Apple Launches iSight Camera Replacement Program for iPhone 6 Plus

[PNutts]

I haven't read the whole thread because people are sniping at each other. My wife and I are getting ours repaired in about six hours. I don't have the problem as the sample photo. Mine just often doesn't focus and the pictures are out of focus. I was told by support that the camera should be fixed during the Genius appointment. If not they will send it off for repair and give me a loaner. It's easy for me to believe that some stores are simply replacing the phone. It's not more complicated nor emotional than that.

 

[opill]

Just to clarify, they will send you a new replacement phone and keep your iPhone? Or are they sending you a a temporary replacement which will need to be returned back to Apple once they send your original iPhone back?

Thanks

They are sending me a new phone. I keep it, and I have 10 days to send in my defective iPhone. Done deal. The phone they are sending me becomes my phone. If you want a new phone instead of having your original repaired, I highly recommend chatting (I didn't even call) with CS rep and setting it up. It's called Express Repair Service. It is normally a $30 fee, but they waive the fee if the phone has Apple Care.

https://support.apple.com/kb/index?...tes&product=iphone&select=ADVANCE_REPLACEMENT

 

[Keirasplace]

My view is different. Hardware issues shouldn't be common at all. I think Apple has unusual hardware issues for a premium product, but they have service to make up for it. Taste aside, and this is anecdotal, I've not heard of significant hardware problems in the Surface Pro 2 line (like there were in the rMBP) or Samsung GS6 problems. And because of their deep manufacturing capabilities (and lack of service) I would particularly expect Samsung hardware at the high end to be much more reliable than Apple.

Apple has some (not a lot at all, not sure were you got that) unusual issues because it has by far the biggest production volume of new complex phones every year,

When you sell 180M new model phones in a year, 60M in one quarter, even very minor events create a substantial number of people.

In this case, the issue doesn't even come from one of their own components they designed but from a Sony made component! In this case, It's not even the whole batch that has a problem, but a very small number within than batch.

As for the GS6, well, you'd be wrong because there were significant issues; your "feelings" don't reflect reality.

Samsung doesn't have a reputation of building great products in general on the retail side (except when building some components for others). They're OK, but nothing to write home about.

I had one of their tube HDTV (yes, those things existed) $2000 break down completely after 5 years (could not be repaired)! Refrigerator broken down within 2 years (that one got fixed). If you go online on every retailer that sells their stuff; you'll see a fair amount of complaints; they're customer service is deemed pretty bad.

One of the reason they run into trouble is design. Manufacturing can't help reliability of if the problem is in the design itself.

 

[Wackery]

Camera works, but is listed as being one of the serial numbers affected, apple storee wouldn't replace

 

[OS X Dude]

My phone is eligible for this, but I don't have any problems with my camera and I don't want them to scratch or damage my phone while repairing it.

We're really quite good at it, you know

 

[OS X Dude]

So I guess they are repairing the phones in-house rather than replacing them with new units?

Yep. Unless the issue persists after a new camera has been fitted.

 

[5105973]

Camera works, but is listed as being one of the serial numbers affected, apple storee wouldn't replace

If the camera works there's no need for Apple to do anything. Your iPhone likely isn't affected by the defect. You still have another 2 years to wait and see if the defect manifests. When it does, Apple will then exchange the camera module.

 

[bigriderx]

My phone is eligible for this, but I don't have any problems with my camera and I don't want them to scratch or damage my phone while repairing it.

I took mine to the Apple store (Kenwood Town Center in Cincinnati) and they replaced the camera. About 1.5 wait and the phone is perfectly fine (believe me, I checked before I left the store). I've not had any problems with my camera, but wanted to prevent any problems.

 

[PNutts]

Camera works, but is listed as being one of the serial numbers affected, apple storee wouldn't replace

How did they determine it works? Did they take a picture in the store or look at photos in the Camera Roll. I ask because some of my pictures (typically bright sunlight) look fine but I have a number of out-of-focus photos in my Camera Roll. Thx.

 

[Keirasplace]

How did they determine it works? Did they take a picture in the store or look at photos in the Camera Roll. I ask because some of my pictures (typically bright sunlight) look fine but I have a number of out-of-focus photos in my Camera Roll. Thx.

If you have this issue, you'd have it even in good light. low light pictures in smart phones are often blurry because of hmmm operator error; there are no miracles...

 

[HenryDJP]

To be honest, they'll probably just apologise and give you a new iPhone. I really don't think they'd make the effort to replace the individual camera piece. Probably isn't worth the time and leaving a customer without their phone isn't good service.

You're going by theories and anecdotes, I'm stating a fact. My iPhone issue had to do with the speaker. It would no longer play. I walked in the store thinking they were gonna simply replace my iPhone, because like you said it probably wouldn't be worth their time or trouble to fix it. They told me they had the parts in-store to replace the speaker, and they did. Took them an hour, so I wasn't "left without a phone". Even though I use it for personal and for work my life isn't so consumed with tech that I can't be without my phone for an hour.

