Iphone works but is not charging after installing new battery

Question

Hi guys ,
I am going to do my best to clearly explain what has happened with my Iphone 5s. I noticed my battery was losing charge much quicker then normal so i went ahead and ordered a new battery from Ifixit. I consider myself pretty decent at hands on jobs so i went ahead and replaced the battery myself to try and save some money. The installation went as smooth as can be, No broken parts to my knowledge and the phone went back together no problem. I then powered the phone on , it came on just like normal and everything seemed to be ok , besides the fact the the battery they gave me was only charged 13%. This is when my problems started to happen , I grabbed my apple charger and plugged it in like i would do any other time to charge up the battery. I came back in a hour and noticed that it was still stuck on the same 13% and had not moved at all. It recognized the charger and even said it was charging and showed the lightning bolt but would not take the charge.
I started looking up things online about how to fix this and found a lot of people with similar problems after they changed there battery or lcd screen. I then unplugged it and thought maybe it needed to be calibrated so i let it run completely out of juice until the phone shut off completely. Plugged it in again and now it was stuck at the screen when your phone is dead and shows  that it needed to be plugged in. I tried cleaning out the the charger port and that did not help. I then thought it might be the battery IFIXIT sent me so i took the phone apart again , and put my old battery back into the phone , put it all back together and it turned on no problem, I thought my issue was fixed but i was wrong. I went a plugged it in to charge it and the same thing happened again , would not take a charge just stayed stuck on the same percentage. I went through the phone and made sure all my connections were good and nothing was broken. The phone has been barley used over the last year and before i replaced the battery it had no problems what so ever and the charger port always worked fine.
Does anyone have any idea what my problem could be? I have read so many forums and spent hours trying to get to the bottom of this with no luck yet. Alot of other people seem to have this same problem happen when they replaced there battery or LCD but cant find a solution. I contacted IFIXIT and they thought it could be a bad battery and are sending me out a new one next day shipping. That was before i tested my old battery and found out it has nothing to do with a bad battery it just wont take a charge now. Any help will be greatly appreciated i no longer have apple-care so that's not a option. i was told to maybe clean all the connections with alchol but im a bit nervous that could cause more problems?

Answer 1

konradsa wrote:
Ok, you go and pay that 80 bucks, I will go have a nice dinner with the money I saved.
Fair market value for a legitimate iPhone battery would be about $40-50.  If you're paying anything less than that, then you're getting an inferior battery.  How much did you pay for the replacement battery?  Let's assume you didn't get scammed, and actually did purchase a quality (albeit unauthorized) battery.
So, you saved about $30-40.  Okay, good so far.  However, now you run the risk of:
A) The installation was performed incorrectly, and causes a problem down the road.
B) The battery or iPhone has a related issue within the next few months, and you pay for another battery and/or another installation, because the first one didn't fix the problem.
C) That battery wasn't actually a quality battery; it was just priced like one, and it leaks, expands, causes a fire, etc.
There's a phrase you need to learn; penny wise and pound foolish.
Depending on the context, it has various meanings.  In this context, it means you are trying to save a little bit of money in the short term, but failing to see the possible long term costs.
Let's take a hypothetical:
I have an iPhone 6 Plus, 128 GB.  Retail cost:  $949 USD + tax.
My battery needs to be replaced.  Apple quotes me $79 USD + tax.  I find a place in the mall called 'iFix iPhones 4 U' that will do it for $40, parts and labor included.
"Heh, dumb Apple, they think I'm a sucker.  I'm saving me $39 and taking my girl out to a fancy place, like Red Lobster!" (sarcasm intended)
About three months later, I notice that my iPhone 6 Plus is getting really warm.  Like, toasty warm, almost enough to burn my skin.
I go back to the kiosk in the mall that replaced my battery.  They tell me they don't warranty their work past five days, and they could replace the battery again for $40, if I want.  Great.  Now I've broken even, but at least I have that great Red Lobster dinner memory!
A few weeks later, the screen flashes red, and the iPhone locks up.
The kiosk guy tells me he's down, and to go somewhere else.  He's sick of seeing me, because he's already got my money, and there's a sign that says 'All sales final'.  What am I gonna do?  Hire a lawyer over $80?
Maybe Apple can help.  I go to the Apple Store, explain my case, they inspect my iPhone, and then tell me they cannot replace the battery because the device has had unauthorized service.  Dang.  Okay, but I've heard that I can get an iPhone 6 Plus exchanged, even if it's damaged, for $329.  Surely they will do that, right?
Nope.  Unauthorized modifications void ALL support options from Apple.  Meaning I cannot get it replaced by Apple.  So, what are my options?
A) Pay another $949 USD + tax to get another iPhone 6 Plus 128 GB.
B) Find another unauthorized shop and try my luck again... and again... and again.
Guess I'm not going to Red Lobster anytime soon.
“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
TL;DR Version: Saving $30-40 bucks today might end up costing you 20x as much later on.
Instead of that nice dinner, chew on that instead.