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iPhone 4 - Phone Trouble - Need Advice

H

harcosparky

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 14, 2008
2,055
2
So I have an iPhone 4, bought on release date so not even two years old.

Was hoping to make it past the two year contract period to consider other providers aside from current ATT, however .....

Recently my iPhone 4 has been giving me a fit with not being able to make/take/complete calls.

At times when I make or accept a call, I can hear the other person but they cannot hear me.

At other times when I accept or make a call, there is massive amounts of 'crackling' noise and neither of us can hear each other.

Originally I thought it might be a cell site issue, however when sitting in my living room on my iPhone 4 and my daughter is on hers, she has no issue.

So it is related to my phone.

I have done resets, restores, restore to original, everything I can think of doing via iTunes to no avail so................

The phone is OUT OF WARRANTY ( no apple care :( )

I know I can walk into ATT and get a new iPhone 4s and ANOTHER two year contract with them, but I do not want to do that.

Does anyone know if Apple has any 'flat rate' Out Of Warranty program?

I seem to recall they had a $200 exchange program in the past for out of warranty issues.

If I have to spring for a new phone, and ANOTHER two year contract I'd rather do it on the next generation of phone ( iPhone 5 )

Or I can suffer with the current issues for the next 4 months more or less.


FWIW: The moisture indicator inside the earphone jack is WHITE so no problem there.
 
N

normanbates

macrumors regular
Aug 24, 2011
217
0
You could try walking into an Apple store and asking a 'genius' to do a quick diagnostic on it. Plead poverty and just say something like 'ive been getting really dodgy call problems' etc etc and ask if they can plug it in and just check to see if the device is faulty. If it is they will offer a replacement at a cost but will obviously let you know how much that should be (or hopefully just swap it because of the earlier poverty plea).

I have a friend that had a 3GS that he screwed up using a 3RD party charger, it had obvious scorch marks around the doc connector and he pleaded with the 'genius' for a replacement. The 'genius' was like "tell you what, even though you have used a non-approved charger and have clearly knackered it yourself I will log it as a battery failure and swap it for you but you'll have to pay £50 for the privilege". This was all because of his attitude and begging lol. You've paid enough for this device, lose your pride and get on your knees if you have too
 
Y

Yujenisis

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2002
311
127
It's a microphone issue so the LSI in the headphone jack isn't going to tell you much. Instead look underneath the Dock Connector shelf on your iPhone 4 and look for a slightly recessed rectangle that is your bottom LSI. Even that isn't too close to the actual spot where the Mic is.

Just for fun take a toothbrush to the grills at the bottom of your iPhone just in case debris are the problem.

Here are your choices as I see them:
1) Go to your Apple Store (the bigger the better: the larger stores get more NetPromoter pressure from Corporate and are given longer leashes). As someone else said plead poverty and your love of your iPhone. Appeal to their mutual interest in Apple. Try using phrases like "Is there anything at all you can do for me?" Rinse and repeat until a kind soul replaces it with a CS Code.

2) Fix it yourself with the help of iFixit.com

3) Look into a repair service like iResQ or MissionRepair...or these people who I haven't heard of but want $70 to replace a mic

Good luck!

Edit: Apple does have an Out of Warranty replacement system available through Apple Retail for iPhones. The price runs $99-$199 depending on the issue and device.
 
Last edited:
No5tromo

No5tromo

macrumors 6502
Feb 17, 2012
399
1,030
TriJetHero said:
Just buy an unlocked phone from apple, expensive but free to do as you please.
Click to expand...
If you rely a lot on wi-fi and data usage to communicate an unlocked iphone comes waaaay cheaper in the long run. I get away with 10 euros a month (something like 13 dollars I reckon) and I get

150MB of data
1 hour of calls
unlimited call time to 2 Vodafone (think Verizon) numbers
60 text messages

and all this out of contract, just on prepaid time which I purchase from a convenience store on my block, whenever I run out of credits. I can also use a Vodafone App to distribute my credits however I like, for example I could pick 60MB of data instead and spend the remaining amount to add 2 and half hours or calls, or I could choose to add another 150 text messages.

60 MB is more than enough for unlimited messaging via various apps and imessage. If I want to download apps etc I use my wi-fi at home.

Mastering the art of low budget... and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything important.

I've also got 3G disabled which saves tons of battery, you don't need 3G for messaging. I only enable for a little while if I want to browse the internet or use the Maps when I get lost. It won't empty my data credits if I use it in moderation, but I can add another 30MB at any time using that app, at the expense of 1 euro.
 
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