Horrific Apple Store experience, can anyone help me out here with my Apple Watch?

[DMG35]

So today my iPhone 14 Pro Max just decided to stop working. In the middle of working out at the gym the screen went off and the phone got scorching hot. It would then no longer power on. I took it over to the Apple Store for a completely MISERABLE experience in that they told me to come back in two hours and they will have repaired it. I returned and they told me they couldnt’ fix it and that they’d have to send it out for repair and that they didn’t have a phone to give me to replace it with. So in their infinite generosity s/c they gave me a 64GB iPhone XR, which honestly is embarrassing that that is what Apple is replacing people’s brand new phones with. They nickel and dime you on everything now.

But with that, since the phone didn’t have power, they told me to erase and reset the watch and that I would be able to restore it from backup. I told them I wasn’t sure that would work because I thought you had to unpair the phone first. They insisted it would. So I erased and paired the phone but it didn’t give me the option to restore it from a backup. It said it would restore my apps and data but none of my health data was restored and all of my awards are gone.

The entire experience with the incompetent jerks at the Apple Store made me want to toss every Apple product I have. I’m clearly not doing that but is there any way to get this data back or am I just screwed? I thought about unpairing it again from this XR but I always thought when you unpair it creates that as the last backup and that’s not what I want.


Anyone have any ideas?



Also, on top of how bad the Apple store is now they said “this repair process will ruin your screen protector so you will have to purchase another one.” I said “Well I purchased it here and have the receipt, would you guys mind just giving me a new one? I don’t think I should have to buy another one since it’s not my fault the phone stopped working.” Their response was “You can file a claim with Belkin and they will potentially ship you out new one in a couple of weeks.” Truly disgusting store policies now at Apple. It’s 100% profit over people now for them and that’s too bad. There was a time when if you had a problem with your phone they’d give you a new one on the spot no matter what. My how times have changed under Tim.

 

[beach bum]

So today my iPhone 14 Pro Max just decided to stop working. In the middle of working out at the gym the screen went off and the phone got scorching hot. It would then no longer power on. I took it over to the Apple Store for a completely MISERABLE experience in that they told me to come back in two hours and they will have repaired it. I returned and they told me they couldnt’ fix it and that they’d have to send it out for repair and that they didn’t have a phone to give me to replace it with. So in their infinite generosity s/c they gave me a 64GB iPhone XR, which honestly is embarrassing that that is what Apple is replacing people’s brand new phones with. They nickel and dime you on everything now.

But with that, since the phone didn’t have power, they told me to erase and reset the watch and that I would be able to restore it from backup. I told them I wasn’t sure that would work because I thought you had to unpair the phone first. They insisted it would. So I erased and paired the phone but it didn’t give me the option to restore it from a backup. It said it would restore my apps and data but none of my health data was restored and all of my awards are gone.

The entire experience with the incompetent jerks at the Apple Store made me want to toss every Apple product I have. I’m clearly not doing that but is there any way to get this data back or am I just screwed? I thought about unpairing it again from this XR but I always thought when you unpair it creates that as the last backup and that’s not what I want.


Anyone have any ideas?



Also, on top of how bad the Apple store is now they said “this repair process will ruin your screen protector so you will have to purchase another one.” I said “Well I purchased it here and have the receipt, would you guys mind just giving me a new one? I don’t think I should have to buy another one since it’s not my fault the phone stopped working.” Their response was “You can file a claim with Belkin and they will potentially ship you out new one in a couple of weeks.” Truly disgusting store policits now at Apple. It’s 100% profit over people now for them and that’s too bad. There was a time when if you had a problem with your phone they’d give you a new one on the spot no matter what. My how times have changed under Tim.

I'm sorry that you had such a horrible experience! By any chance, have you backed up your 14PM to iCloud or your computer? If so, I found the following info that might help.

HT204518

 

[DMG35]

I'm sorry that you had such a horrible experience! By any chance, have you backed up your 14PM to iCloud or your computer? If so, I found the following info that might help.

HT204518

It was backed up to the cloud but not my Mac.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Unfortunately, you were given bad advice in regards the state of unpairing. Hopefully, you didn't try to pair the watch with the XR. If you didn't, your health data should still be on the watch. I would not try pairing the watch with the XR at this point.If you did attempt the pairing and it didn't work as you suggested, I believe you are out of luck, unless you had the automatic iCloud backup option turned on and didn't realize it.

