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Hi Community, I have an iPhone 5 that I got in 2012. When I first got the phone, I managed to get it in a small table puddle of water. Long story short, there didn’t seem like there was any damage and I’ve used the phone successfully up until about 6months ago. At this time I noticed a screen bulge, but did nothing as I thought I had bent the phone. However, up until a 1-2 months ago I noticed the bulge getting bigger and I finally took it in to a store. They advised that my battery was bulging and would need an immediate replacement. The replacement was going to cost around $90 and a quick youtube search and google search revealed what seemed to be a very easy repair with a “new battery” and tools with delivery for $13. Obviously I choose the $13 gamble. The battery came, I replaced it “successfully” but the phone refused to charge. More google searching and it seems I may damaged the logic board, my dock may have been damaged or the “new” battery which are really reclaimed batteries was too old and wouldn’t cycle any more. I took my phone to the store who opted for dock damage. They have had it for 2 weeks and I’ve finally gotten my phone back, but they said that the battery that was supplied, was in fact faulty, my dock works fine, but my logic board is damaged from water (one sticker is red) and is potentially not allowing the charge. Given that it charged fine before the battery replacement, is this likely? I don’t have any other iPhone 5’s to test and can see no obvious damage anywhere. Any thoughts or suggestions? I will have to end up getting a new phone, but this might be a nice IT project I can tinker with for a while and if I fix it will have a spare phone. Thanks to all for your time
Honestly I’d first try a new “original” battery. From my experience if you use a less expensive generic or generic “OEM” battery online it comes with nothing but problems. I only use original Apple batteries for this reason, less problems and they ….wait for it….actually work properly! Nothing against the repair store you took it to but sounds like they were inexperienced in water cleaning. Just because the sticker is tripped doesn’t mean much. Did they examine for water spots or corrosion? Did they test an original guaranteed working battery? Did they examin the board under a scope or view damage to caps? It’s possible you damaged a cap or filter near the battery connector but more likely it’s just a cheap battery. It’s very common on the iPhone 5 for the battery to expand over time and need replacing…,with or without water damage. First I would EBay “original iPhone 5 battery” and buy one. Original witll be a little more expensive but promise it’s worth the investment. Don’t go cheap on an expensive item:)
Well, this kind of boils me. Its aggrivating that a repair shop claiming to be professionals kept a phone for 2 weeks waiting on a part they should have had multiples on hand of and then blaming water damage because they had no idea what the problem was. As for a source for a quality battery, ifixit sells batteries and they are good batteries. finding a source that sells one at a time to consumer batteries is tough that isn’t selling junk (there is ONLY junk on ebay and amazon for any price and it doesn’t matter what their description says about it) Their batteries aren’t $12 but they’re quality. I don’t really think the battery is the source of your problem though. I would think that surely this half-wit shop tried putting another battery on it before giving up 2 weeks later. I don’t really think the charge port/dock cable is the source either. I suspect that what is going on is one of the capacitors or resistors immediately to the right of the battery connector on the board was knocked off in repair. You really have to look closely to tell, a microscope and good light helps a lot. Finding it and fixing it are two different things entirely though. If one is knocked off, its surely missing by now and needs to be replaced. To do it yourself, you will spend more to ship the part than the part costs, even if they stick it in an envelope and put a stamp on it. You may not even get someone like mouser to ship only one of them. When I order capacitors, I generally order them by the 100s, they cost about 20 cents. Most small repair shops will take those off of parts boards though. Its a repair beyond novice solder work, its a 01005 package component, meaning its physical size is .4mm long by .2mm wide. its soldered on each end.
Apple is offering a second replacement program for iPhone 5 users after offering to replace the sleep/wake button on some models in April. This time around it’s the phone’s battery that’s giving users headaches. Apple says that a “very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices” may be experiencing poor battery life, requiring users to charge the device more frequently. Affected devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and are within a specific serial number range, Apple says. You can check your serial number on Apple’s site to see if your phone qualifies for a free battery replacement. If you have an affected device you’ll have the choice to replace your battery free of charge at the Apple Store, an Apple authorized service provider, or you can send it off to Apple Technical Support. Before bringing your phone in, Apple advises you to back up your data to iTunes or iCloud, turn off Find my iPhone, and do a factory reset. You can do that by navigating to Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings. Apple won’t replace broken screens, cracked backs, or other physical problems free of charge. But the company also won’t replace the battery for free until any damage that impairs battery replacement is fixed—including cracked screens. Once your battery is replaced, Apple will guarantee the battery for two years after the device’s initial retail sale or March 1, 2015, whichever is longer. The battery replacement will not extend your iPhone 5 warranty. Apple’s battery replacement program began on Friday, August 22 for iPhone users in the U.S. and China. Other countries will start seeing a replacement program this upcoming Friday, August 29. But if your phone is getting close to its second birthday anyway, it might be time to ditch your handset for something newer. Rumor has it the iPhone 6 is set for a debut in the coming weeks. Learn more: Restore whatsapp messages from itunes backup
