So Apple experts don't know what a charge cycle is?

[Hummer]

* You are chatting with Expert, an Apple Expert

*

Hi, my name is Expert. Welcome to Apple!
*

Expert: Good evening
*

You: Hey, I have a question about refurbished products.
*

You: I was wondering if they come with the wear and tear of the previous owner's use?
*

Expert: No they do not
*

You: Ah, and what about the lithium battery?
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You: Does it come with previous charge cycles?
*

You: Or a new one.
*

Expert: It comes with a limited warranty and you can purchase AppleCare
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You: Uh, I asked does the battery come with charge cycles from the previous user.
*

You: Or does it come with a new battery?
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Expert: I am not sure what a charge cycle is
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Expert: If the battery needs replacing then we put in a new battery
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You: Well lithium batteries have a liminted number of the amount of times they can be charged.
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You: Whenever the battery is drained
*

You: and recharged
*

You: that counts as one cycle against the battery's life

I thought this was pretty funny. I just realized that she wouldn't know I was talking about the iPhone specifically because I didn't tell her, I just said refurbished products, but it was a pretty general question.

Anyways I was just curious and decided to ask since the chat was there. I've heard some horror stories about friends and friends of friends who had ended up with bad products from the refurb section, but no pics.

 

[FreeState]

Why didn't you just ask if they put new batteries in the refurbished products or passed along the previous battery?

I have several refurb products from Apple and have never had a problem with them. Also I just got a new referb MacBook Pro - it had 4 cycles on the battery when I got it (per iStat pro). It comes with a 1 year warranty - as does the phone, so I would not be to worried about the charge cycles. Battery issues at this point are over blown if you ask me - people are making a big stink over something that no one has had to deal with, know anyone that ran out of cycles on their phone yet? Didn't think so.

 

[Hummer]

I really don't know why I didn't ask the question that way, but I'm a current RAZR user and I'm just afraid of my battery going as fast as my RAZR battery is going after only 5 months.

 

[madhatress]

I guess it depends on the product and what's wrong with it before it gets refurbed. Some refurbs are probably products people opened, didn't want anymore and returned. Some might have required repairs and they gave the customer a new product.

My refurb whitebook came with 0 charge cycles on the battery, per iStat.

 

[eye.surgeon]

I don't get any pleasure from making someone feel stupid because I happen to know something they do not. Apple customer support is generally considered amongst the best there is.

 

[Hummer]

I don't get any pleasure from making someone feel stupid because I happen to know something they do not. Apple customer support is generally considered amongst the best there is.

Yea, that they are. I was just pointing it out that maybe their support should know this if they're going to be labeled as experts. A lot of people figured out what a charge cycle was when the iPod battery replacement video came out and it was all over the news about how expensive it was for apple to replace an iPod battery. I did remove the support agent's name though because I didn't want to embarrass them.

 

[katie ta achoo]

I always thought those "experts" were automated bots. *shrug*

 

[jecapaga]

I appreciate that your post seemed to be interested in a basic answer to a valid question. But I think the battery thing is totally overblown and if you do purchase a phone and have an issue you have year to deal with that. And you mention a RAZR bad experience and I can relate as I was tired of having to charge it every night faithfully with almost no useage after only a few months. This phone battery so far has matched my wildest dreams.

 

[MisterMe]

*

You: Well lithium batteries have a liminted number of the amount of times they can be charged.
*

You: Whenever the battery is drained
*

You: and recharged
*

You: that counts as one cycle against the battery's life

This is incorrect and based on misinformation that was corrected months ago. A charge cycle is the equivalent of one complete recharge. After 400 charge cycles, the iPhone's charge capacity is reduced to 80% of its capacity when new. However, the iPhone's battery life has no known limit.

 

[aristobrat]

I was just pointing it out that maybe their support should know this if they're going to be labeled as experts.

I'd be afraid to ask what your expectations for the store employees that Apple labels as "Genius" are.

 

[kdarling]

This is incorrect and based on misinformation that was corrected months ago. A charge cycle is the equivalent of one complete recharge. After 400 charge cycles, the iPhone's charge capacity is reduced to 80% of its capacity when new. However, the iPhone's battery life has no known limit.

Apple was just giving a rough estimation. If you read closely, they note that after 400 cycles the battery can have UP TO 80% capacity. In other words, anywhere from 0% to 80%.

For Li-Ion, that 80% assumes light usage, regular charging, and the battery staying under 75F or so... which is pretty impossible in the summertime, in a pocket, or in a case.

If you use the radios heavily, and/or the battery temperature is around 100F, then it could be down to only 65% capacity after a year.

As a side note, Apple considers 50% to be the point at which a battery would be replaced under warranty within the first year.

 

[Sobe]

I can appreciate wanting to know what one is buying, but come on, it's a refurb.

Even if the battery were charged all the time, the thing has only been out there for a couple of months.

To me "refurb" means something was wrong with it or maybe it was just returned so they test it out, fix what needs fixing, then put it up there for selling.

 

[gnasher729]

I thought this was pretty funny. I just realized that she wouldn't know I was talking about the iPhone specifically because I didn't tell her, I just said refurbished products, but it was a pretty general question.

Anyways I was just curious and decided to ask since the chat was there. I've heard some horror stories about friends and friends of friends who had ended up with bad products from the refurb section, but no pics.

Just tell us where you work, and I'm sure we can find someone to visit you and ask you questions that make you look really stupid when they are posted here.

 

[scaredpoet]

I really don't know why I didn't ask the question that way, but I'm a current RAZR user and I'm just afraid of my battery going as fast as my RAZR battery is going after only 5 months.

Motorola has a warranty on their batteries and they should replace it if it's going after 5 months.

Likewise, Apple has replaced batteries before for going south after such a short period of time. There's no reaosn to believe they wouldn't do the same with an iPhone, refurb or not.