iPhone 16 Pro Max Rejected by Apple for a repair under warranty because of "modifications"

[Ev0d3vil]

Anyone experienced this? I had to pay a diagnostics fee. Phone was bought second hand, only used April this year, so practically a half a year old phone and they are saying something is being modified which is bollocks and ridiciulous. Battery is still 100%, FaceID and etc is still working when diagonostics was run by the Genuis Bar people.

I escalated this to Apple Support and they initiated an express replacement service for me. Will they trap me out saying my old iPhone is modified and charge me the retail price for it again?

 

[eyoungren]

Anyone experienced this? I had to pay a diagnostics fee. Phone was bought second hand, only used April this year, so practically a half a year old phone and they are saying something is being modified which is bollocks and ridiciulous. Battery is still 100%, FaceID and etc is still working when diagonostics was run by the Genuis Bar people.

I escalated this to Apple Support and they initiated an express replacement service for me. Will they trap me out saying my old iPhone is modified and charge me the retail price for it again?

Not sure how it is in the UK, but the policy regarding third party screens and batteries changed sometime back in the US. They won't refuse to service the device, but they will insist that if there are third party parts those be replaced as well - which costs you more.

Also, several years back the policy regarding jailbroken phones also changed. Used to be that Apple would not touch a jailbroken iDevice. Now, they must prove that a jailbreak is the culprit behind a problem in order to refuse service.

Again, this is the US. Not sure what the policy is in the UK. Perhaps, they detected a part that is third-party that does not fall within the policy, IDK.

 

[Ev0d3vil]

Not sure how it is in the UK, but the policy regarding third party screens and batteries changed sometime back in the US. They won't refuse to service the device, but they will insist that if there are third party parts those be replaced as well - which costs you more.

Also, several years back the policy regarding jailbroken phones also changed. Used to be that Apple would not touch a jailbroken iDevice. Now, they must prove that a jailbreak is the culprit behind a problem in order to refuse service.

Again, this is the US. Not sure what the policy is in the UK. Perhaps, they detected a part that is third-party that does not fall within the policy, IDK.

Sorry i'm not in the UK but in Singapore. I have no reason to suspect the parts have been touched because i checked the phone before i bought it, Genuis Bar did their own diagnostics and found no issues before sending the phone in for me.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

If it's secondhand, how do you know it's unmodified?

 

[Ev0d3vil]

If it's secondhand, how do you know it's unmodified?

There were no warnings popping up on the phone stating that third party parts have been used, all the screws are in, phone is in pristine condition except with a dead pixel on the top right of the screen.

 

[eyoungren]

There were no warnings popping up on the phone stating that third party parts have been used, all the screws are in, phone is in pristine condition except with a dead pixel on the top right of the screen.

I have a third party battery in my iPhone 6+. No warnings.

Sorry, I didn't realize you were in Singapore. I have no idea what your consumer protections are and what Apple policy in your country is then.

But if Apple checked it, I'm wondering why Apple then later rejected it. Or am I understanding you wrong?

 

[Andeddu]

I have a third party battery in my iPhone 6+. No warnings.

Sorry, I didn't realize you were in Singapore. I have no idea what your consumer protections are and what Apple policy in your country is then.

But if Apple checked it, I'm wondering why Apple then later rejected it. Or am I understanding you wrong?

Non-OEM battery warnings only appear after iOS 15.2.

 

[JPack]

Unless you opened it up, you won’t know if parts have been replaced. Original flex cables and boards can be soldered making a hybrid repair. Screws don’t usually get scratched if the repair person is careful and can easily be replaced.

 

[SmOgER]

Anyone experienced this? I had to pay a diagnostics fee. Phone was bought second hand, only used April this year, so practically a half a year old phone and they are saying something is being modified which is bollocks and ridiciulous. Battery is still 100%, FaceID and etc is still working when diagonostics was run by the Genuis Bar people.

I escalated this to Apple Support and they initiated an express replacement service for me. Will they trap me out saying my old iPhone is modified and charge me the retail price for it again?

If you bought it 2nd hand how are you able to guarantee it wasn't modified...?

There are 3rd party ways to defeat the iOS checks, like transferring screen controller from the genuine to the 3rd party analog one. Phone will not know the screen has been replaced, but if you take it apart you will know...

 

[Paradoxally]

There were no warnings popping up on the phone stating that third party parts have been used, all the screws are in, phone is in pristine condition except with a dead pixel on the top right of the screen.

Those warnings can be bypassed e.g., if I replace the battery, I can transfer the old BMS (battery management system) from the genuine to the aftermarket battery, and iOS will not complain.

However, an Apple tech opening it up would notice.

 

[bluegt]

I had this happen on the 14? Pro Max, the one that came in purple. In Singapore also.

My only conclusion is that the service center is running a scam.

In my case, it was a phone bought from an Apple Store and never service by a 3rd party. Sent it in because the zoom camera stopped working properly.

Not only did they not repair, they claimed I had a modification and charged me a diagnostic fee. My word against theirs… consumer loses. I escalated and was told to write Apple APAC a snail mail letter - to which they never responded.

I was told some part of the side casing near the mute switch was 3rd party … not the battery, screen… the housing!

Apple Singapore or the service center clearly has fraud going on.

 

[noobinator]

Original owner opened it up and replaced something, but was careful. This seems like the logical explanation.

 

[Ev0d3vil]

I had this happen on the 14? Pro Max, the one that came in purple. In Singapore also.

My only conclusion is that the service center is running a scam.

In my case, it was a phone bought from an Apple Store and never service by a 3rd party. Sent it in because the zoom camera stopped working properly.

Not only did they not repair, they claimed I had a modification and charged me a diagnostic fee. My word against theirs… consumer loses. I escalated and was told to write Apple APAC a snail mail letter - to which they never responded.

I was told some part of the side casing near the mute switch was 3rd party … not the battery, screen… the housing!

Apple Singapore or the service center clearly has fraud going on.

An update now, apple support (I escalated to a senior adviser) couldnt find why I was rejected and arranged an express replacment for me. I explained nicely that it was a 6 month old 16 pro max and diagnosis by the Apple store had no issues. Hopefully i get my replacement with no hiccups

My guess is the AASP(QCD or Alab) trying to pull a fast one on us

 

[Ev0d3vil]

Original owner opened it up and replaced something, but was careful. This seems like the logical explanation.

According to the seller he has never opened anything, diagnosis by the Apple store seem to match what he said as well. It was just Apple’s third party authorised repair centre saying I have modified something on the phone