Apple store reps don't care about hacked iPhone?

[pavvento]

So I was in an Apple store in Stonestown today returning iWork 08. The man next to me was purchasing an iPhone for his wife, and then asked the rep a question about his phone. He said that lately his battery has been running out much quicker in its last 50 percent and she asked him if he had it on him. He pulled it out, and me being a nosey customer looked down, and noticed he had three additional apps on the homescreen. Since I couldn't get a good look I assumed that he had hacked the iPhone and added these extras. The rep who was going through some settings did not even ask him about the extra apps or comment on them. She told him that she could replace the phone for him if he would like, or could refer him to apple support to fix the problem.

I find this very odd, that Apple would exchange a phone that they know had been hacked. Has anyone else heard or seen anything like this??

 

[D1G1T4L]

Think that customer just got lucky.

 

[ScottDrummer]

tbh why should they care, retail are mearly middle men between apple and the customer, they do what they are told from above, if they had been told to advise the customer no service could be given they would have done.
and none the less putting 3rd party apps on the iPhone isnt breaking anyones SLA or contractual agreements, anyone can ssh into the device.
(but thats another thread altogether before the ranting anti-hack squad come along)

i stood in the apple shop(uk) last week using my Iphone, making use of their wifi, and the reps didnt say anything.

 

[sokrates]

why would you say that? I mean, installing 3rd party apps on your iphone shouldn't affect it's battery life should it? you didn't change anything to the hardware, just to the software and thus you didn't void your warranty

 

[Roy Hobbs]

tbh why should they care, retail are mearly middle men between apple and the customer, they do what they are told from above, if they had been told to advise the customer no service could be given they would have done.
and none the less putting 3rd party apps on the iPhone isnt breaking anyones SLA or contractual agreements, anyone can ssh into a device.
(but thats another thread altogether before the ranting anti-hack squad come along)

Why should they care??? Because Apple is has to support these phones.

 

[Sobe]

tbh why should they care, retail are mearly middle men between apple and the customer, they do what they are told from above, if they had been told to advise the customer no service could be given they would have done.
and none the less putting 3rd party apps on the iPhone isnt breaking anyones SLA or contractual agreements, anyone can ssh into a device.
(but thats another thread altogether before the ranting anti-hack squad come along)

The ranting anti-hack squad doesn't come on duty til 700 am est.

Keep the thread warm.

 

[gnasher729]

why would you say that? I mean, installing 3rd party apps on your iphone shouldn't affect it's battery life should it? you didn't change anything to the hardware, just to the software and thus you didn't void your warranty

_Installing_ apps on the iPhone wouldn't affect the battery life, but running them could very likely do this. If you have an application running that uses the CPUs permanently then it is likely to drain the battery.

 

[DeaconGraves]

tbh why should they care, retail are mearly middle men between apple and the customer, they do what they are told from above, if they had been told to advise the customer no service could be given they would have done.
and none the less putting 3rd party apps on the iPhone isnt breaking anyones SLA or contractual agreements, anyone can ssh into the device.
(but thats another thread altogether before the ranting anti-hack squad come along)

Technically, your warranty with Apple can be voided if (quoted from warranty "(a) damaged caused by use with non-apple products amage caused by use with non-Apple products... (c) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by Apple; (d) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (“AASP”);

So of course, the question becomes whether the mods might have directly or indirectly shortened the life of the battery. My personal vote is no, but I could see an apple employee making the opposite argument. I'd say this person got lucky.

 

[sanford]

The ranting anti-hack squad, at least my faction, says, hack away. But don't expect Apple to support the phone after it's been hacked. You might not like it, but it's hardly new with closed-architecture, proprietary technology. Games consoles are a good example. Most any of those can be hacked, but the manufacturer won't touch them if they are -- even if he hack is of a benign, non-copyright-violating nature -- no matter the defect may be the manufacturer's fault.

The weird thing about the iPhone is that installing software alone on what is, essentially, a computer has never been considered a hack per se. Install some odd-ball, messy third-party utility on your Mac and Apple won't refuse to replace the LCD panel if it goes out under warranty. Now replace the Mac ROMS with some of your own creation, different story.

tbh why should they care, retail are mearly middle men between apple and the customer, they do what they are told from above, if they had been told to advise the customer no service could be given they would have done.
and none the less putting 3rd party apps on the iPhone isnt breaking anyones SLA or contractual agreements, anyone can ssh into the device.
(but thats another thread altogether before the ranting anti-hack squad come along)

i stood in the apple shop(uk) last week using my Iphone, making use of their wifi, and the reps didnt say anything.

 

[carfac]

I have been in an Apple Store with a Phone on T-Mo. They looked at it and played with it, passed it around ("Hey Joe, have you seen this?"), but that was about it.

I was NOT in for service, though.

They did ask how I did it, which method, how it worked, etc.

 

[aristobrat]

I've seen a Genius refuse to help a customer with an iPod problem after the customer admitted that they sometimes get music from LimeWire.

"Music from LimeWire can cause damage to your iPod that's not covered by the warranty".

Unfortunately, the Apple employees current mood seems to factor in as to whether or not you'll get service or not. If they're having a bad day, it seems like some will find any reason whatever to try to say "NO".

 

[tjespo22]

when i went to the store, i told the rep sometimes ppl couldnt hear me and he took my phone and called himself. and a custom ringtone went off. this was before itunes ringtones. so i doubt they care. there doing it themselves.

 

[carfac]

I've seen a Genius refuse to help a customer with an iPod problem after the customer admitted that they sometimes get music from LimeWire.

"Music from LimeWire can cause damage to your iPod that's not covered by the warranty".

Unfortunately, the Apple employees current mood seems to factor in as to whether or not you'll get service or not. If they're having a bad day, it seems like some will find any reason whatever to try to say "NO".

I think your are right. Sounds more like a power tripping Apple employee rather than policy.

Now if you INSTALLED Limewire on a phone, I could see some caution... but an MP3 is an MP3, and should not have an effect on a Phone.

Besides, the iPhone, by design, is an MP3 player. I see no where in the specs where is says: Plays AAC, Apple Lossless, MP3s (except for Limewire- may void warrantee), WAV, etc.

 

[TurboSC]

when I had my battery issue with my first iPhone I just started to get a little upset and let them know that the applecare representative I talked to over the phone told me to come in and exchange it for a new one...

He went and talked with his manager and his manager was like " well we have to follow what applecare says, so just exchange it for him"

Then I mentioned that I'd like to upgrade to the 8gb model from the 4gb and I just ended up paying the difference.

<3 Applecare.

 

[oxeneers]

To the OP: you have to keep into consideration that the Apple store at Stonestown is very very busy and even when it's not, the reps there are young kids and they don't know "too much" and are much more lenient than other Apple stores. Just a thought.

 

[kdarling]

Technically, your warranty with Apple can be voided if (quoted from warranty "(a) damaged caused by use with non-apple products amage caused by use with non-Apple products... (c) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by Apple; (d) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (“AASP”); .

That part of the warranty is referring to hardware, which is mostly what it's about.

But if you read closely, you'll notice that as far as software goes, Apple does not even warranty any... including the operating system on the device !!