Apple refused to fix my iPhone 4 home button

[Leonard1818]

So you think that somebody who's bought an extended warranty should receive better service than somebody with a standard warranty even though both people are within the warranty periods? That's crazy.

The OP never said that the iPhone 4 was within warranty period... But regardless if 1) the iPhone is within warranty period and 2) the OP lives in the UK where they have different laws and they are *legally* under a 2-year warranty then what is posting on a forum going to accomplish?

If the phone is definitely under Apples manufacturer warranty, go to Apple and DEMAND they fix it. They have to. Especially if they claim that it's not operating properly. If, for some reason, that doesn't work... pursue legal action. Here in the U.S. consumer laws are different and we don't have such a warranty. Take advantage of it!

Posting on a forum about it does not seem to be the best "next course of action". Sure, once they've exhausted the above two options to the fullest extent, I could see wanting to poll the community for similar experiences... but not at this point.

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... Also, forgive me for assuming this was another one of the 100-daily threads that are people complaining about their 18-month-old device being broken and they're appalled that Apple won't fix it for them.

As a first-time Apple consumer, I sure did go to Apple because of "quality" and their great customer service... but with that said, I sure as heck bought an AppleCare warranty. Call me a conservative shmuck but I absolutely NEED this device to last 2 (hopefully 3) years. I need to make sure everything is covered.

 

[matttye]

The OP never said that the iPhone 4 was within warranty period... But regardless if 1) the iPhone is within warranty period and 2) the OP lives in the UK where they have different laws and they are *legally* under a 2-year warranty then what is posting on a forum going to accomplish?

If the phone is definitely under Apples manufacturer warranty, go to Apple and DEMAND they fix it. They have to. Especially if they claim that it's not operating properly. If, for some reason, that doesn't work... pursue legal action. Here in the U.S. consumer laws are different and we don't have such a warranty. Take advantage of it!

Posting on a forum about it does not seem to be the best "next course of action". Sure, once they've exhausted the above two options to the fullest extent, I could see wanting to poll the community for similar experiences... but not at this point.

This is why you should read the thread before replying, not just the first post. He said that his manufacturers warranty is over but his carrier offers a second year of warranty. He took the phone back to his carrier, not to apple. This is all clearly stated in the thread.

He's clearly posting in this thread for advice because he doesn't know what to do next. If he knew what to do next then he wouldn't post, do you seriously think he'd post asking for advice if he knew what to do?! Think about it...

 

[Leonard1818]

forgive the pun but we're not comparing apples to apples...

Buying an extended warranty from APPLE is NOT the same as having an extended warranty from the carrier.

I DID read the thread and I DID see the "warranty" that the OP claims to have. Expecting APPLE to fix a phone because of a warranty provided by the CARRIER is a bit absurd.

It sounds like the OP's problem is between the OP and the CARRIER not APPLE. Sure APPLE is the one who ultimately refused the fix, but they're also NOT the ones who sold the OP (or implied) the extended warranty.

Again, no mention of pursuing the legal aspect... Can't they threaten/carry out legal action against the carrier? (Legit question as I don't know UK laws)

 

[Gordonw]

I'm confused. The OP acknowledges that he is out of the Apple one year warranty but still within the EU two year consumer protection law, but isn't the reseller the one responsible for the second year and not the manufacturer? The reseller is the one liable to remedy the situation, not Apple. I think the OP was correct to go back to the reseller under the consumer protection law, get his phone repaired and let the reseller and Apple fight it out, but its still the reseller's responsibility to fix.
The only vague thing about the EU consumer law is claiming defect. Seems it only allows a certain amount of time to claim defect. After that, you have to prove it was defective at time of delivery.

 

[Leonard1818]

Let me bring this up as well. I am from the U.S. and my carrier is Verizon. When I first got my phone, I allowed Verizon to tack on the $10/month insurance for the iPhone (needed something till I could go the AppleCare route). I don't know ALL of the details but I do know that with the $10/month verizon (asurion) warranty, There is a $150 (or $170) deductible to get a replacement phone should something happen and the replacement will certainly be a refurb (and I don't know if it's an "apple" refurb or just one done by this company).

While this warranty is great in the event of loss or theft -- where you don't have a physical handset to give to apple for the fix, it doesn't match the AppleCare warranty in any other event.

My point is, I've now cancelled the warranty with my carrier, choosing to deal only with Apple. If something happens with my phone, I'm not going to expect the carrier to do ANYTHING.

It's a similar situation with the OP except instead of relying on APPLE they are relying on the carrier.

 

[matttye]

forgive the pun but we're not comparing apples to apples...

Buying an extended warranty from APPLE is NOT the same as having an extended warranty from the carrier.

I DID read the thread and I DID see the "warranty" that the OP claims to have. Expecting APPLE to fix a phone because of a warranty provided by the CARRIER is a bit absurd.

It sounds like the OP's problem is between the OP and the CARRIER not APPLE. Sure APPLE is the one who ultimately refused the fix, but they're also NOT the ones who sold the OP (or implied) the extended warranty.

Again, no mention of pursuing the legal aspect... Can't they threaten/carry out legal action against the carrier? (Legit question as I don't know UK laws)

I can't see where he actually said he expects apple to fix it? He took it to his carrier, who then sent it to apple. Presumably apple has an arrangement with the carriers or the carrier pays apple for the repairs (maybe discounted).