Second incident involved my screen cracking. It was only the outer shell so I thought they would replace that part. On this account they did in fact "replace" the phone but they stated that they generally fix nearly everything on the iPhone and don't replace phones. Well the only reason I walked out of the store with a replacement 4S is because it was covered under AppleCare Plus which I had. So I had to pay $49 to replace the phone. So if the problem is covered under normal Applecare they will repair the phone on site.

 

[576316]

I guess you never read the article... They REPLACE the iSight camera module.

Okay sure. I'm not bothered anyway, selling my 6 Plus in a couple of weeks so won't bother with this even though I'm eligible.

 

[576316]

You're going by theories and anecdotes, I'm stating a fact. My iPhone issue had to do with the speaker. It would no longer play. I walked in the store thinking they were gonna simply replace it, because like you said it probably wouldn't be worth their time or trouble to fix it. They told me they had the parts in-store to replace the speaker, and they did. Took them an hour.

Second incident involved my screen cracking. It was only the outer shell so I thought they would replace that part. On this account they did in fact "replace" the phone but they stated that they generally fix nearly everything on the iPhone and don't replace phones. Well the only reason I walked out of the store with a replacement 4S is because it was covered under AppleCare Plus which I had. So I had to pay $49 to replace the phone. So if the problem is covered under normal Applecare they will repair the phone on site.

Never been into an Apple Store with an iOS device related problem and not walked away with a new device. Maybe I just get lucky at my local Store. Also I have never paid for Apple Care. As you are going by your personal experiences, so am I. These are also facts.

On a side note, my rMBP was eligible for the graphics processor replacement program Apple ran a few months back and I took my MacBook in then. Received over £700 worth of repairs absolutely free, including an out of warranty clamshell replacement purely because I happened to mention I'd been seeing image ghosting (again, no Apple Care)...those guys at the Store are awesome!

 

[HenryDJP]

Never been into an Apple Store with an iOS device related problem and not walked away with a new device. Maybe I just get lucky at my local Store.

Care to explain the nature of the issues which lead them to replace them?

 

[576316]

Care to explain the nature of the issues which lead them to replace them?

I'd have to think back years now! I had a replacement iPhone 4, iPad mini, iPhone 5s and iPad Air I believe. As I seem to recall, the iPhone 4's vibrate stopped working, the iPad mini had a dead pixel, 5s speaker stopped working/mic performance issues and iPad Air had light leaking within the screen. Same day replacement in the Apple Store for all of these. No Apple Care, but all were in warranty.

 

[576316]

If you have this issue, you'd have it even in good light. low light pictures in smart phones are often blurry because of hmmm operator error; there are no miracles...

My 6 Plus is eligible and honestly I've never seen the issues described. Must be a select few in a select batch.

 

[billy the fish]

I'd have to think back years now! I had a replacement iPhone 4, iPad mini, iPhone 5s and iPad Air I believe. As I seem to recall, the iPhone 4's vibrate stopped working, the iPad mini had a dead pixel, 5s speaker stopped working/mic performance issues and iPad Air had light leaking within the screen. Same day replacement in the Apple Store for all of these. No Apple Care, but all were in warranty.

what's your thoughts on "it just works" ? isn't that what you pay the premium for? or are you just paying a built in insurance premium for when it needs replacing...

 

[576316]

what's your thoughts on "it just works" ? isn't that what you pay the premium for? or are you just paying a built in insurance premium for when it needs replacing...

My thoughts on the 'It Just Works' moniker go as far as when my device physically functions as it should, the seamlessness of software coming together with hardware and the things I can do/achieve with the devices is greater than any other device on the market. However, it's clear from my previous post that I personally have had bad luck when it comes to receiving faultless Apple units. But as I also made clear, I've never come up against any resistance from Apple when trying to get these issues rectified and that's why they have my business for years to come.

Who knows, maybe I'm just unlucky?

I hope not.

Ps. The 'Apple Premium' argument is pretty outdated now, seeing as Apple's products are generally competitively priced with similar products on the market. I believe I am paying for premium materials on devices made from glass and metals, designed with expertise and skill. I am also paying for second to none software and services along with exceptional customer service.

 

[HenryDJP]

I'd have to think back years now! I had a replacement iPhone 4, iPad mini, iPhone 5s and iPad Air I believe. As I seem to recall, the iPhone 4's vibrate stopped working, the iPad mini had a dead pixel, 5s speaker stopped working/mic performance issues and iPad Air had light leaking within the screen. Same day replacement in the Apple Store for all of these. No Apple Care, but all were in warranty.

