This is more about what happened than about the actual phone (sort of).
Background.. wife has an iPhone 5 SE, had it for two years and it suits her needs, unfortunately the battery has finally gone on it as it doesn't hold and kind of decent charge. She pays £22 a month for free minutes and texts plus 2Gb of data, again this is all she needs so we aren't looking to pay any more per month but at renewal she couldn't find anything at around the same cost.
We asked several high-street 'phone' shops about changing the battery but all of them just laughed.
Then while out shopping wife went into the local Apple Store and asked there, 'Yes' of course we can change it for £45, brilliant this exactly what we needed!
Made an appointment for the Genius Bar to have battery changed today, we took it in and did the paperwork and handed it over, they said it would take about four hours to turnaround, so we went around the shops and then came back to the store.
Very helpful staff and the young lady who served us then explained what had happened.... they changed battery but this wouldn't charge, then they tried battery number two and again that wouldn't charge, they then put the old battery back in and that did charge so they knew the phone was OK..
Then the unexpected...
Rather than try again the they have given her a brand NEW phone!
OK it another 5SE but it 100% sealed in the box new, they set it up and helped her with a few other bits (booked in for a tutorial) all for the original cost of the battery change.
Very impressed!
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Good service from Apple!
£22 per month seems expensive though.
I have a “3” sim £20 per month with unlimited everything. Not even a squeak from them when I used 500gb in one month!
My wife pays £10 per month with O2 for a similar package to yours but with 5gb of data and my daughter pays £12 for 12gb with unlimited minutes and texts.
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>>.... She pays £22 a month for free minutes and texts plus
>> 2Gb of data, again this is all she needs so we aren't looking to pay
>> any more per month
Not the point of the story, I know, but isn't that an awful lot of money?
Does it pay for the phone as well?
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If it includes the phone you are usually allowed a change of phone at contract renewal time (maybe 12, 18 or 24 months). I don't know much about Apple phones though, or who your provider is.
I'm currently on a SIM only deal with EE through a 3rd party by redemption. About £6.50 a month I think for unlimited calls & texts and 20Gb data. It will only last a year but another one will come along by then - if not, back to ID with 3Gb and unlimited for £6 or thereabouts.
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It does seem quite a bit but then apple phones do tend to be the most expensive. I'm on O2, £12 for 2gb plus unlimited texts and calls, seemed a bit much but I couldn't be bothered to look into changing, inertia I guess. Anyway they offered 1gb extra for the same money and nothing else so I've switched across to plusnet, 5.5gb for 8 quid.
Back to the op, yes I can imagine that's pretty good service from them, but I guess all that service is part factored into their costs and what they charge. Excellent result for your other half, glad to hear you got it all sorted.
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I am on GiffGaff SIM only. £6 a month. I rarely get close to using all of the calls, data, or messages limits.
www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-plans
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I’ve also had a couple of great experiences from apple stores. The first was in Southampton when I’d asked them to replace the screen on an iPhone 6 that I’d dropped a week after buying it. They didn’t have any screens, but just swapped the ‘phone for a new one instead, much as they did for you. The second time was a a crowded regent street store one wet evening - I’d popped in because my phone had gone really laggy and the touch screen was unresponsive. There were no ‘genius’ appointments, but one of the staff took it out the back, was gone for around 10 minutes and again came back with a new phone :) That one as an X, not long after launch. Still got it, and it’s unmarked!
Also, phone direct from apple stores are unlocked, so I’d shop around for a good sim only deal now!
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So we are now going for a SIM only deal with EE, I've only gone to Carphone warehouse for upgrades and currently there is nothing lower than about £18 and free text/minutes plus 2Gb of data.
Also now we are out of contract does that mean we go for an 'upgrade' or a new deal? New customers get a slightly lower cost for then same deal.
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I'd shop about that doesn't seem like a good deal. Loads of sim only companies doing deals.
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Thanks, I've only ever gone to the main CPW or the network..
Any recommendations for SIM only companies dealing with EE?
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I never cease to be amazed at how many Apple customers continually sing the praises of products and customer service and then reveal how much they are actually paying ( and have paid). They do not seem to understand that a Moto5 from JL (2 years warranty inc) can do everything that they want for about150£ ( I actually paid 120 for open box/new) and a SiM deal from BT at 8£ /month for 500mins calls and 4Gb Data would by far exceed their needs.
A little like the person on here who was promoting Dyson product - " they are brilliant, I can so easily buy spares for it!"
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Just to be clear my wife didn't have any connection with the Apple store she has her phone on contract from EE via CPW, she just made an appointment for her 2 year plus old phone (I didn't even think they would have new 5 SE's in stock) and turned up.
