iPhone 5S denied service for faulty fingerprint sensor

[SR71]

So I brought my iPhone into my local Apple Store to get a replacement iPhone because of battery issues (it's not lasting nearly as long as it should be) and because the fingerprint sensor on my iPhone stops working every 3-4 hours and only works again after a reboot. I took a video of the fingerprint sensor not working and went to the Apple Store the next day (today) and showed it to them and they said they can't replace it because of the battery because it's showing up as normal and they can't replace it because of the fingerprint sensor because there is no way for them to test it.

I'm now out of my 14-day return period with a defective phone. Any suggestions? Should I call AppleCare?

 

[Beezy253]

So I brought my iPhone into my local Apple Store to get a replacement iPhone because of battery issues (it's not lasting nearly as long as it should be) and because the fingerprint sensor on my iPhone stops working every 3-4 hours and only works again after a reboot. I took a video of the fingerprint sensor not working and went to the Apple Store the next day (today) and showed it to them and they said they can't replace it because of the battery because it's showing up as normal and they can't replace it because of the fingerprint sensor because there is no way for them to test it.

I'm now out of my 14-day return period with a defective phone. Any suggestions? Should I call AppleCare?

Yes, Call Apple Care and ask to speak to a Sr. Apple Advisor.

Also, you should ask for compensation for them wasting your time.

 

[MH01]

Yes, Call Apple Care and ask to speak to a Sr. Apple Advisor.

Also, you should ask for compensation for them wasting your time.

Always interested me to why people believe apple should compensate them? Apple already had excellent customer service, though if one deals with an individual and is unlucky in the level of service they get, compensation ???? Really? I just think some people really take the piss out of apple.

----------

Arrange another appointment. And as you say, if the scanner stops working every 3-4 hours I would go through the process of leaving it in a non working state when you arrive for the appointment and show them , then reboot it and show them it works.

Though the first thing I would to , a factory restore . That might fix your problems.

 

[LostSoul80]

Always interested me to why people believe apple should compensate them? Apple already had excellent customer service, though if one deals with an individual and is unlucky in the level of service they get, compensation ???? Really? I just think some people really take the piss out of apple.

I agree, after all what should one expect out of a $700+ phone?

 

[Beezy253]

Always interested me to why people believe apple should compensate them? Apple already had excellent customer service, though if one deals with an individual and is unlucky in the level of service they get, compensation ???? Really? I just think some people really take the piss out of apple.

----------

Arrange another appointment. And as you say, if the scanner stops working every 3-4 hours I would go through the process of leaving it in a non working state when you arrive for the appointment and show them , then reboot it and show them it works.

Though the first thing I would to , a factory restore . That might fix your problems.

OP recorded a VIDEO, How much more proof does he need?

Apple wasted the OP's time. OP shouldn't have to play Genius Bar Roulette to get their issue taken care of.

 

[SR71]

Always interested me to why people believe apple should compensate them? Apple already had excellent customer service, though if one deals with an individual and is unlucky in the level of service they get, compensation ???? Really? I just think some people really take the piss out of apple.

----------

Arrange another appointment. And as you say, if the scanner stops working every 3-4 hours I would go through the process of leaving it in a non working state when you arrive for the appointment and show them , then reboot it and show them it works.

Though the first thing I would to , a factory restore . That might fix your problems.

That had been my second appointment with them about the sensor. The first time I was able to show him in person but he said that I should do a restore and setup as new phone and see if that fixes it before he could give me a replacement. I told him that I had already done several restores and setup as new (mostly to try and fix the battery issues) and it didn't fix the problems with the sensor, hence why I took a video to prove once again that it's still doing it. Still denied a replacement. I'm also not expecting any compensation, I just want a working phone.

This was also with a completely different Genius than the first one. It's annoying and ridiculous that I am being denied service on my two week old phone that has a CLEARLY defective fingerprint sensor, which is pretty much the 5S's main selling point. I've always had great service from Apple, but this is just unacceptable.

 

[Robster3]

Try another Apple store, If they won't replace it just leave it on the counter and tell them to give you a ring when it's fixed.

 

[SR71]

Try another Apple store, If they won't replace it just leave it on the counter and tell them to give you a ring when it's fixed.

Currently in college, so I don't have a car, but have come the last two weekends (hour and a half drive both ways) just to try and get this resolved. Other than this Apple Store my next nearest one is an hour away, and I'm going back to college tomorrow and probably will not be coming back home for another month or more.

 

[MH01]

OP recorded a VIDEO, How much more proof does he need?

Apple wasted the OP's time. OP shouldn't have to play Genius Bar Roulette to get their issue taken care of.

OP deserves a working phone. I just stated that some apple fans demand compensation.