On the bright side, you have a loaner phone to use, which is better than nothing.

As to the screen protector, the Apple employee stated proper policy about Belkin. If I had been the manager, I would have offered some good will with a new protector.

 

[jz0309]

Your health data and awards are backed up in iCloud unless you explicitly turn it off. Syncing to iCloud can take some time, some folks here have reported the data gone but 2 days later it’s back.
And about your in-store experience, I’d call customer service and report on it and lastly there is the infamous tcook@apple.com

 

[dmccombs]

So today my iPhone 14 Pro Max just decided to stop working. In the middle of working out at the gym the screen went off and the phone got scorching hot. It would then no longer power on. I took it over to the Apple Store for a completely MISERABLE experience in that they told me to come back in two hours and they will have repaired it. I returned and they told me they couldnt’ fix it and that they’d have to send it out for repair and that they didn’t have a phone to give me to replace it with. So in their infinite generosity s/c they gave me a 64GB iPhone XR, which honestly is embarrassing that that is what Apple is replacing people’s brand new phones with. They nickel and dime you on everything now.

But with that, since the phone didn’t have power, they told me to erase and reset the watch and that I would be able to restore it from backup. I told them I wasn’t sure that would work because I thought you had to unpair the phone first. They insisted it would. So I erased and paired the phone but it didn’t give me the option to restore it from a backup. It said it would restore my apps and data but none of my health data was restored and all of my awards are gone.

The entire experience with the incompetent jerks at the Apple Store made me want to toss every Apple product I have. I’m clearly not doing that but is there any way to get this data back or am I just screwed? I thought about unpairing it again from this XR but I always thought when you unpair it creates that as the last backup and that’s not what I want.


Anyone have any ideas?



Also, on top of how bad the Apple store is now they said “this repair process will ruin your screen protector so you will have to purchase another one.” I said “Well I purchased it here and have the receipt, would you guys mind just giving me a new one? I don’t think I should have to buy another one since it’s not my fault the phone stopped working.” Their response was “You can file a claim with Belkin and they will potentially ship you out new one in a couple of weeks.” Truly disgusting store policies now at Apple. It’s 100% profit over people now for them and that’s too bad. There was a time when if you had a problem with your phone they’d give you a new one on the spot no matter what. My how times have changed under Tim.

Just curious, did you have AppleCare on the Phone?

 

[BeatCrazy]

The fact that they gave you a loaner XR at all and your ungratefulness makes me think nothing they could have done would have been acceptable to you.

How would Best Buy have handled things if you strolled in with a dead Samsung S23? They would have told you to call Samsung and take a hike. No loaner, no recommendation to file a claim with Belkin, etc.

 

[DMG35]

Just curious, did you have AppleCare on the Phone?

Yes I do.

 

[DMG35]

The fact that they gave you a loaner XR at all and your ungratefulness makes me think nothing they could have done would have been acceptable to you.

How would Best Buy have handled things if you strolled in with a dead Samsung S23? They would have told you to call Samsung and take a hike. No loaner, no recommendation to file a claim with Belkin, etc.

I wasn't ungrateful at all. In fact I thanked them for the loaner even though they had a complete disregard for my time and the time I will have to give them again to get a phone up and running when I have to go back.

If I would have (and I wish I would have) bought the phone from Best Buy they would have replaced it with a new one in the store. I had an iPad Pro that I purchased last year have an issue with the screen so I took it into the store. They couldnt’ figure out what was wrong with it so as a Total Tech member they gave me a brand new one in the Box and apologized that it happened.

And let me give you a little rundown of what happened yesterday. I drove 30 minutes to the Apple Store. The technician said ”Yes, something is wrong with it. If we can’t fix it we will give you a new one Today. Come back in 2 hours and it will be ready.”

So I drove 30 minutes home, and then another 30 minutes back to Apple 2 hours later just to be safe on the time. They then tell me that they can’t fix it but will ship it off to a “depot” to see if they can fix it. If they can’t then they will give me a replacement phone. I asked why didn’t they just tell me that the first time when I was there and they just smiled and said “Because we assumed we could fix it.”

Oh and let’s not forget Apple’s genius decision to remove the SIM card. So now I have to call AT&T and get a SIM card activated and then reactivate my other phone whenever I get it back. That process took over an hour because AT&T only saw a 14 Pro Max on my account and kept trying to do an eSim activation.

