Iphone works but is not charging after installing new battery

Ok, I fixed my issue, posting it here to help in case someone is facing the same thing:

I noticed that my battery was charging fine with the little battery port cover removed, but as soon as I screwed the cover on, the battery wouldn't charge, even though the iPhone was indicating that charging is in progress. Figured that it must be some electrical issue, and upon closer inspection, I saw the plastic insulator on top of the battery connector was flaking off. So I put a little piece of plastic tape on top of the connector and screwed the cover back on. The battery is now charging fine, I suspect the cover was causing a short with the connector that allowed the charging current to escape.

Thanks for posting your fix. I didn't realize there were so many people out there who seem intent on repeating that we are all idiots and shouldn't be working on our phones (which we are doing because they are already out of warranty with apple). Seriously guys, if you want to help then help. We all know that spending 2-3x more money will give us a superior product and possibly a better outcome, but we all have our reasons as to why we aren't doing that. It seems like you guys know what you are talking about so I would love to here some constructive help if you have any advice.

Ok, you go and pay that 80 bucks, I will go have a nice dinner with the money I saved.

Just to be clear under Australian Consumer protection law it clearly states that opening of any electronic device does not void the warranty. It is illegal in Australia to have "warranty void" sticker on a unit unless it is part of the product label. A recent consumer complaint was made in regards to the Apple store in Perth, Western Australia where the client was told that they could not open the device to recover data. The Head office of Apple in Australia was very quick to clarify the situation for the Perth office. From then on they were very helpful. I must say there response was exceptional. Its a real shame that consumer protection isnt as good in the U.S. I saw in recent news events that the right to repair law is making an starting to make an impact. Good Luck.

As far as Apple is concerned, there are no user serviceable parts in an iPhone so your question is really outside the prevue of this forum. You might be better off asking for assistance on iFixit's forums which are specifically geared to this sort of thing.

Best of luck.

Once again, the iPhone does not have any user serviceable parts. There are no legitimate replacement parts available to the public. Any thing you find is either:

A) Counterfeit

B) Stolen

C) Salvaged from another device

Opening up the iPhone voids ALL support from Apple. It is not advisable for anyone to attempt to service their iPhone. You can usually get a legitimate iPhone battery replacement service provided by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for $79 USD + tax.

How much money did you save? Please include the value of your time to actually replace the battery, the risk cost that the phone would never work again, the value of the time you spent here asking for help to troubleshoot the problem you created, the risk-adjusted added cost of a replacement phone if it needs to be replaced out of warranty considering that Apple will not honor the fixed price replacement cost, and the risk of using a non-approved part that is of unknown quality, life, and safety. Maybe it was one of those batteries that caused Samsung phones to explode and start fires a couple of years ago.

That's a lot of risk to save 20 bucks - or even 40 bucks.

All the evidence points to a subtle mistake you made in repairing it. It's a pretty common problem when you attempt to repair a device that was not designed to be field repaired by a non-expert.

Blake, got the exact same issue too... Did you figure out how to fix it?

konradsa wrote:

Ok, you go and pay that 80 bucks, I will go have a nice dinner with the money I saved.

Fair market value for a legitimate iPhone battery would be about $40-50. If you're paying anything less than that, then you're getting an inferior battery. How much did you pay for the replacement battery? Let's assume you didn't get scammed, and actually did purchase a quality (albeit unauthorized) battery.

So, you saved about $30-40. Okay, good so far. However, now you run the risk of:

A) The installation was performed incorrectly, and causes a problem down the road.

B) The battery or iPhone has a related issue within the next few months, and you pay for another battery and/or another installation, because the first one didn't fix the problem.

C) That battery wasn't actually a quality battery; it was just priced like one, and it leaks, expands, causes a fire, etc.

There's a phrase you need to learn; penny wise and pound foolish.

Depending on the context, it has various meanings. In this context, it means you are trying to save a little bit of money in the short term, but failing to see the possible long term costs.

Let's take a hypothetical:

I have an iPhone 6 Plus, 128 GB. Retail cost: $949 USD + tax.

My battery needs to be replaced. Apple quotes me $79 USD + tax. I find a place in the mall called 'iFix iPhones 4 U' that will do it for $40, parts and labor included.

