Sprint Asurion replacement NOT ORIGINAL!!!1

beyond882001 said:

Just wondering if this has happened to anyone recently?

I ordered a replacement device ( Iphone 5) and when it arrived the microphone did not work when the phone was on speaker. I made a appointment with apple and when they took my phone to the back. they immediately brought it back and said there was nothing they could do because the housing was not original.

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I have not replaced anything with Asurion in over two years. Last time was with my wife's HTC Touch Pro. Sprint replaced it with a Touch Pro 2.

In any case, I do have AC+ AND TEP with both my Sprint iPhone 5 and my wife's Sprint iPhone 5.

I am NOT surprised by this. Here's the thing. Asurion takes in the damaged or returned phones that are turned in to Sprint or that are sent to Asurion. Asurion contracts with third parties to refurb these phones and these refurbs are the phones that Asurion uses to replace your phone when you make a claim.

There is NO guarantee that these third parties are actually using genuine Apple parts. Apple knows what to look for and apparently they did not find it.

Apple won't touch your phone if you make a warranty claim under AC+ and the phone does not have original parts.

beyond882001 said:

now this shocked me because the phone was brand new. So long story short, i ended going to a sprint store and they said they would replace it but i'm afraid the "new" phone will not be original. So i paid to have apple care for no reason because I can not get my phone serviced with them anymore? I'm so confused as to how this is allowed to happen...

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Nothing you get from Asurion is going to be brand new, unless you can pin them down into a guarantee. I.e., you end up with a factory shrinkwrapped box with a phone made of genuine Apple parts. Even Apple does not replace with new phones. But they do use genuine Apple parts in their refurbs. Asurion's third partys don't necessarily do that. One, because they may not have access to genuine Apple parts (Apple does not sell them), and two, to keep the costs down for Asurion.

You did not pay for AC+ for no reason. But it only applies to Apple original parts. Had you gone to Apple first instead of using TEP/Asurion then you would not have had an issue.

It's allowed to happen because Sprint is your carrier. Asurion is the insurer and Asurion hires third partys to refurb replacement parts. There is nothing illegal or unethical in that. But there is no guarantee that anything you get from Asurion will be original Apple parts.

Apple has a right to refuse to honor a warranty on something that is not theirs.

We use new and certified-like-new phones with 100% OEM parts. All of our phones come with a 12 month limited warranty. E-mail us at SocialMediaTeam@asurion.com or tweet us @AsurionCares if you have any questions, and we’ll be happy to answer them.

Asurion Cares said:

We use new and certified-like-new phones with 100% OEM parts. All of our phones come with a 12 month limited warranty. E-mail us at SocialMediaTeam@asurion.com or tweet us @AsurionCares if you have any questions, and we’ll be happy to answer them.

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Just want to note that I've dealt with someone on twitter w/ the initials WH who was amazingly helpful. I called two months late on an issue, was out of warranty, and they still shipped me a brand new iPhone 5S. YMMV but I had a good experience.