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My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

post #1 of 14
9/2/08 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
I am not a person who will ever curse, use profanity, but today the Apple store
nearly changed all that.

Sunday night i started to notice that the "this accessory is not for the iphone"
pop-up note accept nothing was attached to the iphone.

The next morning i noticed the phone hadnt charged even though it was plugged in all night.

For whatever reason the phone wasn't being connected to the
cord to charge the battery.

All i was getting was a red bar that would blink 3 times and shut down the phone.

So i took it to an apple store.
After blowing air in the connector hole and using a microscope to look in the headphone jack he told me the phone as done.
He insinuated that i had gotten moisture inside the phone by telling me the inside of the headphone jack had some corrosion.

He also pointed out the obvious being the connector on the phone was no good.

Plus He was kind enough to tell me i was eligible for the $199 new phone "upgrade".

"Right, you mean buy a new iphone."

"well, yes."

"I paid $600 for this phone have only had it for 13 months
and that's it. I'm out of luck?"

"yep sorry nothing I can do for you."

Up until tonight i have been preaching about how great this phone is.
even in a few topics here i questioned some of those who have complained
about the iphone.

Now I'm just super ticked that i apparently have no recourse
on this broken iphone.

The apple store guy essentially just shrugged and said too bad, sorry for your luck.

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post #2 of 14
9/2/08 at 5:32pm

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

elevate it to a supervisor
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post #3 of 14
9/2/08 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

Sam that's probably what i should have done, i was so angry it was better for me to leave.

It seems like there should be a way for this type of iphone problem to be fixed.

i bought it in an ATT store so i wonder if i should go there.
also if i don't "upgrade" then i'm stuck with another year on my contract and no phone.

i would have bought an extended plan for it but i didnt even think of it and it wasn't
brought up by the salesperson, so i really wasn't even aware
that there was a service plan for the iphone.

I just never really thought about it.

I went to the apple contact page and there are so many contacts there i have no idea what one
to use.
http://www.apple.com/contact/

i guess i could write to the corp address.


Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.996.1010
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post #4 of 14
9/2/08 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

i found this on apple .com

"
2.
Out-of-Warranty Service
If you own an iPhone and it requires service for any other hardware failure, Apple will service your iPhone for the Out-of-Warranty Repair Service fee listed below. Your replacement iPhone may be new or refurbished.
iPhone 3G Out-of-Warranty Service
8GB $199
16GB $299
Original iPhone Out-of-Warranty Service
4GB & 8GB $199
16GB $249

*All fees in US dollars and exclude applicable taxes

An iPhone is eligible for Out-of-Warranty Service if it is no longer eligible for warranty service and is determined by Apple to be repairable. If Apple determines that an iPhone is not repairable, for example, if it has failed due to liquid damage or catastrophic damage where the iPhone has been disassembled into multiple pieces then Out-of-Warranty Service is not available and the iPhone will be returned."

So the price for repair is very conveniantly the same as a new phone.
Also since the microscopic review of the head jack revealed some
corrosion this deems the phone not repairable.
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post #5 of 14
9/2/08 at 6:54pm

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

Any chance you purchased this with a major credit card? A lot of times they will double your warrantee on items purchased with the card.
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post #6 of 14
9/2/08 at 6:56pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

Discover card i think.
i'll look into it.
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post #7 of 14
9/4/08 at 4:32am

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

I would bet that the 'corrosion' he found was the water indicator in the headphone jack. At the base of the headphone jack is a tab which changes color if it gets exposed to water. The symptoms you describe also describe a phone which has been exposed to water. I should know - it happened to me.

What I did was put the phone in a plastic bag with some silica (SILICA!) packets for a few days. The phone still gives intermittent problems but usually works just fine. There was an occasion when I had to use a different charger for some reason, and I am fortunate enough to have three.
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post #8 of 14
9/4/08 at 5:22am

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

Yeah...same thing happened to me. Phone got absolutely waterlogged on a theme park water ride. Power issues were a pain to deal with for a few weeks, but since I planned on getting a 3G when they went on sale, I didn't worry about it too much. Maybe I'll take the old phone apart one of these days to see what happened inside.
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post #9 of 14
9/4/08 at 6:53am
Thread Starter 

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

only water near the phone may have been my own sweat, certainly not enough to corrode the phone and no more or different then any other phone i've used.

this isn't a water issue, the phone has stopped working because the pins on the connector have become loose or damaged from the process of taking the charger or cord on and off the phone.
this is the only thing i can guess is the problem.

the genius looked into the connector on the bottom and said it was
broken, not water damaged.

I really don't expect apple to even offer a compromise but i'll call their
1800 number later today anyway just to see what they say.

I didn't plan or want to get the new ihpone as this one was just fine and the
data plan on the new one causes the final price after two years to actually be higher.
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post #10 of 14
9/7/08 at 7:19pm

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

Tony im curious about what the outcome of your call was.. My old Iphone has been acting strange lately..
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post #11 of 14
9/7/08 at 9:21pm
Thread Starter 

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

the outcome is i have to buy another iphone.

best buy has now started selling iphones.
they offer a protection plan that is $15 a month.
this covers accidental breaks and water damage.

what wasn't clear is if they try to fix it, give a refurb or just replce with another new iphone.

I'll probably buy it there because i have a gift card for BB.
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post #12 of 14
9/8/08 at 9:28pm

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

Well if 3G is everything its supposed to be it may not be so bad. Even so, I'm pretty sure my next cell phone is going to be of the meat and potatoes variety. I just get emberrassed when people ask what I pay a month, my cell phone says millionare my apartment says i'll mow your lawn or wash your car for $10.
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post #13 of 14
9/11/08 at 11:47am

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

BlackBerry come to our side ...
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post #14 of 14
9/11/08 at 12:19pm

Re: My 13 month iphone is shot, Apple guy says sorry for your luck.

$15 a month x 12 months is a new iPhone, paying twice that for a 2 year contract doesnt seem smart.
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