Forgive my ignorance, but would Apple not have blocked the first iPhone as soon as they sent out the replacement? Would it be possible to activate the original one at all?
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iPhone 13 Pro Max Received 2 iPhone 13PM by mistake...Moral Dilemma
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I wouldn’t be surprised if they can blacklist the device on their activation network, in addition to figuring out the Apple ID that’s attempting the activation.
You'd think they would have done something like this, but they have not. The Apple rep even asked me "which device would you like to send back?" and I chose the replacement as I didn't see the point in re-transferring all my data to the second device when mine was a mere 2 weeks old
I asked the Apple rep whether they would blacklist one of the devices after a period of time, and she really didn't have an answer. But yes, you'd think they would have some sort of backstop in place to prevent situations like this.
Sounds like you've done the right thing so far. If it turns out at the end that Apple doesn't seem to care of it's shipped back, maybe it's best to call one last time and see if you're okay using for a friend/family. Then sell it to a friend for a friend's discount (just in case it gets blacklisted so you can easily reverse the exchange).
Not sure this "moral high horse" others are on. You did everything correct so far. If you end up with a second phone and the company is fine with it, how is that morally wrong? At this point, taking home the extra toothbrush/soap from hotel that you don't really need is more morally ambiguous than this situation.
Not sure this "moral high horse" others are on. You did everything correct so far. If you end up with a second phone and the company is fine with it, how is that morally wrong? At this point, taking home the extra toothbrush/soap from hotel that you don't really need is more morally ambiguous than this situation.
This is exactly my thinking as well. I think I'll take in into an Apple store and see what they say there.
Wouldn’t they have the phone’s serial number tied to the order? I’d imagine Apple of all companies would be able to block the device. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t risk keeping the second phone (morality aside).
If I were you, after notifying apple, I’d just sit and wait while going on with my life. I just need to make sure the iPhone im about to use is the one with the correct serial number on it. That’s all. It’s not like I intentionally hide the fact apple sent two iPhone by accident. They care about those iPhone as much as normal people care about $1 coin in the grant scheme of things. The key here is notifying apple, after that nothing much else. Heck, if I live in a rural area with no easy apple store access, I just tug it into a drawer or whatnot, stick a note on the box to remind me, and that’s it. Moral high ground is just as scammy as scams themselves anyways.
There’s nothing wrong with having decent standards, certainly nothing “scammy”.
All devices have serial numbers and there is a history of every facility that touched each device until it came to you.
You have a serial number associated with your order. That one is "owned" by you.
The second one is "lost" or "stolen" and may be reported as such... even though you are not at fault, there WILL be a recording of a lost inventory item and possibly a bricking of the device with the police getting involved.
The worst case is the one that you activated is the one that is registered as lost/stolen.
Call Apple support and report the issue.
You have a serial number associated with your order. That one is "owned" by you.
The second one is "lost" or "stolen" and may be reported as such... even though you are not at fault, there WILL be a recording of a lost inventory item and possibly a bricking of the device with the police getting involved.
The worst case is the one that you activated is the one that is registered as lost/stolen.
Call Apple support and report the issue.
You have got to be kidding. The OP is responsible for returning the replacement phone, or phones in this case. Apple made a mistake so the OP should take advantage of it? Same thing as stealing. The OP did not pay for the second phone and he managed to find the second replacement. Entrusting in that the OP will return 2 replacement phones. Now if Apple had said, "go ahead and keep it" then sure would not need to return it.
There is no moral dilemma here. Return the phones to Apple and leave it to them to sort. Selling the phones would not be right. Doing the right thing shouldn’t require the internet.
He is not taking advantage. He informed Apple, Apple acknowledge and offered to send him return instructions, Apple has not followed through. How is the OP stealing it?
Apple has messed up TWO times in this transaction (well first one UPS, however in the scenario they are a subcontractor to Apple). Apple didn’t entrust the OP with anything, they messed OP and he has reached out to them to help them solve it. How is he stealing?
They clearly expect it to be returned, hence them offering to send return instructions. Apple has no doubt dropped the ball on that part but that doesn’t mean OP gets to keep the phone.
It is takes two minutes to make a follow up phone call and get the return stuff sorted.
It is stealing with Apple has not said "go ahead and keep it". They are expecting it to be returned. The lost phone was found and the OP has possession. Once the OP had possession of the lost phone, it is their responsible to send it back or take it to an Apple store and let them handle it. If the OP had not found the phone, then Apple would handle finding the lost phone. Just because Apple has made a mistake, you don't get to keep the phone. Keeping the phone and not returning it a kin to stealing it. But regardless, Apple probably black listed the lost iPhone which means it is not usable anyway.
No one is saying he should sell it or use it as his own. But just saying that OP should do whatever it takes to fix a problem he didn’t create is exaggerated. People said hold on to it for when Apple sends generates the return ; that’s the right thing. But OP shouldn’t spend anymore of his time or resources trying to return it.
Wow, lots of heated comments in here...I stopped by an Apple store tonight and they have no record of the phone in terms of any sort of transaction. The serial doesn't show up on my account or within the original order number.
FWIW, I'm not attempting to "steal" anything, if I had no morals about this, I wouldn't have posted this thread. I was genuinely curious as to how other people have dealt with stuff like this, and if it's simply something that slipped through the cracks to my benefit, so be it. I'm trying to do some due diligence here!
@Taz Mangus I am using the first phone that I ordered (the one the neighbour took possession of). It is certainly not blacklisted, and the second unopened one isn't blacklisted either. Neither phone had any sort of return label either.
FWIW, I'm not attempting to "steal" anything, if I had no morals about this, I wouldn't have posted this thread. I was genuinely curious as to how other people have dealt with stuff like this, and if it's simply something that slipped through the cracks to my benefit, so be it. I'm trying to do some due diligence here!
@Taz Mangus I am using the first phone that I ordered (the one the neighbour took possession of). It is certainly not blacklisted, and the second unopened one isn't blacklisted either. Neither phone had any sort of return label either.
So what happened when you stopped by the Apple store? Did you surrender the phone?
No, they couldn’t take it back and said to deal with Apple Care. I’ll call them at some point this week probably
If Apple doesn’t care why should you? You’ve already done more than enough, and they still don’t care. So keep it. Sell it, give it to someone else or do whatever you like with it. A multi trillion dollar company that doesn’t care about what it’s customers have to say won’t be any worse off because of one iPhone they themselves don’t care about taking back 🤷🏼♂️
What does that even mean? There is no return label unless you request it from Apple and they have not provided that.
Return it. It's wrong to keep it. Amazon sent me 5 motherboards one time when I ordered 1. If you have to ask, you already know the answer. A mistake was made. Mistakes don't suddenly make stealing okay. If you contacted them and they don't care then by all means, keep it.
I feel like OP has already done due diligence. I wouldn't try to sell it as I would also worry about it being blacklisted, but I would probably not put further effort into returning it, either.