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Other How long did it take your iPhone battery to swell? (if at all)
- Thread starter Jsee
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YES, my original Apple Watch Stainless Steel 2015 swelled up last Aug. Whole screen was pushed out, battery literally a little balloon. Not that bad for a 5 1/2 year old battery I guess.
Apple agreed to replace it for $79. I only agreed to that because I just love that black stainless steel too much to trash.
There are DIY's on YouTube for this, just need the right dinky tools and patience.
I’ve got a 2009 MBP it’s had a replacement battery since the first one would go down real fast. Didn’t notice it swell. Still using a 2012 iPad daily for the kids it’s working great. I am into RC cars and I know about swelling batteries. Puffy batteries are pretty noticeable but phone batteries are tiny and could be hard to miss inside such a sturdy chassis. Honestly use the phone batteries how you want. And in 5 years if your still addicted to a 13 have apple lift the display and toss in a new one. It’s a simple repair.
my 12 pro max is getting hot as hell opposite of the camera side at the top just sitting on safari I think the thing might be a little defective
my 12 pro max is getting hot as hell opposite of the camera side at the top just sitting on safari I think the thing might be a little defective
LG v30 it was a great phone, still useable I didn't have any issues regarding the battery life or the performance 4 years down the line. Reason why I replaced it was because I broke the screen but if it wasn't for that I'd likely would have used it for at least another 2 years.
The timing was perfect though, bought an M1 Macbook and have been loving it. Hence I got my first iPhone to complement it and it's been even better.
I don’t care about any special charging practice (always charging to 100%, leaving it plugged for the night or longer, …). I’ve been using my actual iPhone for 11+ years and original battery still works fine.
My perfectly good 6S+ with replacement battery got swollen only after 2 years. The original battery lasted good 4.5 years and didn´t swell. So 6.5 years of total usage is not bad, but I was basically forced to get iPhone 13 against my will because of the stupid battery. I was also forced to buy a 25$ usb-c charger because it was not included. Now im thinking of buying the wireless magsafe charging pad or battery case for 100$ more.😂
I wonder if they could have prevented the swollen battery in the first place? For example, the optimized charging never worked. I think there is a easy way to make your battery last with better charging algorithms, or atlest warn the user if something catastrophical is about to happen to your battery.
The more I think about it, the more Im declining to think that Apple doesnˋt really give a crap about their users or the enviroment. Apple is really making some good profit here with these phones, chargers, cables and accessories that you are forced to buy after the old battery ”dies” from perfectly working device. This is definetly not an enviromentally friendly way.
I wonder if they could have prevented the swollen battery in the first place? For example, the optimized charging never worked. I think there is a easy way to make your battery last with better charging algorithms, or atlest warn the user if something catastrophical is about to happen to your battery.
The more I think about it, the more Im declining to think that Apple doesnˋt really give a crap about their users or the enviroment. Apple is really making some good profit here with these phones, chargers, cables and accessories that you are forced to buy after the old battery ”dies” from perfectly working device. This is definetly not an enviromentally friendly way.
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I bought a 6 plus 3 months after release.
After the battery stamina dropped it was replaced by the X.
It was then switched off and ignored until a year ago, when I decided to use it as a music player.
This last may, the battery swelled enough to threaten the display panel.
After the battery stamina dropped it was replaced by the X.
It was then switched off and ignored until a year ago, when I decided to use it as a music player.
This last may, the battery swelled enough to threaten the display panel.
I also got a 6s Plus a few months after release. Used it until replacing with a 12 Pro Max at launch. Original battery was still fine and the phone was completely usable at that point. I still have the 6s Plus and use it from time to time to test a web app I'm developing, also have used it as a spare camera for video shoots with a Moment wide lens. Still no swelling. 12 Pro Max is also still fine.
I bought two iPhone 11 Pro Maxs in February 2021 and an iPhone SE 2020 in March 2021. That was when the iPhone 12 series was for sale.
I bought an iPhone SE 2020 for my daughter two weeks ago and right now the iPhone 13 series is for sale.
I could have gotten other iPhones, such as an iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone XR, XS, iPhone SE1, SE2, SE3, iPhone 11 Mini, and so on.
So…what forced you (against your will!!!) to get an iPhone 13? Because it certainly wasn't the lack of other available iPhone models.
I can see the USB charger, although you know, Android has had USB-C for a while which means affordable NON-Apple USB-C chargers have been on the market. I mean, my 2019 Pixel 3a XL charges via USB-C. Why were you forced to spend $25?
I needed the device immediately because I didn´t have a backup phone laying around, so I couldn´t wait for days or weeks to shop around for used ones. I went to a local repair shop for simple battery replacement. They didn´t have the battery in stock (or hardly any used models in stock) and it would have taken 1-3 days for the battery replacement. Plus all the trouble taking the phone back and forth. Repair from Apple would have taken atleast 5-7 days. I also didn´t even t know if the phone were still repairable due to battery swell.
So my only logical option left was to basicly purchase a new device from the nearest shop.
The last thing I want with my new iphone is that it fails again due to some non-apple charging device. Itˋs just not worth the risk IMHO. But then again, Apples original 5w charger nor their ”optimized charging” algorithms couldn´t save my perfectly fine 6S+ battery from not getting swell either😒
And the only model the shop was selling was the 13 series?
This is Apple's fault and not the shop?
Again, that's something I get. But because of that I'm not complaining about the price - even if I don't like it.
But this is also why Apple has a certified program. Belkin, Anker, Moshi, other third parties all have Apple certified products and can be trusted in the same way you'd trust an Apple item.
