General Apple Megathread

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by ThatsWhatSheSaid

Hi - Sorry off topic but I Need help from the CP braintrust and can't start a new topic and this is the closest match I could find.

I recently had to replace my iPhone due to the previous one's battery going on the fritz; I backed up my phone to iTunes but now when I try to restore the phone to my new phone, it won't let me because it says it was encrypted.

I read through all the Apple help and a number of other sites I googled and it sounds like I'm pretty much hooped. I don't recall ever having set a passcode and it sounds like there is no way to retrieve it. You can't even turn off the encryption option unless you have the passcode, so it's not like I can just back up another un-encrypted copy (so stupid Apple!!!).

However, I did read from a few sites that you can use certain software to "hack" your passcode using brute force, etc. My question is if this is legit???

I went to the webpage for 'Iseepassword' and although it sounds like it makes sense, it also has a number of spelling and grammatical errors so I'm a bit worried it's a Nigerian scam site or something along those lines, and as soon as I use it, it's going to hack my entire computer and steal all my information.

Safe to use? Or just give up and mourn the loss of all the information on my previous phone?

Thanks!

I would not use any service that deals in "breaking iTunes encryption". Your backup will automatically be encrypted when you select it to do so (by saving health and keychain info). All that it takes to load this back is your iTunes password. I encrypt all of my backups and never once have had an issue.

Unfortunately as much fun as it is to blame apple on this one you have to physically click the encrypt option as its defaulted to off so this ones gonna fall on the user.

[Jimmy Stang]

Does anyone have experience with Apple out-of-warranty battery replacements for an iPhone 6? Do they offer this, and if so, how much?

Plan B is having a guy from Kijiji do it for me for $60, and although that sounds super shady, he was recommended to me and did a good job on a screen replacement a few years ago on a different phone.

Plan C is doing it myself, which I know is possible. But I'm not sure if it is worth the time, hassle, and fear that I'll screw it up.

My iPhone 6 is starting to show signs of a dying battery, but I'm happy to keep the phone for a while otherwise. It will instantly discharge 20 or 30% for no reason, shut off occasionally in the cold, and sometimes sit at 1% for a good long while. The battery has just become erratic and annoying. I'm never usually too far from a plugin, but I'm just afraid that it will let me down when I actually need my phone for something important.

[Fuzz]

Is it the 6S?
They have an issue... though it may be other versions too?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonke.../#2339bce64e69

[ken0042]

Looks like Apple charges $99 to replace the battery in the 6.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/ipho...ervice/pricing

You could take it into the Apple store. I know with my 5 they replaced the battery for free; just prior to the official launch of the free battery service.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Is it the 6S?
They have an issue... though it may be other versions too?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonke.../#2339bce64e69

Unfortunetely(?) not. Just the plain old 6. I did some reading on that though and it does appear to be specific to the 6s.

The issues started to appear after the iOS 10 update. The rational part of my brain knows that it is a newer OS that will demand more of my hardware, including the battery. The cynic in me knows that Apple would love me to buy a new phone soon.

To update my own question, although I couldn't find it before, the Apple web site says it is $99 CAD and can often be done at the Genius Bar while you wait. Edit: Basically what Ken0042 just posted!

10 years ago I would have been all over a self repair, and taken my chance on an aftermarket battery (they are probably manufactured side by side anyway) and celebrated the money saved. But these days: ain't nobody got time for that.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Looks like Apple charges $99 to replace the battery in the 6.
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/ipho...ervice/pricing

You could take it into the Apple store. I know with my 5 they replaced the battery for free; just prior to the official launch of the free battery service.

Did you have Apple Care? How old was the device when the battery was replaced?

[ken0042]

I didn't have Apple Care- and the phone was just under 2 years old at the time.

However I have found that Apple is being far less charitable with their repairs. I know with my 3GS I just quickly mentioned an issue and without blinking they replaced the phone. It is really YMMV.

Yeah, if it was up to me I'd pay the $100 to have it done professionally.

FWIW- my iPhone 6 that is about 7 months old (replaced under Apple Care) has been better for battery consumption with iOS 10. However I know I find the phone will shut down if it gets too cold.

[Jimmy Stang]

I think that's how I'm leaning. $100 is a $100, but getting it done right will extend the life of my phone for another year or two. And as I said, I'm happy with my 6 after two years, and could easily keep it for a while yet.

