After some searching on the Internet, I noted that the root cause is due to a bloated battery in the iPhone. I saw some reviews saying that they are able to get their iPhone replaced for free, so decided to try my luck at the (only) 2 authorized service providers in Singapore - A.Lab and QCD Technology.
I decided to book an appointment through their websites before going down to visit the physical center. My first feeling when booking an appointment through A.Lab was that the website was not very user-friendly when I access it through my laptop as basically I could not see any icons on the website, and that the loading took quite long after I entered my serial number. In the end, I resort to booking through my iPhone instead (surely it would allow an iPhone to book an appointment right...). I remembered that the process was not that troublesome last year when I replaced my battery under the iPhone 5 battery replacement program. The appointment booking through QCD Technology was much more straight-forward. Nevertheless, I got both bookings done.
Today is my appointment day for both service centers (in case I was not pleased with the first one, I still have a second opinion). I went to A.Lab first and got my iPhone 5 inspected within 15 minutes after I checked in, and was told that the root cause was a bloated battery. I would need to replace the entire iPhone 5 for a fee of $250. I was appalled by the exorbitant fee that was being asked for an outdated iPhone. I mean who would actually pay $250 to replace an iPhone which was already 4 years old? I would rather spend more money to purchase a brand new iPhone, considering that my mobile contract is also expiring soon.
Not satisfied with the reply I got, I went to QCD Technology and again the process was quite fast. Within 15 minutes, I was out of the service center. As you would have guessed, I got the same reply as well. This time, I was told that it would cost $259 to replace my iPhone 5. It would take about 2-3 weeks for the replacement, and if it was found that there are more problems with the phone, I could be charged more. I probed further on why would the battery become bloated, and the reply I received was that it was being overcharged (e.g. overnight) or some liquid has entered the iPhone. This could happen to a brand new iPhone as well.
The lesson learnt was never to overcharge your iPhone if you don't want to have a bloated battery. Secondly, booking an appointment on the websites is a must if you don't want to wait 1-2 hours just to get your Apple device checked. I managed to breeze through within 15 minutes in each service center, compared to more than 1 hour last year when I walked in to A.Lab for my battery replacement. Another thing I noticed was that QCD Technology at Wheelock is also much bigger than A.Lab at Plaza Singapura.
Now, I'm wondering what have they done to my battery last year... after I sent my phone in for the battery replacement and sleep/wake button replacement... resulting it to become bloated in less than 2 years, compared to my first battery which actually lasted more than 2 years...
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