Apple corporate level repair facilities are horrible

[chrixxa]

Just wanted to take a second to comment on how incredibly horrible the Apple repair facilities are that we use for our enterprise level repairs. I work for a repair/warranty facility that takes care of all of the iOS devices for a very large beverage corporation in North America and Canada. We have a large volume of devices that we service and supply for this company's employees. We fix most of the problems ourselves, but for problems like backlight, no service, no touch, and faster than normal power draining, we send them to Apple. Our experience has been extraordinarily bad. We have discovered over the past few years that they do not actually test devices in the traditional matter, they simply use their diagnostic tools. This would be fine and good if it worked, but it doesnt in many cases. You cannot test whether a device gets cell signal or not in this manner. You have to actually insert a sim card into the device and see if you get signal. Seems simple but apparently their " repair techs" arent allowed to actually do this. We will routinely send in a phone with no signal, only to get it back a few weeks later with a replaced display and vibe motor, claiming it's fixed. It never is, and it continues to happen. I do not understand Apple's rationale in this instance. It's like they got lazy and hired a bunch of college kids on break from school rather than hiring real repair techs. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Gwendolini]

www.apple.com/feedback - it might help

 

[chrixxa]

www.apple.com/feedback - it might help

it won't. We've had apple reps here at our location, and we have our own apple rep we deal with. the problems are many. Doesn't seem to get any better. They aren't interested in hiring real techs, and/or they have some really silly rules for diagnosing a device's problem once they receive it, after our techs have diagnosed it and reported their findings. I'm sure they are just doing things how they are told to, but thats' the problem-they aren't letting their techs be techs, just running diagnosis software and doing what it tells them. Problem is that software isn't the end all be all for diagnosing a device, especially "no service" issues it seems. Replacing a screen on a device that is sent in for "no service" is unacceptable, even once. Sadly it's routine. We typically send about 150-200 devices to apple every few weeks. We get tons of them back like that where a screen or a vibe switch is replaced to remedy "no service". It's infuriating, but mainly it's just sad to see how Apple has failed in this area so incredibly horribly. They made a big deal about how important their enterprise customers are, and how they were going to be "working with" third party repair facilities like us. They have done nothing, matter of fact it's only gotten worse.

 

[chrixxa]

The newest bit of news on this amazing saga of pain and despair dealing with Apple corporate repairs is amazing. We had a talk with our new rep (they change rather frequently, apparently it's a transitional job and nothing they take seriously), and they actually told us that the reason why they are replacing screens and vibe motors/switches when we send one in for repair on a "no service" cellular problem is that the screens and vibe switches are tied into the cellular signal antennae array. What? Complete BS. Seriously it's amazing that they seem to not only have zero technical knowledge, but they will literally make up lies when they don't have a legit answer. Just fix our phones or replace them-they're your devices so pretending that we don't know what we are talking about just makes Apple look like idiots. A child could determine a "no service" issue. Apparently we are the only technicians in this equation.

 

[TimmeyCook]

Just wanted to take a second to comment on how incredibly horrible the Apple repair facilities are that we use for our enterprise level repairs. I work for a repair/warranty facility that takes care of all of the iOS devices for a very large beverage corporation in North America and Canada. We have a large volume of devices that we service and supply for this company's employees. We fix most of the problems ourselves, but for problems like backlight, no service, no touch, and faster than normal power draining, we send them to Apple. Our experience has been extraordinarily bad. We have discovered over the past few years that they do not actually test devices in the traditional matter, they simply use their diagnostic tools. This would be fine and good if it worked, but it doesnt in many cases. You cannot test whether a device gets cell signal or not in this manner. You have to actually insert a sim card into the device and see if you get signal. Seems simple but apparently their " repair techs" arent allowed to actually do this. We will routinely send in a phone with no signal, only to get it back a few weeks later with a replaced display and vibe motor, claiming it's fixed. It never is, and it continues to happen. I do not understand Apple's rationale in this instance. It's like they got lazy and hired a bunch of college kids on break from school rather than hiring real repair techs. Just my 2 cents.

What????

If you don’t have signal, it’s your SIM card or your carrier.

You don’t have an unique phone or unique software.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

What????

If you don’t have signal, it’s your SIM card or your carrier.

You don’t have an unique phone or unique software.

I'd like to believe the company's IT department tested another SIM card before going through the trouble of spending money/time/resources in sending an iPhone off for repair.

