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Those of you who replaced your iPhone 4 at apple store (or thru Customer service)

H

hcho3

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 13, 2010
2,783
0
What were your reasons?
My iPhone 4 has these issues and please advise me if it is good enough to exchange it with warranty.

1. Proximity issue. This happens 1 out of 20 calls I make. But, it is still annoying. I heard it only affects small users, so I hope I get a replacement phone.

2. During cover flow, my phone doesn't show album arts sometimes.

3. Battery is not as great as others get. I get 3-4 hours of usage, but I don't use it that much.

4. My signal is not as great as what I used to get on my Blackberry 9700 or iPhone 3G. I understand about Antenna issue, but I have a case on it. I think my iPhone is having trouble connecting towers?

I meant to put case for it anyway, but do you think apple will replace it?

Also, do they give you refurbished ones or new ones? What kind of questions they ask for it?
 
if you are within 30 days just give any of those reasons.

i am on my 5th iPhone 4 due to issues. the one i have now is perfect though.
 
I bought it on June 24th. I have been waiting for the fix on proximity sensor, but nothing happened.
 
1. Proximity issue. This happens 1 out of 20 calls I make. But, it is still annoying. I heard it only affects small users, so I hope I get a replacement phone.

iOS update coming soon to fix this.

2. During cover flow, my phone doesn't show album arts sometimes.

They will do a restore to fix it.

3. Battery is not as great as others get. I get 3-4 hours of usage, but I don't use it that much.

Then they'll run diagnostics and tell you you're wrong or just swap out the battery.

4. My signal is not as great as what I used to get on my Blackberry 9700 or iPhone 3G. I understand about Antenna issue, but I have a case on it. I think my iPhone is having trouble connecting towers?

They'll never buy any antenna issue stories.
 
hcho3 said:
What were your reasons?
My iPhone 4 has these issues and please advise me if it is good enough to exchange it with warranty.
.......
Also, do they give you refurbished ones or new ones? What kind of questions they ask for it?
.....
Click to expand...

Just took out your case, bring your naked iphone to apple store (of course you need to make an appointment first). Tell them your phone has dropped a lot of calls. Tell them how terrible it is. Emphasize on this issue, they are gonna exchange you another one.

They are supposed to give a brand new service phone (meaning: a new phone in seal black box, ONLY phone.) I exchanged my 2 iphone due to this issue, both time they pulled out a black seal box with the new wrapped phone inside.

Both time they said they could not see any error in their tests, but they exchanged for me anyway.

You are clearly not happy with your phone. Don't try to live with it, try to exchange it. Those issues should be justified for a replacement.

Remember to update your firmware to the latest. Explain issues to the genius, they may ask you whether you reboot/ turn off-on,... all trivial questions.

Good luck.
 
Pez555 said:
if you are within 30 days just give any of those reasons.

i am on my 5th iPhone 4 due to issues. the one i have now is perfect though.
Click to expand...

Do u just like to complain a lot? How do the apple people react when they see you walk in the door? I imagine they cringe a bit.
 
F123D said:
At this point, I think the phones in the sealed black boxes are most likely refurbished, right?
Click to expand...

Nope. It is brand new based on the week manufacturing in the serial number. My replacement phone has wk# 31.

So, they basically put the new phone in black box without accessory.
 
drenline said:
Do u just like to complain a lot? How do the apple people react when they see you walk in the door? I imagine they cringe a bit.
Click to expand...

no lol i have had genuine issues, loose casing, dust behind camera, dust behind screen etc. Although i would expect the phone to be perfect after having shelled out £600 for it.
 
I just came back from a genius appointment. They will not exchange my phone because the proximity sensor...they said to return it if i wanted to, but no exchanges or refurbish phones available.
Going to call apple care.
 
mad-dog-one said:
Is that within 30 days of the original purchase or the most recent swap?
Click to expand...

I am not positively sure, but I think the common sense would be 30 days of original purchase. It would be the same as warranty replacement, your warranty won't be reset to new day when you get a replacement for your faulty device.
 
themagicman00 said:
I just came back from a genius appointment. They will not exchange my phone because the proximity sensor...they said to return it if i wanted to, but no exchanges or refurbish phones available.
Going to call apple care.
Click to expand...

The magic words for getting a replacement iPhone are..

"my iPhone is overheating"

They'll run diagnostics that tell how hot the phone has gotten. Even if the temp hasn't reached the threshold, they'll still replace it as a precaution.
 
