I paid Apple $ 69 to replace the battery on my 3 year old iPhone. Here is what happened

my iPhone X just celebrated its third anniversary, which is important for several reasons. First, it’s the longest I’ve ever held on a single phone; generally, I upgrade every year or two. Second, like any three-year-old model, its battery is not what it used to be.

So I found myself thinking about a new phone, an extremely common reaction to poor battery life. Check out the results of a Twitter poll I recently conducted:

Quick Poll: What’s the biggest reason you’re buying a new phone right now? (I’m intentionally not including an “all of the above” option … curious about your only main driver.)

– The Cheapskate (@cheapskateblog) January 29, 2021

The point is, I really love my iPhone X. It is very fast and fits perfectly in my pocket. He takes great photos, including portraits. It doesn’t support 5G, so what? I don’t need it, at least for now.

Better yet, it’s paid. Do I really have to buy a brand new phone to get a new battery? It’s not like I can blow the back of the X and swap the old one. Not easily, anyway – I tried this tricky operation several times with previous generation iPhones and never succeeded.

Read more: Is replacing your iPhone battery worth it? Here’s what you should consider

Fortunately, Apple offers battery replacement service in store and by mail. And most local phone repair shops will, too. Because I am the Cheapskate, of course I shopped first. Apple would obviously be the more expensive option (because it’s Apple!), So I requested quotes from three stores nearby. To my surprise, the rates ranged from $ 89 to $ 129 – on the high side, I thought, but still a lot cheaper than buying a new phone.

Then I checked with Apple, and surprise, surprise: $ 69. (Prices vary by age and model; Apple only charges $ 49 for iPhone SE, iPhone 8, and most earlier models.)

The other win: I felt a little more comfortable with Apple doing the job. A few years ago, I hired a local store to replace my daughter’s phone battery; he came back with a broken front camera. At about the same time, my sister used another store for a replacement battery; a few months later the phone started to fall apart due to faulty glue.

It is do not an indictment of phone repair companies, just a bit of anecdotal experience. And the best prices available from Apple proper made it a no-contest choice, at least for me.

Read more: Does fast charging affect battery life? 6 phone battery questions, answers

My appointment with Apple

Using Apple’s online scheduling tool, I quickly and easily book an appointment at my local Apple Store. I was able to get an appointment the same day on a weekday. (Your mileage may vary, of course, as with this whole experience.)

When I arrived at this once bustling store, I discovered that there were two queues outside: one for online shopping pickups, one for appointments at the Genius Bar. Due to COVID, this is no longer a retail operation, having been condensed to around eight windows with no elevator.

A security guard checked me in, and although there were about four people in line in front of me, I only waited about five minutes. Once I got to the window, a friendly clerk did some diagnostics on my phone, checked it would get a new battery, and sent me back on my way.

Read more: 6 easy ways to make your phone last as long as possible before needing to replace it

I was told that the repair would take about two hours; I had to get back precisely at the appointed time, at which point I could skip the line and go straight to a pickup window.

And that’s exactly how it happened. The whole transaction was smooth and efficient, and $ 69 later my iPhone X feels like it just came out of the box – at least from a battery standpoint. Normally, at 5 p.m., there was only about 10% left. Yesterday, I still had 55% – at 8 p.m.

Will it buy me another three years? Very probably. Even if I keep the phone on for a year or two, I think it was the right decision.

So, before you throw away your old phone because of a failing battery, I highly recommend that you study your battery replacement options.

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CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and more. For the latest offers and updates, follow him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up to receive SMS directly to your phone. Find other great purchases on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest Walmart discount codes, eBay coupons, Samsung promo codes and more at hundreds of other online stores. Questions on the Cheapskate blog? The answers live on our FAQ page.