Apple Refusing Service on Hacked iPhones?

[sblasl]

This isn't the EU. Apple is an American Corporation. I don't give a rat's a** about what they think US companies should be doing and that includes M$ as much as I hate to say it.

Maybe the iPhone is subsidized by Apple/AT&T. You just are not being charged the "real" amount.

 

[chr1s60]

Why should Apple service your phone after you hack it? That means they could potentially lose money by giving you another phone that they should not be responsible for replacing because there was nothing wrong with it until the user messed up the software in it. I have no problem with them blacklisting the phone that was brought in hacked either, I actually think it is a good idea. I have nothing against people hacking their phone, but they should have the common sense to know that it is done at their own risk. It is like saying Apple should replace your phone because you threw it against a wall and it broke... the problem with the phone isn't because of something Apple did to the phone, it is something the user did to the phone that they should not have.

 

[matticus008]

If you've got a bunch of dead pixels, or the backlight's gone sour, it doesn't make sense at all. That is obviously a hardware issue, and it shouldn't matter if it's hacked or if you're running Linux or even Windows 3.1 on the friggin thing, they should fix it.

And they would, because that's a simple and obvious condition that can be diagnosed even prior to activation. If you have some functionality problem (say, it won't place calls), however, and it's hacked, there's no clear indication that a hack isn't the cause. It requires troubleshooting and time and effort that no company should have to pursue. They're not responsible for figuring out the interaction of unapproved software with their device. If you're using a product in an unapproved manner, it's pretty difficult to show that you have a hardware issue conclusively unless you can demonstrate that when used as approved, the problem still exists.

In order to demonstrate that, you'd have to be an AT&T iPhone customer running stock firmware. If the problem existed in that instance, it would be eligible for service.

Would you be OK if Apple refused to service your $3000 Mac Pro because you were running Linux on it? I see no difference..

There's a huge difference. You didn't put an alternate OS on a hardware platform. You modified an existing platform at a sufficiently low level as to affect device operations and have no way of demonstrating a hardware problem outside of physical construction and screen issues.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I'm just trying to find out how Apple will handle these things if the phone is presented to them locked with the activation screen on it? That is, without any evidence of unlocking at all, just a description of the problem and the customer's statement that there is what appears to be a hardware problem and that they restored the phone to the original factory settings before coming to the apple store, but did not re-activate it. I fully understand what you're saying, and that if unlocked and the unlocking has caused a problem, the customer will be responsible for repairs. But Apple hardware fails too and it may not be at all related to the software unlock.

I have ATT myself, but the old pre-cingular ATT. MY plan is great and I don't want to get a lesser plan just to be 'legit' with the iphone. And, as I understand it, I can't add the iphone data plan to this old service.

The only problem is that in order to do any troubleshooting, they will ask for the AT&T phone number to reactivate it with. If that line no longer exists, activation will fail. And I doubt Apple would continue to troubleshoot, they would figure out that something was wrong. (Hrm, I'm going to have to double check the warranty terms to see if a valid warranty requires active AT&T service, or just activated AT&T service. (Or any at all. I mean, if you do a fake activation, and never activate with AT&T at all, I wonder what they would do if you brought it to them unactivated.)

Actually, Dell, IBM, and HP will do just that on servers that cost exponentially more money, if you run "unsupported" operating systems.

There have been many news stories like this. OEMs refuse to service obvious HARDWARE problems because the end user installed Linux.

 

[decadentdave]

I hacked my iphone and then the battery overheated and wouldn't hold a charge and there was no way I could do a restore. They just swapped mine out and gave me another one. Took it home and the first thing I did was hack it again.

 

[CiscoGuru&aMac]

Any person that would bring a hacked iPhone into the Apple store for a refund deserves to be slapped.

Poor bloak must have been dropped on his head too many times as a child.

I hacked my iphone and then the battery overheated and wouldn't hold a charge and there was no way I could do a restore. They just swapped mine out and gave me another one. Took it home and the first thing I did was hack it again.

Your case is an exception. You have been pardoned

Anyone who knowingly brings in an iphone that is hacked and that could have did a restore and doesn't is an ID10T.

