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

iPhone 3G out of warranty replacement

B

borkborkbork

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 10, 2011
6
0
Hi there,

I have a dead iPhone 3G, and can't be getting into a new contract right now as I'm moving out of country shortly.

I was planning to bring it to an Apple Store for an out-of-warranty ($200) replacement (it's three years old this July).

So, I got to wondering...

Does the Apple Store even stock refurb'd 3G iPhones? Is there any chance they might give me a 3GS?

Anyone have any insight?
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Chances of them having one in store are slim. Chances of them giving u a 3GS. Maybe.
 
Gav2k said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

Chances of them having one in store are slim. Chances of them giving u a 3GS. Maybe.
Click to expand...

So what's Apple's policy in this case? If I go in and pay my $200 OOW fee and they don't have a refurb'd 3G in stock, do they (1) just bump me up to a 3GS, or (2) make me wait and come back when they get a 3G in the store?

(And does anyone know anything about whether Apple stores carry any inventory of 3G iPhones?)
 
I would think Apple would have the 3G in stock for a replacement. They probably still do battery replacements for people, which is a very similar process to the out of warranty replacement.
 
They will still have iphone 3G in stock and if they dont they will order one and notify you to come back and get it.
Their policy is to replace it out of warranty with the same model, color and GB storage unit. If they upgrade someone is because they did them a favor and not a standard practice.
But for an iphone 3G I wouldnt waste my $200 on a replacement refurb.
Use that money to get a 3GS or towards an iphone 4.
 
You arent going to get an upgrade and if they dont have one there I think you either wait for a transfer from another store or perform the mail in exchange plan.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

There has been a few given 3GS's because stored don't have 3G's so never say never
 
Good question. At my Apple store in OC, which is Mission Viejo shops or Irvine Spectrum, if they do NOT have the 3G in stock, and you pay 200$ for out of warranty, they will give you a 3GS.

I saw it happen to a guy standing next to me so I asked the genius that was currently helping me and they said that is what his store does.

May be different elsewhere.
 
borkborkbork said:
Hi there,

I have a dead iPhone 3G, and can't be getting into a new contract right now as I'm moving out of country shortly.

I was planning to bring it to an Apple Store for an out-of-warranty ($200) replacement (it's three years old this July).

So, I got to wondering...

Does the Apple Store even stock refurb'd 3G iPhones? Is there any chance they might give me a 3GS?

Anyone have any insight?
Click to expand...

I would go to the Apple store and pay the $200 dollars. If they give you a 3G then put it on eBay same day as "New from apple store as replacement". You'll get around $330? If you unlock it then it's real $$$$. If they give you a 3GS then do the same as above and you will be in the $375-450 range. Then you can buy a iPhone 4 or wait for iPhone 5.
 
Vampire5003 said:
I would go to the Apple store and pay the $200 dollars. If they give you a 3G then put it on eBay same day as "New from apple store as replacement". You'll get around $330? If you unlock it then it's real $$$$. If they give you a 3GS then do the same as above and you will be in the $375-450 range. Then you can buy a iPhone 4 or wait for iPhone 5.
Click to expand...
If you put it that way it makes me want to try to get an out of warranty replacement for the 2007 model iPhone. Maybe I'll get really lucky and get a 3GS for $200 :)
 
dave420 said:
If you put it that way it makes me want to try to get an out of warranty replacement for the 2007 model iPhone. Maybe I'll get really lucky and get a 3GS for $200 :)
Click to expand...

LOL. I was on Youtube and this guy sent his iPhone 2G was sent to Applecare by mail as a out of warranty replacement for $200 and they sent him a iPhone 4.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the insight and speculation everyone!

It sounds like there is some degree of discretion at the store. I'll cross my fingers they're not stocked up on 3Gs, and if they ask me to come back for a restock, I'll see if I can emphasize that I'm from out of town (I'm dropping by an Apple Store while I'm on the road; my city doesn't have one). Hopefully I'll get a sympathetic Genius :)

If I end up with a functional 3G, fine. I'm in Canada (land of the 3-year contract and $400 early-disconnect fee), and am moving to the US in eight months, so getting a subsidized handset through a carrier is not really an appealing option (nor is getting a $549.00 unlocked 3GS or $779 iPhone 4 from Apple Canada).

Cheers!
 
Vampire5003 said:
LOL. I was on Youtube and this guy sent his iPhone 2G was sent to Applecare by mail as a out of warranty replacement for $200 and they sent him a iPhone 4.
Click to expand...

I'd be very surprised if that happened more than once. Apple seems to have reasonably good inventory management; that sounds like a fluke.
 
I've read some instances where people have received a 3GS since they ran out of 3G stock. I wouldn't count on Apple not having any 3G iPhones in stock, but I hope you get lucky.
 
A few months, someone I know just had a 3G mailed to them. But it would be awesome if you got the 3GS!
 
Apple still has the 2G for replacement! As crazy as that sounds. A couple weeks back I went in due to a poor battery and received a refurbished 2G in its place.
For battery issues Apple charges $69. instead of the $200. The iPhone looks brand new.
(It's on a second line and isn't used much.)
 
braddick said:
Apple still has the 2G for replacement! As crazy as that sounds. A couple weeks back I went in due to a poor battery and received a refurbished 2G in its place.
For battery issues Apple charges $69. instead of the $200. The iPhone looks brand new.
(It's on a second line and isn't used much.)
Click to expand...

the apple store had a 2G in stock? :eek:

surprised by that. oh well, i'm going to find out tomorrow. i'm guessing it'll just be a straight 3G-for-3G swap.

anyone know whether the ones they swap you for at Canadian Apple stores are carrier locked or not?
 
borkborkbork said:
the apple store had a 2G in stock? :eek:

surprised by that. oh well, i'm going to find out tomorrow. i'm guessing it'll just be a straight 3G-for-3G swap.

anyone know whether the ones they swap you for at Canadian Apple stores are carrier locked or not?
Click to expand...

update:
they did have a 3G in stock. the genius was super nice and gave it to me for the cost of a battery swap rather than an OOW replacement.
 
borkborkbork said:
update:
they did have a 3G in stock. the genius was super nice and gave it to me for the cost of a battery swap rather than an OOW replacement.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update. Cool to hear they replaced your phone at a discount. I assume it didn't have much cosmetic damage for them to only charge for the battery replacement.
 
Really good news, thanks for posting. Apple standing behind Solidly its hardware really halps you get over the initial steeper cost over other handsets.
 
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