miffed
11th July 2010, 09:06 AM
Having traded my 32GB 3GS away recently , the guy I traded with had some problems - these were partly to do with me forgetting that Beta software had an expiry date , and partly due to a bit of hardware failure , - Although I sold the device in good faith , I did say to the guy that any problems caused by my "tinkering" , and I'd be happy to reverse the deal.
Basically , the device was Jailbroken at every opportunity , UDID registered so used for Beta software , it also had some physical damage to the casing and screen
On getting it back , I was unable to flash or boot (spent two whole days messing around ) and contemplated putting on eBay as spares or repair
It had not even crossed my mind to persue a warranty claim , as I assumed a Jailbroken device was void , but I saw some people on forums saying they'd had some success in these circumstances
.....So I went to Apple's site to see how the land lay , entered my Serial / IMEI (printed on the SIM tray - handy to know !!) and ..you'll love this bit , Warranty expired THAT VERY DAY !!! This put the brakes on the idea of walking into an Apple store , but I did notice I could "request service" on the website , so I did !
The only details I had to put in were the Serial # and a quick description of the fault , this prompted all the details (Mine and the phones) to pop up , and all I had to do was click a confirmation - I then recieved an email telling my that I would recieve a box with instructions on how to send the the phone over the next two days
Next day , sure enough , a box arrived (well , actually a foam padded box, containing ANOTHER foam padded box , containing a neoprene sleeve !! (Belt and braces or what ? )
I packed the phone , put it in the prepaid bag , and handed into the Post Office , - All simple so far !
..... Now , I was not expecting them to play ball at all. I was expecting them to look at the casing and say "Abused" and return it to me , or claim accidental damage / liquid damage et - My experience of such services is such , ..but I thought "what have I got to lose ? "
I had been encouraged by Apple to "track my repair" , so I clicked on the link in the email ,and there I was , on a tracking page , at 8am it simply said "Service requested" - fair enough , ..... but at around lunchtime I decided to check to see if thehy had received the phone (thinking if it got lost , it might work to my advantage , LOL !!
I was amazed to see not only had my iPhone been received , but it's status had gone from "Issue identified" to "Pendong product replacement"...... Cool !
I then checked a few hours later and it had progressed to "Product Replacement Shipped" -Less than 24Hrs after I sent it in !! Complete with UPS tracking number , which gives a delivery date of Monday !
So it looks like I am getting a replacement ! and even a refurb (which its bound to be) is going to be better nick than my old one
This certainly goes against anything I've ever experienced with Phone manufacturer warranty ! Look at the effort on my part - two lines of text in a box on a webpage - put phone in box and hand over counter , only one full day without phone (well , 3 because it was over a weekend ) , Usually there are tales of being without a phone for weeks , only to be told it can't be repaired due to phantom water or accidental damage !
Cheers Apple ! the level of service here is something worth factoring in , when you are weighing up which phone to buy, but you don't thing of things like this until you have to use them .
Basically , the device was Jailbroken at every opportunity , UDID registered so used for Beta software , it also had some physical damage to the casing and screen
On getting it back , I was unable to flash or boot (spent two whole days messing around ) and contemplated putting on eBay as spares or repair
It had not even crossed my mind to persue a warranty claim , as I assumed a Jailbroken device was void , but I saw some people on forums saying they'd had some success in these circumstances
.....So I went to Apple's site to see how the land lay , entered my Serial / IMEI (printed on the SIM tray - handy to know !!) and ..you'll love this bit , Warranty expired THAT VERY DAY !!! This put the brakes on the idea of walking into an Apple store , but I did notice I could "request service" on the website , so I did !
The only details I had to put in were the Serial # and a quick description of the fault , this prompted all the details (Mine and the phones) to pop up , and all I had to do was click a confirmation - I then recieved an email telling my that I would recieve a box with instructions on how to send the the phone over the next two days
Next day , sure enough , a box arrived (well , actually a foam padded box, containing ANOTHER foam padded box , containing a neoprene sleeve !! (Belt and braces or what ? )
I packed the phone , put it in the prepaid bag , and handed into the Post Office , - All simple so far !
..... Now , I was not expecting them to play ball at all. I was expecting them to look at the casing and say "Abused" and return it to me , or claim accidental damage / liquid damage et - My experience of such services is such , ..but I thought "what have I got to lose ? "
I had been encouraged by Apple to "track my repair" , so I clicked on the link in the email ,and there I was , on a tracking page , at 8am it simply said "Service requested" - fair enough , ..... but at around lunchtime I decided to check to see if thehy had received the phone (thinking if it got lost , it might work to my advantage , LOL !!
I was amazed to see not only had my iPhone been received , but it's status had gone from "Issue identified" to "Pendong product replacement"...... Cool !
I then checked a few hours later and it had progressed to "Product Replacement Shipped" -Less than 24Hrs after I sent it in !! Complete with UPS tracking number , which gives a delivery date of Monday !
So it looks like I am getting a replacement ! and even a refurb (which its bound to be) is going to be better nick than my old one
This certainly goes against anything I've ever experienced with Phone manufacturer warranty ! Look at the effort on my part - two lines of text in a box on a webpage - put phone in box and hand over counter , only one full day without phone (well , 3 because it was over a weekend ) , Usually there are tales of being without a phone for weeks , only to be told it can't be repaired due to phantom water or accidental damage !
Cheers Apple ! the level of service here is something worth factoring in , when you are weighing up which phone to buy, but you don't thing of things like this until you have to use them .