I have an iPhone 7 (non-Plus, 128GB, model A1660) that started experiencing the symptoms described at https://support.apple.com/iphone-7-no-service Evidently this is a known failure of a component on the motherboard. The phone worked fine on wi-fi, but wouldn't connect to cellular. I tried lots of things to try to fix it, including (foolishly?) trying to restore it using my mac. Now the phone stuck at the "hello" screen and can't do anything.
I contacted Apple support online, and they called me and eventually set up an appointment at an Apple retail store for Friday afternoon. I had low expectations for the appointment, since the phone was purchased more than three years ago, which is the limit listed on the page linked above. However the Apple tech surprised me. After interacting with his iPad for several minutes, he informed my that my phone qualified for the program and would be repaired or replaced for free. He had me fill out the paperwork (including contact information, pickup date, and who would be allowed to pick it up the repaired phone) and he took the phone back behind the retail area. I sat around for a while, I guess waiting for a receipt or something, and he eventually came back and apologized that it didn't actually qualify for the repair program due to the more-than-three-years thing (which I had mentioned to him at the start). However I did, and presumably still do, have the option to pay $319 for a replacement.
On the one hand, I can understand a three-year limit like this. On the other hand, Apple acknowledges that my phone experienced a known component failure but is unwilling to do anything about it. Hmmm.
I'm in the same place now that I would be if he had just told me that it didn't qualify from the beginning. But somehow it feels different. I guess it was the roller-coaster of starting with low expectations, sailing high, then falling back low again.
I contacted Apple support online, and they called me and eventually set up an appointment at an Apple retail store for Friday afternoon. I had low expectations for the appointment, since the phone was purchased more than three years ago, which is the limit listed on the page linked above. However the Apple tech surprised me. After interacting with his iPad for several minutes, he informed my that my phone qualified for the program and would be repaired or replaced for free. He had me fill out the paperwork (including contact information, pickup date, and who would be allowed to pick it up the repaired phone) and he took the phone back behind the retail area. I sat around for a while, I guess waiting for a receipt or something, and he eventually came back and apologized that it didn't actually qualify for the repair program due to the more-than-three-years thing (which I had mentioned to him at the start). However I did, and presumably still do, have the option to pay $319 for a replacement.
On the one hand, I can understand a three-year limit like this. On the other hand, Apple acknowledges that my phone experienced a known component failure but is unwilling to do anything about it. Hmmm.
I'm in the same place now that I would be if he had just told me that it didn't qualify from the beginning. But somehow it feels different. I guess it was the roller-coaster of starting with low expectations, sailing high, then falling back low again.
