Apple running low on iPhone 6 Plus batteries, postponing some swaps until March

People wanting to swap out the battery on an iPhone 6 Plus may in some cases have to wait until March or later, owing to a shortage of replacement units.

Delays are only impacting stores that have already run out of iPhone 6 Plus batteries, according to sources and data obtained by AppleInsider. But, many locations polled by AppleInsider still have batteries for the iPhone 6 Plus in stock.

We were told in the course of our investigation of the reports, that in cases where customers are being told to wait a few days, the issue is likely only a heavy workload. Anything longer may be a sign that a shop has run out of a particular model of battery.

Apple has seen intense demand following its introduction of $29 out-of-warranty battery swaps. The deal is a temporary one, expiring at the end of December, intended to appease the public following the company's admission that it slows down iPhones with weak batteries. Nominally this is to protect against sudden shutdowns, but the company is facing dozens of lawsuits for not warning owners, failing to give them a choice, and/or nudging them into buying new iPhones, whether intentionally or not.

Apple stores have been hit by battery fires twice this week, presumably because of the influx of service requests combined with the risks of lithium-ion batteries.

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27 Comments

JWSC

said about 6 years ago

Apple Store in Tucson is out. Looks like I’ll be waiting a while. :/

foggyhill

said about 6 years ago

Who said March, did Apple say that or is this complete speculation.

If if they are installing batteries all day long there may be local shortages for sure, there is no source for this, even as a Timor , in the article. More click bait?

Mike Wuerthele

said about 6 years ago

foggyhill said:

Who said March, did Apple say that or is this complete speculation.

If if they are installing batteries all day long there may be local shortages for sure, there is no source for this, even as a Timor , in the article. More click bait?

It isn't speculation. We have our own sources, we often get tipped, and we do our own research.

Other venues have said other things about it, that we can't verify.

foggyhill

said about 6 years ago

Mike Wuerthele said:

foggyhill said:

Who said March, did Apple say that or is this complete speculation.

If if they are installing batteries all day long there may be local shortages for sure, there is no source for this, even as a Timor , in the article. More click bait?

It isn't speculation. We have our own sources, we often get tipped, and we do our own research.

Maybe mention it in passing , otherwise it is not really great journalism

Doesn’t Mean you have to name names.
knowing if you got info first hand or second hand (or just reporting some unsourced Rumor). and maybe where approximatively that source is, is a minimum.

say,

talking to many anonymous sources at Apple stores
or
talking to anonymous Apple logistics employees in several us ports
or talking to Apple sources in Chinese ports
or
according to sources at the factory building Apple 6 batteries

the story takes a different connotation also depending on who you talk to

i suppose that second hand info is always sourced precisely and clearly. I did not check. But often those stories have slight editorial spins which seem to depend on unsourced info (you know the source obviously, but we don’t like here). This is always good to add as corroboration (a bit like all the presidents men, except less dramatic and watergatey ;)

lkrupp

said about 6 years ago

Well, who would have expected that? Duh. Blind hysteria causing the lemmings to flock at the prospect of a near freebee. Already seeing cliams that the battery swap didn’t speed the phone back up. Evil, degenerate Apple!