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danv28

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 23, 2012
4
0
I'm having an issue with my phone's home button, and my last resort would be exchanging my phone for another one at the Apple store since I'm under my 1 year warranty. I've done a lot of reading on different forums and found that people have experienced a lot of problems from the replacement phones Apple gives them. I was hoping some members could share their experiences with their replacement devices if they got any, and I have a few questions:

- How many times will Apple replace your device? If the replacement they give me is faulty, will they replace that one too?
- I've read a lot about replacement phones having the yellow tint. For iPhone owners who have replaced their phones, does your replacement have a blue hue or the yellow hue?
- I've read that Apple keeps the parts from old phones that still work and re-uses them in the replacement phones. Do they give you a new processor, or is it recycled?
- For those who have replaced their devices, have you regretted it and wished you just stuck with the original phone you had?

Thanks!
 

bandofbrothers

macrumors 601
Oct 14, 2007
4,779
328
Uk
..........
I'm having an issue with my phone's home button, and my last resort would be exchanging my phone for another one at the Apple store since I'm under my 1 year warranty. I've done a lot of reading on different forums and found that people have experienced a lot of problems from the replacement phones Apple gives them. I was hoping some members could share their experiences with their replacement devices if they got any, and I have a few questions:

- How many times will Apple replace your device? If the replacement they give me is faulty, will they replace that one too?

The warranty will just restart on the replacement or for 90 days whichever is the longest.

- I've read a lot about replacement phones having the yellow tint. For iPhone owners who have replaced their phones, does your replacement have a blue hue or the yellow hue?

Its a lottery with this. Both versions of screen are not a fault.

- I've read that Apple keeps the parts from old phones that still work and re-uses them in the replacement phones. Do they give you a new processor, or is it recycled?

Some people have been given a replacement in a black box which is a mint refurbished handset or a brand new one in the usual white box. Apples level of customer service on hardware and software is un rivalled in the market place. Refubs are generally returned handsets under the cooling off period, checked they have no issues by apple and reused for replacement purposes.

- For those who have replaced their devices, have you regretted it and wished you just stuck with the original phone you had?

Anybody that has gone to the lengths of swapping out their handset generally has a major hardware or software fault. Some say the new unit works better and some say it doesn't but at the end of the day if the until has failed one does not have much of a choice !

Thanks!
 

Ricky Smith

macrumors regular
Jan 28, 2006
222
1
Boston, MA
Why would they give you a new processor? I've had many replacements and never an issue with the replacement. If there's an actual problem with it and you're not just trying to nit pick about non existent issues they'll replace it until you get a working one.
 

TheAppleSource

macrumors regular
Mar 9, 2012
158
0
United Kingdom
Just to add to the first reply, I've had both an iPhone 3GS and an iPone 4S have to be replaced and both replacements were just like new phones. When I say "like" new phones, I'm fairly sure that they were new phones. Therefore, you run the same risk of getting a bad one as you do with any electronic purchase.
 

danv28

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 23, 2012
4
0
For the processor- my main concern is whether or not it is reused because I'm worried it might be worn out a bit and might not perform at optimal performance as it should.

For replacements, is the camera quality the same, or do they use difference parts and pieces?

I'm just concerned that the replacement phone won't be as fast as the original phone...:(
 

danv28

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 23, 2012
4
0
OK smart ass, explain to me how it's nonsense? Apple recycles used parts from other phones, and according to them it's cheaper to replace a phone all together than to simply fix a home button that doesn't seem to function properly. That seems like nonsense to me. Since you're getting recycled parts one must question how these parts perform.
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
OK smart ass, explain to me how it's nonsense? Apple recycles used parts from other phones, and according to them it's cheaper to replace a phone all together than to simply fix a home button that doesn't seem to function properly. That seems like nonsense to me. Since you're getting recycled parts one must question how these parts perform.

You're way too OCD.
Go get your phone replaced and be happy with the replacement functional iPhone.
Stop acting weird/crazy. You will be fine, it's just a phone.
 

TheAppleSource

macrumors regular
Mar 9, 2012
158
0
United Kingdom
I am nearly 100% certain that if you are given a replacement phone it will be a new one. This means that it will be just as quick, with just as good a camera, with just as good a processor etc as when you got your phone new for the first time.

