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

If you’ve just bought a used iPhone or had a recent repair done on your iPhone, but it’s displaying an “Important Message” from Apple regarding your battery, display, or camera. For example: “Important Battery Message – Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery.” Or, maybe you see “Unknown Part” under the “Parts and Service History” section in Settings.

Read on for more information about these messages.

What do these messages mean?

These messages appear when repair work has been done to your device to give information on the replaced component: battery, screen, camera (depending on your iPhone model, see below). Only an Apple Genius Bar or an Apple Authorized Service Provider can replace a component in the latest iPhones without prompting this message, but this doesn’t mean that your battery has an issue or is defective — it only means it was replaced with a new battery (or camera or screen) that works just as efficiently as the original one.

These messages don’t affect your device’s performance in any way. This message will be visible on the lock screen for 4 days and then for 15 more days in Settings. Getting this message doesn’t impact the iPhone’s performance. The only inconvenience is that you won’t be able to easily see your battery’s health and know when it’s time to replace it.

What are the types of messages you may see?

The messages depend on the iOS version you’re using.

• For iOS 15.2 and later, go to Settings > General > About > PARTS AND SERVICE HISTORY to see which components, if any, have been replaced.

You’ll see “Unknown Part” if the component installed is not a genuine Apple part (or recognized as such by the device)		If the replacement was done using genuine Apple parts and processes, you’ll see “Genuine Apple Part” next to the component

Replacements not performed by Apple will always appear as “Unknown Part”, but keep in mind that these components are functionally identical to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) equivalents and won’t perform any differently. Sellers on Back Market put every device they sell through rigorous testing suites to verify like-new condition and functionality. These processes are then validated by our own in-house teams to ensure the best quality devices.

Long story short, if “Unknown Part” appears, the component is likely to have been replaced by a new one that will work as well as an original one. And even if something did go wrong, your device is always under warranty for any defective issue.

• For iOS versions earlier than iOS 15.2, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health (for battery), or Settings >  General > About (for camera and display)

Which products are affected?

Only the most recent iPhones (XR, XS, XS Max, and subsequent 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”.