How long is the warranty on your smartphone's battery?

How long do the smartphone manufacturers give a warranty on the battery? We have asked and looked and found that many manufacturers give a shorter warranty period for rechargeable batteries than for the whole device. This is annoying, because on almost all smartphones the battery can only be replaced with a complicated repair. In the table you can see how long the manufacturers replace defective batteries as a free warranty service.

Guarantee on devices and batteries according to manufacturer

	Warranty on the device	Warranty on the battery
Apple	12 months	12 months
Honor	24 months	6 months
Samsung	24 months	12 months
Lenovo/Moto	12 months	6 months if removable. Otherwise like device.
Nokia	24 months	24 months if permanently installed, otherwise 6 months
OnePlus	24 months	24 months
Sony	24 months	12 months if removable. Otherwise like device.
Huawei	24 months	24 months if permanently installed.
HTC	24 months	12 months if removable. Otherwise like device.
LG	24 months	6 months

And just because your device shows battery damage within the specified period of time, you are not entitled to a replacement under warranty. Some manufacturers like Apple declare batteries as expendable parts and therefore as an exception to the warranty conditions. However, if the manufacturer finds a material or manufacturing defect in the battery of your specific device, it will usually replace it at no additional cost.

Report a battery warranty case directly to the manufacturer

Thus, while the warranty period for the devices is pleasantly long in itself, the manufacturers do not put a hand in the fire for the batteries. In the event of a warranty claim, the manufacturer will provide a replacement or repair your device free of charge. You contact Samsung, Sony or LG directly, without going through the dealer in the store.

LG explained to us on request how exactly it detects a defect in a smartphone battery and therefore classifies it as a warranty case:

"LG Service checks each battery with regularly calibrated measuring instruments. The devices measure the batteries against the stored specs. The technical specifications, internal resistance and charging and discharging behavior are tested. If the tested parameters are not within the range of the technical specs, the battery will be replaced under warranty. In the case with costs (after 6 months), the customer will receive information with the costs for the battery including replacement."

Unlike in iPhones, it is still not possible in Android smartphones to simply read the state of health of your battery in the settings. So you have no easy means against the manufacturer to prove the insufficient remaining capacity of your battery. Only a self-made measurement with an appropriate device can give you an indication of what percentage of the promised capacity your smartphone still has.

No guarantee? Often no problem!

If the manufacturer does not replace the battery under warranty, this is not too bad. Thanks to the warranty laws, you can go to the store where you bought the phone for 24 months from the date of purchase. There, repairs are either possible directly or the dealer will help you find a workshop. However, the repair may cost money under certain circumstances. But most of the time, the price for the battery exchange is much lower than the one of a new device.

How about you? Have you ever replaced a supposedly permanently installed battery yourself? How important is the manufacturer's warranty on your smartphone to you? Should smartphone manufacturers generally make batteries easier to replace, or should they be allowed to permanently integrate batteries for more solid cases? Feel free to discuss this with us in the comments section below.