Apple issues battery replacements for faulty iPhones

21 Nov 2016

iPhone 6s devices may have faulty batteries. Image: Ellica/Shutterstock

Apple issues guidelines for replacement batteries after a fault found in certain iPhones caused devices to shut down out of the blue.

Continuing the 2016 theme of faulty batteries on smartphones, Apple is issuing replacement batteries for a select number of its iPhone 6s devices.

Claiming that the fault is not safety related, Apple said the affected devices shut down unexpectedly, regardless of battery charge.

The company said it only affects devices within a limited serial number range that were manufactured between September and October 2015.

Customers of affected iPhone 6s models have three options to access their replacement batteries: through an Apple authorised service provider, an Apple store or Apple technical support. Details for all three are available here.

If the affected iPhone 6s has any damage, such as a cracked screen which impairs the replacement of the battery, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair.

Rather helpfully, if customers replaced the battery themselves, Apple will issue a refund of the cost.

Hissing

Earlier this year, customers began complaining about a hissing noise coming from the new iPhone 7 devices.

One of the first people to report it online was the podcaster Stephen Hackett, who posted a video of the sound being emitted from his iPhone 7. It sounds identical to when the connection between an audio device and a speaker is not correct.

Hackett was joined by a number of other users who came forward with the problem, confirming the sound was being emitted when the phone was under heavy usage, such as when downloading a lot of apps at the same time.