And if it isn't, then ask for another replacement.
 

kgelhart

macrumors newbie
Jun 24, 2013
1
0
My experience with Apple's Replacement Services

Okay, to begin with, I'll tell you a little background as to where I'm at now in the Apple Replacement process. Sorry in advance for the length!

In November of 2012, I purchased my very first iPhone, an iPhone 4s 64gb, from a friend. When I bought it, it was hooked up to At&t and luckily still was under Apple Care+. I bought the rights to the phone and had it Factory Unlocked via a qualified unlocking service here in Florida. After about 2 months of owning it, I had an issue one night where the phone made a very odd hissing sound and got extremely hot to the touch. I called Apple's tech support and they walked me through trying to fix it. Finally after an hour or so, the sound (including ability to listen to music) stopped completely. The tech set me up with an appointment at my local store for the next day. I went in and was informed that the previous owner had also replaced the phone once, but was given a new iPhone (albeit refurbished) without more then a few questions. After taking this phone home, about 3 days later, I discovered a new issue. Every time I turned the phones Vibrate/sound button on sound, it would rapidly flash between vibrate and sound over and over again. Immediately went back into the store and was helped by the same tech from 3 days prior who replaced my phone again after apologizing profusely. Took it home and the next morning woke up to a phone that would not slide to unlock....also could not type! Three totally different problems with the same phone? I called Apple again and explained my last week of problems, the tech apologized and was stunned by my amount of problems, to which I said "I'm just a little concerned this is going to keep happening. This is my first iPhone and I don't know if this is typical" The man was instantly wanting to transfer me to his supervisor. I waited maybe two minutes when this supervisor came on the phone and I again explained the entire story. He was in shock and told me that he would order me one more refurbished replacement (as I had used up all of the refurbished ones that the store had readily available). He then told me to save his information and if anything at all was off in the phone, to call him immediately. Two days later I had a new phone and was happy as could be. A month later I was pretty sure that my phone was fine, so I threw away the supervisor's number.

Which brings me to this last Thursday (5 days ago). My Apple Care has been expired for 120 days when all of a sudden, my phone is not picking up cell service. I called Apple care and was told that the phone was out of warranty but since my previous record, they would try and help me out. I went through the process of backing up my phone and was told to factory reset my phone. When trying to set up the phone, I kept getting error code (-1). After 5 attempts, the tech on the phone set up a call back for 30 minutes later to make sure the problem was not on their end. He told me that the next tech would have all of my information. I got a call back 30 minutes later and the woman on the phone was kind of helpful, but had NONE of my info and I couldn't get my serial number due to not being able to restore my phone. The lady tried to help me a little, but then started to explain that because it was out of warranty, it would be a charge of 199$. This is when I stated to tell her I was not paying for a fix on my phone when the main problem was caused by help from the previous tech. I told her politely that I could have at least used my phone on Wifi before the factory reset and now my phone was as useful as a paper weight. She left for a moment to get some outside help from her supervisor. She passed me along to Matt.

Matt was informed of my current situation but was unaware of my 5 iPhone replacements. I told him the whole story, to which he said "WOW" about 10 times. He apologized profusely and told me he was going to resolve this for me no matter what. He left for 5 minutes and came back and told me without a doubt they were going to send me a brand new sealed phone free of charge. After thanking him and him getting all my information, he then said something along the lines of "Unfortunately, we no longer make the iPhone 4s 64gb anymore, so we will have to replace your 4s with the new iPhone 5 64gb. Is this okay with you?" :):D

The next day I was called by another agent higher up who confirmed my order and received a fedex 2 day label. I sent the phone out this morning (Monday) and was called 2 hours later confirming that they see it has been pickup up by Fedex. She then asked what color iPhone they were sending. I explained that I had a white 4s but would like a black one if at all possible. She replied "Oh of course!" and said that my iPhone would be sent out tonight and I should receive it within 3-5 days (closer to 1-2 days).

Because of this amount of customer service, we now have 2 iPhones, a macbook, an iMac, and 4 iPods. Couldn't be happier!
 

MrMacMack

macrumors 6502a
Oct 24, 2012
837
0
Okay, to begin with, I'll tell you a little background as to where I'm at now in the Apple Replacement process. Sorry in advance for the length!