Never had one swell and the 8 I am currently using is left plugged into my car a lot as I use it for carplay navigation and I travel quite a bit for work. I should know better but it has often been left in the car as I visit clients on hot days, if any battery should have **** the bed it is this one but my 8 is a tank and you will pry it from my cold dead hands.
Yeah I don’t think it’s just me - I know some people who kept the 4s for thousands of charge cycles and didn’t see a swollen battery. My own family - never seen one that I know of. Never had one myself either. I’d like to think it’s an exception to the norm.
Always nice to see Trogdor the Burninator! Burninating all the peoples! Lol. Brings back memories.
Oh yeah the 8 is a great iPhone.
I wouldn't feel too bad. I have a 6s+. I also have a '97 Accord with power windows. It lost it's A/C some time in 2012 about four years after I got it. The window mechanisms broke shortly afterwards (all four windows). The car has been stolen before when the windows worked. I'm not into leaving it wide open to weather and to be jacked again so all the windows are forced closed.
My 6s+ spent 2017-2020 riding around in that car in the Phoenix, Arizona summer heat. Average temps in PHX during August are around 110º. In 2019 to 2020 I had a 45 minute drive home during the hottest part of the day. I figure it was probably around 118-120º or more in that car (I believe it almost killed me once).
No swelling on my 6s+ battery.
I did get a new battery for the 6s+ in November 2021 but that was just because it was over six years old at that point, not because of swelling.
Definitely a classic!
Will probably get a battery replacement before the end of the year.
For my needs (screen size, battery size etc) yes, but what does it matter? I was forced change my dear 6S+ before I was intended to, due to catastrophical battery swell, that instantly broke the device. No warnings beforehand or anything. Shouldn´t the device know how to warn the user about heating battery thats about to swell beforehand and shut itself off? Doesn´t Apple has that kind of hardware and software and knowledge to do so?
If they really wanted they could.
My iphone 14 Pro Max sits by my desktop Mac most of the day when I'm not out; in Standby Mode; then all night on Standby mode by the bed for sleeping. Is this Safe for the Battery; as I've had my iphone X get a swollen battery multiple times because I kept it on a basic charging stand for most of the day. (non magsafe). I now have my iphone X not charging when it's sitting on it's daytime stand. What about the 14 Pro Max? Also were I to unplug my 14 from power while on magsafe; Standy Mode would not work.Hi
Recently purchased an iPhone 13 and have been loving it so far. However with my previous android phone I practised cycling to preserve the battery. For those who don't know it pretty much means keeping your battery percentages between 20 - 80% to avoid excess wear on the battery. You can double or potentially triple it's lifespan by doing this practise. I used my old phone for 4 years and it still retained 86% of it's capacity which is super impressive, for reference most people would have hit 80% after 2 - 3 years, so it was clear I could have held on for another 5 - 6 years before I also hit the 80% figure.
However as I purchased more apple devices (I've converted entirely haha) with their own batteries I am beginning to realise this practise is too much effort, one phone that's okay, but an iPhone, Macbook, iPad, that's too much. So now I am for the first time using the device like a normal person (yay took me 4 years to realise) and not too worry about battery health. I now intend to replace the battery at around the 4 year mark as I am okay with shorter battery life and want to save money obviously. The only concern I have however is this.
As a battery ages it may swell which is a fire hazard, and even if it didn't explode the expansion may end up wrecking the internals of your device making it not worth repairing since now you have to also cover the other damaged components as well as the battery. Might as well get a new phone by then. So it's not going to be like I am going to wait till it swells then replace it, I should have already replaced it before swelling took place in the first place.
Hence why I ask this question, would like to ask long term iPhone users Did your battery swell at all? If so how long did it take too? And what where your charging habits? Bonus points if you also mention your iPad/Macbook too. One thing I definitively know is that leaving it plugged in 24/7 will swell up the battery, there are so many reports of people's MacBooks having swollen batteries within and most of the time it's because they used it docked. Some reports as soon as 1 - 2 years.
This was not previously a concern with my old phone since I took good care of it, but now that I'm using it normally I should expect a more rapid decline in battery longevity and hence wanted to ask a regular iPhone user their experience. Don't want to end up bricking device prematurely haha. Sorry for the long post and thank you so much for inputting. It will help determine how long I should replace the battery or if unavoidable, I might partially practise cycling if possible.
Edit/Conclusion:
I think my original concern at this point has already been resolved. Summarising the thread so far and the poll reports. Swelling on batteries are rare and pretty much an non existent issue even when keeping it at a 100% state of charge most of the time, so long that you still drain the battery from time to time and use it like a normal one.
As off now I have 22 votes for never in battery swelling with no votes in other categories.
The only reports of swelling batteries are the iPhone 5 (There were a few), but since the reports were specific to that model, it sounds like it was a design defect for that particular model or something. So it shouldn't be of concern for other iPhones since I haven't heard any reports. There was one (iPhone 6) but I understand any battery could swell so long as most people don't have issues it is fine.
There are even reports of people pretty much abusing the batteries with no issues aside from capacity degradation which is assuring, since I was only concerned about the battery swell.
But again thank you guys for the input and feel free to continue commenting with regards to your experience with battery health. Preferably more iPad reports too. More assurance is always welcome
iPhone 5 warped within 6 years, the whole frame is disfigured around the battery and noticeable gap where the screen is coming up. Still works fine... Not that I trust to use it anymore (even if in theory it's fine as explained earlier in the thread), but it does work.