She gets on with iPhones and the do what she wants and connect up to her iPad, I jumped ship and went back to Blackberry (still have my KeyOne so will be going SIM only this month), their old BB10 was an amazing OS but now it's linked to Android which I can live with once I've removed as much of the Google stuff as I can and use the remaining BB apps or third party.
I'll probably look at a deal that doesn't have unlimited minutes as seems to make a difference and to be honest we both don't call as much as we think we do.
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>> I never cease to be amazed at how many Apple customers continually sing the praises
>> of products and customer service and then reveal how much they are actually paying (
>> and have paid). They do not seem to understand that a Moto5 from JL (2
>> years warranty inc) can do everything that they want for about150£
I'm sure that they do understand, they simply prefer the Apple products. I do not, but many do. Swapping between Android and iPhone is not a happy experience. Possible, of course, but trying and some people strongly prefer one UI or the other.
I am sure that a Moto5 does everything my Huawei P20 does for half the price (or less) but I still buy and prefer the Huawei.
The Apple Customer Service does seem to often go that extra step.
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>> Thanks, I've only ever gone to the main CPW or the network..
>>
>> Any recommendations for SIM only companies dealing with EE?
>>
Plusnet use EE, I'm waiting for the sim card to arrive so not used them. But we've been with them for years for internet and they've been pretty good so hopefully their mobile service is as good .
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The company I am using have the really cheap offer on again that is with EE.
www.metrofone.co.uk/ee-sim-only-deals
Unlimited minutes and texts and 20Gb data on a 12 month plan.
You pay Metrofone £22 a month then claim back £168 over specific months against your bill. So effectively about £8 a month. (3Gb data available for £5 pm www.metrofone.co.uk/basket?type=simonly&productId=110&tariffId=962&giftId=109&dealTypeId=2)
I've been on it for more than 5 months now and the process to reclaim was easy enough and the payment was prompt.
The only difficulty is that at the end of the period you would simply revert to the £22 per month. So I just look for another.
You would get a new SIM ,albeit still with EE, so would need to swap your number but this is dead easy these days.
You often have to give 30 days notice if you are changing provider, and this offer may not be around that long.
Is the phone locked to EE? If so you could get it unlocked then choose from many providers. ID always have decent plans around £6 - £8 and I've found their service pretty good. Also theirs are monthly contracts so you don't have to wait 12 months to change, if it's no good for you.
NB If you read anywhere that this is a "cheap" version of EE, that is historic. They used to have a set of tariffs where the connection was often capped in some way but apparently did away with that a bit back.
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 1 Sep 19 at 16:47
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I have a SIM only deal with PlusNet. They use the EE networks as both are owned by BT.
Why go to EE direct when you can get prices like this:
www.plus.net/mobile/sim-only/30-day
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My iPhone SE needed a new battery a couple of months ago. When it got down to 40%, it suddenly plummeted down to nothing and would then reboot the phone.
Was out in Swindon for the day, called into a shop and the lady said it would cost £30 for a non genuine battery, or £60 for a genuine Apple one. Both came with a year's guarantee and would take approx. an hour to replace. I said I'd think about it and come back once I'd made a decision.
I then called into another shop nearby. Was called The Phone Doctor, or Phone Medic. Anyway, asked the same question and it was £20 for a non genuine one, or £30 for a genuine Apple battery. No brainer really. Half the price of the other shop. I asked when he could do it. "Right now" was the reply. "Will take approx. ¼ hour sir". Hands the phone over and he starts taking it apart there and then. I left him to it and went and did a bit of shopping for ½ hour and then went back to collect phone. He asked me to inspect the phone and make sure it was all working and whether everything was to my satisfaction. It was, paid him £30 and was on my way.
I've now got a phone that lasts all day, without having to recharge it by 5pm daily.
Only thing I have since noticed is that the battery health feature no longer works in the menu settings and doesn't tell me the maximum capacity of the battery. Now it just says "Service". Googling this suggests that a non genuine battery has been fitted, but Google also says that this can happen with genuine batteries too. I'm none the wiser whether a genuine battery was fitted or not. It's got a year's guarantee, and like I said, it lasts all day.
As for phone tariffs, I'm with Tesco Mobile (who piggy back off O2) on a SIM Only contract. For £10 a month I get 5GB, 1000 mins, and 5000 texts messages. I rarely text these days though. Most messages are sent via WhatsApp or Facebook messenger, or iMessenger. The data package is more important to me. 5GB is more than enough for my needs.
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>>
>> As for phone tariffs, I'm with .....
>>
Money Supermarket lists loads/all of 'em.
tinyurl.com/y4kh8h8r
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I have the Iphone 6S. It will be 2 years old this Christmas (sorry for using the C word)
Can eat a battery so probably due a battery change.