In November of 2012, I purchased my very first iPhone, an iPhone 4s 64gb, from a friend. When I bought it, it was hooked up to At&t and luckily still was under Apple Care+. I bought the rights to the phone and had it Factory Unlocked via a qualified unlocking service here in Florida. After about 2 months of owning it, I had an issue one night where the phone made a very odd hissing sound and got extremely hot to the touch. I called Apple's tech support and they walked me through trying to fix it. Finally after an hour or so, the sound (including ability to listen to music) stopped completely. The tech set me up with an appointment at my local store for the next day. I went in and was informed that the previous owner had also replaced the phone once, but was given a new iPhone (albeit refurbished) without more then a few questions. After taking this phone home, about 3 days later, I discovered a new issue. Every time I turned the phones Vibrate/sound button on sound, it would rapidly flash between vibrate and sound over and over again. Immediately went back into the store and was helped by the same tech from 3 days prior who replaced my phone again after apologizing profusely. Took it home and the next morning woke up to a phone that would not slide to unlock....also could not type! Three totally different problems with the same phone? I called Apple again and explained my last week of problems, the tech apologized and was stunned by my amount of problems, to which I said "I'm just a little concerned this is going to keep happening. This is my first iPhone and I don't know if this is typical" The man was instantly wanting to transfer me to his supervisor. I waited maybe two minutes when this supervisor came on the phone and I again explained the entire story. He was in shock and told me that he would order me one more refurbished replacement (as I had used up all of the refurbished ones that the store had readily available). He then told me to save his information and if anything at all was off in the phone, to call him immediately. Two days later I had a new phone and was happy as could be. A month later I was pretty sure that my phone was fine, so I threw away the supervisor's number.

Which brings me to this last Thursday (5 days ago). My Apple Care has been expired for 120 days when all of a sudden, my phone is not picking up cell service. I called Apple care and was told that the phone was out of warranty but since my previous record, they would try and help me out. I went through the process of backing up my phone and was told to factory reset my phone. When trying to set up the phone, I kept getting error code (-1). After 5 attempts, the tech on the phone set up a call back for 30 minutes later to make sure the problem was not on their end. He told me that the next tech would have all of my information. I got a call back 30 minutes later and the woman on the phone was kind of helpful, but had NONE of my info and I couldn't get my serial number due to not being able to restore my phone. The lady tried to help me a little, but then started to explain that because it was out of warranty, it would be a charge of 199$. This is when I stated to tell her I was not paying for a fix on my phone when the main problem was caused by help from the previous tech. I told her politely that I could have at least used my phone on Wifi before the factory reset and now my phone was as useful as a paper weight. She left for a moment to get some outside help from her supervisor. She passed me along to Matt.

Matt was informed of my current situation but was unaware of my 5 iPhone replacements. I told him the whole story, to which he said "WOW" about 10 times. He apologized profusely and told me he was going to resolve this for me no matter what. He left for 5 minutes and came back and told me without a doubt they were going to send me a brand new sealed phone free of charge. After thanking him and him getting all my information, he then said something along the lines of "Unfortunately, we no longer make the iPhone 4s 64gb anymore, so we will have to replace your 4s with the new iPhone 5 64gb. Is this okay with you?" :):D

The next day I was called by another agent higher up who confirmed my order and received a fedex 2 day label. I sent the phone out this morning (Monday) and was called 2 hours later confirming that they see it has been pickup up by Fedex. She then asked what color iPhone they were sending. I explained that I had a white 4s but would like a black one if at all possible. She replied "Oh of course!" and said that my iPhone would be sent out tonight and I should receive it within 3-5 days (closer to 1-2 days).

Because of this amount of customer service, we now have 2 iPhones, a macbook, an iMac, and 4 iPods. Couldn't be happier!

I'd hate to see how long it would take to explain your entire life story based on the length of this post which merely explains your experience with replacing an iPhone. Sheesh!
 

aartoodeetoo

macrumors newbie
Jun 23, 2013
22
0
Cumbria, England
Get it replaced - it'll be fine. I've had an iPhone and an iPad replaced in the last 18 months, both faulty, both replaced without any problem, both going strong..

Just bear in mind the fact that those who've received bad service or faulty replacements are those that shout the loudest - there are thousands of extremely satisfied customers for each annoyed one...
 

anaqvi786

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2013
170
18
At iOS planet
You said that you had a problem with your home button - did you try calibrating it? Hold the power button until the slider pops up, and then hold the home button until it disappears.
(Please don't hate me for going slightly off topic, as I am a newbie)
 
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