iPhones with third-party batteries are now eligible for authorized Apple repairs

French blog iGeneration reports that Apple is now accepting iPhones with aftermarket batteries for service at Genius Bars and Appple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs). MacRumors has obtained an internal Apple document that also confirms this. The news holds significance as such repairs were denied by Apple so far irrespective of the nature of the defect.

Welcoming the decision, iFixit's Kay-Kay Clapp said,

This decision proves that now, more than ever, the third-party repair ecosystem is an integral part of maintaining Apple's high-quality customer experience. If Apple is getting enough third-party repaired phones for a policy change, they clearly don't have the reach or capacity to maintain all the iPhones that they've sold. All of us, including Apple, benefit from the service provided by the repair community."

The new instructions say that Genius Bars and AASPs can go ahead with repairs to any iPhone component such as display, logic board, microphones, etc. even if the battery is a non-Apple one and works fine. If the repair is with the battery itself, Apple Service must drain the battery to less than 60% before swapping it with a genuine Apple battery for a standard fee.

Genius Bars and AASPs are also permitted to identify excess adhesive or broken battery tabs and can replace the entire iPhone for the cost of a battery replacement at their discretion.

The new guidelines will come into effect from today worldwide but seem to be applicable only for third-party batteries. iPhones with third-party replacements of other components such as logic boards, microphones, Lightning connectors, TrueDepth sensors, etc. will still be declined service.

Previously, we reported that Apple can potentially deny service to the new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar that have been subjected to third-party repair by checking up component status via the T2 chip. However, it looks like Apple is yet to activate that mechanism as of date.