Filed under: Bad Apple, Found Footage, iPhone
Found Footage: Apple Store refuses service to iPhone sans AT&T contract
Reader Jake B. (who apparently has been covered on Fox News) had a broken iPhone, one without an active AT&T contract as it happens, and judging by Apple's one-year limited hardware warranty he figured he could just walk it into the store and get it fixed. Well, there, not so fast...
Even though the hardware warranty should apply, and regardless of whether the phone was ever registered with Apple (note that Apple's reg page says " Your warranty is the same whether or not you register"), none of that seemed to help; in the video above, at about the 5:55 mark, the hapless retail Apple employee tells Jake that "without an active AT&T contract, or an active phone, there's no way to tell that this [problem] wasn't caused by some sort of third-party software, or an unlock." Oops. The suggestion was that Jake call AppleCare and see if they could work out a warranty repair or get the phone registered.
Anyone else run into this kind of end-zone defense when trying to get an unactivated phone repaired at an Apple store?
Update: By and large, our commenters "see this guy with the video camera as insincere (at best)," and downright devious/dishonest at worst. Granting the point that someone who does actually hack or unlock their iPhone should have no realistic expectation of warranty service, I think the other issue here is whether the retail rep should be making that call for a phone that won't turn on. What if the iPhone was a gift, given more than 14 days after purchase, with no AT&T service on it yet -- shouldn't someone in that scenario be able to get warranty service on a DOA handset, without the presumption that the device has been modified? I don't deny that the Apple employee was in a tough spot -- maybe policy says you can't give out a loaner phone to someone with no AT&T service, or maybe this store has seen a flood of hacked phones.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Jeff said 11:17AM on 10-21-2007
I think thats a bit idiotic to go inthere without a sim card in the phone.
Also, who wouldn't register it? And thirdly, is it just me, or did the guy walk out of the store without his phone?
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JimD said 11:16AM on 10-21-2007
Personally, I'm HAPPY to see people getting hosed like this. It's their own fault, and I'm sick and tired of people trying to circumvent the system and getting pissy when it doesn't work out the way they like.
There isn't a single person in the country who purchased an iPhone and thought they could use it with anything other than AT&T. The fact that no 3rd party apps were available was widely publicized. And the "updates may break your hacked phone" statements were made long before the update was released.
As far as I'm concerned, everyone is getting exactly what they deserve. And I hope Apple continues to come down on them.
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J Doss said 11:26AM on 10-21-2007
What a goober. The guy said he just need to call Apple and register the product. Not activate it. Just get it registered, which is on par with any company and warranty. Just some dude looking for a story. Hence his hasty retreat as soon as he heard the words he was looking for. He was not looking for a solution, just a story.
I'm not sure but I think I heard him say "YEESSSSS" at the end.
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db said 11:27AM on 10-21-2007
First off- any expensive item's warranty begins with registration. Buy any large electronics with it's own warranty and you will get the registration card or info on registering online. It's what protects them from fences and those who resell crap products from abusing the system. So we can't be shocked that registration is a requirement.
Secondly- try returning a non-Verizon Blackberry to a Verizon store, or asking for repairs. But I guess this issue is more akin to trying to return a Verizon Blackberry to a Blackberry store (if there was such a thing), right? Regardless, I'd bet they would have every right to ask you if you actually read the warranty this story linked to:
"Apple is not responsible for damage arising from failure to
follow instructions relating to the product’s use. This warranty does not apply: (a) to damage caused by use with non-Apple products; (b) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake or other external causes; (c) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by Apple; (d) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (“AASP”); (e) to a product or part that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple;"
Surprise! There's of course much doubt over all of these points and an admission that several were outright violated.
I would feel like this was truly a case of someone worried about their iPhone if it didn't feel like a staged attempt to get an Apple employee saying "no" on camera. -- and for all of the snottyness we could expect, the Apple guy even told the warranty-violating user how to snake around the issue and probably get his iPhone fixed. How sneaky of that Apple even trying to help those who knowingly skirt a products exclusivity!
Do you think Microsoft would replace a scratched Halo 3 disc if you told them you'd been playing it on a PS3 you'd hacked?
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Alex said 11:34AM on 10-21-2007
If this guy wasn't up to something, why did he have a hidden camera with him? I don't believe his goal was to get service for his iPhone. He had an agenda, he wanted to embarrass Apple. You need to register your iPhone to get service. This is news how?
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David Owens said 11:33AM on 10-21-2007
I object to you posting a hidden camera video. This is a setup and you must not enable these types of people. you must be the first line of defense for these sleezey tactics.
