Apple Store Employee Reveals Major Challenges Caused By iPhone 6s Battery Replacement Program

Amidst an influx of user complaints that their devices were spontaneously shutting down for no apparent reason, Apple late last month launched a free battery replacement program meant to make right by the increasing number of iPhone 6s users beset by these issues. And while it was definitely nice to see Apple rise to the occasion so quickly, by offering a free in-store battery swap to affected customers, apparently Apple’s already swamped retail store employees aren’t the slightest bit happy about the increased demand placed on them.

According to one Genius Bar Guru, for instance, speaking on condition of anonymity to Business Insider, the sheer amount of replacements — sometimes totaling 15-30 per day, per employee — are slowly but surely adding up to “more than we can replace,” adding that it takes “between 20-45 minutes” to perform a single battery replacement from start to finish, depending on several variable factors.

While this increased demand is certainly bound to be a stress on already embattled Apple store employees, one needs to also consider the situation from the vantage point of the customer — who has to take time of out their busy days, too, just to wait that same 20-45 minutes to get their faulty iPhone 6s handsets back up and running like normal again.

Apple had originally claimed that the iPhone 6s battery issue affected only a select number of devices — more specifically, units shipped between September and October of 2015. However, within the days that followed the launch of Apple’s U.S.-based battery replacement program, the company admitted in a separate statement aimed at the Chinese market that “a small number of customers outside of the affected range have also reported an unexpected shutdown.”

The exact number of devices that qualify for a free battery replacement, in relation to how many users are actually taking Apple up on the offer, remains to be seen. However it appears that the iPhone 6s battery replacement program, while inherently solving a serious issue, is at the same time causing a completely different one for those working on the frontline.

“There is no real plan on how to actually get these done,” explained the Apple store employee to Business Insider. “Most stores are short-staffed, and they book us too much for appointments, so Geniuses are taking two to three appointments at a time. But we have these battery replacements come in nonstop.”