----------

That had been my second appointment with them about the sensor. The first time I was able to show him in person but he said that I should do a restore and setup as new phone and see if that fixes it before he could give me a replacement. I told him that I had already done several restores and setup as new (mostly to try and fix the battery issues) and it didn't fix the problems with the sensor, hence why I took a video to prove once again that it's still doing it. Still denied a replacement. I'm also not expecting any compensation, I just want a working phone.

This was also with a completely different Genius than the first one. It's annoying and ridiculous that I am being denied service on my two week old phone that has a CLEARLY defective fingerprint sensor, which is pretty much the 5S's main selling point. I've always had great service from Apple, but this is just unacceptable.

You have done everything by the book. They will have history of your previous visits. So go back in and ask to see the manager. State that you came in and wanted to have the phone replaced in the 14day return period , the genius serving you convinced you that the restore will fix it and was confident about it, and you are still having the ongoing issue, you even made a video to try to
Help out, and you wish to make a complaint. Just tell him you are after a working phone . Though if possible I would really walk in there when the scanner is not working. On your side you have the historical appointments that you made on the system. Now just tell them you would have replaced it in the 14day period had the genius not incorrectly told you that a restore would fix it. Say your disappointed in their troubleshooting ability.

----------

I agree, after all what should one expect out of a $700+ phone?

Awesome design in all fairness nearly every apple product apart from the iPod range I've had technical issues with. Though in my case AppleCare have dealt with In an excellent manner .

 

[Tenorsaw]

So I brought my iPhone into my local Apple Store to get a replacement iPhone because of battery issues (it's not lasting nearly as long as it should be) and because the fingerprint sensor on my iPhone stops working every 3-4 hours and only works again after a reboot. I took a video of the fingerprint sensor not working and went to the Apple Store the next day (today) and showed it to them and they said they can't replace it because of the battery because it's showing up as normal and they can't replace it because of the fingerprint sensor because there is no way for them to test it.

I'm now out of my 14-day return period with a defective phone. Any suggestions? Should I call AppleCare?

You get 30 days to return the phone as per Apple's site:

"You have 14 calendar days to return an item from the date you received it. For an Apple iPhone, you have 30 calendar days."

 

[Jgraeff]

Call Nelson an executive customer relations guy, honestly the Genius Bar sucks and there customer service is getting worse. The last few times I had to go to corporate to fix anything.

512.674.7797

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Currently in college, so I don't have a car, but have come the last two weekends (hour and a half drive both ways) just to try and get this resolved. Other than this Apple Store my next nearest one is an hour away, and I'm going back to college tomorrow and probably will not be coming back home for another month or more.

You clearly deserve compensation, in addition to a well-functioning phone, for your efforts. Anyone who says otherwise is absurd. Unless they claim that 6 hours of your time (driving), in addition to whatever time you spent at the Apple Store and you additional expenses (gas, wear and tear on your vehicle), are worthless. It would be one thing if your issue had been resolved, but you went through the proper steps and went out of your way to provide clear evidence, and they failed to adequately address your problems.

 

[Carlanga]

Can we see the video?

IMO, if you are complaining about the battery when it clearly was a calibration and not defective issue and you say the fingerprint sensor is also bad, I'm going to go on a limb and say you didn't program the fingers properly.

 

[alent1234]

The battery life depends on dozens of factors and apple will never replace it unless it tests as bad

Just because you get poor battery life doesn't mean it's the battery

 

[sumsingwong]

iPhone 5S denied service for faulty fingerprint sensor

You clearly deserve compensation, in addition to a well-functioning phone, for your efforts. Anyone who says otherwise is absurd. Unless they claim that 6 hours of your time (driving), in addition to whatever time you spent at the Apple Store and you additional expenses (gas, wear and tear on your vehicle), are worthless. It would be one thing if your issue had been resolved, but you went through the proper steps and went out of your way to provide clear evidence, and they failed to adequately address your problems.

So, everyone that doesn't have your ridiculous sense of entitlement is absurd? Got it.

 

[farmD]

Not sure if this will resolve your problem but maybe try a hard reset on your phone?

My phone's fingerprint sensor didn't work initially but did a hard reset and started working without any issues after that.

 

[Leonard1818]

I don't understand the problem. Call Apple, explain the situation, have a new one sent to you and return the defective one. I've done this before.... my sleep/wake button on my 5 stopped working 75% of the time. Called Apple, got replacement sent to me, sent defective one back.

 

[SR71]

Can we see the video?

IMO, if you are complaining about the battery when it clearly was a calibration and not defective issue and you say the fingerprint sensor is also bad, I'm going to go on a limb and say you didn't program the fingers properly.

