at Best Buy?
No idea about Best Buy
Age/model doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not vintage/obsolete
If they have ready stock, it would be done on the spot. Otherwise they’ll order.
Cool, thanks. I'll post an update here after I have this done at Best Buy, just to let folks know. Basically it sounds like this is a good way to get your iPad 'upgraded' to a refurbished model, for the price of a battery replacement (as long as there isn't anything else wrong with it).
Good luck with that. Unlike Apple phones and computers, apparently Apple tablets do NOT have a replaceable battery. The battery is glued in or something. I went to Best Buy after Apple ran remote diagnostics and said the battery was good enough. I called and made an appointment “to have you replace the battery in my IPad.” After waiting for about 20 minutes, the service person came out and told me, “nobody replaces IPad batteries, not even Apple.” I guess they made the appointment hoping I would buy a new IPad from them when I got the news. No, I just keep it plugged in to power all the time now.
I just picked up my 5th gen iPad, 4 ½ years old, 128 GB Wi-Fi model. The battery had been diagnosed by Apple (remote diagnosis during a chat) to be at 45% and with 469 cycles. iMazing had reported 52% battery health.
Here is my experience.
I made an appointment with the local Best Buy, using the Apple site to schedule a service visit for the purpose of replacing the battery. When I arrived there, Best Buy told me that they would not be able to do the work at their own shop, they would send it to Apple, it would take 2 weeks or so, and I would receive a refurbished unit back. I decided not to do that because I didn't want to wait 2 weeks, and Best Buy referred me to a local shop that was also an 'Apple Authorized Service Provider'. They were only about 10 minutes away so I decided to drive there to see what they had to say.
The local 'Authorized' service provider was no longer in the location that Best Buy had referred me to, but there was another independent electronics repair shop in that small strip mall. So I went in with my iPad and talked to them. They told me that they could replace the battery, it would take a day, and quoted a price that was $10 less than what I would pay for the Best Buy service ($89 vs $99). I asked them how long they had been doing this kind of work and whether or not the battery could actually be replaced since I had heard conflicting reports. He explained how it was done, it made sense to me, and I decided to leave it there for service.
When I got home I was curious about what was involved in replacing an iPad battery, so I went to ifixit and looked at their battery replacement guide. It is clearly possible, it is not something I would want to attempt myself, and the process involved is exactly what the guy had explained to me at the local shop. I also checked out the shop ratings on Google and they were very good.
iPad 5 Wi-Fi Battery Replacement
Follow this guide to replace the battery in an iPad 5 Wi-Fi. Be very careful when you isolate the battery using a battery blocker. The battery...
www.ifixit.com
I picked up the iPad today, the new battery is installed, iMazing confirms battery health is 100% and 0 cycles, it looks perfectly fine, and I'm completely satisfied.
Bottom line is that what is being reported here by quite a few folks is partially correct in that Apple themselves apparently do not replace batteries, but small independent shops (including very possibly Apple Authorized repair shops) do replace batteries. The battery is not soldered in, it is held in place by a couple of screws (this is what the local shop had told me and confirmed by the ifixit instructions), but disassembly and reassembly is a non-trivial job that requires carefully heating the iPad to release the glue and separate the glass and display, carefully disassembling the insides in order to get access to the battery and replace it, and then putting it all back together including glueing it back together which requires clamping the device for several hours while the glue sets.
This was a good chance for me to get some experience with a local shop that I will definitely use again if I have a repair need for one of these devices.
And once again - iPad batteries can be replaced, even if Apple themselves chose not to do it.
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Do they replace the iPad with the same model, even when the model is quite old like an iPad Air?
Thanks, this is very helpful. I called Apple again this week and they remotely diagnosed my battery as unacceptably low. Model number is A1584. I took it in to the local Apple store, and they told me several times that the battery is not replaceable and it would cost $599 to get a replacement iPad. I politely kept asking them to check for the $99 battery replacement deal, and after about 5 minutes in the back room they came back and said yes, we can do that. I have to wait two or three weeks for that model to come in, then they swap me a new iPad for my old one (about 3 years old).I just picked up my 5th gen iPad, 4 ½ years old, 128 GB Wi-Fi model. The battery had been diagnosed by Apple (remote diagnosis during a chat) to be at 45% and with 469 cycles. iMazing had reported 52% battery health.
Here is my experience.
I made an appointment with the local Best Buy, using the Apple site to schedule a service visit for the purpose of replacing the battery. When I arrived there, Best Buy told me that they would not be able to do the work at their own shop, they would send it to Apple, it would take 2 weeks or so, and I would receive a refurbished unit back. I decided not to do that because I didn't want to wait 2 weeks, and Best Buy referred me to a local shop that was also an 'Apple Authorized Service Provider'. They were only about 10 minutes away so I decided to drive there to see what they had to say.
The local 'Authorized' service provider was no longer in the location that Best Buy had referred me to, but there was another independent electronics repair shop in that small strip mall. So I went in with my iPad and talked to them. They told me that they could replace the battery, it would take a day, and quoted a price that was $10 less than what I would pay for the Best Buy service ($89 vs $99). I asked them how long they had been doing this kind of work and whether or not the battery could actually be replaced since I had heard conflicting reports. He explained how it was done, it made sense to me, and I decided to leave it there for service.
When I got home I was curious about what was involved in replacing an iPad battery, so I went to ifixit and looked at their battery replacement guide. It is clearly possible, it is not something I would want to attempt myself, and the process involved is exactly what the guy had explained to me at the local shop. I also checked out the shop ratings on Google and they were very good.
iPad 5 Wi-Fi Battery Replacement
Follow this guide to replace the battery in an iPad 5 Wi-Fi. Be very careful when you isolate the battery using a battery blocker. The battery...
I picked up the iPad today, the new battery is installed, iMazing confirms battery health is 100% and 0 cycles, it looks perfectly fine, and I'm completely satisfied.
Bottom line is that what is being reported here by quite a few folks is partially correct in that Apple themselves apparently do not replace batteries, but small independent shops (including very possibly Apple Authorized repair shops) do replace batteries. The battery is not soldered in, it is held in place by a couple of screws (this is what the local shop had told me and confirmed by the ifixit instructions), but disassembly and reassembly is a non-trivial job that requires carefully heating the iPad to release the glue and separate the glass and display, carefully disassembling the insides in order to get access to the battery and replace it, and then putting it all back together including glueing it back together which requires clamping the device for several hours while the glue sets.
This was a good chance for me to get some experience with a local shop that I will definitely use again if I have a repair need for one of these devices.
And once again - iPad batteries can be replaced, even if Apple themselves chose not to do it.
A1584 is one of the original (2015) 12.9" iPad Pro models, correct? I would say that is a very fair deal to get a battery replacement for that model for $99, but it is correct that this is the standard fixed price for battery service for all eligible iPad models.
I'm just a bit surprised that the Apple store folks were not more informed regarding battery replacement. The $599 fee you were quoted is the standard out-of-warranty service fee for that model. Possibly if you had turned it over to them for service with the expectation that the $599 fee would apply, and when it was determined (not at the store but at their service center) that only a battery replacement was required, I expect they would have adjusted the price at that time.
iPad Repair and Service - Apple Support
Need to repair your iPad? See your service options, their costs by coverage type, and how long they take.
I got an iPad Air replacement in June. But the Apple Store said it was one of the last ones available as iPad Air became vintage in March.