[Help] Apple-authorized technician removed my swollen iPhone battery and told me to replace it at an Apple Store. Now Apple refuses because it was removed.
I'm honestly really frustrated with how this situation has been handled, so I'm hoping someone here might have some advice.
I spent my summer vacation abroad. In mid-July, I went to the beach with my family one day, and afterward I charged my iPhone 13. At the time, I didn't think anything was wrong. My phone was working normally, but shortly afterward I started noticing that it wouldn't stay on for very long and would randomly shut off at around 30%.
I checked the battery health and saw that it was at around 68%. That made me look more closely at the phone, and I realized that one side of it was sticking outward significantly. The battery had swollen. I didn't know what to do so I looked it up online to see if anyone else had been in a similar situation, where I read that a swollen lithium-ion battery can be dangerous and should be dealt with immediately. There unfortunately aren't any Apple Stores where I was, so I went to an Apple-authorized repair shop.
The technician said that it was a good thing I had brought the phone in because the swollen battery was a safety hazard. He didn't have a replacement iPhone 13 battery available, but he removed the swollen battery for me and specifically told me to get a new battery installed at an Apple Store in the US.
I was actually relieved because I was worried about traveling with a swollen battery, especially since I had an 8-hour flight coming up. I trusted that I was doing the safest thing by having the dangerous battery removed.
About three weeks later, I arrived in the US and went straight to an Apple Store. This is where things became incredibly frustrating.
They told me that because the battery had already been removed, they couldn't run their normal diagnostics on the phone and therefore couldn't service it. My options, according to them, were essentially to buy a new iPhone or go to a third-party repair shop.
This is what is so frustrating to me: the battery was removed by an Apple-authorized service provider, who told me that I should have Apple install the replacement battery in the US. But then an Apple Store in the US told me they can't do anything precisely because the battery was removed.
I understand that Apple has policies regarding repairs and diagnostics but I'm having a hard time understanding why I'm being penalized for doing what I was told was the safest thing to do. How am I supposed to know that the advice from an Apple-authorized service provider would prevent me from getting the phone serviced at an Apple Store later?
I was scared that the swollen battery could be dangerous, so I had it removed by an Apple-authorized repair shop. I didn't modify the phone myself or try to repair it. I specifically went to a professional because I wanted to handle the situation safely.
I even went to Best Buy the next day (in the US) to see if they could help. The employee told me he was glad the battery had been removed because he and his coworker had apparently been sent to urgent care on two separate occasions after inhaling fumes from swollen iPhone batteries. Unfortunately, he also couldn't install a replacement battery because of Apple's policies.
Now I'm left with an iPhone 13 that was working perfectly fine aside from the battery. The phone has no other problems that I'm aware of. It just needs a new batter.
I'm also not expecting Apple to give me a brand-new phone for free. I understand that an iPhone 13 is an older phone now, and realistically I probably would have replaced it in another year or two anyway. But having to replace it right now, when I know the phone was otherwise completely functional, is extremely frustrating, especially as a college student who really doesn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a new phone unnecessarily.
Am I missing something here? Is there anything I can do?
I'm also open to Samsung/Android suggestions.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.