Compared with my experience with my old 4s back in the day: by the two year point it was a slow, crippled mess of a phone, and I couldn't wait to be rid of it. Not the same with my 6, particularly if I got a new battery put in.

Thanks for your insight!

[Fuzz]

I thought I had read the iOS 10 update was causing the 30% problem in all phones, other than the iPhone 7. May not be covered on warranty, but an update may fix it if you hang tight. A new battery may not.

[zzibradleyizz]

Just had my iPhone 6 Plus battery replaced free of charge at Apple Chinook on Saturday. The iPhone never had AppleCare and was over two years old.

I had a similar issue you are experiencing. Battery would be at 50% then just shut off and showed I needed to charge the iPhone. If I waited 5 minutes or so, it would actually turn back on and be at around 40%, but then shut off again. Made an appointment with Apple, they ran a battery diagnostic, and they found what was happening at that given time I had the issue. Somehow my power consumption spiked and consumed 60% of the battery, which isn't fully available so it just died. They said they have never seen this before, so they offered to replace the battery in hopes it till fix it. So far so good...

I would say make an appointment, and hope something abnormal comes up on the diagnostic report like mine did and they replace it free of charge. If not, you have the option to decline the repair (which is $99) and go somewhere else. Took only 30 minutes for them to swap out the battery.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

And as I said, I'm happy with my 6 after two years, and could easily keep it for a while yet.

I'm in the exact same boat as you. My 6 still performs well, and wouldn't be worth jumping to a 7. Especially seeing as I won't see a screen size difference, and I would lose the headphone jack. I am also not eligible for a subsidized phone given my cell plan (6 GB data)- so I'd be paying full pop.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I'm in the exact same boat as you. My 6 still performs well, and wouldn't be worth jumping to a 7. Especially seeing as I won't see a screen size difference, and I would lose the headphone jack. I am also not eligible for a subsidized phone given my cell plan (6 GB data)- so I'd be paying full pop.

What provider do you have your 6 gigs with? I have that with Fido, and I didn't think that I'd be eligible when I got the iPhone 6 a couple of years ago. But I guess my plan was grandfathered in, so I was able to sign a new contract with the same plan and got the phone subsidized.

Not that you're in a rush to upgrade anyway, but when you do, you might be able to hang onto it. I saved my chat transcripts with Fido just in case, but it all went alright.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by zzibradleyizz

Just had my iPhone 6 Plus battery replaced free of charge at Apple Chinook on Saturday. The iPhone never had AppleCare and was over two years old.

I had a similar issue you are experiencing. Battery would be at 50% then just shut off and showed I needed to charge the iPhone. If I waited 5 minutes or so, it would actually turn back on and be at around 40%, but then shut off again. Made an appointment with Apple, they ran a battery diagnostic, and they found what was happening at that given time I had the issue. Somehow my power consumption spiked and consumed 60% of the battery, which isn't fully available so it just died. They said they have never seen this before, so they offered to replace the battery in hopes it till fix it. So far so good...

I would say make an appointment, and hope something abnormal comes up on the diagnostic report like mine did and they replace it free of charge. If not, you have the option to decline the repair (which is $99) and go somewhere else. Took only 30 minutes for them to swap out the battery.

It sounds very much like we've got something similar going on. I have also noticed that after a random shutdown, once I reboot, the battery isn't actually dead. Rather it is sitting at roughly where it was when it shut down.

You've given me a glimmer of hope that they might do the replacement for free, which would be a bonus. Even if they won't, I'll probably feign disappoint briefly but eventually submit and pay the $99. If a hundred bucks gets me another year or two out of it, I'll take it.

[photon]

Yeah I've been able to get a new voice/text plan from Fido and I have the 6GB data, though that 6GB plan is causing more and more problems. One month I actually used it up, but I never got the text message that is supposed to offer the top up at 90% usage or whatever so I called.

It took the agent forever as they were completely confused by what they saw.. and when they tried to give me the extra data, they couldn't. They tried a bunch of different things and they said the system wouldn't let them do anything because of my plan. So I asked them to fix that, and they basically said "too bad" there was nothing they could do about it since the system wouldn't let them. Uh, it's your system if it's broken fix it? No dice. I wasn't happy with that since basically they were telling me to stop using data till the next billing cycle or face a huge overage bill.

