When does the warranty on an iPhone start..

[dj1891]

From the moment you buy or the moment you activate??

I had an argument with someone over this and am curious. I know I bought my son a 6S from a bricks and mortar retailer for Christmas, I bought it in November, his warranty status now says valid until 26 December so it didn't start until he activated it.

Other have said it starts from the moment you purchase it. Whats your thoughts?

 

[Apple_Robert]

From the date of purchase.

 

[RootBeerMan]

Normally a warranty starts from the date of purchase, but it appears that Apple starts it from the activation. Strange, but they may figure that it was activated at the point of purchase. I activated mine at the Apple store. If you had purchased Apple Care I would bet you the date would have been from the date of purchase.

 

[997440]

Maybe activation started on xmas day because it was a present; don't know if they had different rules for xmas.
But normally, for the UK and Ireland:

[...]


WHAT IS COVERED BY THIS WARRANTY?

Apple Distribution International of Hollyhill Industrial Estate Hollyhill, Cork, Republic of Ireland (or its successor in title) (“Apple”) warrants the Apple-branded hardware product and Apple-branded accessories contained in the original packaging ("Apple Product") against defects in materials and workmanship when used in accordance with Apple's user manuals, technical specifications and other Apple Product published guidelines for a period of ONE (1) YEAR from the date of original retail purchase by the end-user purchaser ("Warranty Period"). You will be able to receive the remedies available under the One Year Limited Warranty for your Apple product via local Apple service facilities in most parts of the world (please refer to section "How to obtain warranty services"). In the event of any defect in materials and workmanship, you will be able to direct your claims to Apple even in situations where you purchased the Apple Product from a third party.
[...]

https://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/uk-ireland-universal-warranty.html

 

[nickelro]

Bought & activated mine on December 22, then checked on https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ and it states the warranty ends on December 27, 2017 (so a few extra days in my case).

 

[Applejuiced]

It depends on where you buy it, how and via what retailer.
Many times in the past my warranty would start from the day of purchase.
So it would ship out of China a week before and would start then and not the day the phone arrived to me and I set it up or activated after it was un-boxed.
For others depending on where or how it was purchased it started up as soon as they activated the device.
It does vary.

 

[foxconn]

Apple products, from my experience, have been when the device was activated.

 

[997440]

It depends on where you buy it, how and via what retailer.
Many times in the past my warranty would start from the day of purchase.
So it would ship out of China a week before and would start then and not the day the phone arrived to me and I set it up or activated after it was un-boxed.
For others depending on where or how it was purchased it started up as soon as they activated the device.
It does vary.

This is the variable that causes frequent confusion and queries about this issue. If the phone isn't purchased directly from Apple, when the warranty begins seems to be dependent upon when and if the seller reports the serial number to Apple, plus Apple's process time.

Whether Apple ever has rejected a claim based upon the purchase date instead of the reported date is unknown to me. Their written terms could be enforced.