Also, if 10.000 iPhones in the same location and the same carrier are getting signal and only one isn't, connecting the dots is quite easy.

 

[BrianM_CAN]

It's not that the techs don't necessarily have troubleshooting skills - the system they use is setup like a support script - you follow this step, run this diagnostic tool, it gives this result, you replace this part. If the support script isn't setup for a particular problem, it can be difficult to get to the actual cause - or you have to replace certain other parts first before getting to the actual problem - because that is how the process was created.
Over time the script/process can be adjusted for certain issues to possibly make them easier for the tech to get the desired repair, but until that point, it is frustrating for everyone involved.

It at one point was fairly flexible, then changed to the new script system back around 2010 or so. (I haven't worked with the system directly in 5 years now, so maybe its changed again, but from interactions I've had with some repairs, it seems like it is still how things work for the techs to order parts)

 

[TimmeyCook]

I'd like to believe the company's IT department tested another SIM card before going through the trouble of spending money/time/resources in sending an iPhone off for repair.

Also, if 10.000 iPhones in the same location and the same carrier are getting signal and only one isn't, connecting the dots is quite easy.

Everybody loves to pass the hot potato to the next guy.

Just saying...

 

[chrixxa]

I'd like to believe the company's IT department tested another SIM card before going through the trouble of spending money/time/resources in sending an iPhone off for repair.

Also, if 10.000 iPhones in the same location and the same carrier are getting signal and only one isn't, connecting the dots is quite easy.

Precisely. Our devices go through 4 different employees (not including the end user or their manager who also inspect the device and try to make it work before they send it to the repair dept) before we make the decision to send it to apple. Our techs have several years experience with Apple devices. All of them have an IT background as well. So we aren't just willy-nilly sending them devices to work on. We dont want to send them anything, as it's such a hassle, but we have no choice.
They need to seriously improve their techniques and processes. IF YOU MADE THE DEVICE YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TROUBLESHOOT IT AND FIX IT OR REPLACE IT WITH LITTLE TO NO BS.

 

[jeremysteele]

You have to actually insert a sim card into the device and see if you get signal.

Fact: Cell phone antennas still detect carrier signals without a SIM card, and can still measure signal strengths on any nearby compatible networks. There is no need for authentication to get a signal. Heck, you could measure it with a spectrum analyzer, as is commonly done by pen testers looking for nefarious devices in corporate environments.

Supporting Fact: In nearly every developed country, every cell phone produced must be able to call their emergency line (911 in the US) without a SIM card using the nearest compatible network, regardless of carrier. My old LG flip phone from ~2002 even supported that. This has been mandatory for cell phones and carriers in the US for at least 20 years.

Conclusion: A SIM is not required to measure carrier signal strength, these levels can be logged from any cell phone during diagnostics (Apple can do this). IMO it is better to test with a sim to ensure the SIM tray and authentication mechanisms are properly functioning. I understand your frustration there.

------

As far as software checks go - every major manufacturer does that these days for basic repair work. If they encounter difficult problems they most definitely have techs who can start checking capacitors and traces. However, they are usually used for "replace and diagnose" situations rather than repairs - for the vast majority of the issues the software tells them the general area/module to swap, and they swap it... boom done.

Is that a great solution? Nope, I would agree it absolutely sucks. But it is what it is, and isn't unique to Apple.

TL;DR - Switch jobs if your current one makes you that upset. Stress is shortening your lifespan, and life is too short already.

 

[chrixxa]

Fact:If I send in a device because when i insert a SIM it doesn't find service, basic logic dictates that if you want to fix the problem I am sending it in to be repaired for, you must follow the steps I did to recreate the issue in order to fix it.

Fact: Zero end users attempt to obtain cellular service without a SIM card. If my end user can't use their SIM card and make or receive phone calls, the phone is now a paperweight, regardless of what you "can" do without a SIM.

Supporting Fact: We are a repair facility. We only send things to apple for warranty service or if their devices just stop working completely and we need a replacement. We use SIM cards because it is basic logic to duplicate the end user's experience in order to attempt to repair their device, regardless of software options available or ways around just doing the actual work instead of being lazy. Also I am a long time Apple specialist and user (+20 years)

Conclusion: You are making excuses for Apple's behavior here. I love Apple, I just want them to stop BS'ing us around about fixing their own faulty equipment.