Eventually what they did was tell me to just go ahead and use the overage and they'll bill me for it, but they'll credit my account the approximate amount of the overage. We figured out what 1GB of overage would be for me, then they credited my account the $$ so it worked out in the end, but that's ridiculous that they can't do anything else about it.

And I still won't get the normal alerts and other stuff because the system doesn't know how to deal with my data plan anymore they said and they can't fix that.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah I've been able to get a new voice/text plan from Fido and I have the 6GB data, though that 6GB plan is causing more and more problems. One month I actually used it up, but I never got the text message that is supposed to offer the top up at 90% usage or whatever so I called.

It took the agent forever as they were completely confused by what they saw.. and when they tried to give me the extra data, they couldn't. They tried a bunch of different things and they said the system wouldn't let them do anything because of my plan. So I asked them to fix that, and they basically said "too bad" there was nothing they could do about it since the system wouldn't let them. Uh, it's your system if it's broken fix it? No dice. I wasn't happy with that since basically they were telling me to stop using data till the next billing cycle or face a huge overage bill.

Eventually what they did was tell me to just go ahead and use the overage and they'll bill me for it, but they'll credit my account the approximate amount of the overage. We figured out what 1GB of overage would be for me, then they credited my account the $$ so it worked out in the end, but that's ridiculous that they can't do anything else about it.

And I still won't get the normal alerts and other stuff because the system doesn't know how to deal with my data plan anymore they said and they can't fix that.

Weird. I have the same as you. The original $30 for 6 gigs data and have a renegotiated voice plan and get the notifications.

[Jimmy Stang]

Well this is lovely. Figured I'd try a backup and restore of my phone to see if that helped my battery issue (which was suggested by the Apple support document). Backed up, but now iTunes is saying that my backup is corrupt or incompatible.

In hindsight, I should have pulled my photos off separately, but I have never had a problem with iTunes backups before. Assuming my previous backup works, I'll "only" be missing a month's worth. I'm kicking myself as I should have known better than to trust a single backup.

Does anyone have any experience with the utilities that claim to let you access and/or repair a backup? It is encrypted.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Well this is lovely. Figured I'd try a backup and restore of my phone to see if that helped my battery issue (which was suggested by the Apple support document). Backed up, but now iTunes is saying that my backup is corrupt or incompatible.

In hindsight, I should have pulled my photos off separately, but I have never had a problem with iTunes backups before. Assuming my previous backup works, I'll "only" be missing a month's worth. I'm kicking myself as I should have known better than to trust a single backup.

Does anyone have any experience with the utilities that claim to let you access and/or repair a backup? It is encrypted.

I have used Wondershare's Dr Fone but not on an encrypted backup. It worked really well except for the fact that I was trying to pull voicemails that must have lived on Roger's servers rather than locally. It pulled out the contacts, pics, voice memos, and messages no problem.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Barnes

I have used Wondershare's Dr Fone but not on an encrypted backup. It worked really well except for the fact that I was trying to pull voicemails that must have lived on Roger's servers rather than locally. It pulled out the contacts, pics, voice memos, and messages no problem.

Thank you. I did see that one in my late night search for a solution. I ended up dropping $30 USD on Decipher Tools after reading some good reviews and testimonials. I was fairly skeptical, but it actually worked.

Lesson learned. And I'm even one of those anal retentive backup sort of guys (off-site backup of my important files, etc.) but thought with my phone restore "it'll be fine! It is always fine" and rushed it.

And it probably won't fix the battery issue. It was more of a "what do I have to lose" sort of thing. $40 is what.

[Meelapo]

I'm not very familiar with Apple products but I need some help...

I've got a late 2014 iMac (retina display) and it has been behaving very weird for the last few months. Sometimes when I wake it up from sleep it's sometimes in recovery mode and when it patches it goes into recovery mode. When I'm in recovery mode I run the disk repair and it finishes within a few seconds without issue and when I reboot from the menu it goes back in recovery mode. The weird thing is that when I press the power button to reboot the machine it launches into the OS without issue.

What should I be worried about? Is there anything I can do to repair or fix this weird behaviour? A few months ago I did a clean install because it was happening and it seems like this hasn't really resolved anything.

[photon]

The NVRAM/PRAM settings might be messed up, could try resetting that.

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT204063

If it's an old enough version of OSX you could also try repairing permissions.

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201560

Those are more general things, not totally sure how Mac does its sleep stuff, so not sure if a hardware issue could cause it too. Could disable sleep entirely just to see what happens.