Expect Delays In Getting That Battery Replacement For Your Apple iPhone
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Nearly two weeks after Apple announced it would replace batteries for just $29 in its iPhone 6 and subsequent models, customers are finding it takes time to get those batteries.
"Right now, the main obstacle is that everyone wants one," Bree Fowler, the SmartPhone editor for Consumer Reports, told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Friday.
Of course they do because the iPhone 6, 6S, SE, 7, and 8 have old batteries that tend to slow down the delivery of content.
"Getting an appointment at your Apple store or at Apple's third party retailers is going to be a little tough right now," says Fowler.
In fact, if you use the online option to get an appointment at a local Apple store, you can expect a five- to seven-day delay for that appointment.
Part of the reason for the crunch at these Apple stores is that there are so few of them in the tri-state region.
Besides this one in Shadyside, there's one in South Hills Village and another at Ross Park Mall. But the next closest one is in Akron, Ohio.
And there are no Apple stores in West Virginia.
That means that some Apple users are driving over two hours to get new batteries.
If you have time to kill, you can always walk-in to an Apple store and wait to see a technician who will examine your phone, then order the batteries -- there are almost none in stock -- which means another three to five day wait.
Fowler says many should just hold off.
"Twenty-nine dollars is a great deal -- that's 50 bucks off what you would normally pay. But the important thing to remember is that if your phone is in decent working condition ,you've got until the end of 2018 to do this, so there really isn't that big of a rush," Fowler said.
Once your battery arrives, it will take at least two hours to replace. And one last thing, remember, back up the data on your phone.
"There is the risk that somebody could goof and fry it," Fowler said.
