Chosen Solution
I replaced the stock battery in my iP 6 with a 3rd battery. After about a year it was degrading. I wanted a good quality battery so my phone would be at top capacity for a camping trip I was going on. I asked iFixit about their batteries and they assured me they were top notch. So I ordered one and replaced it. I have replaced about 5 iPhone batteries over the years starting with my iPhone 3 and moving forward. I am well aware of the pitfalls like sensitive ribbon cables, dirty connectors and different length screws. I always make sure to be careful and keep track of eveything. I have never had a problem with a battery replacement. This time when I put the iFixIt battery in, it worked initially. I let it drain to dead and then recharged the phone to 100%. it was on the charger over night. the next day it was working but at around 28% the phone went dead. I put it on the charger and nothing. I tried 3 different Apple chargers and an macbook pro. Nothing. I opened it up and checked everything. I reseated the battery connector and it booted to the apple logo but then went dead. I cleaned the battery connectors with lint free swabs and a bit of non lubricating contact cleaner. Reseated and nothing. I then removed the iFitIt battery and put in the previous 3rd party battery and phone booted up to home fine. I put the iFixIt battery back in and it didn’t work. Put the 3rd party back in and put it back together and I guess I will have to go on my trip with this battery. iFixIt let me down. After emailing with iFixIt to ask for a replacement they want me to go through hoops. they want me to re-clean the connectors and do a DFU update. The problem with the DFU update is it will wipe my phone and from past experience this will take hours to restore and get set back up right. It’s not worth it for a $30 battery to spend all this time. My question is, will a DFU update definitely fix the problem or is this just a “shoot in the dark and hope it works” troubleshooting step. If the latter, forget it. I will just call my credit card company for a charge back if iFixIt wont refund me or send me a replacement battery. I am thinking that the iFixIt battery failed in a way that is now limiting the current it can source. When the phone wants a lot of current the battery fails. I measured the voltage on the battery at 3.7V so the battery is at least supplying the right voltage. I have had similar things happen to other LiPo batteries where the voltage is ok but they just can’t source the current. Let me know if a DFU update is a definite documented fix for this problem or if its just iFixIt shooting in the dark. thanks.
IMO a DFU won’t change anything. A fully charged battery should measure ~4.2V, not 3.7V. Use a battery utility, such as coconutBattery (for Mac) or 3uTools (for Windows). It will tell you what the health of the battery is. Anything less than 70% of design capacity will require replacement. Batteries are already the weakest link in the aftermarket industry. With the recent admission by Apple that they were throttling devices when the battery was weak, there has been a huge global demand for replacement batteries. I suspect that that with this excessive demand, lower quality batteries are making their way through the supply chain where they otherwise wouldn’t.
