Steve Jobs response to my shattered iPhone email.

[docal97]

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I can't believe u would even expect a free replacent for damage that u caused. The phone may or may not be more resilient than previos models but not many things can survive falls.

 

[MacGeekDC]

I'm not an Apple apologist but your phone fell from pretty high up on to a hard surface and they kindly replaced it for 2/5 of the actual price. I would be very happy with that. That fact that glass shatters easier than plastic is different issue.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

$199 wouldn't even be an issue if you had used a credit card with some kind of purchase protection plan, as that's equivalent to or less than the subsidized prices.

 

[firegoat]

I kind of get the idea that the OP was complaining that for what is advertised as being stronger, is actually weaker and much more prone to breakage. he also said something about not being able to get a case for it at the apple store? how is it that apple is going to sell a device such as this, yet not have any cases in stock. seems kind of dumb to me. their solution for the reception problems is to use a case, yet they don't have them in stock. the thing becomes unusable after falling one time, but they don't have cases for them in stock.

all this makes me wonder if I can shoehorn the new guts into my 2g iphones case. that thing is bulletproof.

 

[mrelwood]

I would agree with you if I actually dropped it.

I really feel bad for you, but it's pretty hard to understand what you wish for. It's clear the iPhone4 is not too durable when tossed around, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. Wether it drops because it was left to a bad place or actually dropped, doesn't make a difference to Apple, incurance company, or people at this forum.

You feel there should be real help in this situation. Realistically thinking, what would you expect? Charity? Don't know how the incurance policies are there, but in our country these things go through insurance.

Getting a new one for $199 sounds very genorous to me.

 

[Kahnyl]

Is there a shread of proof that this is real?

 

[Brannon]

Please learn to accept responsibility for your stupid actions. Typically, if you drop something made of glass it is going to break. Now please excuse me while I go sue McDonalds for making me fat...

McDanalds made you fat like guns kill people and flys cause garbage!

 

[brand]

why dont you just buy the SquareTrade warranty ofr $99 or whatever price it is and do a claim and get a new iPhone? Its a 2 yr warranty so even if you just do the one claim it'll still save you money.

ok this is what u do:

buy the squaretrade warranty, value of phone $500 - $99

buy replacement iphone for $199

make claim, pay deductible $50

Now u r out $250 + tax. Sqauretrade will try and talk u into buying a refurb for $199 from apple, stick to your guns and say no, then they will send u a check for $500/600. After u cash ur check u will actually make $250 (minus tax).

go buy squaretrade for 80 bucks then file a claim

I really don't think the solution is to commit insurance fraud like the three of you suggest.

 

[davidwarren]

My 3GS was in a switcheasy rebel case, but survived a full year of being thrown around, dropped, stepped on, and "used" by my toddler son. I sold it in like new condition. My iPhone 4's back glass cracked the day I got it. Without being dropped or hit against anything. The harshest place it was in was my otherwise empty pants pocket.

 

[the_wallcrawler]

IMO you are lucky they gave you a new one at the subsidized price.

 

[Hmac]

Cripes. Another guy who thinks Apple should be responsible for his carelessness.

 

[Caraj]

It's clear the iPhone4 is not too durable when tossed around,

The phone must have really landed wrong for the screen to break on a vinyl floor. Last night my sons I4 phone dropped off the table about 3 feet high onto a stone tile floor not once but twice and not even a scratch on the phone. He had no case or bumber on it either.

Now he has a nice case and a screen protector. BUt I have to say his phone is built tough

 

[guru_ck]

Screen replacement cost has always been $199. He isn't getting any special deal. They are probably swapping phones for now until they get some replacement lcds.

 

[JediZenMaster]

This is pure insanity apple doesn't owe someone something who drops their iPhone. If i go and break my TV will best buy give me a brand new one? Nope.

It's just amazing how the american way seems to be getting something for nothing.

 

[pharmx]

Gone are the days when phones were "just" phones, and built like bricks. I used to have a Nokia that you could throw against the wall, and the wall would sustain more damage than the phone, lol. With the new era of phones leaning towards being a mobile computing device, it needs to be either specially protected or specially cared for with respect to where its placed and how its handled/used. This goes double for devices by Apple which like to showcase aesthetic design.

I remember dropping my old Nokias and Motorolas all the time without any serious damage. I've only dropped my old iPhone 2G once, and was fortunate enough to not have it damaged. With my new one, I've been treating it like it was fragile and made of...well glass, lol. I'll feel a lot better once I can get a case on it, because as nice as it looks "naked", I'd much rather be safe than sorry.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Why are they all shattering on the front, when many have complained that the glass back makes it more prone to shattering?

All four versions of the iPhone have glass fronts.

 

[ItsThatKush]

so you're saying it magically levitated off the countertop? I thought only iPads were magical enough to do that

The iPad threw it off the counter bc it was jealous.

 

[quid squid]

Why not try something like this?

http://m.gizmodo.com/5572532/how-to-replace-your-broken-iphone-4-screen

 

[djgulia]

for not providing iAirbags haha j/k

haha I'm going to invent the iParachute. it automatically deploys when an iPhone falls.