So my 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max was replaced with a loaner iPhone XR 64GB and I’m ungrateful? I can’t even restore this phone from backup because I don’t have enough space to restore it. And not only that I lost all my watch data because of them and you think I should be grateful to them? I highly disagree. And if I would have gotten an apology from ONE employee it might have made this a less bitter pill to swallow. But the fact that they just smiled at me like this was all not their problem was really infuriating. I didn’t get a single “I’m really sorry this happened” from one single person.

I only hope I get one of those “How as your experience with …………….“ emails because I won’t hold bacK and will destroy each of the three people that I had the displeasure of talking to yesterday.

 

[DMG35]

Unfortunately, you were given bad advice in regards the state of unpairing. Hopefully, you didn't try to pair the watch with the XR. If you didn't, your health data should still be on the watch. I would not try pairing the watch with the XR at this point.If you did attempt the pairing and it didn't work as you suggested, I believe you are out of luck, unless you had the automatic iCloud backup option turned on and didn't realize it.

On the bright side, you have a loaner phone to use, which is better than nothing.

As to the screen protector, the Apple employee stated proper policy about Belkin. If I had been the manager, I would have offered some good will with a new protector.

I’m not surprised I was given bad advice. A sea of idiots working over at my local Apple Store. While I was sitting there an elderly lady was sitting with her laptop. While the guy was running tests on my phone she asked him “Could you show me how to create an album in the photos app on here?” He looked at her and said “I’m sorry I don’t know how to do that, I‘ll have a get someone else to help you.” I said to the technician, “You don’t know how to create an album inside the photos app?” He said “No, I’ve never done that before.”

It was clear that about the only thing he could do was plug my phone into a computer and push a button to run a diagnostic on it. Beyond that he was useless. But he’s not who gave me the advice on my watch. It was amother person helping me out on the floor as well as the manager of the store. They both assured me all of my data would be on the watch, but nope, all gone.

 

[TracerAnalog]

Just curious: was there no next day express exchange possible? In my experience I get the replacement product the very next day, no repair needed. I live in Europe btw.

 

[HDFan]

Your health data and awards are backed up in iCloud

via your iPhone if you have encrypted your iPhone backup.

 

[DMG35]

Just curious: was there no next day express exchange possible? In my experience I get the replacement product the very next day, no repair needed. I live in Europe btw.

They didn't give me that option. They said the only option was to have the phone shipped to a "Depot" and that I would get it back in around 5 days. I have AppleCare+ but apparently that didn't matter.

 

[DMG35]

Your health data and awards are backed up in iCloud unless you explicitly turn it off. Syncing to iCloud can take some time, some folks here have reported the data gone but 2 days later it’s back.
And about your in-store experience, I’d call customer service and report on it and lastly there is the infamous tcook@apple.com

Thanks for this. Maybe it will show back up. The weird thing is all of my faces that I had on the watch are there, but none of the health data or awards.

 

[ian87w]

The fact that they gave you a loaner XR at all and your ungratefulness makes me think nothing they could have done would have been acceptable to you.

How would Best Buy have handled things if you strolled in with a dead Samsung S23? They would have told you to call Samsung and take a hike. No loaner, no recommendation to file a claim with Belkin, etc.

Apple set their positioning as a premium experience, above the rest, and kept bragging about their customer satisfaction on every keynotes. Well, they better deliver and not having to compare them to the "standard." The loaner phone should be standard, not extra, especially if the repair takes longer than estimated.

If I get the same level of experience as Samsung/Bestbuy, then I expect value prices of the products, not premium prices that Apple is charging.

 

[ian87w]

They didn't give me that option. They said the only option was to have the phone shipped to a "Depot" and that I would get it back in around 5 days. I have AppleCare+ but apparently that didn't matter.

If you have AppleCare+, could you just initiate express replacement service instead?

iPhone Express Replacement Service - Apple Support

We know how much you rely on your iPhone. With Express Replacement Service, you receive a replacement right away, so you don’t have to go without.

support.apple.com

 

[ian87w]

So today my iPhone 14 Pro Max just decided to stop working. In the middle of working out at the gym the screen went off and the phone got scorching hot. It would then no longer power on. I took it over to the Apple Store for a completely MISERABLE experience in that they told me to come back in two hours and they will have repaired it. I returned and they told me they couldnt’ fix it and that they’d have to send it out for repair and that they didn’t have a phone to give me to replace it with. So in their infinite generosity s/c they gave me a 64GB iPhone XR, which honestly is embarrassing that that is what Apple is replacing people’s brand new phones with. They nickel and dime you on everything now.

