Resolved Apple "genius" denied phone replacement - what do I do now?

[i hate phones]

what do you mean by blacklist your phone? like from apple support? even if they didn't i'm sure they would discover the tampering all over again. they can't do anything to stop you from using your phone (if it was usable) you may have voided your warranty or whatever agreement exists after your official one expires... but its your phone you didn't steal it or anything.

not sure what they did to your phone softward wise... what happens when you plug it into itunes? can you restore it or go into DFU mode?

 

[egarcia9330]

Sorry subsized phone and not the full cost of the phone. That is what you were trying to get. Did you tell the genuis bar everything that happened to the phone or did you just tell them the button stopped working, be honest.

I told him everything, I knew that they were the only ones who could help, and it would be to easy to catch you lying, when the facts would prove otherwise. He suggested to go back to the "clinics" and see if they could come up with other solutions.

 

[war eagle]

You keep insisting on the free phone issue, I was not requesting a free phone, it cost $200 for an OOW replacement.

Sell it as damaged on ebay man. You can probably get 100-120 towards a new phone. Whenever I damage my phones, I put them on eBay as damaged and for parts and someone will buy it and it will lighten the load of buying the new phone.

I've seen iPhone 4's in the marketplace for like 250-275 most want 300 though, but it's better than 5, 600.

 

[i hate phones]

I told him everything, I knew that they were the only ones who could help, and it would be to easy to catch you lying, when the facts would prove otherwise. He suggested to go back to the "clinics" and see if they could come up with other solutions.

did you tell him the story before or after he messed it up further? if he already knew it was tampered with he shouldn't have even touched it.

 

[egarcia9330]

what do you mean by blacklist your phone? like from apple support? even if they didn't i'm sure they would discover the tampering all over again. they can't do anything to stop you from using your phone (if it was usable) you may have voided your warranty or whatever agreement exists after your official one expires... but its your phone you didn't steal it or anything.

not sure what they did to your phone softward wise... what happens when you plug it into itunes? can you restore it or go into DFU mode?

Well the genius took pictures of the "damage", I am sure they have some internal documentation tool where those pictures will eventually end up.

When I turn the phone on, and plug it into my computer, it just keeps re-booting. However, if I plug it into a charger, it boots and shows the "connect to iTunes screen"

 

[davelanger]

I told him everything, I knew that they were the only ones who could help, and it would be to easy to catch you lying, when the facts would prove otherwise. He suggested to go back to the "clinics" and see if they could come up with other solutions.

Did you find out how much it could cost you to upgrade to the iphone 4S? Even if its like 300-400 bucks, like another poster said, you can sell the broken phone on ebay for about 100-150 and it will even out to about 200 in the end. I am guessing they may give you an early upgrade if its close

 

[egarcia9330]

did you tell him the story before or after he messed it up further? if he already knew it was tampered with he shouldn't have even touched it.

I told him the story before he took it to the back.

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Did you find out how much it could cost you to upgrade to the iphone 4S?

Like $500, not to mention that there are none available, and they have a 3-5 day lead time.

 

[davelanger]

I told him the story before he took it to the back.

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Like $500, not to mention that there are none available, and they have a 3-5 day lead time.

How far are you into your contract? For 500 bucks it must be less than a year? Maybe if you go to your carrier store instead of apple you can get a better deal? A lot of people upgrade every year for less than that. I am not sure why it would be so much, unless you just got the 4

 

[egarcia9330]

Sell it as damaged on ebay man. You can probably get 100-120 towards a new phone. Whenever I damage my phones, I put them on eBay as damaged and for parts and someone will buy it and it will lighten the load of buying the new phone.

I've seen iPhone 4's in the marketplace for like 250-275 most want 300 though, but it's better than 5, 600.

I just looked into that, you're right they sell for anywhere between 100-250, which is not bad at all. I just bought a used one for replacement purposes at about 300.

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How far are you into your contract? For 500 bucks it must be less than a year? Maybe if you go to your carrier store instead of apple you can get a better deal? A lot of people upgrade every year for less than that. I am not sure why it would be so much, unless you just got the 4

It expires June of next year, it was a 2yr contract. I got this iPhone4 right about when it came out. Note that this is the 32GB version, which was the top of the line at the time.

 

[i hate phones]

I told him the story before he took it to the back.

see that doesn't sound right to me. if he already knew it was tampered with, he should have refused to service it before messing it up further and then refusing to service it. i mean it doesn't sound like you were in a good place before going to apple, and i guess technically they shouldn't have given you a oow replacement anyway... but i think the genius messed up. not that my opinion helps you

 

[egarcia9330]

see that doesn't sound right to me. if he already knew it was tampered with, he should have refused to service it before messing it up further and then refusing to service it. i mean it doesn't sound like you were in a good place before going to apple, and i guess technically they shouldn't have given you a oow replacement anyway... but i think the genius messed up. not that my opinion helps you

Thanks, I feel like the clinics should have disclosed up-front that any service performed on the phone would void the warrantee, and not assume that it is something you would know. I am looking at the terms & conditions on the invoice of clinic #1 and it doesn't even state that their services would void the warrantee, they should make you read and sign a waiver or affidavit before touching the phone.

If clinic #1 would've told me about the OOW program, I would've gone across the street to the Apple store and get it done and over with. Hence, I feel the terms were misrepresented and I was mislead to think that it was my best option at the time.

 

[fizzwinkus]

I feel really bad about what happened, but that the "clinics" didn't disclose the whole situation is probably a huge part of why they are unauthorized.

 

[egarcia9330]

I feel really bad about what happened, but that the "clinics" didn't disclose the whole situation is probably a huge part of why they are unauthorized.

