Filed under: Apple Corporate, Bad Apple, iPhone
Apple limits iPhone service to AT&T account holders
If you buy an iPhone and don't have AT&T service, it looks like Apple will be treating your iPhone as an iPod--with no 2 year service guarantee or even, for that matter, a 90-day service plan. Jake Dugard cancelled his iPhone account receiving poor AT&T reception. When his phone stopped working properly shortly after, he was told that Apple would not service his phone. Repairs depend on an active agreement.
It makes sense to me that Apple offers a much longer service time for under-contract iPhones than it does for iPods, but it doesn't make any sense that a no-contract iPhone isn't covered at least under the iPod's one complimentary support incident within the first 90 days of product ownership.
Dugard and/or his friends apparently recorded his service calls but, as an update, has now removed them for the time being from public view. If you followed the earlier link and cannot find them, that is why.
Thanks to iPhoned Home
Update: Quoting the relevant text: "iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair service coverage and up to two years of technical support during the time your wireless agreement remains active with AT&T."
Update 2: Apple 1 Year Limited AT&T warranty here. Have at it. (Thanks to Kai Cherry)
Update 3: An anonymous iPhone Product Special writes in: "During the first 90 days of ownership, iPhone customers experience unlimited support. For all active AT&T account holders, iPhone customers continue to receive unlimited support for the duration of their iPhone's 2 year service agreement. If a customer discontinues their AT&T service before the 90 days of complimentary support, they are still provided with support, and then covered by the 1 year hardware warranty, during which, if they call for support, have a pay-per-incident charge." /p>
Get a WordPress.com Blog
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
King T said 9:28PM on 10-15-2007
This story sucks balls, someone needs to show how easy it is to jailbreak iPod Touches
Reply
neonsox said 10:01PM on 10-15-2007
What about GoPhone subscribers then? Does the same policy apply? Don't forget about us non-suckers who didn't sign a lease.. I mean contract.. er agreement..
Reply
Quadrant said 10:08PM on 10-15-2007
Well, y'know, I would actually like to hear how AT&T treats unhappy customers but I can't as the link is dead, too bad. Is the link coming back up? What was the reason for it being taken down in the first place? Sounds like a good public service to hear the calls to me, oh well.
Reply
rkinkade said 10:12PM on 10-15-2007
The article doesn't mention what is wrong, but no where in the one year warranty for the iPhone does it mention anything about AT&T. Apple seems to be going more and more out of their way to tick their customers off.
Reply
Frank Furter said 10:17PM on 10-15-2007
"Apple seems to be going more and more out of their way to tick their customers off."
Guess I don't see the issue. I use my iPhone, I have AT&T, I don't care to HACK it, and I'm perfectly happy. Ooooooh.....I must be brainwashed by Apple......
You guys are a riot. I don't remember the last time I saw people buy something - something that had it's usage and terms clearly defined - and then whine, complain and curse Apple the entire time. I'm guessing most of you are those college hipsters we all read about.
Please. Shut up.
Reply
harrywolf said 10:31PM on 10-15-2007
@ FrankFurter - you are being a bit harsh. Its also not good manners to gloat that you are OK and others arent - were you badly brought up?
The issue is simpy the one-year hardwar warranty - as long as that is still in place, I dont see a problem.
I am in Canada, NOT on AT&T, hacked iPhone, 3rd party Apps, running on Rogers GSM network, signed up for $80 permonth 500 mb data plan - I can cancel it anytime, its month by month.
Today was the first day with Canadian EDGE and I was pleasantly surprised - able to check a few sites, email etc, while away from a wifi spot. Not bad.
Warranty or not - its the best phone ever and the best device ever.
HEY, Frank! Please. Shut up.
Reply
MagicB said 10:35PM on 10-15-2007
Wow,
I'm kind of amazed here. Apple is really showing a real us-versus-the-world mentality. They don't realize or don't want to realize that all of these problems (customer complaints, at least 4 major lawsuites) are the result of them trying to enforce something that even the other carriers don't enforce--that their phones stay with the same service provider.
I think it's comes at least in part due to the fact that they have absolutely no experience doing business when they have active competition. They've gotten soft from having the closed Mac ecosystem for so long. A smarter alternative would be to focus on the benefits of staying with AT&T, such as by enhancing the Visual Voicemail features, or by working out a way to offer lower data rates with AT&T.
Too bad, though. Next month I'll be getting a Samsung F700 or an LG Voyager, with whichever phone service I choose, and can happily know that I don't have to deal with Apple's stubborness.
Reply
cashmonee said 10:38PM on 10-15-2007
Directly from the Apple iPhone site:
"iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair service coverage and up to two years of technical support during the time your wireless agreement remains active with AT&T."
Erica, I know you have an ax to grind with Apple for some reason, but please, don't post things are obviously biased and baseless.
Reply
ranova said 10:36PM on 10-15-2007
@Frank Furter
you are stupid-ass, corporate drone. I guess you're not used to freedom, freedom to do whatever the hell you want on things that you OWN. What Apple is doing now is basically selling a mac, and saying that if you install anything on that mac, your warranty is voided.
Also, please point to me where it states that if you are not in contract with AT&T at time of repair, they will not honor it? You are paying premiums up the ass with AT&T, and I am happily paying much less with T-mobile, while roaming on AT&T towers where it sees fit.
You're just upset you don't have the skillset to do the simple "hacks" and "tweaks." You're just a dumb robot.
So you, please, shut the fuck up.
