Fix up your old phone

[Korth]

At the risk of appearing like a spammer, I heartily recommend iFixit.com if you want to fix up your old phone.  A fine place to buy any parts or hardware (along with the specialized tools you'll need), learn how to tweak or reset your software, refer to detailed step-by-step DIY troubleshooting and repair guides, or get instructions about how to resolve your phone problems from their user forums.  A place populated by a lot of serious (and helpful) phone hardware geeks, lol.

And don't forget to use an iFixit promo code to save yourself a few more dollars.

I've recently changed out an iPhone battery with an iFixit replacement.  Higher actual capacity than the original Apple part.  No problems at all, a $300 device revived for just $25, and the entire process took about 15 minutes (plus about 8 days shipping USA to Canada, lol).

[ckl]

FYI, there is an iFixit app on Android. Probably one for iPhone/iPad users as well.

Be aware that you should always buy OEM batteries whenever possible. If the difference in price is a few dollars, always go with OEM. The reason for this is because cheaper batteries either have exaggerated capacity claims or their batteries are unstable. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Also, for the more popular phones, you can get parts from almost anywhere like ebay, craiglist, or a local market. Of course, you need to always do your research before buying to make sure that it is exactly the part you are replacing. This is where iFixit comes in handy.

[danette77]

@Korth Thanks for the share! This one is worth bookmarking, it's great to find a site that offers tutorials and parts all under one roof.

[srlawren]

Thanks for sharing, @Korth!

[Korth]

In this instance the provided battery was a new Apple OEM part.  Or more accurately, a ANPB-10-018-01 part manufactured by Tianjin Lishen Battery in Shenzhen China.  Rated power capacity of 5.3Wh, although actual power capacity measures 5.55Wh, likely because of incremental minor improvements in battery technology over the years (2016 part vs 2012 part from same manufacturer, lol).

[etsat]

+1. iFixit has great, detailed guides to phone repairs for pretty much all the popular brands, and the parts that they sell seem to be good. If you need parts for your phone, make sure you buy from a reputable supplier, as not all parts found online will be from the original manufacturers, though some companies, like iFixit, sell good non-OEM parts.