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alecapple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 23, 2008
109
0
About a week ago i noticed a small white dot in my screen. You may or may not be able to see it in the two pictures below. It wasnt that big of a problem, but when you pay 400 dollars for a phone you can be anal about things. Today i set up an appointment with the genius bar at the grand rapids apple store, and we drove up there this afternoon. I walked in and sat there for about 10 minutes waiting. And i wasnt expecting much, i just wanted to know if this was a common problem, or what had caused it. When the apple genius (steve) got to me he asked what my problem was, i showed him. and then he checked the water sensors. He said that my problem is usually caused by exposure to liquid. But none of the sensors were activated, so he said he'll go and see what he can do, he starts typing away, and then walk over to a cabinet, which is empty, and he says he'll be right back. he came back with four boxes with refurbed iphones, i signed twice, he switched the sims and he gave me a new phone. Scratchless, the chrome bezel was perfect. Just thought i'd share my story. And let me know if anyone has seen this before.
 

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how come he gives you a refurb phone?? congrats on getting it sorted out by the way :) I just do not like the idea of paying for something new that has problems and get a refurb to fix the problem.
 
Apple has great customer service. When my iPod Touch stopped working completely, I took it to the apple store and they replaced it with a brand new one, which was great because the battery was brand new, and of course there were no dents or scratches like the old one.:D
 
They have new phones but they are called "service units". I had my iPhone 3G swapped out the other day at the genius bar for having a horrible battery. The new one is much better.

Also, about a month ago I took my out-of-warranty original iPhone in because the touch screen (on the top) stopped working. He gave me a refurb one to replace it at no charge!

I have had nothing but great experiences at the genius bar at my local Apple Store. If you go in there to talk to them and you are honest, it seems they will be more than willing to help you out.
 
I agree with the great service, although I have never returned/exchanged an apple product yet for defects and such. I've owned lots of apple products, like an ibook g4 (stolen sadly), macbook, wireless keyboard, wireless MM, dvi adapters, etc. But when I go buy these things, the staff are really nice and friendly, something I don't say for many stores.
 
It was a first gen. phone, not a 3g. And my warranty was just about up, and my phone pretty well scratched. I was pretty happy.
 
I think the key here is that it was a first gen phone and nearly 1 year after having it and totally using it the way a phone should be used, he got a refurb.

Good success story. People often and always complain about the bad when in fact there are many great stories of people getting on just great with :apple:.
 
I had the white dot on my 1st gen iPhone, and it wasn't from water, it's from the glue under the LCD bubbling up over time, I had my phone replaced immediately when I showed it to them without having to tell them anything special.

I am however waiting on my 4th iPhone 3G, 3rd replacement...

1st one had a dead pixel, 2nd one started splitting from the seams between the chrome and the black, 3rd one (this one) is cracked between the headphone jack and the chrome, and I have a stuck pixel now, so I have all the paperwork to take in when they get them back in stock again.

At this point the iPhone 3G replacements are new phones packaged without all the accessories because not enough time has passed since launch for there to be refurbs, once there are though you'll be able to tell by the product code on the white box. So far I really enjoy my 3G, but these small problems like cracks never would have happened on the 1st gen phone... which is ridiculous, I almost want to give up the 3G and go back to a 1st gen...
 
how come he gives you a refurb phone?? congrats on getting it sorted out by the way :) I just do not like the idea of paying for something new that has problems and get a refurb to fix the problem.

To be honest, I don't mind refurbished electronics. Assuming the company is on the up and up, I think refurbished units go through more QA than the ones that roll off the assembly line. I could be wrong. :)
 
Yeah, I got a new one too when I exchanged mine for dropped calls--I actually asked if it was new or refurb. I was very happy, since it came minus a few small scuff marks on the original one I had.
 
My first yen iPhone had the same problem. Took me longer to find a parking space at the mall than it did to get it swapped out.

Mine was a refurb, too. Doesn't bother me, I was exchanging a used iPhone anyway.
 
i got the 3G on the release date (i was actually 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in line with my friends) and i unfortunately got the "light leak". i set up an appointment with the Genius Bar and they replaced it for free without any hassle. Apple's customer service is awesome :)
 
I've been pretty hard on the Genuses/Geni in these forumus, but reading about the fraud returns (user damage/water damage/etc.), people refusing white box replacements, etc., they are certainly earning their money! Glad to hear some are keeping their wits and humor.
 
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