Source explains how Apple will deal with iPhone 5S battery issue

apple iphone 5s screen front ios 7 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

A couple of days ago Apple confirmed to the NY Times that a batch of iPhone 5S handsets had left one of its factories with less-than-stellar batteries inside.

The “manufacturing issue”, as the tech company described it, means that there are some 5S handsets out there taking longer than usual to charge, or suffering from reduced battery life.

A spokesperson for the company told the NYT that it would be “reaching out to customers with affected phones and will provide them with a replacement phone,” though at the time no further details were given about how it would go about “reaching out.”

9to5Mac, however, on Thursday said it’d received information from a source explaining the steps Apple intends to take to resolve the issue.

The Apple news site reported that the Cupertino-based company will personally contact owners of affected phones, according to the handset’s serial number.

“If a customer feels that their phone is affected, but has not yet received a call, they may feel inclined to call AppleCare,” 9to5Mac explains. “If they do, the AppleCare representative can enter their serial number into the system and check to see if their phone is eligible for a replacement.”

If the phone’s serial number is not one of those linked to the affected group of devices, AppleCare has been told to troubleshoot the handset in the usual way.

However, if the owner’s phone is one of those Apple wants to recall, the company rep will either:

– arrange a Genius Bar appointment so a new phone can be collected

– arrange for a nearby authorized reseller to perform the swap

– have the phone mailed to the customer’s home, with shipping material provided so the flawed phone can be sent back to Apple.

Owners of affected handsets will be advised to back up their device before swapping it for a new one.

The recently-launched iPhone 5S is supposed to offer 10 hours of talk time on 3G and up to 250 hours in standby mode.

The precise number of handsets affected by the flaw isn’t known, with Apple describing it only as “a very limited number”. The company said it sold about nine million 5S and 5C phones on their first weekend of release last month, though declined to break down the figure further.

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