Last week, device teardown firm and “right to repair” advocate iFixit said Apple had activated a “dormant software lock” on its 2018 iPhone lineup to discourage unauthorized third-party battery replacements.
iFixit says any iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or iPhone XS Max that has a battery replacement performed by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized service provider will display a message that says the battery needs servicing.
The message reads, “Important Battery Message: Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery. Health information not available for this battery.”
Apple has confirmed the measure, saying the warning is a safety measure for users that will not affect how the third-party battery functions.
Today, in a statement provided by Apple to a number of news outlets, the iPhone maker says it wants to “make sure any battery replacement is done properly.”
The full statement reads:
“We take the safety of our customers very seriously and want to make sure any battery replacement is done properly. There are now over 1,800 Apple authorized service providers across the US so our customers have even more convenient access to quality repairs.
Last year we introduced a new feature to notify customers if we were unable to verify that the battery was genuine and installed by a certified technician following Apple repair processes. This information is there to help protect our customers from damaged, poor quality, or used batteries which can lead to safety or performance issues.
This notification does not impact the customer’s ability to use the phone after an unauthorized repair.”
iFixit says it tested the issue and has seen the message. They say they first saw the issue in a “damning video from Justin at The Art of Repair,” and they they were able to replicate it on an iPhone XS running both iOS 12 and the iOS 13 beta.
