Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Now Offering to Swap Water-Damaged iPhones for $199

Can anyone confirm this? I need this confirmed because I need my brother to take his phone back so he can get my 2 yr contract freed up so I can get the new iPhone that is upcoming.

He dropped his phone in a bucket of water. It died. He used my open contract to buy a new phone. :(
 
This sucks - Apple are picking and choosing what 'damage' they will replace and what they won't entirely arbitrarily.

I cracked my screen and am willing to pay apply either to fix it - OR - a fair price for an exchange, bearing in mind they will take my old phone, fix it, and then sell it on no doubt at a profit anyway...

A screen costs like $5 - and they aren't too hard to replace - yet apple told me I would have to pay for an entirely new phone AND hand in my old one.

And of course if I decide to fix the thing myself, it voids the damn warranty (which doesn't cover screens in he first place (WTF?)...

Apparantly I was told by Apple they can't touch the screens as doing a screen replacement isn't in line with their Green Policy... WOW - get a grip. I don't care about green - the majority of Apple customers don't give a damn about green.

Since when did we all decide we were willing to pay a premium and get ram raided for cash on repairs etc for 'green'...

I'm really losing patience with Apple. If they don't change policies, and get their act together with other things (FW with Macbooks, over-pricing, seeming lack of quality control on products that leave the factory (I went through 4 macbooks before I got one that was perfect - i.e. what I paid for)) - if they don't sort out their shop I'll be buying a Dell and Blackberry - and I won't look back with any anxiety that I made a bad choice.
 
smarch said:
I replaced my original water-damaged 8gb for $199 back in January 2008. Did they get rid of this policy and now bring it back or something?

ps. don't throw your phone into a toilet, no matter how interesting a trajectory it may take on the way into the bowl.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering the same thing...I replaced my original 8Gb 1st gen iPhone last year for $175 after it was left on top of a car, and was completely destroyed after being ran over after the car was moved. This year my 1st 8Gb iPhone 3G was replaced for $199 after being soaked in a rainstorm. All I had to do was give up the old phones, and pay the replacement costs listed above. And the 1st gen iPhone that was replaced was seriously destroyed..pretty much the only thing even recognizable was the aluminum back. Glass was completely destroyed and most was missing. Both these replacements were done at the same Apple retail store and was no hassle at all, it was even stated that it was policy do to so (had prices officially listed in their Genius Bar computers and all). Didn't restart or renew my contract at all, and the warranty on the devices restarted on the day the replacements were made. Did they get rid of this policy for a short time, then bring it back again? Because my 2nd swap listed above was done in January of this year.
 
until i hear this from apple i will not believe it. I was at an apple store a few weeks ago and someone brought in a water damaged iphone apple said they would not offer any discount. If you want a discount go talk to at&t.
 
Wow Apple is getting desperate to unload its undoubtedly huge stockpile of current 3G iPhones! Just the latest in a long string of promotions designed to bottom out the price of iPhones to clear out stock. They must have over-estimated late-cycle demand. Anyone who wants a shiny new iPhone just has to drop theirs in a pool and ask for a new one, and Apple is willing to oblige by offering a new phone at cost with no other obligation. Looks like they'd rather sell them at cost than carry millions of unused iPhones into the next product cycle
 
chris975d said:
I'm wondering the same thing...I replaced my original 8Gb 1st gen iPhone last year for $175 after it was left on top of a car, and was completely destroyed after being ran over after the car was moved. This year my 1st 8Gb iPhone 3G was replaced for $199 after being soaked in a rainstorm. All I had to do was give up the old phones, and pay the replacement costs listed above. And the 1st gen iPhone that was replaced was seriously destroyed..pretty much the only thing even recognizable was the aluminum back. Glass was completely destroyed and most was missing. Both these replacements were done at the same Apple retail store and was no hassle at all, it was even stated that it was policy do to so (had prices officially listed in their Genius Bar computers and all). Didn't restart or renew my contract at all, and the warranty on the devices restarted on the day the replacements were made. Did they get rid of this policy for a short time, then bring it back again? Because my 2nd swap listed above was done in January of this year.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you just got REALLY lucky, TWICE, and just so happened to talk to someone who was in a very gracious mood and allowed you to access replacement phones without extending your contract... definitely not an industry-wide policy... we should all be as lucky as you
 
I also only paid $199 last year.

I dropped my phone in the tub and apple had me send it in for water damage repair for the flat rate of $199. They don't begin to try and repair them... they just sent me a brand new iphone that came in a smaller box that doesn't contain the ear phones etc.

I called apple and asked if it was a refurb and they stated "No, its a brand new phone"!

Not sure why this is news???
 
If I manage to get my grubby little hands on a family members water-damaged iphone will I be able to pay for this exchange or do you need to provide proof of being on the account? Would love to upgrade from a 2g to 3g without re-upping the contract
 
Sky Blue said:
Is it $199 for either model?
Click to expand...

pmpknetr21 said:
Nah. That's just for the 8 GB. The 16GB is $299. Also, they're required to give you the like model of what you're giving them.

It's a really good change in policy. It's really great for those who don't want to resign a two year contract or pay the unsubsidized price. (I'm sure this was a hell of a fight for Apple against AT&T.)
Click to expand...

it is actually 199$ for either model
 
Eclipse10114 said:
They probably think I would want to unlock it and sell it or something, damn. So what are the requirements to qualify for this $200 exchange then, do they really look up your Att account before doing the exchange because I have never seen them do that at the Genius Bar. I thought they only diagnose the device.
Click to expand...