"Heh, dumb Apple, they think I'm a sucker. I'm saving me $39 and taking my girl out to a fancy place, like Red Lobster!" (sarcasm intended)

About three months later, I notice that my iPhone 6 Plus is getting really warm. Like, toasty warm, almost enough to burn my skin.

I go back to the kiosk in the mall that replaced my battery. They tell me they don't warranty their work past five days, and they could replace the battery again for $40, if I want. Great. Now I've broken even, but at least I have that great Red Lobster dinner memory!

A few weeks later, the screen flashes red, and the iPhone locks up.

The kiosk guy tells me he's down, and to go somewhere else. He's sick of seeing me, because he's already got my money, and there's a sign that says 'All sales final'. What am I gonna do? Hire a lawyer over $80?

Maybe Apple can help. I go to the Apple Store, explain my case, they inspect my iPhone, and then tell me they cannot replace the battery because the device has had unauthorized service. Dang. Okay, but I've heard that I can get an iPhone 6 Plus exchanged, even if it's damaged, for $329. Surely they will do that, right?

Nope. Unauthorized modifications void ALL support options from Apple. Meaning I cannot get it replaced by Apple. So, what are my options?

A) Pay another $949 USD + tax to get another iPhone 6 Plus 128 GB.

B) Find another unauthorized shop and try my luck again... and again... and again.

Guess I'm not going to Red Lobster anytime soon.

“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,

For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,

For the want of a horse the rider was lost,

For the want of a rider the battle was lost,

For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,

And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”

TL;DR Version: Saving $30-40 bucks today might end up costing you 20x as much later on.

Instead of that nice dinner, chew on that instead.

konradsa wrote:

Ok, you go and pay that 80 bucks, I will go have a nice dinner with the money I saved.

Enjoy your meal.

brandonfromglendale wrote:

Thanks for posting your fix. I didn't realize there were so many people out there who seem intent on repeating that we are all idiots and shouldn't be working on our phones (which we are doing because they are already out of warranty with apple). Seriously guys, if you want to help then help. We all know that spending 2-3x more money will give us a superior product and possibly a better outcome, but we all have our reasons as to why we aren't doing that. It seems like you guys know what you are talking about so I would love to here some constructive help if you have any advice.

The fact that it is out of warranty is not a good enough reason. If a phone is out of warranty and breaks, Apple will replace it for a fixed fee (depending on model) that is way below the cost of a new phone. But self-repair eliminates this possibility. So you are gambling that you can fix it for less than that fee, and do it successfully. If you fail you are out the list price of a replacement, rather than the discounted price. That's an individual choice, but know the odds. ifixit.com will tell you the level of difficulty of any repair you might try.

For battery replacement specifically, Apple charges $79. Yes, you can buy a battery yourself for $20, and if you can install it without damaging the phone you have saved $59. However, if you break something you are out ~$800. So you are betting $59 and an hour of your time against $800. Some people are gamblers.

Likewise for screens. Apple: $109. How much can you save by putting in a clearly inferior screen?

Finally, any do-it-yourself repair means you are using non-Apple parts or scavenged parts from dead iPhones, as Apple does not sell replacement parts other than to authorized repair partners.

I had my Iphone5 battery replaced at the Apple store yesterday because my original battery was part of the batch that didn't stay charged.

They fixed it free of charge which was great, but now it doesn't charge at all - after hours on a multiple different chargers, it can't get past 16% which is what it was at when I brought it in.

They do not seem to think there is a problem at the store, I'd like to be able to tell them what they need to do to fix this issue and bringing it back to the store and relying on them to figure it out is not a great option since when I called, they suggested we continue to let it charge. Clearly they need a little bit of inside information to know what to look for so they can fix this correctly.

This is much more frustrating than having a phone that wouldn't hold a charge.

Have you charged it with an Apple USB wall adapter and Apple lightning cable, while not using the phone? It should charge in about 3 hours this way.

You can try recalibrating the battery gauge; run the battery all the way down until it shuts off, then charge it for 4 hours using the USB adapter. It should reach 100%.

After it is connected to power you can try turning it off (plugging it in turns it on, so you have to turn it off after connecting it). If it still doesn't charge there's a hardware problem with the phone.

Yes, we tried several Apple lightening cords, including one that we bought as a replacement while in the Apple store.

We haven't tried running it down but we will try that while we wait to see what the store comes up with.