But with that, since the phone didn’t have power, they told me to erase and reset the watch and that I would be able to restore it from backup. I told them I wasn’t sure that would work because I thought you had to unpair the phone first. They insisted it would. So I erased and paired the phone but it didn’t give me the option to restore it from a backup. It said it would restore my apps and data but none of my health data was restored and all of my awards are gone.

The entire experience with the incompetent jerks at the Apple Store made me want to toss every Apple product I have. I’m clearly not doing that but is there any way to get this data back or am I just screwed? I thought about unpairing it again from this XR but I always thought when you unpair it creates that as the last backup and that’s not what I want.


Anyone have any ideas?



Also, on top of how bad the Apple store is now they said “this repair process will ruin your screen protector so you will have to purchase another one.” I said “Well I purchased it here and have the receipt, would you guys mind just giving me a new one? I don’t think I should have to buy another one since it’s not my fault the phone stopped working.” Their response was “You can file a claim with Belkin and they will potentially ship you out new one in a couple of weeks.” Truly disgusting store policies now at Apple. It’s 100% profit over people now for them and that’s too bad. There was a time when if you had a problem with your phone they’d give you a new one on the spot no matter what. My how times have changed under Tim.

These kind of stories is concerning. I mean I have expected poor service from the "authorized" service centers (since Apple apparently doesn't care who represented them), but from Apple themselves? It's really sad that the this is what customers are getting from so-called premium company.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

They didn't give me that option. They said the only option was to have the phone shipped to a "Depot" and that I would get it back in around 5 days. I have AppleCare+ but apparently that didn't matter.

Sounds to me like you’re not getting the AppleCare+ treatment that you paid for.

Having to wait 5-7+ days is what I’d expect without AppleCare.

I’m pretty sure you’re waiting just as long as for a device without AppleCare.

I don’t know what your next step should be. But the staff at this store doesn’t know what they’re doing.

Isn’t iPhone Express Replacement Service still a thing? Or did you decline it?

 

[DMG35]

Sounds to me like you’re not getting the AppleCare+ treatment that you paid for.

Having to wait 5-7+ days is what I’d expect without AppleCare.

I’m pretty sure you’re waiting just as long as for a device without AppleCare.

I don’t know what your next step should be. But the staff at this store doesn’t know what they’re doing.

Isn’t iPhone Express Replacement Service still a thing? Or did you decline it?

No I didn't decline the Express Replacement Service, it wasn't given to me as an option. They said the only option was to have the phone shipped to a "depot" where they would try to repair it.

Side note, one of the people I was dealing with said "Yeah the good thing is that when they take your phone apart they will remove the waterproof seal. They'll then put a new seal on it so it will be way more waterproof now." I said back to him "The phone is 5 months old. How bad do you think the seal has gotten after 5 months?" He said "Oh yeah, I forgot that the 14 is only a few months old."

 

[DMG35]

These kind of stories is concerning. I mean I have expected poor service from the "authorized" service centers (since Apple apparently doesn't care who represented them), but from Apple themselves? It's really sad that the this is what customers are getting from so-called premium company.

That's exactly how I think. I was disappointed in the loaner phone but more disappointed in the employees attitudes. I'm not an angry person and wasn't in the store demanding anything in any way. Their complete lack of any type of empathy for the situation was absolutely stunning to me and also angering. They acted like I was out of line for being at all upset over the fact that my $1600 phone that I depend on for work was no longer functioning and that being given a 64GB phone that I couldn't even load my backup on was some grand gesture.

And not only that, my time driving back and forth to the Apple store yesterday as well as waiting in the store for them to activate the pos loaner totaled to over 6 hours. And that doesn't even add in the trip I'll have to make back to the Apple store, get my 14 Pro activated, and drive back home. It will be close to 10 hours of my time dealing with this. So glad I purchased AppleCare+

I could deal with ALL of that, and honestly would be fine and just move on. But the fact that I lost all of my health data is what really upsets me and highlights even more how bad the experience was.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

No I didn't decline the Express Replacement Service, it wasn't given to me as an option. They said the only option was to have the phone shipped to a "depot" where they would try to repair it.

