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[aesmith]

Hi,

My better half has an iPhone 5, was going to be replacing it but now thinks the larger size of the 6/7/8 wouldn't suit her.   The real problem with the 5 is that the battery is goosed, needing to be charged every day.  I've tried a commodity replacement battery but it isn't really any better.   However with her now not planning to replace the phone in the short time I thought I'd give it another go if anyone can suggest a source for a decent quality battery.

Thanks,

[Dray]

Apple? https://support.apple.com/en-gb/iphone/repair/battery-power

[j0hn]

If your iPhone needs battery replacement and it’s not covered, the service fee is from £86.44.

Note the word from. Just wow. Buy a £700 phone from us, and when it stops working as it should we'll screw you some more.
Can't you buy Apple batteries from the likes of Amazon? Got myself a genuine Samsung S5 battery from Amazon for £6. That was for a spare, the original still works perfectly 3 years on.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Sorry, can't help with battery issues.  But you may also want to check if your iPhone 5 will support the new iOS 11, I think it may not.  If that's the case, is it worth the effort?

I share the dislike of big phones, still using my own 5c even though it won't run iOS 11.   I see John Lewis is discounting iPhone SE at £300 at the moment, these being similar to a high end iPhone 5.   But the SE is already a bit long in the tooth, not sure how many future iterations of iOS can be expected to remain compatible.   Personally, I'll hold out with my 5c for a few months, I suspect a replacement for the SE will come along soon... I'm sure Apple are well aware of us luddites that like smaller phones.

[aesmith]

An updated SE would suit her fine, if I remember rightly the SE is technically equivalent to the 6S but came out around 6 months later.  The iPhone 5 isn't supported on IOS 11, I don't know how much of an issue that is in say the next 12 months.  I'm using an iPhone 4s which didn't support IOS 10 and so far there's no visible loss of function.

Apparently Apple don't supply parts as a matter of policy.   So the various retailers offering "genuine" Apple batteries are being a little misleading.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Yes, technically the SE is more like a 6S, I just meant it looked similar to a 5.

Being out of date on iOS just means you miss out on whatever new toys are built into the later version, these free updates being one of iPhones' best value features imho.   But as the saying goes.... what you've never had, you'll never miss.  I still use a very ancient iPod touch, iOS 5 iirc, as a music player for the car.  It still works perfectly and syncs with my libraries.

You might also miss out on security updates as and when vulnerabilities get discovered, up to you how much to worry about that.  Apple have been known to retro fit super critical fixes to older versions, but generally they don't.

Of interest, did you manage the earlier battery replacement DIY, or use a repairer?   I only once tried to dismantle an even older iPod touch, which ended badly - I wrecked the poor thing.

[rpdmallett]

The only place to get genuine Apple batteries is from Apple - all other items purporting to be genuine should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.

I've done numerous repairs for family members, for broken iPhone screens (teenagers dropping them!) and replacement (non-genuine) batteries.  In all iPhone 5/5C/5S units, the battery is stuck down really well and you need to apply heat (to soften the glue) to get it out.  Screens are more straightforward but very fiddly - especially the 5/5S ones with the touch ID as there's a metal catch holding down a connector that's a pig to get in & out (until you have the knack!).

I'd recommend a new phone if the money is there, or get Apple to replace the battery if you want to save money.  To save even more, get a 3rd party to change the battery (to a non-genuine part).  I would not recommend doing it yourself unless you're willing to risk damaging the phone.

Richard

[aesmith]

Sorry not to check back.  I did the previous battery replacements myself and second the comments about the job, even getting the screen off takes more force than I was happy with.  To make it worse I've already done the job three times and it's still not right (1) replacement battery that turned out to completely useless (2) put original battery back (3) second replacement battery, still not very good as struggles to give a full working day operation, but at least doesn't unexpectedly go from part charge to completely dead.

[highpriest]

I've bought replacement batteries from iFixit and they are very good.

https://eustore.ifixit.com/en/Parts/iPhone-Parts/iPhone-5/iPhone-5-Replacement-Battery.html

I've replaced the battery on an iPhone 4S and an iPhone 6 and battery life is (pretty much) back to how it was when new.