The Apple "Unknown Part" Warning

Why is my fixed iPhone getting an ‘unknown part’ warning?

Your iPhone has been fixed at your friendly neighbourhood repair centre, The Techout and now it’s displaying an ‘unknown part’ or ‘battery warning’ from Apple – don’t be alarmed, it is literally nothing to worry about!

Here at The Techout we can replace your phone battery, display and all manner of parts to ensure your recent model iPhone is back to tiptop working order, not to mention our two-year warranty on all batteries and lifetime warranty on all other repairs including screens!

But because Apple tries to make it as hard as possible for people to get their devices fixed at an independent repair shop, when you get it back you may well find your phone is giving out warning messages.

You might see an ‘Important Message’ from Apple about your battery, display, or camera. It may say something like: ‘Important Battery Message - Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery’. Or you might see ‘Unknown Part’ under the parts and service history in Settings.

Do not worry. This will not affect the function of your phone in any way at all and you do not have to do anything about it.

It will soon go away as well! The message will be visible on your phone’s lock screen for four days and then for 15 more days in Settings, but after that it won’t bother you again.

You will see Apple issues all sorts of dire warnings about what happens if you don’t get your device fixed by their approved centres. Ignore them!

Once we have repaired it, apart from the temporary ‘warning’ message, your phone will work perfectly, just as it did before.

What does it mean?

Here at The Techout all of the parts we use come from the same factory as Apple parts. We only ever use premium parts in all our phone repairs because we want to ensure our customers have the best possible repair service we can give them.

But no one outside of Apple and Apple repair centres has the technology to code the new parts to the phone’s chip.

It is Apple’s way of trying to discourage people from repairing their own devices or using independent repairs centres, so they can keep the monopoly.

It is much the same as when car manufacturers try and force people to use very expensive main dealers rather than their trusted local independent mechanic.

You are not getting a better service at an Apple centre and you’ll be paying more too.

We use the same parts and our technicians have a high level of training – we want our customers to be happy and go away with a fully working device after a quality

repair service that we’d be more than happy to measure against anything Apple can offer.

And we think our five star reviews across the board on Google and Facebook speak for themselves – our customers are happy.

There is currently a move in America to try and force Apple and other big companies to recognise consumers have a right to repair. After all, you have bought the phone, or car, or whatever, so why shouldn’t you or a trusted independent business be able to repair it?

Instead people are forced to pay extortionate prices at ‘main dealers’.

What models are affected?

Only the most recent iPhones (XR, XS, XS Max, and the following generations) are affected.

For iOS 15.2 and later, different info is displayed depending on your model. You can check it out by going to Settings > General > About > PARTS AND SERVICE HISTORY:

For iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, and later, including iPhone SE (second generation), you can see if the battery has been replaced.

For iPhone 11 models, iPhone 12 models, and iPhone 13 models, you can see if the battery or display have been replaced.

For iPhone 12 models and iPhone 13 models, you can see if the battery, display, or camera have been replaced.

For iOS versions earlier than iOS 15.2, you'll see an “Important Battery Message” or “Important Display Message” or “Important Camera Message”.

If you have any concerns at all, or want to find out more about this issue, please chat to one or our knowledgeable technicians when you bring your iPhone in for repair.