A few more pro tips about the apple store..

1. If you come at them with any sort of attitude.. At all.. You are very unlikely to get what you want. Holds true in alot of aspects of life.. But the geniuses can be vindictive.

2. Just tell them your problem without your personal diagnosis. They think they know everything and they really hate this

3. The more people that try to return their iPhone for minor and stupid reasons make it harder to get a replacement for the people with legitimate issues
 
I returned mine due to a temperature warning. It showed the phone was at 130 degrees when the Genius looked at it. It was cool to the touch while it was registering the warning. Have had the replacement for a month with no issues. The first phone showed the issue within 3 days.
 
Bandolier said:
1. Proximity issue. This happens 1 out of 20 calls I make. But, it is still annoying. I heard it only affects small users, so I hope I get a replacement phone.

iOS update coming soon to fix this.
Click to expand...

has there been an official release from apple stating it will be out in a few weeks? If so can you provide the link, I would like to see it.

Last weekend the genius replaced my phone due to the prox issue. His words were "we are aware of the issue and there should be a software release coming in the near future. But, since there has been no official word as to when that will be, we have been replacing them so you dont have to deal with it."

He did not even try to verify the issue. just heard what i said and went to get the black box.

So OP, it's worth a try for the prox sensor unless there has been an official statement made with in the last week. If they have set a date then they will probably just tell you to wait.
 
sslanchi said:
The magic words for getting a replacement iPhone are..

"my iPhone is overheating"

They'll run diagnostics that tell how hot the phone has gotten. Even if the temp hasn't reached the threshold, they'll still replace it as a precaution.
Click to expand...

Call apple care, gave them the serial number for my phone, the lady told me that I had a genius appointment today. Anyway, i told her my issue and the lady arranged for a replacement phone to be sent to my home and once I get it, to return the original phone to them.
This was hassle free, pretty simple and straight fwd.
 
hcho3 said:
What were your reasons?
My iPhone 4 has these issues and please advise me if it is good enough to exchange it with warranty.

1. Proximity issue. This happens 1 out of 20 calls I make. But, it is still annoying. I heard it only affects small users, so I hope I get a replacement phone.

2. During cover flow, my phone doesn't show album arts sometimes.

3. Battery is not as great as others get. I get 3-4 hours of usage, but I don't use it that much.

4. My signal is not as great as what I used to get on my Blackberry 9700 or iPhone 3G. I understand about Antenna issue, but I have a case on it. I think my iPhone is having trouble connecting towers?

I meant to put case for it anyway, but do you think apple will replace it?

Also, do they give you refurbished ones or new ones? What kind of questions they ask for it?
Click to expand...
1) The replacement will have the same issue.

2) Not a hardware issue.

3) Check what applications you're running in the background. They're not supposed to consume battery in that state, but a coworker tells me that that's not always the case from his experience. Try just using Safari and the other default apps for a day to see how your battery life is.

4) The replacement will have the same "issue." The BB 9700 is much more sensitive than the iPhone 4 from my experience.

If you were to get a replacement today, it would most likely be refurbished. Also keep in mind that it's a lottery; there's no guarantee that a replacement will be any better; there's the potential for it to be worse.
 
This is my first time dealing with Apple. My phone is overheating. Do you think that would replace even tho I dropped and have a couple of small nicks on the edges?
 
mjfriend1 said:
This is my first time dealing with Apple. My phone is overheating. Do you think that would replace even tho I dropped and have a couple of small nicks on the edges?
Click to expand...
How small is "small?" If they appear within the confines of normal wear & tear then yes; otherwise, no.
 
hcho3 said:
What were your reasons?

Also, do they give you refurbished ones or new ones? What kind of questions they ask for it?
Click to expand...

I exchanged mine because the screen was yellow (I mean REALLY yellow) and the lock button rattled when the phone moved. I took it to Apple and the Genius confirmed the rattle and just replaced it on the spot. The only questions he asked were, "What can we help you with today?" and "Do you mind if I just replace your iPhone?" I had a week 30 phone which was replaced with a week 28 phone, so I am guessing that the "new" phone was refurbished.

My brother took his in for a lock button rattle and dead pixel. His Genius was a little more hesitant to replace the phone, saying both of those were common issues and a new one might also have the same issues. :rolleyes: He did replace the phone though. My brother had a week 31 phone and it was replaced with a week 30 phone so he might've gotten a new phone.
 
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