To be fair, the iPhone 4 is even older than my 4S (which I no longer have). During that time the Apple stores didn't have the capacity to repair all items. Now, in terms of the iPads I can see where they would replace those, that's different. Those aren't true cellular phones tied to a service calling plan. The iPhones also cost far more than an iPad so I can see why they would prefer to repair them unless a replacement was the only option.

 

[appleofmy"i"]

My phone is eligible for this, but I don't have any problems with my camera and I don't want them to scratch or damage my phone while repairing it.

I get that. I wouldn't worry to be honest. They are pretty pro.

 

[HenryDJP]

what's your thoughts on "it just works" ? isn't that what you pay the premium for? or are you just paying a built in insurance premium for when it needs replacing...

The "It Just Works" campaign was never marketed by Apple as a means to say their products are flawless. Over the years people have taken that line and have seriously blown it out of proportion. That campaign came out during the time when buying a Windows PC meant endless hours of driver downloads to get things working especially when plugging in simple peripherals.

With a Mac you could plug in most printers and many 3rd party peripherals. If they didn't work instantly (which was rare) then the Mac would automatically download the software as it still does today. This gives the customer ease of use whereas the Mac "worked" while others were pulling their hair out on a new Windows machine trying to get everything working.

 

[HenryDJP]

I get that. I wouldn't worry to be honest. They are pretty pro.

It's not just that. Getting an iPhone replaced that isn't broken could open a can of worms. The customer could end up with a not-so-perfect screen and/or dead-stuck pixels. Apple might call that "within specs" and not replace that one.

 

[Keirasplace]

I love my iphone but if it costs



I love my iphone 6+ but if I pay $700 for a machine that costs so much more than most android competitors I expect it to be so thoroughly tested the basic functionality of camera hardware/software would never be an issue. Time to get a new supplier/revamp quality control Apple.

How do you test something that fails months into the future?
You can't you can just fix it for the client and then see what can be done upstream to prevent something like that in the future.

The supplier in this case is Sony, the same one they've had for years
Sony is a major sensor producer and supplier to smart phone makers, there aren't that many top notch options here.
BTW, the Iphone 6(not +) doesn't have this issue.

Sony's module is built of many parts, which themselves come from other suppliers.
This could be either a design failure from Sony (part fails because it wasn't designed properly),
or part fails because of manufacturing issue at a Sony supplier.

A design flaw is usually worse than a manufacturing flaw, because a manufacturing flaw won't affect many of the phones, a small number of a batch would have the issue (this seems to be the case here) while a design flaw would affect all of them.

Finally, why should Apple go elsewhere?
Is there really the certainty that a random sensor maker will give them both a module with both a better reliability and a better performance, than one they've had a relationship with for years? Not at all.

Believe me, Sony knows they f-ud and Apple will make them pay for those replacements in some ways and they'll surely not repeat the same thing again.

 

[Appl3FTW]

It takes more than a serial number to be eligible, it has to also match the symptoms described. if it does, then you should have it repaired. If it doesn't take blurry photos, then it isn't actually eligible for repair.


Only if it produces blurry photos. The serial number alone does not make it eligible.


It will only be repaired if it actually is defective, the serial number alone does not mean it is eligible.


It will only be eligible if it actually is defective. The serial number alone is not enough to qualify, it must be unable to produce clear photos.


If you have no problems, your phone is not eligible. The serial number alone isn't enough to qualify, it must produce blurry photos.


If it's working fine, it isn't eligible. The serial number alone does not qualify it for replacement, it must actually be defective.


Wrong, the camera must actually be defective to be eligible. Simply having a qualified serial number is not enough, the camera must actually be defective.

WRONG. Well if my phone is within the recalled batch set then I am entitled to get it replaced if I want. Last time I checked they issued the statement which one is ELIGIBLE for repairs. So if you're eligible, you're eligible. No need to jump thru hoops. I'm entitled to get it replaced if I want. K thanks.

 

[billy the fish]

The "It Just Works" campaign was never marketed by Apple as a means to say their products are flawless. Over the years people have taken that line and have seriously blown it out of proportion. That campaign came out during the time when buying a Windows PC meant endless hours of driver downloads to get things working especially when plugging in simple peripherals.

With a Mac you could plug in most printers and many 3rd party peripherals. If they didn't work instantly (which was rare) then the Mac would automatically download the software as it still does today. This gives the customer ease of use whereas the Mac "worked" while others were pulling their hair out on a new Windows machine trying to get everything working.

Cool story bro, I've one.. A couple if years ago I tried to take pics off my New dslr on my work iMac, nothing.. It just sat there doing did all. I plugged it into my beat up old win laptop, it auto downloaded the drivers I needed.. It really did just work.. I was a bit miffed, as I needed to use my work Mac as it had Photoshop on..