iPhone 5 battery problem resolved

Mijn probleem

Continuing premature discharge and frustration of seeing charge drop from 40% to 10% in minutes.

Mijn oplossing

The process took about 1/2 hour using the kit (suction cup, a pentelobe and Philips screwdriver, nylon pry tool, plus battery). The video guide was excellent, pointed out all the key things to do, and everything worked perfectly after the repair. This was fun to do and much more cost-effective than taking it in. I think anyone capable of following simple instructions and not doing this at record-breaking speed should be successful.

Mijn advies

The force to pull the screen up with the suction cup to create a wedge for the nylon pry tool is fairly substantial; it almost feels like you might break something, but if it is done slowly and carefully then there should be no problems. One thing the video didn't address is that the top of the screen opposite the on/off button should be inserted into the metal casing and "slid" in to catch once you are ready to reassemble. This makes sense because prying up from the bottom by the button also needs to be last area to apply pressure to properly close and lock the screen to ensure mechanical integrity and proper closure. In my first attempt I didn't pay attention to this and found the screen would not re-insert correctly for the proper seal. I didn't want to break anything so I reviewed the entire video again and then realized I hadn't paid attention to this. I also took the opportunity to use isopropyl alcohol to clean the case and the screen edges prior to reassembly - a surprising amount of dirt can accumulate that may interfere with the tightness of the seal.

I've heard horror stories of people who bought iPhone batteries on eBay, but found out later they were substandard. I had no desire to have problems after taking this effort, so I purchase the kit from iFixit; I consider it a good investment and the battery seems to have restored my phone to its original performance.