Why do unused iPhones just die? I’m not talking dead battery. I’m talking took-it-to-Apple-Store-where-they-ran-all-diagnostics and pronounced DOA, even if battery replaced.
Each time I‘ve upgraded, 5 to 6, 6to 7 etc, and simply turned off/stored in a clean place the older phone, then went to reboot as a gift, trade in, whatever, it’s dead - won’t reset, hard power up, nothing. nada. Is this Apples planned obsolescenc?
No, it is leaving a lithium polymer batter unused which certainly killed the battery and may have resulted in so much damage that the battery leaked thus killing the phone. Why didn't you sell or recycle the phones? My iPhone 5s, 6 Plus, 6s Plus and 7 Plus are still in use by people I handed them down to. At least one of them would have died if it was planned obsolescence.
OK......clearly a lithium ion battery left to sit in a device not only dies, but either leaks or perhaps emits gas (as I've read they can do), which caused your phone to die permanently. I'm not sure what it is you're expecting from us users. We're not Apple. We don't speak for Apple. We can't speak for Apple. I think what you should learn from this is it's not a great idea to turn off a phone and let it set for an extended period of time or your phone may likely suffer permanent death.
Otherwise, there is nothing more to really say about this.
Only moderators read these posts as they monitor the forums to ensure people don't vioate the terms of use we all agreed to. Engineers are not likely reading here at all.
If you want Apple to hear you, provide feedback via this link as it's the only way to know your message is heard at the developer/engineering level: Feedback - iPhone - Apple
Sorry you are rankled but letting lithium polymer batteries drain to 0 is pretty well known. You've had many problems apparently with yours, I've had no such issues. We're tied. But I also no others who passed down or sold their previous phones and they are all working.
But Apple isn't the only cell phone maker in the world so fortunately you have choices.
"...letting lithium polymer batteries drain to 0 is pretty well known."
Yes, I must be pretty out of touch, a real tech-dummy, aren't I?
I have searched the Web high & low for articles regarding this, page after Google-search page. There are many articles about how, if you let a lithium polymer battery drain all the way to zero, it will go flat and be unable to be resurrected. I have yet to find one single article saying it will also likely leak all over the innards of your device and ruin it. In a few knowledgeable articles, battery experts actually said the opposite - that alkalines are the only batteries assured to leak if left unused, but NiMH and lithiums don't leak out just due to non-use. So this well-known "fact" is obviously less well-known than you indicate. But if you have a link that better explains this well-known phenomenon, please forward it, thanks.
I'd also love to hear Lawrence Finch weigh in on this (if you're reading this, Lawrence :-) He's been extremely knowledgeable about iPhone batteries on this forum.
"Lithion Ion batteries unused for extended periods of time die."
Not a secret at all, as I confirmed.
Die, yes.
Die, then consistently leak out all over the device's circuitry and destroy it...not so well documented. After a deep Google search. But maybe I just missed it, which is why I said, send me links.
But how come, right there, they wouldn't add "The deeply discharged battery may also leak and destroy the rest of the phone's hardware," if that is a well-known fact?
*All* batteries are a risk to leak.
Cheap batteries. Rechargeable. Lithium iON. Nickel Cadmium.
Every battery ever made.
It is not a secret, but yet it is not on the front page each day.
Most assuredly Lawrence will echo Deggie's comments. Lithion Ion batteries unused for extended periods of time die. It's not a well kept secret.
Something about this answer rankles me. I don't remember reading anything in the original product boxes of any of these phones that said "This phone uses a lithium polymer batter(y) that, if left unused for "x" amount of time, will not only kill the battery, but will result in so much damage that it will leak and kill the phone." I haven't seen that in any of Apple's iPhone ads or their website either.
I have lithium batteries in many of my consumer products. I have a Mercedes travel van that has 2 large lithium batteries under the back seat. In all cases, I know that if I leave these unused long enough, they will go dead; and I know they can't be dumped in a landfill without causing environmental damage. I also know that if left unused, the only thing that will die is the battery itself. There's no built-in "given" that they will all routinely leak all over the product's other parts & circuitry and ruin that, too.
It's true I didn't get around to selling/recycling the phones as quickly as I could have. But they didn't sit unused for a decade; none of them ever sat for more than one year. I'm sorry, but in a top-tech product that costs $700, $800, $900, I expect it to be built so that the solid-state circuitry & chips are still fine after just a year of simply "turned off," even if the battery drains to zero.
Sorry, rbylawski, but if you read the 1st two posts, you'll see that is not what I was asking about. I wanted to know why the entire phone is pronounced dead at the Apple Genius Bar, as in, even with a newly installed lithium battery it still wont power up & run because, somehow, additional hardware damage occurred beyond a dead battery. Since I never did any damage to the phone, but simply turned it off for a year, the 1st responder above (deggie) said this:
"leaving a lithium polymer batter unused...certainly killed the battery and may have resulted in so much damage that the battery leaked, thus killing the phone"
That was the first I ever heard that after a certain amount of time, the battery will not only flatline, but leak and cause extra damage. Didn't hear that from Apple, in the box literature, or from my salesman at the Apple Store. Can't find any reference to this in an exhaustive Google search. Obviously, if this "fact" had been made loud & clear somewhere, if would have been an easy matter to keep the battery powered up. Deggie says lithium batteries leaking and destroying the inside of your phone is a "well known" fact, thereby excusing Apple from being unforthcoming on this and making me feel pretty stupid about 'obvious technological facts.'
Agreed, I now know this can happen. And I know you're not Apple. However, I've been told Apple reads every post. If so, perhaps when they see this thread, it will goose them to make this point very clear to all potential customers through their literature & ads, and train their in-store representatives to make sure this is clarified at purchase. For all us 'stupid' guys who didn't get the lithium-leak memo.
In a perfect world, reading this thread, they would even go so far as to say, "You know we didn't really make that clear, and we can't assume should have just known, so we'll give you some upgrade credit even though your old phone is now useless." Yeah, right! :-)
I don't know if they leak or not and didn't make the claim they do. I just know they die, which is really what you were asking about.
Can't find any reference to this in an exhaustive Google search.
See >>> Batteries - Maximizing Performance - Apple
2nd hit.
9th hit (in my geo)
No, not event the hosts here read every post.
Just for clarification: Every previous iPhone you've had, the iPhone 4s, 5, 6, 6s, 7 you have stuck every one of them in a drawer, left them there for 6 months or longer, found the battery to be dead, made a Genius Bar appointment and every time they examined your iPhone, agreed the battery was dead, but said they found other damage and there was no point in putting a battery in it.
Every phone, every time.
If that is the case I am having a hard time believing it and I've not seen any other complaint here like that.
Rhythm Earthsong said, "In a perfect world, reading this thread, they would even go so far as to say, "You know we didn't really make that clear, and we can't assume should have just known, so we'll give you some upgrade credit even though your old phone is now useless." Yeah, right! :-)"
Trade in with Apple GiveBack - Apple
They have done this for quite a while, the program now has a new name. In the past they would also allow a 10% credit for recycling which could be approved by the manager at the store. That statement leads me to believe that you are actually a troll.
Why do older, unused iPhones just die?