Side note, one of the people I was dealing with said "Yeah the good thing is that when they take your phone apart they will remove the waterproof seal. They'll then put a new seal on it so it will be way more waterproof now." I said back to him "The phone is 5 months old. How bad do you think the seal has gotten after 5 months?" He said "Oh yeah, I forgot that the 14 is only a few months old."

Basically, you listened to Apple instead of telling Apple what you paid for and what you want.

They pull this **** on me all the time “oh! HEE! Just COME IN TO THE STORE DURR!”

“Yes except, no. I don’t have time. The closest Apple Store is in the middle of downtown. I don’t have a car. My time is worth FAR more than all that.
Kindly go eff yourself and do my express replacement I paid for as per your terms.”

“Yes sir.”

Seriously. That’s all it takes. You let some idiots push you around. Think about our experiences, and reflect.

I always have AppleCare+ and they ALWAYS try to get me to waste all my time to come into the store. I tell them that my time is far more valuable than that, and I’d like the express replacement option. If the person I’m talking to seems to not know what they’re doing or will not relent, I tell them “that’s okay, I’ll call back and get somebody who knows what they’re doing. Thanks for nothing!”

Your mistake was taking a trillion dollar company at their word.

Just hold them to their terms.
Now, if you don’t know the terms of the contract you agreed to and/or don’t have the chutzpah to enforce it, that’s totally on you.

It should not be this way, but nothing in life seems to be fair.

I’d rather be rude and get what I paid for, than be like you and get **** on.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

The fact that they gave you a loaner XR at all and your ungratefulness makes me think nothing they could have done would have been acceptable to you.

How would Best Buy have handled things if you strolled in with a dead Samsung S23? They would have told you to call Samsung and take a hike. No loaner, no recommendation to file a claim with Belkin, etc.

OP’s iPhone has AppleCare+.

Having to use a 4-5 year old iPhone with 64GB internal storage less than what they bought as a replacement while waiting around 5 days is not acceptable.

This is not “ungrateful”. Not unless OP has declined all other offers like the Express Replacement Service.

This scenario is what you get AppleCare for so that you don’t have to wait for several many days or weeks for a repair.

 

[ninecows]

Wauv… that’s a tough situation.

If I ever decide to pay extra for AC+ (the EU consumer protection is nearly covering you just as much) I would expect to be able to walk in with my burning hot phone and get a replacement right away. Apple can then do with the old phone what they want: trash it, refurbish it, recycle the parts etc. I as consumer should not have to worry at all.

But I know that US law doesn’t really protect the little guy.

 

[DMG35]

Basically, you listened to Apple instead of telling Apple what you paid for and what you want.

They pull this **** on me all the time “oh! HEE! Just COME IN TO THE STORE DURR!”

“Yes except, no. I don’t have time. The closest Apple Store is in the middle of downtown. I don’t have a car. Kindly go eff yourself and do my express replacement I paid for as per your terms.”

“Yes sir.”

Seriously. That’s all it takes. You let some idiots push you around. Think about our experiences, and reflect.

I always have AppleCare+ and they ALWAYS try to get me to waste all my time to come into the store. I tell them that my time is far more valuable than that, and I’d like the express replacement option. If the person I’m talking to seems to not know what they’re doing or will not relent, I tell them “that’s okay, I’ll call back and get somebody who knows what they’re doing. Thanks for nothing!”

Yeah, that's on me for not knowing that. Appreciate the advice and will heed it moving forward.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

Yeah, that's on me for not knowing that. Appreciate the advice and will heed it moving forward.

Sorry to be so blunt, it’s just that I grew up in the USA and I have learned that the squeakiest wheel that reads his contract gets the best and most grease.

If you think about it, a lot of American corporate culture trains their minions to extract as much from as possible and hide it behind a smile.

Therefore, I too extract as much from them as possible, and whenever possible I do so with a smile or some light in my voice, because in the end, I know the terms of my contract and I will FORCE them to adhere to it.

If politeness doesn’t work, I quickly explain to them the value of my time, and how the express replacement option I paid for in the contract is what is suitable for my needs, and no other option.