Apple to Replace Complete iPad for $99 if Battery Fails

By IM Staff
last updated

Yes, you read the title correctly. According to Apple's web site, If your iPad battery fails Apple doesn't want to bother opening the device to replace it -- they would rather ship you a completely new (no word on whether it's a refurb?) iPad to replace the faulty one within a weeks time period. Of course there is a fee involved - $99, plus $6.95 shipping.

If your iPad requires service due to the battery's diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee. Note: Your iPad is not eligible for Battery Replacement Service if the product has been damaged, for example, as result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications, or if the product is not operating correctly as a result of a component failure. Please review Apple's Repair Terms and Conditions for further details.

While we don't expect there to be major battery issues, some of us just may end up with bum batteries so it's probably a pretty good idea to get into the habit of backing up your iPad on a consistent basis in case you fall victim. That is if you want to secure all of your data (because if one day the battery dies, kiss your data goodbye).

Until Apple clarifies whether or not they'll be sending out refurbished iPad's I'm not so hot on this idea. Perhaps I'm being too picky but I'd rather bring my iPad into the store and have them swap the battery out while I wait and go home with my original device then and there and not have to wait a week for a refurb to be delivered. Also, we're assuming the $99 doesn't apply if you're still within the 1 year warranty to 2 years of AppleCare, but again we're waiting on confirmati

Enough about how I feel, what do you think?

IM Staff
IM Staff

Your source for all things Apple

29 Comments
  • That announcement makes iPad appear to be cheaply made. Why announce it before they even come out? Makes it appear all but certain some individuals will have battery issues.
  • Hope they offer a similar deal for the next generation iPhone too!! or do they already?
    http://www.diverse-group.com/menu/blog.html
  • Honestly, it just sounds to me that the iPad is so tightly constructed that I doubt even an authorized repair facility could easily take it apart and put it back together.
    Heck, I felt weird when I had to open my folks Mac Mini open when the hard disk failed, only to find out that I couldn't easily fix the problem.
    I am all for a $99 full replacement, but only if the same replacement guarantee works on the $99 as well AND that I can get a new AppleCare on that replacement iPad.
  • In what way will the iPad fail? Will the battery drain like mad?
  • For me, I'm tired of this 'non-replaceable' battery stuff. I have an iPhone, and it bothers me that I can't customize it without jailbreaking it (for one thing), and that if the battery goes, I can't just walk into an AT&T store, buy a battery, pop it in, and walk out in 5 minutes. It is always in the back of my mind.
  • You can still back up using AC power if battery dies. It's ok...
  • If it's within the one year warranty, the ipad replacement will be free. It's a defect and that's what a warranty specifically covers.
  • I would rather have a loaner and get my iPad back because I take great care of my devices. I don't want somebody's refurb back.
  • Its also funny that the AppleCare option is not available at the online store.
  • Is Apple not confident in their product?
  • As usual you people are making a mountain out of a mole hill. It says if the battery fails they will send you another ipad. I had my battery fail in both the 2g and 3g went in the store they gave me another one. So if this was a problem with other devices in the past they are addressing it right now. Why is this wrong or giving some people the impression that it's cheaply made or they are not confident in their product?
  • I don't mind getting a refurb, if necessary. I had to do that with my iPhone and the replacement is better than the original. Some friends have had the same experience. I actually worked in electronics refurb once, and I think the QA is tighter than production.
  • So many anti-Apple trolls on here spreading FUD. Tired of it, Rene.
  • I'm with jtz5. Sounds Luke they're trying to mitigate EFF waaaaay too soon. That is another reason to avoid the first generation iPad.
  • Um, clearly you guys don't have much experience with apple refurbs. I've had 4 replacement iPhones and they were all in immaculate condition. It's very rare that apple mistakingly forgets to replace ugly parts.
  • I don't have experience with Apple refurbs, I have recently switched from two PC's and a blackberry to a 27" and a 21" iMac and iPhones for both me and the wife. Wished I had done it years ago. I just found it strange that AppleCare was not offered for the iPad. By the way, I ordered a 64g model last Friday the instant that they went on sale. I'm not trolling the site and am sorry if I left that impression.
  • @Steve Jobs, @OneOfDaKine
    They are not talking about battery failures so much as the battery losing its mojo over time, something that anybody with a laptop -- Mac or PC -- can appreciate. The announcement refers to:
    "the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge"
    which happens to virtually all laptops. In the computer realm, our expectations are set so spectacularly low, and our laptops so frequently plugged in at a desk, that we often tolerate a "6 hour battery" lasting only 90 minutes on our middle-aged machines.
    iPads will not be plugged in as much as a laptop, and, more importantly, while computer users put up with this sort of stuff, general purpose consumers -- where Apple is targeting the iPad -- typically do not. As such, unless Apple has some radically new battery design that does not suffer the same problems as every other rechargeable battery in existence, Apple will have to deal with customers complaining about their 10 hour batteries lasting 8, 6, or less hours (eventually).
    "Confidence" has little to do with it -- it is simply the reality of rechargeable batteries, and this announcement just outlines how Apple plans to deal with it.
    (And like Rene, I would much rather be able to swap the battery out in the store, too.)
  • This isn't any different than with iPods or the iPhone. The only difference is they just say what they are actually going to do with the iPad. I've had iPod batteries "replaced" a few times and I've never gotten the same iPod back. I had the battery "replaced" in my iPhone 3G once as well, they sent me a different one back.
    I don't see why this is so shocking or even news.
  • Of course it'll be a refurb.
  • Good luck with that attitude in the state of California, perhaps the state with the most pro-consumer oriented laws of any other. There is automatically a one-year warranty for items, such as the iPad, so within the first year, there won't be any fees for replacing batteries.
    That said, I've never kept any one device for over one year, so I doubt I'll ever be eligible for that (hefty, I might add) fee.
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  • The Apple battery issue has gotten so ridiculous at this point that they're trying to make $99 for a battery failure seem like a good idea.
  • If it’s within the one year warranty, the ipad replacement will be free. It’s a defect and that’s what a warranty specifically covers.
  • In the computer realm, our expectations are set so spectacularly low, and our laptops so frequently plugged in at a desk, that we often tolerate a “6 hour battery” lasting only 90 minutes on our middle-aged machines.
  • Is Apple not confident in their product?
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  • I am really glad to hear that news. User friendly campaigns are the best. Congrulations for Apple.