Tag: DIY

Replaced my iPhone 6 battery, part two

UPS (via Next Day Air) delivered the two sets of adhesive strips from iFixit. I’m glad it arrived in the morning. ☀️🛬

Before I started my second attempt, I read the instructions and watched the videos again. 🍿

Read: Part one

iFixit included three words on their box: “You got this.”

They were right. I worked in silence for less than an hour, all went well, and the battery now feels secure. 🔋

I also swapped the Pentalobe screws with Phillips screws from the included Liberation Kit (available with their iPhone 6 Replacement Battery Fix Kit).

I’m sort of ignoring the amount spent for a few reasons. 💸

  • Privacy. I didn’t want to leave my device with a third party for several hours/days.
  • I didn’t have a working backup iPhone to hold me over.
  • I’m saving money by not upgrading to a newer iPhone, especially since my current one is fine.
  • I can be confident to do the same for Amy’s iPhone 6…when she’s ready. 💪🏾
  • Maybe I can do this — and replace the cracked screen (Amy did it) — on my previous iPhone 5s.
  • Fun. I haven’t tinkered like this since I built PCs years ago. See image of Grandpa Simpson yelling at cloud. I’m…not going to link to it. I think you know it. 😉

Questions? 🤓

Replaced my iPhone 6 battery, part one

The good

I disassembled, replaced the battery, and reassembled my iPhone. The instructions from iFixit were solid.

My phone powered up, I don’t see display issues, and Touch ID still works. Feels quicker, too. 💥

CPU benchmarks

These two benchmarks — from Geekbench 4 — correspond to the old and new batteries, respectively. Higher is better.

  • Single-core went from 816 to 1547. Increase (↑) of 89.583%.
  • Multi-core went from 1329 to 2643. Increase (↑) of 98.871%.

With my iPhone not in Low Power Mode when I ran the test, is the large discrepancy due to:

  • The old battery level being at 4%, and
  • The new battery level at around 40%?

I’m…not sure. The battery charge needed to be very low1 before I dug into my iPhone.

With the new battery level at 7%, I ran another CPU benchmark.

The result? Single- and multi-core benchmarks were 1548 and 2674, respectively, which means it wasn’t a fluke. 🙌🏽

Have you seen a comparison posted elsewhere? Let me know in the comments!

The bad

With the new battery, I applied the adhesive on the wrong side, and I initially didn’t order an extra set. 🤦🏾‍♂️

The ugly

To be safe, I ordered two sets of iPhone 6/6s/7 battery adhesive strips with the most expensive shipping. The estimated arrival date is Friday.

Until then, I need to handle my phone with extra care. I definitely won’t carry my phone in my pocket. 😱

Reason: With the bit of extra space not yet taken by adhesive, I need to prevent damage to the internal bits.

The silver lining

I work from home, and don’t need to venture out over the next couple of days. I can still use Authenticator for two-factor authentication.2

Ultimately, Friday isn’t that far off. I’ll do my best to keep that in mind. 😬

Update — Read part two!

 

 

  1. For safety, the instructions state the battery level needs to discharged below 25%. “A charged lithium-ion battery can catch fire and/or explode if accidentally punctured.” 😱 ↩
  2. Yes, I have backup codes. ↩