The battery replacement program is offered free of charge and shall be applicable to phones that suddenly experience having a shorter battery life or needing to be charged more frequently than normal.
As per Apple, the phones that may have some battery issues are those that have been sold in the early months of the iPhone 5 which is between September of 2012 and January of 2013.
"Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently," said Apple on its official site. "The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range."
The first step needed to find out if the phone is eligible for a free battery replacement is to determine whether the device was purchased during the above mentioned period. The next step is to find out the device's serial number and check if it falls within a limited range. If the user is not sure of his device's serial number, he can get some help by going to Apple's official site.
Apple has laid out three service options to help the user who seeks for a battery replacement on his iPhone 5. These would include an authorized service provider of Apple, an Apple brick and mortar store, and technical support from Apple's official site.
Once the user has chosen how he would avail of the program, he needs to accomplish some steps. The first thing he has to do is to back up his data to iCloud or iTunes. Next, he has to make sure that the "Find my iPhone" app is disabled. Lastly, he should delete the phone's data and settings by going to the Settings tab.
While the battery replacement program is free and Apple is serious about providing the service, there are some situations that may delay the service or may incur a certain charge for the repair. One example is when the iPhone 5 has non-battery related damages such as a broken screen. This may impair the battery's replacement and should be resolved beforehand to avail of the new battery replacement program.
Apple can also restrict or limit the repair to the original country of purchase. The battery replacement program is now available in the U.S. and China. Those who come from other countries can avail of the program starting on Aug. 29, 2014.
