Why is my iPhone showing an “Important Message” or “Unknown Part” warning?

Funny you should ask – it’s actually a sign of how committed we are to high quality refurbishment.

So, you’ve unboxed your beautiful, refurbished iPhone and bored all your friends with its like-new functionality and explained at great length what a sustainability superstar you are… and then you get a warning message that looks like this:

What do these messages mean?

Swappie is committed to the highest levels of quality when it comes to iPhone refurbishment. It’s why over 1 million people across Europe have chosen our service.

Sometimes, somewhere along our 52-step testing and repair process – Swappie’s experts run into a part that’s just not quite up to scratch. And no amount of technical wizardry is going to revive it. Generally, it’s the camera – or the battery.

So, what we do is responsibly recycle the original part and put a brand new one in. This way you get exactly the level of performance you were expecting from your refurbished handset, every time.

Like-new performance – no questions asked

What then happens though, is that you get a message like the one above.

If you bought an iPhone XR, XS or newer, you’ll probably see these messages and warnings in your lock screen, notification center or in settings. Only Apple Authorized Service Providers and Apple Genius Bars are able to replace components without these messages being prompted.

At Swappie we use top quality components that have been approved after strict quality testing, and they’ll work just as well as Apple original parts. The message has no impact on the handset’s functionality. It doesn’t mean the handset is defective – but in the case of the battery, it does mean you wont be able to check the battery capacity.

Simply put, every battery becomes a bit less powerful over time. A new battery can be recharged to 100% of its capacity. But over time, this 100% goes down gradually.

Like the changing of the seasons, or those smart new trousers you love gently wearing through – it’s a natural part of both life and iPhone ownership. But when we put a smart new battery in your iPhone, you wont be able to check this process in Settings. But fear not – the average battery capacity of Swappie Standard batteries in 2022 was 89%, and if you’re getting the warning message – you’ve got a 100% capacity battery, anyway! It’ll last you for two years with like-new functionality.

In any case, the warning message goes away from the lock screen and notification center in 4 days, and from the settings menu in 15 days. And then life goes on. And you can tell everyone how you saved 78% of the carbon emissions produced when you buy a new phone by choosing to reuse.

So – no worries, then?

If you do find an issue with your iPhone, you’re covered by your free 12-month Swappie warranty. We’re always on hand and happy to help – whatever the issue.

In iOS 15.2 or later you will always be able to find information about these components in the Settings > General > About.

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