UPDATE – So after Apple Telephone support rattled my cage, all got resolved by a quick visit to my local Apple Store in Plymouth. After a few diagnostic tests, Apple decided to replace my wife’s iPhone 6S with a new one, and without any fuss. My thanks to the everyone at Apple Plymouth.
Yesterday I mentioned about Apple’s Battery Replacement Programme for the iPhone 6S.
In a nutshell Apple had determined that a very small number of iPhone 6s devices unexpectedly shut down. This is not a safety issue and only affects devices within a limited serial number range that were manufactured between September and October 2015.
I mentioned that my wife’s 6S had been constantly shutting down unexpectedly. I had thought this was down to a software failure. So I followed the links in the Apple support article to book an appointment at my local Apple Genius bar to get the battery swapped.
There were none available for the next 7 days at my local Apple Store. In fact there were none anywhere except one location which only had one time slot left and this was for a store too far away. So I decided to instigate a call to Apple Support to double check that my wife’s phone was being impacted by the fault as described.
So after holding for 25 mins for a support agent, I was told that the battery diagnostic test that can be run remotely does not confirm if the particular phone has the problem. The suggestion by Apple was for them to post me a box, to place the iPhone into, return back to them, and they will then return the phone once fixed. I told the support agent this solution was not acceptable. There was no way my wife could be without her phone. So the support agent told me to keep checking back each day to see if there are any new Genius appointments.
Why are there no Genius appointments anywhere? There are more Apple stores than ever before too. This NEVER used to be like this. It seems to me Apple was deliberately forcing the postal option.
Well my wife had the best solution. She made the following comments. The phone is just over 12 months old and a lot of money was spent on the iPhone. It Apple can’t fix the phone, they can bloody refund my money in full, and I will then buy one that does work properly.
Sounds fair to me!
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 
Is that warranty 12 months or 24?
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I believe 12. This is a fault with the battery supplied from Day 1, which Apple is only now admitting after pressure from a consumer group.
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Sounds like they are trying to downplay the situation to avoid share prices dipping. The fault is a with all those iphone ordered at launch last year. Does the recall include 6s plus models?
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Just standard 6S.
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My wife had her phone replaced quite easily. We set up a Genius Bar appointment and they gave her a new phone. I think the in store approach works best. Customer service over the phone is terrible for every cell phone manufacturer including apple . Good luck to your wife!
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Hi Gavin,
Can I ask how often the faulty 6S was shutting down? My wife’s 6S phone is having a similar, but an intermittent issue where it just switches off (particularly when cold, not freezing – but if it has been outside for a few minutes). Switching it back on again shows a charged battery. It’s most odd.
According to Apple support chat it’s not in the affected batch. Their only response was it was just out of the limited warranty and did we want to book a (chargeable) service 😦
Cheers,
Neil.
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Hi Neil
I don’t know what caused my wife’s battery to randomly shut down. It would randomly shut off about once a day, sometimes twice. It has progressively got worse over the last few months. When plugged back in to the charger, it came on at around 30-50%.
When Apple did the online diagnostics they could not find anything wrong with the battery test. In the Apple Plymouth store, they ran a MRI diagnostic test on the battery. This showed a good healthy battery. This didn’t make sense, so I do wonder if their tests are good enough to pick up the issue at hand.
I was quite firm and polite and said there is clearly an issue and its being happening for a while. Apple replaced it for another 6S using the consumer laws that we are protected by e.g. Sale of Goods Act.
My advice to you, is go to an Apple Store. The online chat is useless IMO. Good luck. Let me know how you get on.
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