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iOS 16 bricked my phone. Apple made me pay
- Thread starter Jonnywhoops
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They were not at all hesitant to replace the phone. They readily offered that option to OP. They just aren't willing to do it for free.
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Certainly this is not a defense for Apple but you would be surprised how easy things can go wrong. From personal experience, I had an iphone 7 plus with a faulty camera within the first few months. It would cause the camera app to lock the phone up. Apple replaced the camera under warranty. Fast forward until next July or August, I installed a beta build of iOS 11, which bricked the phone. Could not restore, could not boot. Luckily it was within the 1 year mark, so the phone was swapped out.
The point I am trying to make, it sucks but things do happen. Do you happen to have phone insurance on the phone? Might be in luck if you do.
The point I am trying to make, it sucks but things do happen. Do you happen to have phone insurance on the phone? Might be in luck if you do.
Lmao...I love all the reply guys whose knee jerk reaction is to defend Apple and assume I'm lying...on the MacRumors forum, of all strategic places.
I escalated. I spent about two hours on the phone with three different senior service whatevers who 1) call got disconnected after about ten mins working through the issue and them agreeing I got screwed 2) said because I already bought a new phone from the store, I would have to address the issue with them, then the call got dropped when they transferred me to the store and 3) said the store didn't mark the transaction accurately in their system so they can't refund my money.
This is an inane comparison. I wasn't passively standing near an Apple store when it broke. I installed Apple software which, by their own admission, broke the phone.
No, that is not what happened. Apple confirmed it was a hardware issue.
My iPad Air3 got bricked by the iOS 16 update. I hooked it up to my Mac, went through the download & update process. As the iPad went through the restart, it ended up with the restore screen. I tried updating & also restoring, getting error 4013 codes. It had no problem syncing or backing up, had no problems prior to the update. It is 100% original and has not needed any service since I bought it.
Went through chat support, phone support, and "Genius" Bar. He spent 5 minute and said it was an equipment/part issue - despite the fact that it only occurred in the process of updating the iOS. I was offered the "opportunity" to buy another Air 3.
It seems too coincidental that it occurs on the update. I get that I've had it just under 4 years old and it is past warranty. However, Apple charges a premium on their products on the claim of superior software & manufacturing. $700 for a product that fails on update after less than 4 full years is not superior manufacturing, unless it is an update software issue.
Went through chat support, phone support, and "Genius" Bar. He spent 5 minute and said it was an equipment/part issue - despite the fact that it only occurred in the process of updating the iOS. I was offered the "opportunity" to buy another Air 3.
It seems too coincidental that it occurs on the update. I get that I've had it just under 4 years old and it is past warranty. However, Apple charges a premium on their products on the claim of superior software & manufacturing. $700 for a product that fails on update after less than 4 full years is not superior manufacturing, unless it is an update software issue.
Followup - Someone posted a link with older firmware for iPads. I was able to download the last OS and install it. No error codes & my iPad was working again. I'm in the process of trying the OS 16.1 update now. Apple told me it was an issue with my iPad & I needed to buy a replacement.
Tried updating through my Mac and same issue came up. Updated through the iPad and it worked fine. I think the OS that my Mac downloaded was corrupted. No other reason for this to happen. Yet, Apple was all set to make me pay for a replacement iPad. That is why I don't trust them.
Tried updating through my Mac and same issue came up. Updated through the iPad and it worked fine. I think the OS that my Mac downloaded was corrupted. No other reason for this to happen. Yet, Apple was all set to make me pay for a replacement iPad. That is why I don't trust them.
Sometimes it could be coincidental.
I had an iPhone XS that was working just fine and showed no signs of issues. I put it in my Qi charger one morning and came back an hour later and it wouldn’t turn on. It also wouldn’t charge by Lightning either. Suddenly poof — gone. Zero signs of issues before.
I had to get a new phone and that’s how I went from XS to my current iPhone 12 Pro. I wasn’t planning to get a new phone at all.
People love to call BS on crazy-sounding things that have never happened to them personally, but software absolutely CAN fry hardware. I've seen tons of innocent hardware get murdered by software throughout my many years in IT, it happened to my old samsung phone about 10 years ago too. I had just sold it and was wiping it prior to packing it up, and in the middle of the wipe it just shut off. Wouldn't turn back on, wouldn't charge, wasn't recognized by my computer, couldn't boot into recovery mode, etc. Just straight up d-e-a-d. I had to send it to samsung for repair, thankfully they didn't charge me(I know, I was shocked too) and my buyer was blessedly understanding about the delay.