He isn't the one who sent it apple, his carrier did, and again, if you read the op like you say that you did then you would see that apple refused to fix it because it's "not a problem," NOT because he's out of warranty. This supports my assumption that the carriers and apple have some form of agreement in place.

He didn't actually complain about apple, just said that apple refused to fix it and asked what to do next. Let's not put words in his mouth...

 

[Leonard1818]

I'm confused. The OP acknowledges that he is out of the Apple one year warranty but still within the EU two year consumer protection law, but isn't the reseller the one responsible for the second year and not the manufacturer? The reseller is the one liable to remedy the situation, not Apple. I think the OP was correct to go back to the reseller under the consumer protection law, get his phone repaired and let the reseller and Apple fight it out, but its still the reseller's responsibility to fix.
The only vague thing about the EU consumer law is claiming defect. Seems it only allows a certain amount of time to claim defect. After that, you have to prove it was defective at time of delivery.

THANK YOU! Couldn't have said it better myself... And that's interesting about the UK consumer warranty. I did not know that...

 

[dthmtlgod]

Hey.

Today I received back my iPhone 4 which I sent to repair last month because the home button started to fail. Apple has told me that they didn't felt it was broken, just natural use over time that makes the button less responsive... So now I keep having this problem. Clicking twice the button for multitasking almost never works unless I hit really hard and really fast. One click works normally.

I have tried other iPhone 4 in different shops to see the responsiveness of the home button and I could see that they felt more firm and strong than mines.

So now what? What can I do? I don't really want to change phone (neither 4S or Android).

I hoped Apple service could have make it better but nothing, its still bad.

Any suggestions?

Put an Otterbox Defender on it or some case that pushes the home button and use the case. Mine had the same thing. I took it to the Genius Bar and they cleaned it and it helped for a few days or just get a $169 replacement, not worth the effort.

 

[Leonard1818]

I can't see where he actually said he expects apple to fix it? He took it to his carrier, who then sent it to apple. Presumably apple has an arrangement with the carriers or the carrier pays apple for the repairs (maybe discounted).

He isn't the one who sent it apple, his carrier did, and again, if you read the op like you say that you did then you would see that apple refused to fix it because it's "not a problem," NOT because he's out of warranty. This supports my assumption that the carriers and apple have some form of agreement in place.

He didn't actually complain about apple, just said that apple refused to fix it and asked what to do next. Let's not put words in his mouth...

OK, now you're just splitting hairs... the THREAD TITLE implies that the OP expected APPLE to fix the phone... I understand and agree with the presumption that the carrier and APPLE have an agreement... but when you post a thread that says APPLE refuses to fix phone... that implies that you EXPECT apple to fix the phone. Why not start a thread that says "Carrier XYZ refuses to honor warranty"? That would be more appropriate.

If I buy a microwave and it's broken and I take it back, I don't tell my friends "Kenmore refuses to fix/replace my microwave" I say "Walmart wouldn't take back my defective microwave" I understand that my dealings are between me and the retailer, not the manufacturer...

 

[matttye]

OK, now you're just splitting hairs... the THREAD TITLE implies that the OP expected APPLE to fix the phone... I understand and agree with the presumption that the carrier and APPLE have an agreement... but when you post a thread that says APPLE refuses to fix phone... that implies that you EXPECT apple to fix the phone. Why not start a thread that says "Carrier XYZ refuses to honor warranty"? That would be more appropriate.

If I buy a microwave and it's broken and I take it back, I don't tell my friends "Kenmore refuses to fix/replace my microwave" I say "Walmart wouldn't take back my defective microwave" I understand that my dealings are between me and the retailer, not the manufacturer...

Even if it does imply that he expects apple to fix it, that's only because that's where his carrier sent it to. The fact of whether the phone is under warranty isn't what is the issue here, it is that apple refused to fix it for a questionable reason.

Yes it is ultimately the carriers responsibility to get it sorted out, but if apple is in some kind of agreement then they need to honour the carriers warranty.

In short.. Apple shouldn't refuse service, but the carrier shouldn't have just sent it back, they should have tried to get it repaired elsewhere or fought harder. These kinds of defects are precisely why warranties exist, I fail to see how they can refuse to fix this issue. As somebody stated earlier, the home button is the only button that interacts with the os, so it's incredibly important that it works.

 

[Gordonw]

I don't think the OP is claiming the repair facility refused to fix his phone. I think he's just repeating what the reseller told him. We have a saying in our business, buyers are liars and sellers are storytellers. I think the reseller was just deflecting the issue back to Apple. Warranty repairs are not free. Someone has to pay for the repair, whether its Apple when its under their one year warranty or the purchased Apple Care after a year. Why would a repair facility refuse to fix something? Maybe because someone like the reseller didn't want to pay?

 

[kevink2]

I had the problem with my out of warranty 4, and saw speculation that it was software. And that it was hardware.

I finally saw a suggestion to clean it with alchohol. In my case, it solved the problem.


It didn't work for a coworker.

Mine has to last at least until an LTE iPhone is available, either ATT or Verizon. I want to be out of contract when it comes out so I have the oportunity to go with whichever company has LTE in my home market.