Has anyone else noticed that just prior to being notified of an OS update it goes crazy on the battery front? Very quick drain even on recharging and when it should be full it indicates only partial charge.
Once the update has notified and been undertaken its back to normal.
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>> I have the Iphone 6S. It will be 2 years old this Christmas (sorry for
>> using the C word)
>>
>> Can eat a battery so probably due a battery change.
Limited battery life in a modern smartphone is a given. The demands for high output, aggressive packaging, and complete inability to manage temperature in the package is a killer. You just have to accept it, and making its change as difficult as possible, while driven by the demands of the package, is a complete scandal.
>> Has anyone else noticed that just prior to being notified of an OS update it
>> goes crazy on the battery front? Very quick drain even on recharging and when it
>> should be full it indicates only partial charge.
>>
>> Once the update has notified and been undertaken its back to normal.
Unless of course Apple Inc have determined your phone is end of life, then back to normal for battery usage is deliberately blocked in software.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 2 Sep 19 at 10:37
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>>Limited battery life in a modern smartphone is a given.
I have a Huawei P20 and am a reasonably heavy user. The battery lasts two full days.
Not quite old Nokia standards, but good enough for me.
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>> >>Limited battery life in a modern smartphone is a given.
>>
>> I have a Huawei P20 and am a reasonably heavy user. The battery lasts two
>> full days.
>>
>> Not quite old Nokia standards, but good enough for me.
I meant, life as in service life before battery failure creeps in
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>> I have the Iphone 6S.
Likewise.
I bought it as soon as the iPhone 7 came out September 2016, I think. The price was reduced and it came with a bigger memory. Plus you didn't have to have those earpod things, I could have a nice old-fashioned cable trailing everywhere.
Been as - whisper - good as gold. I don't think the battery is going down any quicker. I will stick with it for the foreseeable.
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The battery lasts two full days.
My XS lasts around 36 hours maybe more. I find when travelling it runs down quicker (I assume from hunting for transmitters on the move). I don't think its ever totally run down. I was away on the bike this last weekend, unsure of what the charging score was where I was staying so charged it once from a round a the first red warning from a battery pack. I've just bought a RAM holder for the bike so I can use the phone's sat-nav rather than my Tom Tom. The Guzzi has an USB socket within easy reach which solves the charging problem.
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I charged it on the Thursday morning, rode down to Oxford, topped it up Saturday daytime from the Power pack and it's still running from that charge around a quarter full.
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I do find using google maps for satnav kills the battery, both on my old iPhone SE and my old Sony Experia, I have just got a replacement SE (the old one's battery died) so it will be interesting to see if that is any different.
All done without having the phone connected to power while in use.
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>> I do find using google maps for satnav kills the battery, both on my old
>> iPhone SE and my old Sony Experia, I have just got a replacement SE (the
>> old one's battery died) so it will be interesting to see if that is any
>> different.
>> All done without having the phone connected to power while in use.
It will, Sat Nav heavily uses all the phones subsystems, All the I/O - Data modem, GPS receiver, Audio, All the CPU functions, and the GPU for graphics - ALL the time its being used. If you use Waze, the graphics gets hammered even more heavily and the data is much heavier.
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Yes, I found that.
However, if the phone is connected to power and connected to VW to use main display etc it's a better satnav than anything else I have used
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Waze is supposed to have a function which you can turn on trip by trip to kill the display between long commands. Never worked for me though, and there would still be the other drains.
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I guess the answer is to buys cheap SatNav
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Oddly the reason I travelled to Oxford this weekend was to attend a motorcycle travel event. One of the recommendations there (in a presentation on gadgets) was to buy a second used iPhone (or Android) replace the battery and use it as a Sat Nav for long trips, it then keeps your main phone safe from damage or theft and builds double redundancy if one breaks or gets pinched. This was an event aimed at serious trips not popping down to Waitrose on your GS Adventure...;-)
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Cant afford to shop at Waitrose have bought one of those fully loaded :))
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>> I guess the answer is to buys cheap SatNav
>>
Nah, a charging cable is the answer.... Cheap satnavs aren't a patch on the phone
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>> I guess the answer is to buys cheap SatNav
>L
No that's not the answer, they need to have permanent power as well for the same reasons.
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Yes but your phone stays charged.
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As it does when it's plugged in instead of the sat nav
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>> As it does when it's plugged in instead of the sat nav
>>
The MINI came with standard wireless charging, or rather once you’d paid for the upgraded nav you got it... but I have to say that a phone left in there for any length of time gets very hot, which can’t be good for either the phone itself or the battery! Only 2 data points mind you - an iPhone X and and iPhone 8
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>> The MINI came with standard wireless charging, or rather once you’d paid for the upgraded
>> nav you got it...
