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

Replace defective 3G with 3GS?

eVolcre

eVolcre

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 7, 2003
1,979
587
I'm headed into the APple store next week. A family member's 3G has issues. Home button not working and it can't find any wifi networks. She bought the 3G last August so isn't eligible for an upgrade to the 3GS.

I've been reading through the forums and Apple will 100% replace the 3G phone with a new one. Can I ask for a 3GS and pay the difference? Or will they ONLY give me a new 3G replacement?

eV
 
eVolcre said:
I'm headed into the APple store next week. A family member's 3G has issues. Home button not working and it can't find any wifi networks. She bought the 3G last August so isn't eligible for an upgrade to the 3GS.

I've been reading through the forums and Apple will 100% replace the 3G phone with a new one. Can I ask for a 3GS and pay the difference? Or will they ONLY give me a new 3G replacement?

eV
Click to expand...

The will only give you a 3G replacement.

And it will be refurbished, not new.
 
Your best bet would be to contact Apple Care and see if they can do a advance replacement for you with a new 3GS. Its worth a shot.
 
FarSeide said:
Your best bet would be to contact Apple Care and see if they can do a advance replacement for you with a new 3GS. Its worth a shot.
Click to expand...

I just went through a 2 month long marathon with Applecare and they finally replaced my MBP. I know a couple of people there and could give it a shot.

But ... just to confirm .. this is her 3G bought from Best Buy in March (09). Is it covered under Applecare? Not sure how Applecare works on iPhones.

eV
 
I went through something similar to your situation and requested the same service through Apple Customer Relations. They told me they won't replace the iPhone for the newer generation until the phone is half way through the product cycle.

It was like pulling teeth with them to even get a brand new iPhone 3G.
 
Poeticashes said:
I went through something similar to your situation and requested the same service through Apple Customer Relations. They told me they won't replace the iPhone for the newer generation until the phone is half way through the product cycle.

It was like pulling teeth with them to even get a brand new iPhone 3G.
Click to expand...

They just replaced my just out of Applecare 2006 1Gen 2.16 17" MBP with a brand new 17" unibody ... There's always exceptions ... :)

eV
 
eVolcre said:
They just replaced my just out of Applecare 2006 1Gen 2.16 17" MBP with a brand new 17" unibody ... There's always exceptions ... :)

eV
Click to expand...

Haha, they also just replaced my 15" unibody Macbook Pro with a 17" unibody Macbook Pro...surely there are always exceptions, and it is always worth it to ask--just giving you my experiences thus far.
 
I have a friend who had a 3G, bought the extended AppleCare. He was getting terrible battery life, like 6 hours idle and it would be dead. He is still in contract, not eligible for AT&Ts exceptions, and was able to pay $99 for a 3G S replacement, no contract extension.

I don't know how he did it, but he must had a real nice Genius helping him.
 
I stand corrected.

My 3G died on me two days ago and I phoned up Apple Customer Relations to inquire about possibly doing an Advance Replacement since we were already working on my Macbook Pro (Magsafe issue--got upgraded from 15 uBMP to 17" uBMP with 3.06 ghz--can't beat it).

I inquired about possibly doing this exact scenario--paying the difference between my 16GB iPhone 3G and getting a 32 GB iPhone 3GS. Much to my surprise the agent informed me this was possible and I would have to pay 100.00 to cover it. Completely fine with that--as I get the iPhone 3GS without having to be locked into a new contract.

So, if you find the right agent and the circumstances are right, chances are it may happen.
 
I made the mistake of not calling applecare in advance. The genius at the store flat out refused me when I asked about upgrading. He did replace it with a new 3G immediately.

Something wierd though. The HOME burton on the new phone is much smaller than that on the old one. Did they release a second model ? The screen is also much crisper.

eV
 
Poeticashes said:
... inquired about possibly doing this exact scenario--paying the difference between my 16GB iPhone 3G and getting a 32 GB iPhone 3GS. Much to my surprise the agent informed me this was possible and I would have to pay 100.00 to cover it....
Click to expand...

I am not 100% on the American prices, but surely there is more than $100 difference in the price of a subsidised iPhone 3G 16GB and an unsubsidised iPhone 3GS 32GB?
 
Applejuiced said:
Obviously they won't give u a newer model. They want u to upgrade the proper way and sigh another 2 year contract. If that was the case everyone would try to do that and get a 3GS.
Click to expand...

apple doesnt care about the contract... they only sell phones... the phone company is the one that wants you to stay on contracts!
 
eVolcre said:
I made the mistake of not calling applecare in advance. The genius at the store flat out refused me when I asked about upgrading. He did replace it with a new 3G immediately.

Something wierd though. The HOME burton on the new phone is much smaller than that on the old one. Did they release a second model ? The screen is also much crisper.

eV
Click to expand...

What do you mean it's much smaller? Pictures?
 
xbuddycorex said:
What do you mean it's much smaller? Pictures?
Click to expand...

I didn't take pics of the one I returned but the home button was the same as my iPhone 2g. On this one it's half the diameter. What was the home button size on the original 3g compared to the 2g? Did the release an update with a smaller one? I don't think I'm imagining it. Used the 2g for 2 years and this one has a noticeably smaller home button.

eV
 
eVolcre said:
They just replaced my just out of Applecare 2006 1Gen 2.16 17" MBP with a brand new 17" unibody ... There's always exceptions ... :)

eV
Click to expand...

Interesting. I have Applecare on my Late 2007 MacBook and it's starting to get the infamous case cracks that have plagued MacBooks in the past. I'm wondering if I could somehow upgrade to the Unibody 13" MBP (while, of course, paying the difference)? Hmm..
 
sallythemac said:
I am not 100% on the American prices, but surely there is more than $100 difference in the price of a subsidised iPhone 3G 16GB and an unsubsidised iPhone 3GS 32GB?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how they calculated the actual price--though I know they are exchanging the items as if both of them were unsubsidized.
 
Spongey817 said:
Interesting. I have Applecare on my Late 2007 MacBook and it's starting to get the infamous case cracks that have plagued MacBooks in the past. I'm wondering if I could somehow upgrade to the Unibody 13" MBP (while, of course, paying the difference)? Hmm..
Click to expand...

Depending on how many issues you have called in about over the time of your Macbook's life will be the determinant. While there is no set number of call ins, they will usually put it through repairs before considering any other options--unless the Macbook went up in flames or emitted smoke of any sort. Usually the safety issues give you more of an edge when dealing with Customer Relations or AppleCare.
 
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