Mikey Campbell
Apple on Friday activated a service program to replace faulty Smart Battery Cases designed for iPhone XS, XS Max and XR, noting certain units may not operate as expected.
Announced in a support document posted to the company's website, the Smart Battery Case replacement initiative aims to resolve charging issues exhibited by defective devices produced between January and October 2019. The company does not reveal how many units are impacted by the problem.
According to Apple, affected Smart Battery Cases will not charge or will intermittently charge when plugged into a power source via Lightning connector. Whether similar behavior can be expected while the case is accepting power from a wireless charger is not known. Faulty models might also refuse to charge or intermittently charge a connected the iPhone.
When a Smart Battery Case is attached to an iPhone and functioning normally, power is first delivered to the handset before the case's internal battery is topped off. When unplugged or taken off a Qi charger, the case feeds power to a connected iPhone until depleted.
Owners of iPhone XS, XS Max or XR Smart Battery Cases that exhibit one or more of the described behaviors are urged to visit an Apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for a free replacement. Alternatively, users can contact Apple Support for assistance.
The problem does not pose a safety risk to users, Apple notes, adding that affected battery cases will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
As with other repair programs, the Smart Battery Case initiative does not extend the accessory's standard warranty. The program announced today covers affected a Smart Battery Case for two years after its first retail sale.
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7 Comments
Thanks for this, as it will hopefully solve my Xs constant "dinging" sound when I have the phone in my pocket. The connection between the iPhone and case constantly connects and then disconnects.
I’ve had no problems with wired charging. It’s the wireless charging that’s been problematic. Plus, this case disables my compass apps.
How do they determine when the date of manufacture is? I have the XS case and as far as I know its is not showing any signs of this issue but on another Apple site, they recommend getting it replaced anyway to prevent a possible problem in the future. For the price we paid for it, I am thinking of going that route as I sure as hell do not want to run into any surprise problems stemming from this.
I am already on my second XR case. I bought the first case soon after it was launched but by April 2019 was demonstrating all the bad behaviours reported above and I logged a service visit to my local Apple store and they replaced it (although I had to revisit to collect as it counted as a replacement part and they had to ship one to the store - despite there being plenty of them on retail display!).
My second case has similarly degraded to the point that I no longer use it - it’s in a drawer - and I intended to go back to Apple but held back because it was a bit of a hassle previously to get a replacement. Seems now I can get a replacement with a single visit (🤞) so I’ll be taking advantage of this right away.
Interestingly I had similar problems with an Apple battery case for an iPhone 7 soon after those were launched - same behaviours - the replacement didn’t degrade though.
Thanks for this. I always just thought my battery case had worn out or something after half a year!