 

[179202]

I originally posted about my shattered iPhone here: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/10344361/




I sent an email off to Steve Jobs that was basically verbatim that post:



I'll give it to him. I got pretty quick response. (3 hours). But you can see the screenshot below (to confirm authenticity) for his response.

His response made me laugh but also kind of aggravated me a bit. I guess I'm just disappointed by the fact that it seemed that other than replacing my phone for the replacement cost ($199) which I again (as stated above) appreciate, there was nothing else really offered.

Not to mention the Apple Store was still out of stock of bumpers when I went in to replace my phone today.

Sorry for the large image size, didn't want the text to be distorted on the email screenshot.

YOU and a lot of other people need to take some damn responsibility.

Apple never said the phone was indestructible, just that it was 30x stronger than conventional glass.

If you drop a crystal champagne glass set from the kitchen counter to the floor do you complain? Nope, because it's your fault. Same thing here. It's a £500 electronic device made of glass. Act like an adult and take responsibility for your own actions. Hell, even buy insurance elsewhere. It's not up to Apple to make sure you take care of your product - it's up to YOU.

Sorry if this seems harsh but I guess you're the icing on the cake in terms of cynicism. This iPhone isn't perfect, but as I said before: £500 phone made of glass = breakable. Your responsibility = You drop it, you pay. It's simple really.

 

[BigGarb]

Well I'm no forensic scientist but that sure doesn't look like a break pattern from a counter top fall, which would usually apprear as one major break with the cracks moving outward from there.

In that picture one can almost make out what would appear to be 4 points of breakage, almost like it was squeezed till the screen shattered..

You sure your "friend" only witnessed it fall and didnt try to see how strong the glass was?

I would have to agree with this. I am going to have to call BS on this one. I find it VERY hard to believe that a single fall from 3 ft to a linoleum/vinyl floor would cause this much damage with what looks like multiple points of contact.

 

[marksman]

It is funny to me that the OP does not think there is anything wrong with expecting a business to replace, for free, something that he let get smashed on the floor from a flight of four feet or more. For all he knows his friend threw it down and smashed it.

It is just unbelievable what people expect. I say that Apple offering you to replace the phone for only $199 is an amazing offer and one you should have quickly snapped up as it is super generous.

I don't know why people think any phone is designed to withstand that kind of abuse. I have had iphones for years, and never once managed to have something like that happen... I don't get it...

But what I really don't get is the wild expectation that someone should be provided a free replacement for this kind of action/behavior.

 

[br0adband]

Apple never said the phone was indestructible, just that it was 30x stronger than conventional glass.

No, actually they said it's 30x stronger than plastic, get your facts straight.

To the OP: sorry for your "loss" and unfortunately things happen sometimes. I hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction.

To the rest of you boneheads: sorry to know that a cheap plastic cup can get knocked off a table in the same way and survive the fall countless times while "the most technologically advanced glass display in a mobile telephone in the history of consumer electronics" can turn itself into a spider-web of fractures in the same situation.

"It just breaks..."

Here's the basic gist of the marketing, boneheads: why would Apple even need to say "it's 20x stiffer and 30x stronger than plastic" unless they're prepping you for the inevitable screen breakage that's about to start happening? Have any of you ever seen the movie "Tommy Boy" with Chris Farley? There's a brilliant point made in that movie:

Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted. Why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Go on, I'm listening.
Tommy: Here's the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to feel all warm and toasty inside.
Ted Nelson, Customer: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: 'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted?
[chuckles until he sees that Ted is not laughing]
Ted Nelson, Customer: [impatiently] What's your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times.
Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?
Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of ****. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.
Ted Nelson, Customer: [pause] Okay, I'll buy from you.

Why would Apple even care to mention something or laud the glass so highly - if it's a good quality product you can depend on and have a reasonable expectation of it being much more resilient in terms of potential drops and surviving the falls/impacts if it really is that good?

 

[marksman]

That is not the route I am going with at all. I would agree with you if I actually dropped it.

It was sitting on my kitchen counter and literally (I'm assuming as I wasn't looking at the phone when it fell) slid off the counter and smashed onto the floor.

Nobody else was near the phone when it happened.

That is absurd.

 

[phpmaven]

ok this is what u do:

buy the squaretrade warranty, value of phone $500 - $99

buy replacement iphone for $199

make claim, pay deductible $50

Now u r out $250 + tax. Sqauretrade will try and talk u into buying a refurb for $199 from apple, stick to your guns and say no, then they will send u a check for $500/600. After u cash ur check u will actually make $250 (minus tax).

Then go to jail for insurance fraud.

That is not the route I am going with at all. I would agree with you if I actually dropped it.

It was sitting on my kitchen counter and literally (I'm assuming as I wasn't looking at the phone when it fell) slid off the counter and smashed onto the floor.

Nobody else was near the phone when it happened.

I can't remember if it was slanted sitting on something else or not.

And although it seems like I'm not taking responsibility for my actions, my real complaint is that there is no real help in this situation.

To Paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld: "Where are these people working that their iPhones are just sliding right off of their kitchen counters? What, are their kitchen counters screwed to the back of a flat-bed truck going down the highway or something? What, are they texting up in the crow's nest of a clipper ship?"