Costliest iPhone mistake you can make is scarily common – I’m shocked more people don’t know as it saves you hundreds

IF you've had your iPhone for a while now, don't make a costly mistake that you'll regret.

If it's starting to get slow and the battery life just isn't holding up any more, don't rush out to upgrade. Please.

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WHAT'S GOING WRONG WITH YOUR IPHONE?

The problem with all smartphones – including your – is that they have lithium-ion batteries inside.

They're a great battery choice because they're cheap to make, are easily rechargeable, and hold a fair amount of juice.

But lithium-ion batteries degrade over time as you charge and discharge them.

For instance, you'd expect a phone battery to hold about 80% of its original charge after 500 full discharges.

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And that's probably going to take you about two years to hit.

You can even check this number yourself.

Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health to see the Maximum Capacity for your iPhone.

And depending on your iOS and model, you can also see how many charge cycles you've gone through too.

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The obvious downside here is that the longer you hold onto a phone, the worse the battery life will get.

That doesn't just affect battery life either – it also hits performance.

Your iPhone will eventually start to reduce its performance to better-protect the battery from getting worse.

So you can end up with an old iPhone that has generally fine working parts – a great camera and powerful processor – but that holds less charge and doesn't perform like it used to.

Now iPhones don't come cheap, so if you forked out hundreds for one then you'll want it to last.

It might be tempting to upgrade to the latest model – like Apple's new iPhone 16 – but hold your horses. There's a better way.

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SWAP THAT BATTERY!

You can just head down to Apple and get them to swap a battery.

It'll cost you a fee, yes, but it's going to be way less than you'd pay for a brand new model.

This has two big advantages – beyond saving the hundreds you would've spent on a posh new mobile.

The first is that your battery life situation will be restored to a like-new situation.

So you'll have the absolute best charge you've had, equivalent to a box-fresh iPhone.

And it also fixes the performance woes that come with a severely degraded battery too.

So even though the exterior of your iPhone may be weathered by time, its innards will be box-fresh.

HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST ME?

There is a fee attached with getting a battery swap – sometimes.

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There are two ways to dodge paying, however.

First, if you've got a defective battery and you're still within the one-year warranty then it'll be covered.

And secondly, AppleCare+ will get you a free battery swap if it's less than 80% of its original capacity.

As I mentioned earlier, just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health to check.

If neither of the above situations apply to you, you'll need to pay.

But it's far less costly than buying a new model.

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For instance, an old iPhone SE will have a fee of £69 in the UK and $69 in the US.

And an iPhone 11 battery replacement comes in at £85 in the UK and $89 in the US.

Newer and pricier models command a higher fee: the iPhone 15 Pro has a £95 / $99 charge associated with it.

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But it's unlikely that you'd need to swap your battery already on an iPhone 15 Pro, given it's only a year old.

IPHONE BATTERY SWAP – HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

Here's how much you'll pay for iPhone battery replacements in the UK and the US..

iPhone 5 Series

• iPhone 5S: £N/A / $69

iPhone SE Series

• iPhone SE (1st gen) – £N/A / $69
• iPhone SE (2nd gen) – £65 / $69
• iPhone SE (3rd gen) – £65 / $69

iPhone 6 Series

• iPhone 6 – £N/A / $69
• iPhone 6s – £N/A / $69
• iPhone 6s Plus – £N/A / $69

iPhone 7 Series

• iPhone 7 – £65 / $69
• iPhone 7 Plus – £65 / $69

iPhone 8 Series

• iPhone 8 – £65 / $69
• iPhone 8 Plus – £65 / $69

iPhone X Series

• iPhone X – £N/A / $89

iPhone XR/XS Series

• iPhone XR – £85 / $89
• iPhone XS – £85 / $89
• iPhone XS Max – £85 / $89

iPhone 11 Series

• iPhone 11 – £85 / $89
• iPhone 11 Pro – £85 / $89
• iPhone 11 Pro Max – £85 / $89

iPhone 12 Series

• iPhone 12 mini – £85 / $89
• iPhone 12 – £85 / $89
• iPhone 12 Pro – £85 / $89
• iPhone 12 Pro Max – £85 / $89

iPhone 13 Series

• iPhone 13 mini – £85 / $89
• iPhone 13 – £85 / $89
• iPhone 13 Pro – £85 / $89
• iPhone 13 Pro Max – £85 / $89

iPhone 14 Series

• iPhone 14 – £95 / $99
• iPhone 14 Plus – £95 / $99
• iPhone 14 Pro – £95 / $99
• iPhone 14 Pro Max – £95 / $99

iPhone 15 Series

• iPhone 15 – £95 / $99
• iPhone 15 Plus – £95 / $99
• iPhone 15 Pro – £95 / $99
• iPhone 15 Pro Max – £95 / $99

iPhone 16 Series

• iPhone 16 – £95 / $99
• iPhone 16 Plus – £95 / $99
• iPhone 16 Pro – £109 / $119
• iPhone 16 Pro Max – £109 / $119

It's not worth swapping your battery unless its maximum capacity has dropped below 80%.