Apple has started ‘locking’ batteries to iPhones

If you go to a third-party repair shop to get your iPhone XS, XS Max or XR’s battery replaced, you’ll see a “Service” message in your iPhone’s battery settings, and you won’t be able to get rid of it — even if your battery functions perfectly fine. 

This is according to a new report by repair specialists iFixit, who claim Apple is “locking” batteries to iPhones in their factories, and only allowing Apple Authorized Service Providers the use of software that can remove the “Service” message when a battery is replaced. 

This was first noticed by Art of Repair a few days ago; check out the details in the video, below. 

The “Service” message is followed by an “Important Battery Message” which says that Apple is “unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery.” It happens in iOS 12 and iOS 13 beta, even if the third-party repairer indeed did put in a genuine Apple battery. 

The good news is that, aside from the message, battery life or the phone’s operation isn’t impaired in any way (though there’s no telling on whether this could change in the future).

The bad news is that this is simply a lame thing to do — akin to have your car display a warning message as soon as you go to a third-party repair shop for a fix. 

According to iFixit, as of iOS 10 Apple has also started blocking third-party battery health apps from accessing many battery details. There’s a workaround, though: Plug your iPhone into a Mac and install an app such as coconutBattery.

iFixit calls Apple’s behavior a “user-hostile choice,” and points to right to repair legislation as a solution that would force companies like Apple to give users more say over where and how they can repair the devices they bought and own.