Apple is offering a $50 credit to certain customers who paid full price for an iPhone battery replacement within 2017.
The offered credit is an extension of the $29 battery replacement program, which Apple launched in December in response to the infamous iPhone throttling issue.
Apple Offers $50 Credit To iPhone Battery Replacement Customers
Apple, through a post on its official support website, revealed that it is offering a $50 credit to customers who paid for an out-of-warrant battery replacement from Jan. 1 to Dec. 28 of 2017.
Not everyone will be able to enjoy the iPhone battery replacement refund, though. For the battery replacements to be eligible for the $50 credit, they should have been completed at an authorized service location, such as an Apple Store, an Apple Repair Center, or an authorized service provider. The devices involved should also be the iPhone 6 or later.
Eligible customers will receive the $50 credit either through an electronic funds transfer or directly to the credit card that was used to pay for the iPhone battery replacement.
Apple will reach out to eligible customers via email between May 23 and July 27, to provide instructions on how to avail the $50 credit. By Aug. 1, customers who have not received such an email but believe that they should be eligible for the $50 credit should prepare their proof of service and contact Apple by Dec. 31.
Remembering The iPhone Throttling Issue
The $50 credit matches the $50 discount that Apple provided for iPhone battery replacements, which are now only $29 from the original price of $79.
The discounted iPhone battery replacement was Apple's attempt at an iPhone throttling fix after the issue exploded in December 2017. Apple was found to have been throttling iPhones to extend the life of degraded batteries, an allegation that was later confirmed by Apple. According to the company, the "feature" was implemented to prevent random shutdowns.
As iPhone owners scrambled to determine if they were affected by the iPhone throttling issue, lawsuits against Apple started coming in.
To try to make things right, Apple decided right before 2017 ended to offer $29 iPhone battery replacements, giving customers a significant discount to get their iPhones at peak performance. Apple then rolled out the Battery Health menu in iOS 11.3 to give users the option of whether to disable iPhone throttling or to conserve battery.
The debate whether these actions are enough for iPhone owners to accept Apple's apology is still ongoing. Samsung, meanwhile, apparently will not let Apple forget about the iPhone throttling issue.