I don't really wanna post it since I show my face in the video (to prove to the Genius that it's actually my video and not some random on YouTube), but essentially what I show in the video is me trying to unlock the phone with my thumb or index finger and nothing happening at all. I then restart the phone and use the same two fingers and it unlocks without any problems.

I'll try to edit my face out of the video and repost it for you guys in a little bit.

I'm convinced it's an actual problem with the battery as I currently have everything turned off and have set it up as a new phone without restoring any backups or syncing any of my stuff and it still drains rapidly when in use, but that's besides the point. I understand why they won't replace it, but the fingerprint sensor definitely warrants a replacement.

----------

Not sure if this will resolve your problem but maybe try a hard reset on your phone?

My phone's fingerprint sensor didn't work initially but did a hard reset and started working without any issues after that.

I've done over 5 complete restores (downloading the actual IPSW file and manually restoring it) and setting up as new to no avail.

----------

You get 30 days to return the phone as per Apple's site:

"You have 14 calendar days to return an item from the date you received it. For an Apple iPhone, you have 30 calendar days."

I bought it at Verizon.

----------

The battery life depends on dozens of factors and apple will never replace it unless it tests as bad

Just because you get poor battery life doesn't mean it's the battery

I realize this and completely understand them when they say I can't get a replacement, but the faulty fingerprint sensor definitely warrants a replacement.

----------

OP deserves a working phone. I just stated that some apple fans demand compensation.

----------



You have done everything by the book. They will have history of your previous visits. So go back in and ask to see the manager. State that you came in and wanted to have the phone replaced in the 14day return period , the genius serving you convinced you that the restore will fix it and was confident about it, and you are still having the ongoing issue, you even made a video to try to
Help out, and you wish to make a complaint. Just tell him you are after a working phone . Though if possible I would really walk in there when the scanner is not working. On your side you have the historical appointments that you made on the system. Now just tell them you would have replaced it in the 14day period had the genius not incorrectly told you that a restore would fix it. Say your disappointed in their troubleshooting ability.

----------



Awesome design in all fairness nearly every apple product apart from the iPod range I've had technical issues with. Though in my case AppleCare have dealt with In an excellent manner .

I have walked in there with the scanner not working and they just told me to do a restore to fix it since they can't actually run diagnostics on the button itself. I have to back to college today so I can't go back in either. I also talked to a manager and she just sided with the Genius and agreed that a restore should "definitely fix the problem as it's usually always user error".

 

[stephen1108]

Kind've off topic, but it all comes down to the genius you get. One time, with my iPhone 4S it had a serious bug that made the usage and standby time on the phone run at the same time. No matter how many restores I did or setting up the phone as new resolved the issue. So after I took the phone in for the third time, they just swapped it out for me. The phone clearly had no physical damage, so they didn't think twice about it at that point.

 

[gCloud]

if you've had problems from day one u should not have let it go beyond the return period, should have returned to point of purchase within the RP.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

iPhone 5S denied service for faulty fingerprint sensor

So, everyone that doesn't have your ridiculous sense of entitlement is absurd? Got it.

The OP IS entitled, by virtue of his investment in the device.

 

[sumsingwong]

The OP IS entitled, by nature of his investment in the device.

The only thing the OP is entitled to is a replacement. Why are you forcing your sense of entitlement on the OP. He's already stated he doesn't wish to be compensated. Only a replacement in a timely manner.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

iPhone 5S denied service for faulty fingerprint sensor

The only thing the OP is entitled to is a replacement. Why are you forcing your sense of entitlement on the OP. He's already stated he doesn't wish to be compensated. Only a replacement in a timely manner.

The OP was entitled to a replacement the first time he invested his time and resources to go to the Apple Store. At this point, he clearly has been denied "a replacement in a timely manner." How many trips do you think he should have to take before someone in this forum is no longer subject to admonition for suggesting that perhaps he should be given reasonable compensation for his time, as an agent of Apple has failed to meet the terms of the contract, despite being presented with compelling evidence?

 

[sumsingwong]

The OP was entitled to a replacement the first time he invested his time and resources to go to the Apple Store. At this point, he clearly has been denied "a replacement in a timely manner." How many trips do you think he should have to take before someone in this forum is no longer subject to admonition for suggesting that perhaps he should be given reasonable compensation for his time, as an agent of Apple has failed to meet the terms of the contract, despite being presented with compelling evidence?

That is your opinion and not a fact. He is not entitled to anything more than a replacement. Anything more would be a judgement call on Apple but they are certainly not required to compensate the OP.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

That is your opinion and not a fact. He is not entitled to anything more than a replacement. Anything more would be a judgement call on Apple but they are certainly not required to compensate the OP.

Of course it is opinion. But do you still believe that such compensation would come from some unfounded sense of "entitlement," as was your initial assertion when I suggested it might be merited? That was the impetus for this exchange.