When smartphones were in their infancy, battery packs were easy to replace. Most products let users open a flap on the back of the device to easily remove the battery, giving them a quick way to ditch a dead battery and install a new one. Fast forward to 2024, and that’s a rarity. Replacing batteries is much more difficult today than it was a decade ago, and that’s especially true for all iPhone models.
Whether you’re working with the new iPhone 15 or an old iPhone 12, you can’t just run out to the store and snag a new battery for your smartphone. Instead, you’ll need to contact Apple directly or go through elaborate workarounds to install the battery yourself.
Unsure which process is the best for you? Here’s a look at how to replace an iPhone battery, with steps that work for a wide range of models, including the iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 14, and iPhone X.
Before you make any decisions, you should understand what happens to your iPhone battery over time. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, the type the iPhone uses, are considered consumables because they are known to degrade over time. It’s not a quality issue, it’s just the way they operate. Battery age is measured in battery cycles: One cycle equals draining the battery to 0% and completely recharging the battery to 100% one single time. This can take any amount of time since you will not drain your battery to 0% and back up to 100% every single day. It may take a day, two days, or even longer more to complete a battery cycle.
The iPhone packs an estimated 500 battery cycles before it starts to degrade, meaning if you own your phone for two or more years, you will have charged enough battery cycles to degrade the battery to just 80% of its full capacity. When the amount of charge the battery can hold diminishes, you’ll find your battery drains faster and must be recharged more often.
Battery age is not only dependent on time, but also on how you use your phone and the effect your use has on battery lifespan. As batteries degrade, it is reflected in your phone’s performance and the ability of the phone to access enough juice to do the things you want. With iOS 11 or later, you can check the general life of your battery under Settings > Battery > Battery Health > Maximum Capacity. You can also check charge levels for the last couple of days and even the percentage of time you spend on each app on your phone. This will help you decide whether or not to invest in a new battery.
The most convenient and reliable way to replace your iPhone’s battery is to do it straight through Apple. Simply swap out your old battery for a brand new one. For an iPhone 15, this costs $99. For iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12, 12 Pro, and 12 Mini, the cost is $69 for an out-of-warranty model not covered by AppleCare+. For an iPhone SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and all other eligible models, the out-of-warranty price is $49. Phones still under warranty or covered by AppleCare+ get free battery replacements. We recommend going the Apple route, as you won’t void your device’s warranty or risk damaging your iPhone by replacing the battery any other way. This also ensures that you receive a true Apple battery and not an after-market alternative.
Another easy way to start the process is to head to the nearest Apple Store, which could either take one visit or a few days. Best Buy is now also an authorized Apple repair provider, so if there are no Apple Stores nearby, Best Buy is a good alternate option. With the addition of Best Buy, eight out of 10 Apple customers live within 20 minutes of an Apple-authorized service provider.
If you’re in a more remote area where there are no authorized repair centers, you can always ship your iPhone to Apple for the battery swap, but the process will take quite a bit longer, as you’ll need to wait for Apple to send you a box to ship your iPhone in, send it, have Apple replace the battery, then ship it back to you.
Tip: You can make an appointment at your local Apple Store ahead of time through the Apple Store app on your iPhone or iPad, as well as on the Genius Bar website.
It is possible to replace the iPhone battery yourself, but it’s not for the faint of heart. You should know iPhones use strong glue, and there are different parts you will have to remove to access the battery. It’s time-consuming, there is a risk of damaging your phone in the process, and you will absolutely void any warranties remaining on your iPhone. Doing it yourself will also affect the integrity of the waterproof capabilities that Apple added, starting with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
You can find in-depth instructions, as well as kits with necessary tools for replacing your iPhone’s battery, at websites like iFixit. Replacement kits are available for around $35. It’s chapter than shipping your phone to Apple for a battery replacement, but the kits’ success isn’t guaranteed, and you’ll need to buy a new phone if you damage yours in the process. iFixit offers guides for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone Pro Max, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as many older models.
Taking your iPhone to a third-party repair shop can be a great solution but should be approached cautiously. These shops typically offer quality repairs at a much lower cost than Apple’s, but you’ll have less guarantee of the outcomes and warranties. Since a repair shop is more of an unknown, be sure to look into ratings and reviews. You’ll usually get a good deal since they need your business, but it will likely be outside of a warranty. Overall, you won’t have the same level of quality guarantee as you do with Apple.
If your iPhone is a newer model, the battery that came with it should function well for a few years unless it’s defective. With iOS 11 and up, you can even check out your battery’s health and troubleshoot from your basic Settings by examining the battery’s specific health. Apple provides reasonable prices for replacement batteries to extend your device’s life, even for some of its older models.
If you feel confident and know what you’re doing, a third-party vendor or repair shop will likely be a cheaper way to go, though you’ll forfeit Apple’s warranty in many cases. However, we recommend starting with the professionals at Apple or Best Buy to get quality work and keep your warranty. As you research options for replacing your battery, you may also want to read our guide on saving smartphone battery life.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.
Apple's first foldable phone is now on shelves, in short supply, but with an unreal amount of buzz around it. After all, it's the first foldable iPhone, and there's plenty that this phone gets right. But there's also a lot that is either broken or underwhelming. What's peculiar is the dialogue around this phone, and how it has completely overshadowed every other attempt at making a phone with a similar form factor.
I've spent some time with the iPhone Duo, and I've used the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for almost three months now. In my opinion, Samsung deserves more credit. When the Galaxy Z Fold 8 arrived earlier this year, it was celebrated in some circles and ridiculed in others for supposedly copying what Apple would eventually deliver with the iPhone Duo. The dialogue was pretty odd, for multiple reasons. Samsung has been making foldable phones for years, so claiming that it copied a product Apple hadn't even launched was simply absurd.