It would be worth a try. I mean the worst they could do is say no.
 
This would be awesome, if it were true!

Not that Ive ever spilt on my iPhone or anything, but I have done something similar to an older phone. $199 would be a fair price to pay, even if its just to help them clear out a warehouse... It also would build customer confidence for future phone models. :)
 
the new policy is $199 replacement for any out of warranty repair, as long as the phone is still in one piece.

see http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/faq/#warranty7

Out-of-Warranty Service
If you own an iPhone that is ineligible for warranty service but is eligible for Out-of-Warranty (OOW) Service, Apple will replace your iPhone with a new or refurbished iPhone for the Out-of-Warranty Service fee listed below.

iPhone 3G Out-of-Warranty Service
8GB & 16GB $199
Original iPhone Out-of-Warranty Service
4GB, 8GB & 16GB $199
*All fees are in US dollars and exclude applicable taxes

For example, an iPhone that has failed due to damage or liquid damage is eligible for Out-of-Warranty service. However, certain damage is ineligible for OOW service, including catastrophic damage, such as the device separating into multiple pieces, and inoperability caused by unauthorized modifications.
Click to expand...
 
I'm really fn confused, i thought 3giphone is $199 brand new, why would you want a refurb for the same price as a brand spankin new one?
 
jamesschmidtke said:
I'm really fn confused, i thought 3giphone is $199 brand new, why would you want a refurb for the same price as a brand spankin new one?
Click to expand...

Simply because you only get the $199 price tag if you subscribe to a 2-year contract with AT&T. Since warranty lasts only during the first half of that contract, you are left with one year without warranty. And according to this policy, during this second year, you can get a repair for $199.
 
Cara1001 said:
I'm really losing patience with Apple. If they don't change policies, and get their act together with other things (FW with Macbooks, over-pricing, seeming lack of quality control on products that leave the factory (I went through 4 macbooks before I got one that was perfect - i.e. what I paid for)) - if they don't sort out their shop I'll be buying a Dell and Blackberry - and I won't look back with any anxiety that I made a bad choice.
Click to expand...

Wow, in rather hopeful way I thought I might be alone in going through four MacBook (Pro in my case) before getting one that was 100% according to spec. I've had friends that had to go through one, and even two before but this have been a rather bad experience...

Yes, when both my iPhone and uMBP works they're great, but as someone else on this board put it, it's "perform, or perish" for me as well.

So, Apple, I like you but get your s****y QA act together. Innovation is rather bland if there isn't quality to back it up. :p
 
I can confirm this is happening in the UK. Person next to me at the Genius bar yesterday was offered a replacement iPhone for his water damaged one for £139 (think it was this, may have been £149). Genius said Apple had just changed their policy.
 
twoodcc said:
is this just for water damage, or for any damage? like the silent switch not working anymore?
Click to expand...

if the silent switch isn't working, you should be able to bring it in to an apple store for repair/replacement since it is still under the 1 year warranty (assuming you have a 3G iphone, which could only be around 11 months old at the latest since it came out last june).
 
What to do with an extraphone then?

So My phone (16Gb white) got damaged nearly 4months ago. and after going to the apple store and being denied repair, or discounted price on new one, I eded up paying full price (600 US$) for a new one.... I still keep my old white (1month used) water damaged phone in its original case in, otherwise new condition....

Advice guys... I already have a replacement... What to do?
 
Cara1001 said:
I'm really losing patience with Apple. If they don't change policies, and get their act together with other things (FW with Macbooks, over-pricing, seeming lack of quality control on products that leave the factory (I went through 4 macbooks before I got one that was perfect - i.e. what I paid for)) - if they don't sort out their shop I'll be buying a Dell and Blackberry - and I won't look back with any anxiety that I made a bad choice.
Click to expand...

You think Apple is the only company that has quality control issues? Ahahahahaha!!! Don't even get me started with Dell. I've had three Dell batteries outright FAIL (no, I don't mean they had a low capacity, I mean they outright *did not work*). Then there was the time they were supposed to replace the motherboard... and after waiting a week all they did was flash the BIOS. And then the screens that started getting yellow tinting... went through two of those. And a damaged hinge. And two failed graphics cards. And then another dead motherboard. And failed thermal control. And a dead DVD drive. Thank god I upgraded to at-home-repair after a year. :rolleyes:
 
adomanico18 said:
if anyone here is dumb enough to pay to get a new iphone when clearly a new one is coming out in a month then thats your fault. patience is a virtue people.
Click to expand...

I was about to say cue an influx of threads along the lines of "Dropped phone in toilet, replace for $199 or wait for new phone?! WHEN IS NEW PHONE COMING?!"
 
Adisah said:
Can anyone confirm this? I need this confirmed because I need my brother to take his phone back so he can get my 2 yr contract freed up so I can get the new iPhone that is upcoming.

He dropped his phone in a bucket of water. It died. He used my open contract to buy a new phone. :(
Click to expand...

YES this does work. last week i jumped into the hot tub with my iphone in my pocket :-( I went to apple store and they said there was nothing they could do. Went back to the apple store yesterday and for $216.32 with tax they replaced my white 16gb 3g with a white 16gb 3g in perfect working condition. I was about to pay $499 for a new one. i am very happy with the new policy.:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back