I have also seen screens crack themselves(happened to me personally too, woke up one day and my previously pristine Note 2 had a huge crack across the screen), and computers with fully replaced internals present the same exact problem the customer brought them in for. I have worked on many systems and phones where I have honestly been tempted to call in a priest for an exorcism. Computers are a bunch of rocks and metal that we have somehow taught how to think, they work until they don't and we can't always figure out why.
Really disappointing that Apple charged you for this, OP.
I have also seen screens crack themselves(happened to me personally too, woke up one day and my previously pristine Note 2 had a huge crack across the screen), and computers with fully replaced internals present the same exact problem the customer brought them in for. I have worked on many systems and phones where I have honestly been tempted to call in a priest for an exorcism. Computers are a bunch of rocks and metal that we have somehow taught how to think, they work until they don't and we can't always figure out why.
Really disappointing that Apple charged you for this, OP.
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My iPad 8th gen had this 4013 issue. I was able to restore it with USB cable that I use for iPhone. When I was trying to restore it with USB-C cable it kept giving me 4013 error. It was a nightmare.
This is the shoddiest Apple customer service I've ever heard of. If it's legit, and it appears to be, I'd escalate my complaint to Cupertino via Apple's support forums. If nothing comes of that, take it to Reddit or another huge online community. The whole situation is so "un-Apple." This company counts its profits like the drug cartels - in 53' trailers. I expect more responsibility and accountability. A new phone for free from Apple is definitely indicated.
That is, if it's true. I'm skeptical as I've had the opposite experience with Apple. Even when I had a problem and immediately admitted it was my screwup that caused it, Apple hooked me up. I'd bought brand spankin' new EarPods and ran them over with a truck at work. I saw the crushed case and mangled EarPod and thought, "Ha! Lookatthat. Some moron ran over his EarPods!" Then I got the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Wait a second - I just bought a set of those earlier today. Got em right here in my safety vest pocket... Aw, crap. They're mine and I'm the moron! I went to my local Apple Store and asked about buying a new right EarPod as the left one was undamaged. I regaled them with my tale of woe the rep just handed me a new set, no questions asked.
That is, if it's true. I'm skeptical as I've had the opposite experience with Apple. Even when I had a problem and immediately admitted it was my screwup that caused it, Apple hooked me up. I'd bought brand spankin' new EarPods and ran them over with a truck at work. I saw the crushed case and mangled EarPod and thought, "Ha! Lookatthat. Some moron ran over his EarPods!" Then I got the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Wait a second - I just bought a set of those earlier today. Got em right here in my safety vest pocket... Aw, crap. They're mine and I'm the moron! I went to my local Apple Store and asked about buying a new right EarPod as the left one was undamaged. I regaled them with my tale of woe the rep just handed me a new set, no questions asked.
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I also had good experience with Apple support at the local Apple Store. I had an iPhone 5s that got bricked by an OS update. I was running a beta at the time. The phone was past warranty and I didn’t have any sort of extended warranty on it. I took it in, they did a bunch of testing, confirmed that it was bricked, and replaced it at no cost to me without a question. The people working there that day were awesome. Cases like the OP make me think that those people probably shouldnt have been working there in the first place. I hear of many more great experiences with Apple support than not-so-great ones.
I'm glad others have had good experiences at the store. It has been 50/50 at best for me. I had an issue that was part of a recall, brought it in and was told I needed to purchase another device - until I pointed out the recall. He then took it back and came back saying it would be covered by the recall.
For those who doubt - this is the page in Apple's Community Support that references the issue fix
discussions.apple.com
For those who doubt - this is the page in Apple's Community Support that references the issue fix
Cannot restore, update, or unlock iPad. N… - Apple Community
As far as I'm concerned this can be either coincidental, or the upgrade went writing parts of the phone's flash memory that already got defective, however not in a noticeable way before performing the upgrade.
So no, I definitely don't think an iOS upgrade can brick a phone, but it can definitely make existing damage visible, thus making the phone unusable. If that happens out of warranty, you're out of luck.
So no, I definitely don't think an iOS upgrade can brick a phone, but it can definitely make existing damage visible, thus making the phone unusable. If that happens out of warranty, you're out of luck.
Can you explain how I was able to reinstall 15.7 and then 16 OTA? Apparently the parts you claim had existing damage weren't a problem except when I installed 16 from my computer.