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Big John said 11:36AM on 10-21-2007
Great points so far, everyone. I'm glad to see no one backing this moron up.
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snoanim said 11:40AM on 10-21-2007
I agree this story should never have been posted. Such a disappointment from you guys. This guy was obviously trying to get a hacked iPhone fixed under the Apple warranty. He bought it a month ago, how had he been using it all that time? Don't make Apple the bad guy, any manufacturer would resond the same way.
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flec65 said 11:41AM on 10-21-2007
Couldn't agree with you more JimD (#1). I'm so tired of all this hacked iPhone whining, they simply get what they deserve.
And by the way, I'm also sick of all these hacked iPhone stories here at TUAW. It looks like it's becoming the official hacker's site lately and it's getting old. You should start a dedicated IPhone hackers site...
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Syed Ahmad said 11:41AM on 10-21-2007
I don't see the problem here either. He may have had a valid argument about the hardware, but even then I'm sure registration was required. Plus the Apple tech/genius offered to register the phone for him! Lame video.
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Chris said 11:46AM on 10-21-2007
Ohh TUAW your just falling into this dudes trap. Removing this post would be an honorable thing to do. I second commentary #5. You are the first line of defense about people like this.
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Michael Rose said 11:49AM on 10-21-2007
Whether or not what the guy did was ethical (taping his interaction with support), and whether or not his phone was hacked or unlocked (giving him the maximum benefit of the doubt, maybe it wasn't -- he could have cancelled his AT&T account), the question at hand is, does Apple's warranty on the iPhone require AT&T activation or registering the device? Apple's website says they don't; the retail rep says they do.
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larry said 11:51AM on 10-21-2007
Just a thought - I buy an iphone, go home, open the box and the phone just wouldn't start. So I go back to the store and guess what - sorry, you just bought a $399 fancy box. a) A hardware issue should always be fixed and b) you are not guilty until proven - so even if a third party application is installed you have to prove it - that's why cases come sealed, there are little marks that say "warranty void if removed" etc.
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aggiebrad said 11:53AM on 10-21-2007
Justice is served.
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aggiebrad said 11:56AM on 10-21-2007
@larry
You don't get home with a bricked $399 phone and then go back to Apple a month later. If this would have been with a day or two of him buying the phone and he went to Apple with that "it was dead out of the box" story, I think it might have gone down different.
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Russell Miller said 12:07PM on 10-21-2007
I Hate Genius Bar line jumpers. Karma is a bitch huh?
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Tom Freeman said 12:08PM on 10-21-2007
J Doss: You did not, the "YES" was the voice of a guy he was walking past at the time, as the entire sentence gets louder as he approaches.
But he clearly went in there to try to make Apple out to be an asshole.
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DistortedLoop said 12:10PM on 10-21-2007
# 1 & #9 - mean spirited people, aren't you? Why the joy and reveling in someone having a broken phone that you have no idea how it really got broken.
#4 - you make a lot of assumptions. Granted, I'd assume the same thing, but the fact that there is no AT&T sim card doesn't mean the guy hacked it or unlocked it.
#8 & #15 - popular podcast host Veronica Belmont purchased an iphone a month before she ever got around to activating it as she was waiting for her Tmobile account contract to expire. What if her device had been an iBrick upon opening it? Maybe this guy did the same.
In all truth, I think the guy unlocked and bricked his phone hacking it, and forgot to put the AT&T sim back in; BUT, an iBrick from being unlocked will still turn on, won't it? Otherwise the alleged hacks to unbrick them couldn't be implemented. If this phone wouldn't turn on, how do you know whether it was hacked or not; and Apple needs to fix it unless they can prove something the user did is the cause of it not turning on.
I can't argue with the device should be registered to be fix (registered, not activated) to get warranty service.
Why do I argue that -activation- shouldn't be required? Many people when the iPhone first came out said they were willing to buy one just for the iPod, WiFi, and contacts/calendaring features WITHOUT the phone service. Activation should not be required. Except for memory size, it can strongly be argued that an iPhone is a better iPod touch than an iPod touch is. Is anyone seriously arguing that Apple can dictate to me that if I buy an iPhone I have to use all the features of the device to get warranty service? Ridiculous.
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Athtart said 12:27PM on 10-21-2007
I agree that this should never have been posted by TUAW. It is an obvious "setup" and attempt to grab undue attention. Geez, the guy walks away Exactly after he asks the Apple tech if you need an at&t account and Before the tech can restate that he could ALSO just REGISTER it in his name! What pointless video. Let's keep it to REAL news people.
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KenLV said 12:21PM on 10-21-2007
Just poetic justice. This guy f'd with 3rd party and unlocking and paid the price.
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