As a way of apologizing to customers for the way they handled older iPhones with degrading batteries, Apple has drastically lowered the price of battery replacements from $79 to a much more affordable $29. Unsurprisingly that decision has resulted in Apple Stores being overwhelmed and swamped with customers seeking replacements.
While we knew there would be an uptick in customers seeking replacements, it appears to be getting out of hand with Genius Bar appointments spiking from several days wait to weeks. On a normal day scheduling an appointment would be done within 48 hours, but like we said, the cheap battery replacement is starting to overwhelm Apple’s customer support.
This is further evidenced by various users taking to Twitter to complain about the long waits. To top it off, a recent report has also revealed that iPhone 6 Plus customers are the most affected out of the lot, with apparently the most requests being put in by iPhone 6 Plus owners. This has resulted in other iPhone 6 Plus owners having to wait until possibly late March or early April before batteries for their phones are in stock.
I am unable to get an Apple Genius Bar appointment anywhere in the New York Metropolitan area anytime this weekend — to have them replace the battery they purposely slowed down …. WOW.
— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) January 13, 2018
Even with an Apple Genius Bar appointment, I’m in a weeks-long queue behind “thousands” of others at my SF store alone to get a $29 iPhone battery. My Genius predicted battery stock levels may not be back to normal until SUMMER, tho Apple hasn’t commented. https://t.co/nseRg8rAKc
— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) January 4, 2018
Last Friday, Apple tech support scheduled a Genius Bar appointment for me to come in and get a replacement battery for my iPhone 6. Today, at the appointment, the tech informed me that there will be no batteries available until “March or April”. You bet I’m angry.
— David Brooks (@DavidBrooks7521) January 15, 2018
While we can’t be sure if it is 100% related, but recently there have been reports of two Apple Stores – one in Zurich and the other in Spain – being evacuated following iPhone batteries overheating and smoking while presumably being replaced.
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