Available on the G31 if you paid for it, however the charging pad is too small for a modern large screen mobile phone.
Its of immense annoyance to me that BMW refuse to add Android Auto as an option.
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>> Available on the G31 if you paid for it, however the charging pad is too
>> small for a modern large screen mobile phone.
>>
>>
>> Its of immense annoyance to me that BMW refuse to add Android Auto as an
>> option.
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The MiINI one takes an X with ease, but whether it’d take one of the ‘plus’ sized phones I’m not sure. I never use apple car play, despite having it, and I can’t imagine what it’d do to battery life when connected via Bluetooth or to the temperature of the phone if wirelessly charging while in use!
BMW, and therefore I assume MiNI, are starting to charge for apple CarPlay on subscription anyway I think, I assume to generate a replacement income stream for the almost non existent servicing one now that they’re serviced so infrequently ;)
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CarPlay in my Golf needs the iPhone to be plugged in via the car USB socket which also charges it, it then provides phone call and phone media support directly as well rather than via bluetooth.
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No tried it in the new Fester yet, because I collected the car, and the iphone is in Rome with the wife, but online guidance says to get CarPlay working with Fords sync 3, it needs to be plugged into the USB port.
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>> CarPlay in my Golf needs the iPhone to be plugged in via the car USB socket
I think that's pretty much the norm for all cars that have Apple Carplay built in. Seems to be the case for every hire car I've had anyway.
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I thought the issue was that constant use of phone plugged in and used as a satnav kills the battery
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You thought wrong.
The battery in a mobile phone has a limited service life, sat nav or no sat nav.
The discussion was about the time it would run on battery power alone before a recharge was needed
Do keep up there in the boondocks.
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>> The battery in a mobile phone has a limited service life, sat nav or no
>> sat nav.
Yup, a rechargeable battery never quite goes back to 100%; it will only last so many cycles.
Notionally those cycles are 'fully charged' to nearly flat. Laptop batteries, at least anecdotally, last better if you charge them then work on battery 'til low>recharge and so on. Running on mains all time jiggers the battery.
Does same apply to phones kept tied to car's chargepoint or (as I do) a 15,000ma chargepack in door pocket?
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Yes that's what I thought. My impression was that using a phone continually whilst charging was not good for the battery but according to Zero apparently not
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>> Yes that's what I thought. My impression was that using a phone continually whilst charging
>> was not good for the battery but according to Zero apparently not
If its not good for the phone, its not good for the stand alone sat nav either
Your attempt to confud the issue with your luddite sat nav ways is doomed to flounder.
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Ah,
So do I screw the battery in my iPhone or my £49.99 Garmin I keep in the car? I’ll mull over that one
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I'm glad this thread drifted like it did. The plan was to use a RAM X Mount for my Apple XS phone, the mount arrived today and would potentially work well with the USB outlet on my bike. However, I have no wish to junk the battery and I'll acquire an el-cheapo iPhone 5 or similar - replace the battery and use the Otterbox case from my own phone and switch SIMs or get a PAYG data SIM, job sorted.
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I use my phone as Sat Nav in the car while on charge reasonably frequently - a couple of times a week for a 30/40 minute journey and a couple of times a month for a 2/3 hour journey. And I've been doing it with this phone for about 18months with no noticeable battery degradation.
So I'd guess it depends how much/often you intend to you it as to how much it actually matters.
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Not often. Most of my rides take place on roads I know very well - the only useful thing then are the ETAs etc. The graphics on an iPhone using Google Maps is far superior to my Tom Tom Rider 400, especially with the current set up where the Sat Nav is mounted on the handlebars and isn't "heads up" - there is a lack of aftermarket accessories for the Guzzi at the moment, as soon as a mount is available that places the screen above the TFT dashboard - it should be OK (no need for my aging eyes to have to re-focus between speedo and the Sat Nav screen.
On a different note - I dodged a bullet from a camera van the other day, I was using a rat-run to get home to avoid holiday traffic, came out of a roundabout under acceleration, and noticed a camera van, I had 34 mph on the speedo as I throttled off. After the run to Oxford with GPS in place found that my bike's speedo is reading 10% fast, oddly the odometer is more or less spot on.
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About 10 days ago I was some distance from Santiago on a largely empty and straight road. I know the local Carabineros like that area for a spot of target hitting and revenue raising. So as I wasn't in a hurry I set the cruise control to 120kph and watched the world go by.
Sadly as the smiling Carabinero informed me, for a 1km stretch the limit is 100kph because of a junction. The one the Carabineros were sat on, as it happens.
b*****.
No points. Even the 100 quid doesn't bother me that much. But the way it works here I have to go back to that area, attend the local court next Friday and pay the judge. And it's 180 b***** miles from here.
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Apple Store customer service - zippy