 

[calvy]

There have been many news stories like this. OEMs refuse to service obvious HARDWARE problems because the end user installed Linux.

Interesting. Where I work, we buy servers from all three of those vendors specifically to run Linux on. I guess they don't want you running linux on it when they sold it to you with a Windows support contract.

 

[La Porta]

That's like buying a car, modding out the engine, and then taking it in for warranty service because you are having engine performance problems. No company is going to pay for that!

 

[Canuck4]

This should common sense.
You're bringing in a hacked phone with all kinds of software and icons they're not familiar with and even a network they dont support. And you expect them to fix it?
Who knows what kinda software job you did on it.
You got a problem with it just restore it and bring it in like that IMO.

 

[Canuck4]

Lol
Yep, sorry I just got this Civic but I put in a turbo and 2 NOS bottles and now the engine and transmission are messed up.
Im still covered under warranty right?

That's like buying a car, modding out the engine, and then taking it in for warranty service because you are having engine performance problems. No company is going to pay for that!

 

[synth3tik]

of course Apple would refuse to repair a hacked phone, who would have thought differently about that. You replace parts on your computer Apple will not fix it. You install OS X on your Dell Apple will not fix it.

 

[itsaka]

That's why I do not hack OS X or anyother Mac product. Hacking something to think that you are actually making it better is such a PC mindset.

Really? What Windows hacks are there? Seems to be more along the lines of Unix/Linux users modifying what they can cause, well, you just can. I haven't heard of any kind of Windows "hacks." I could be wrong.

 

[Rot'nApple]

Yes, but it clearly says that the warranty does not cover DAMAGE if it is the result of the item being used wrongly. What if it is not? What if it is the result of Apple's hardware failing?

What hardware failing would that be? The iPhone not being able to handle third party hacking software to unlock it so a different carrier's SIM card can work?

If your phone was never hacked to be unlocked and your sim card was nothing but at&t, then by all means have apple look at your phone.

If your phone is acting up because you hacked via software to unlock and put a non at&t sim card to operate on a different cell carriers network, then maybe restore to default iPhone settings and put in an at&t sim card. If problem doesn't persist and you go back to unlock and a different sim card and the problem reoccurs, then you might have to confess to Apple when taking a look or find an outside 3rd party source that repairs iPhones, that is, if Apple blacklists those that alter Apple's and AT&T's partnership... or as Steve Jobs would say, you are the "philanderer" of the Apple & AT&T "marriage" (see comments from Steve regarding Apple and the UK O2 partnership er marriage - http://crave.cnet.co.uk/video/0,139101587,49292859,00.htm ) cuz your messing around with an "ex-girlfriend". This is getting too soap opery for me... or sounds like a bad "Reba" episode.

Anyway, if you are having problems, good luck with resolving them!

 

[Tochee]

No such thing as apple black listing you

They may refuse to service or replace your phone under warranty, they may offer to restore your phone for you (after warning that you'll lose all data and will have to re-sync at home) but there is no such thing as black listing.

 

[EricHvk]

If the little punk brought it in to be serviced and didn't think anything of the fact that the iPhone was hacked, he is barely functionally retarded.

If the turd brought it in thinking he was going to be thought of as "cool" for unlocking his iPhone, he is beyond retarded.

Why hack the iPhone? There really isn't that much you can do that is THAT great with the different apps. The only one that peaks my interest is the "GPS" off of cell towers that weas released yesterday. But you know what? I refuse to hack my lovely iPhone to use that. I am one of the sheep in that if Apple thinks I need it they will give it to me and only when I am ready for it.

That's why I do not hack OS X or anyother Mac product. Hacking something to think that you are actually making it better is such a PC mindset.

umm I know alot of people that including myself that have hacked the iphone for good reasons.

number one. switching from t-mobile to att with cancelation iphone and activation fees for a family plan would have cost me 1200$

number two is that there are good apps. send files, the finder read write access rearranging your springboard. changing app icons. people like to customize the look apple should atleast respect that.

I can understand if you buy the phone and use it with t-mobile that is kinda ripping them off alittle att and apple both are losing money in there plot but people who have att and hack the phone for apps ring tones etc its there phone do with it what they want. Me i just wanted the sickest phone and i had t-mobile and unwilling to shell out the cash to switch. wow i hacked it apple sold me an iphone that they normally would not have sold. they made a profit.