Reply
Erica Sadun said 10:39PM on 10-15-2007
"iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair service coverage and
up to two years of technical support during the time your wireless
agreement remains active with AT&T."
Reply
cashmonee said 10:53PM on 10-15-2007
"Jake Dugard cancelled his iPhone account receiving poor AT&T reception."
So does he have an active account? The story makes it sound as he doeesn't. If he does, I apologize and take my comment back. If he doesn't then I stand by my comment that Apple should not warranty his phone because they clearly state you must have wireless service through AT&T in order to receive warranty service.
Reply
BK said 10:54PM on 10-15-2007
You guys are really stupid. "iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair service coverage and up to two years of "technical [phone] support during the time your wireless agreement remains active with AT&T" means that you could receive phone support from ATT if you have a contract with them. If you don't you are under the Apple 1 year warranty or APP. Please reference this: http://images.apple.com/legal/warranty/iphone.pdf
Reply
Kai Cherry said 11:00PM on 10-15-2007
Cashmonee...the apple support site is NOT the warranty. the warranty is a specific legal document and in THAT document, there is no requirement for ATT service for hardware, materials or workmanship issues.
I suggest you read it; it came with the phone, and is available from apple's site for plain viewing and reading here: http://images.apple.com/legal/warranty/iphone.pdf
Additionally, please examine the service/repair FAQ; it states clearly (since you like quoting Apple websites) that you are NOT to give them your SIM or send it with a repair; they are not responsible for its loss or replacement.
Again, we have the "two, please!" brigade lining up to apologize and "defend" Apple when they are clearly in the wrong...by their OWN DOCUMENTATION.
Nowhere in the warranty is ATT service required.
Reply
cashmonee said 11:06PM on 10-15-2007
You are right Kai Cherry. They don't mention AT&T at all in the warranty document. I stand corrected, Apple should change their warranty agreement to include AT&T or remove the stipulation from the iPhone's site. They should definitely honor their warranty.
BTW, I am not defending Apple, I am just sick of people who agree to the requirements of the iPhone, specifically a two-year service agreement with AT&T as stated several places including the website and back of the box, and then proceed to whine when Apple imposes that requirement.
Reply
J said 11:07PM on 10-15-2007
I see a prima facie case for breach of contract against Apple. I haven't found any documentation where Apple states that AT&T service is a condition which must be complied with. If you look at the 1 year limited warranty on the iPhone, the facts are such that they would need to comply with his request for repair, as long as he complied with registering, and didn't cause the harm through misuse.
http://images.apple.com/legal/warranty/iphone.pdf
Even the Applecare protection plan for the iPhone doesn't explicitly state that one must have an active AT&T account.
http://images.apple.com/legal/applecare/docs/app_iphone_english.pdf
Without knowing the full fact pattern, as of right now he could be able to file suit for breach of contract as well as punitive and compensatory damages, depending on the jurisdiction.
Reply
cashmonee said 11:12PM on 10-15-2007
Before calling a lawyer, I would suggest calling Apple's Customer Solutions at their corp hq. That will save the headache of lawsuit and likely end with him getting a new phone. If that does not work then I would get a hold of a lawyer to draft a letter.
Reply
Kai Cherry said 11:14PM on 10-15-2007
The problem, cashmonee, is that you CAN still have att service without a 2 year contract. Further complicating this matter is that the issue very well could be a materials/workmanship problem (the bottom buttons not registering touches is a big tell here) and they are apparently (if you look at the support site) summarily dismissing warranty claims based on the notion that you may or may not have violated it...when the indicator seems to be a flubbed firmware update.
My very first phone suffered this fate, long before there was any "unlocking boogeyman" to hide behind. The firmware update failed, rendering my phone inoperable.
At least then, Apple actually bothered to have a genius test it for themselves. You know, that whole Applecare/Warranty thing :)
Reply
cashmonee said 11:18PM on 10-15-2007
Right, the Go service is possible. I really think Apple should honor their warranty in this case. And to be truthful, I don't think they really should force you to have a contract in order to get warranty service. However, I really don't have much problem with them requiring you have an active account with AT&T as long as they make that clear in their documentation, which in this case they have not.
Reply
Jon said 11:40PM on 10-15-2007
My issue with iPhone service has been precisely this AT&T/Apple interface: I called AT&T to tell them that I'm getting constant dropped calls; they put Apple on the line to let Apple know AT&T considered it a hardware problem. Apple responded back to AT&T that it was a service problem. Long story short, I exchanged my iPhone and still got crappy AT&T service, dropped calls. (I get more dropped calls a day than I did in a year with Verizon... all this from "the carrier with the nation's fewest dropped calls".)
In any case, if they're coupling their warranty, then they need to unify their service. The whole "it's the other guy's fault" thing is no fun to be in the middle of. And it's even sillier to see a "good" company like Apple enforcing the rules of one of companies with the poorest service, support, reliability, and innovation reputations in America.
Reply
Frank Furter said 11:51PM on 10-15-2007
Yes. I'm a corporate drone. Got me. I'd stay and comment more, but I'm working on my lawsuit against Ford. I bought a Tahoe, but I want it to run on lemonade. Wait - APPLE JUICE! Heh. Anyway, this piece of crap broke when I dumped the apple juice in it, and freakin' Ford won't honor my warranty!
FREEDOM MAN! WHERE'S MY FREEDOM!!!!!
LOL. And 'ranova' - thanks for making my point. Tool.
Reply