I Replaced My iPhone Battery Myself at Home and You Can Too

If you have iPhone 17Google Pixel 10 Pro or Galaxy S25 Ultrayou won't have to worry about the age of the battery for at least a few years. But batteries age over time, so if you have a much older iPhone or an older Android phone, you may well find that your battery no longer provides the same battery life it did when it was new. But having an old, worn-out battery doesn't mean buying it at all. new phone; It's amazingly easy to replace the battery.

Apple has its own DIY repair programbut even if you don't use it, you can replace your iPhone battery yourself at home. With third-party parts available and a variety of tools you can buy, you can open up your iPhone and replace an old, worn-out battery or replace a broken screen—often for less money than if a company did it for you.

I did just that, replacing the old battery of a frequently used iPhone 6 to give it new life. I was delighted to find the phone on eBay for just £75 (about $100 US or AU$140) back in 2020. That's a lot less than the new iPhone 17 Pro, but unfortunately the battery has aged to the point where the software had to artificially limit performance to prevent it from shutting down. Instead of throwing away the phone and experiencing buyer's remorse, I decided to buy a spare battery and tools at the store. iFixit and try changing the battery yourself.

It took just over an hour, but I was able to safely replace the battery and get my iPhone 6 working perfectly again. I'm not giving step-by-step instructions here. go to iFixit and get the kit if that's what you need, but I want to describe my experience, including how easy the process was, and hopefully answer some questions you may have if you also need a new battery.

If you have a newer model (iPhone 12 or later), be sure to check first New Apple repair options and see if you can replace it with parts directly from the company.

Please note that any servicing of your devices is performed entirely at your own risk.

To learn more about iPhone, visit everything Apple announced at WWDC 2025.

1. Why do you need to replace your iPhone battery?

Batteries age over time, and given that the iPhone 6 was released many years ago, it's no surprise that the one I bought wasn't working in perfect condition. One day, the phone unexpectedly rebooted while in use and displayed a warning: “This iPhone shut down unexpectedly because the battery was unable to provide the required peak power. Performance management was implemented to prevent this from happening again in the future.” Even the phone itself knew that its battery was low.

In short, the phone's performance may suffer if it can no longer cope with power consumption. It is possible to disable throttling, but this will result in more frequent crashes. Neither situation is ideal, so replacing the battery seemed like a smart decision since it wasn't my primary phone and I was willing to take the risk.

2. How much does it cost to replace an iPhone battery?

The problem in my situation was that I bought the phone so cheaply that spending more money on the battery replacement service negated some of that initial savings. Apple's replacement service costs £49 ($49), which is more than half of what I paid for the iPhone 6 I bought. Because I was in the middle of a coronavirus lockdown when I tried this, I couldn't get to an Apple store to pick it up, and sending it by post would bring the total cost to around £56 (about $75 or AU$105).

iFixit, however, sells a DIY replacement kit for £35 (including postage to my home in Scotland). In the US it costs $30, and with shipping costs about $38. It's not a huge savings compared to an Apple replacement, but every little bit helps. This also means you'll still have the tools you need if you want to do it again in the future. All you need to buy next time is a battery.

3. What is included in the iFixit Battery Repair Kit?

The iFixit kit includes a third-party replacement battery that No from Apple, since Apple doesn't sell parts separately for phones older than the iPhone 12. It also comes with all the tools you need to open the phone and remove the old battery. The only other thing I needed was a hair dryer to heat it up and remove the glue.

4. Does replacing the battery void your phone's warranty?

Opening your iPhone will void your warranty, but if your battery is old enough to require replacement, chances are you're already past the 12-month warranty period.

5. Is it safe to replace the iPhone battery yourself?

This question is not so easy to answer. The iFixit guide gives very detailed instructions on the necessary steps, but there were a few things that made me nervous. One step involved heating the back of the phone with a hairdryer to loosen the adhesive holding the old battery in place.

Specifically, it said to heat it to “too warm to touch,” which I found a little vague. Moreover, this section also warned that “overheating the iPhone may cause the battery to catch fire.” But how hot is too hot? What signs would I see if it was overheating? I couldn't find this information and so wasn't sure how close I was to overheating.

Shortly after, while trying to remove the old battery, I accidentally tore what looked like black wrapping around that battery. I was pretty sure the battery itself wasn't punctured—there was no smoke or hiss—but I would have felt a lot more comfortable if I had had “emergency” instructions on hand about what to look for and what to do if the battery did catch fire.

6. Can I replace the iPhone battery myself?

At some point I discovered that I could, but I wasn't the best at DIY. iFixit's instructions were easy to follow, requiring just seven internal screws to be removed, which were then easy to put back in.

One thing that confused me was that the instructions on the iFixit website end at the point where you remove the old battery. The only instruction in the conclusion was to follow the previous steps in reverse order. Admittedly, this wasn't particularly difficult, but I would have appreciated some more guidance at this point.

During the process, I encountered another problem: when I removed the screen, I cracked the protective film that was in place. I noticed hairline cracks and was concerned that I had damaged the display itself, but fortunately it was not damaged.

7. Should you change your iPhone battery?

It depends on the age and value of your phone. If you're like me and bought a cheap used iPhone and just want to get it back up and running, this could be a great way to breathe new life into old technology without spending a fortune. However, keep in mind that this will not be my primary phone and I did not buy it with my own money. For me the risk was low. If I made a mistake and ruined the phone, it wouldn't be a big deal. You'll need to consider whether you can really get by without your phone and weigh your tolerance for other risks.

If you are using a newer device like an iPhone 14 or 15, I would just take it directly to Apple. The savings you'll get by doing it yourself aren't big enough to justify the potential cost of damaging a more valuable phone.