Have an iPhone 5?

If you purchased an iPhone 5 between September 2012 and January 2013, then you may be eligible for a free battery replacement for your device. Apple  launched the battery replacement program after learning that some iPhone 5 devices “may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently.” It is unknown how many devices were affected by the defective batteries.

You can find out if your device is eligible by inputting the serial number at the iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program website. The iPhone serial number can be found under Settings > General > About of the device.

This is not the first time that Apple had to issue a hardware recall. In October, Apple reached out to customers because there were several thousand iPhone 5S devices that had shipped with defective batteries, which was about a month after it launched. In 2006, Apple also recalled 1.8 million battery packs for iBook and PowerBook laptop computers due to overheating problems.

Apple will replace the defective batteries of the iPhone 5 devices for free at Apple Retail Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers. Eligible iPhone 5 owners that have already paid to replace the battery can contact Apple Technical Support to receive a refund. The battery replacement program does not cover the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 5C.

If the eligible iPhone 5 has damages that prevents proper battery replacement – which include cracked screens — the device owner will have to pay to fix that issue first. Apple recommends backing up the data of the iPhone 5 using iTunes and iCloud before bringing it to the store. Turning off the “Find My iPhone” app is strongly recommended as well.

Apple has a similar replacement program for the sleep/wake button for the iPhone 5 already in place. In that case iPhone 5 devices manufactured through March 2013 may have sleep/wake buttons that have stopped working or work intermittently.