 

[klimegreen]

blacklisting?

Its hard to believe that Apple would blacklist a phone. Obviously they can do this. But business wise it makes no sense (unless it was deemed stolen). And practically speaking they'd have to send this info over to AT&T to prohibit activation... or are they saying iTunes will reject it. Just hard to believe. Anyone know if this is TRUE?

-
klime aka Sammy
iPhone

 

[Mgkwho]

Obviously he voided his warranty. No one should be complaining.

-=|Mgkwho

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Interesting. Where I work, we buy servers from all three of those vendors specifically to run Linux on. I guess they don't want you running linux on it when they sold it to you with a Windows support contract.

I was actually talking about desktops and laptops. Sorry I didn't specifically clarify that my comment was separate from the person who was talking about servers. And most manufacturers seem to have gotten it figured out by now that hardware problems are not caused by Linux. (Dell was notorious a couple years ago for refusing to warranty repair laptops that had Linux installed.)

 

[JohnMcKee]

If you've got a bunch of dead pixels, or the backlight's gone sour, it doesn't make sense at all. That is obviously a hardware issue, and it shouldn't matter if it's hacked or if you're running Linux or even Windows 3.1 on the friggin thing, they should fix it.

Would you be OK if Apple refused to service your $3000 Mac Pro because you were running Linux on it? I see no difference..

Unlocking an iPhone is not the same thing as running a different operating system, to unlock it they have to modify the software on a separate chip and subsystem that was never designed to be modified by the end user, only Apple was ever intended to modify that chip and only with extensive testing, thats why unlocking took so much more time than figuring out how to install software.

A better example is if you flashed the firmware on your Mac Pro with an update un-approved by Apple and then complained about hardware problems

 

[emegmac]

That's like buying a car, modding out the engine, and then taking it in for warranty service because you are having engine performance problems. No company is going to pay for that!

What if the problem is not with the engine but with the power seats or sunroof. Then it is covered. I own a new mustang I have done tons of mods to make it go fast but when the radio went out I took it in and Ford serviced it because I never done anything to disrupt its service it just stopped working.

If my iphone running on tmobile screen goes out dang right I have the right to get it fixed. If the os gets locked up I am to blame and I accept that.

 

[GavinTing]

Sounds like what steve meant by passively stopping these modifications

 

[ghall]

of course Apple would refuse to repair a hacked phone, who would have thought differently about that. You replace parts on your computer Apple will not fix it. You install OS X on your Dell Apple will not fix it.

I don't know about that. A few months ago I flat out told Apple that I had replaced the hard drive in my MBP, and they were like "whatever", and fixed my MacBook Pro no questions asked.

 

[diamond.g]

Slightly OT:

If AT&T started subsidizing the iPhone (say down to 199) would Apple have any recourse against them? I mean the 399 price is only a MSRP. Show why couldn't AT&T just lower the price to bargin bin levels? They already have to give Apple the full 399 anyways might as well try to sell as many (and get the 2 yr contracts) as they can. Have people activate in the store. Is the iPhone locked to the particular computer you activate it from, or the iTunes account used?

 

[overcast]

What if the problem is not with the engine but with the power seats or sunroof. Then it is covered. I own a new mustang I have done tons of mods to make it go fast but when the radio went out I took it in and Ford serviced it because I never done anything to disrupt its service it just stopped working.

If my iphone running on tmobile screen goes out dang right I have the right to get it fixed. If the os gets locked up I am to blame and I accept that.

How do they know that? You tooling around with the electrical system in the engine can CERTAINLY cause things like your radio to stop working.

 

[megfilmworks]

What if the problem is not with the engine but with the power seats or sunroof. Then it is covered. I own a new mustang I have done tons of mods to make it go fast but when the radio went out I took it in and Ford serviced it because I never done anything to disrupt its service it just stopped working.

If my iphone running on tmobile screen goes out dang right I have the right to get it fixed. If the os gets locked up I am to blame and I accept that.

Hopefully you don't have Onstar, they may turn off your engine!