Thanks for sympathizing with me, I agree with your statement. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[blueroom]

Apple product or not, breaking factory seals will void any manufactures warranty.

Looks like your best bet is to sell it for parts on eBay or Craigslist and buy a new iPhone.

 

[ProwlingTiger]

Apple doesn't care if you're willing to pay for an OOW replacement; they want the original phone non-tampered so they can refurb it. If two clinics jacked around with it, Apple will essentially have to replace all the components that they messed with and who-knows-what else. This isn't just a "we'll trash your old phone and give you a new one for $199" program. Apple actually uses the broken device.

 

[b24pgg]

you think he should get a free phone because it stopped working after the genuis looked at it?

Facts:
The phone was defective but functional before the "genius" touched it.
The phone was non-functional after the "genius" touched it.

If Apple does not accept responsibility, OP should file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, Consumerist, etc.

 

[fizzwinkus]

Thanks for sympathizing with me, I agree with your statement. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.

Me too. But it would probably be better if the title actually reflected the situation: Two unauthorized clinics messed up an iPhone.

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Facts:
The phone was defective but functional before the "genius" touched it.
The phone was non-functional after the "genius" touched it.

If Apple does not accept responsibility, OP should file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, Consumerist, etc.

I'd like to know what definition if "defective but functional" you are using! That's a crazy term if I've ever heard one!
Facts: the phone was tampered with by unauthorized people, and warranty stickers inside the device, which is not user serviceable, we're missing.

 

[blueroom]

All bets are off if you crack it open and break the seals.

 

[vitzr]

Yep. I was running around trying to resolve my problem, and you know when one is stressed out, sometimes one acts out of instinct and doesn't necessarily rationalize the problem. I guess I jumped the gun without sitting down and thinking completely through the problem.

First off, I'm not going to insult, criticize or call you stupid as some have here. It's generally true that one does his or her best when faced with a situation like this.

Hindsight is 20/20 and unfortunately some people here have used that to say stupid critical things to you. None of which help you. Don't be fooled, had you posted earlier, you would have still had to endure these juvenile insults by the rough crowd that validates themselves in that manner.

Your best bet at this point is to accept the phone is junk. Decide if an inexpensive plain feature phone will get you by till you are eligible fir an upgrade. Thus will save you data charges and the potential problems that come with a used phone off eBay or craigslist.

 

[b24pgg]

I'd like to know what definition if "defective but functional" you are using!

There were defects but the phone turned on and performed most functions except bluetooth/wifi.

Facts: the phone was tampered with by unauthorized people, and warranty stickers inside the device, which is not user serviceable, we're missing.

The phone turned on before the "genius" touched it and didn't turn on afterwards. It doesn't get any more clear cut than that.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

I have an iPhone 4, it suffered water damage a few days ago. Not knowing what to do, I searched online and found a few repair "clinics" near my area. I figured since it was out of warranty, I was pretty much on my own.

I took the phone to clinic #1, they took it apart and soaked it in a chemical bath to remove corrosion. I picked it up the next day, they told me that they were able to get it back up and running, but the Wifi/bluetooth chip wasn't working, and it wouldn't read a SIM card. They didn't charge me anything because they were not able to "repair" it.

I took the phone to clinic #2, they took it apart in front of me and showed me there was a piece of rice in the SIM card slot. Once removed, the phone was working fine, but still no bluetooth/Wifi. Also, a black sticker covering the CPU was peeling off, so they removed it.

The following day, the top button stopped working. I asked a guy at the office that repairs macs and he said I could take it to the Apple store and get an OOW replacement for $149+tax. I went to the apple store, and the genius said "no problem" and took out a replacement phone, but then he took my phone to the back.

He returned a few minutes later to say they would not be able to replace the phone because it had been tampered with, and showed me a picture of the sticker that was missing, and that a water damage indicator was also missing. I tried to haggle to no avail.

After leaving the store, I noticed the phone would not turn on anymore. When I plugged it into the charger, it would turn on, and then display the "Connect to iTunes" screen. I went back and told the genius that I couldn't turn it on anymore, and he basically would not even talk to me, he said "sorry I can't service that phone".

So now my phone is completely dead, and I am wondering if (1) they are going to "blacklist" this phone using the serial number, and (2) if they did something to it that completely bricked it, so I would be forced to buy a new one.

Any suggestions are welcome.

They aren't going to do anything if the black sticker is off or if the water indicator is tampered with or red. Next time something like this happens, be careful who you give your iPhone to. They screwed you man.

 

[fizzwinkus]

There were defects but the phone turned on and performed most functions except bluetooth/wifi.

The phone turned on before the "genius" touched it and didn't turn on afterwards. It doesn't get any more clear cut than that.

If I go randomly pulling wires and belts out of my car, but it still limps along, then after a mechanic looks around it stops, it must be the mechanic's fault.

 

[Antidoll]

I'm sorry but I have no idea why did you go to those "clinics" ...

My first instinct if anything went wrong with my phone is to go to where I got it from...

 

[SomeonePlzHelp]

I hate when people try to blame the specialists and geniuses at the Apple Store for their problems.
You have a phone that has been tampered with, and they can not legally do anything with it since you broke the policy/warranty of your phone, what do you expect...?

 

[war eagle]

Cut the guy a break. He probably took it to the clinic because it seemed cheaper and thought of them to be legitimate. It happens. Don't just read the OP before you reply, read the replies after too.

He already stated he bought a replacement. Its just a lesson learned. I've taken my phone to those shops before and had good luck. Not everyone does.

Face the facts that everyone isn't as educated on this stuff as others.