Apple Refuse to Fix My iPhone 7 Unless I Pay for New Screen

msmhw on 28/11/2018 - 19:13

Hi everyone,

I am having a problem with my iPhone 7. The problem started when I updated my iPhone to the newest firmware. The speaker and mic stopped working, they greyed out (one of the common problem with iPhone 7). Now apple refusing to help me because I had the screen replaced with a 3rd party one. They are telling me I need to pay for a new screen before they replace the phone for me. As they just assumed the 3rd party screen may be the cause of the problem but they don't want to test that at all.

here their statement

Proposed Resolution: Device replacement at display cost,
due to third party modifications.

I am happy to pay for the screen if its the main cause of the problem but it doesn't make sense to pay for the screen to get a replacement phone without testing the cause of the problem.

any help will appreciate it.

Mobile Apple Mobile Phone

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Comments

  • HighAndDry on 28/11/2018 - 19:22
    +3

    I get the hate that Apple gets around repairs, etc, and I'm not an Apple fan myself - but this makes sense. You have a piece of hardware on your phone that they didn't approve, haven't certified, and have no reason to assume will operate in the same way as the original hardware. If I was Apple, I also wouldn't want to risk performing repairs, only for those repairs not to have their intended effect because the third party hardware has any kind of unknown incompatibility.

    I'll note that this is valid here because it's not as if the speaker and mic are completely independent of the screen - they're basically built and fits into the screen.

    • msmhw on 28/11/2018 - 19:40
      +1

      but the mic/speaker problem totally not related to the screen replacement. Its common problem with the logic board. Even the store manager told me if we put an original screen in your phone it won't fix the issue. And I think read somewhere ACCC saying the consumers have the right to go with 3rd party repairs without affecting the warranty of the device.

      • HighAndDry on 28/11/2018 - 19:42
        +1

        Right - but the speaker and mic are literally built to fit into the screen, no? And stuck to it? A third party screen could make the repair process basically non-standard, and potentially complicates the repair process.

        Edit: Ah you say below that the phone's still in warranty. In that case, press for it, but if it comes back after the repair and still doesn't work because of the screen, you'll be SOL.

      • Randxyz123 on 28/11/2018 - 20:31

        And I think read somewhere ACCC saying the consumers have the right to go with 3rd party repairs without affecting the warranty of the device.

        Yes, they stopped apple from not repairing people's phones. They never said anything about apple charging. Before apple would have said "too bad you modified the phone, we won't touch it"

        So, in this case, they are saying the repair is to remove the screen, presumably check the logic board and replace the screen. Now whether you can claim consumer law I don't know. Try calling apple care on the phone. They are usually helpful and you can get senior reps who can authorise free repairs.

        It's a delicate job to replace the screen and the repairer can easily stuff it up or damage the components.

        How old is the phone? If it is less than 2 years you could possibly push a consumer law case. And as per above call them to do this.

    • HighAndDry on 28/11/2018 - 19:36

      Not really relevant here - for one thing, OP's phone isn't even in the warranty period.

      • msmhw on 28/11/2018 - 19:38

        its still under warranty :)

        • HighAndDry on 28/11/2018 - 19:46

          Oh, in that case push your case.

          • whooah1979 on 29/11/2018 - 08:16

            @HighAndDry: Apple isn't refusing to provide a remedy. They've offered to repair the fault components.

            • HighAndDry on 29/11/2018 - 09:27

              @whooah1979: I agree with you. I think I've just become tired of arguing these kinds of threads - might be easier to just tell OP to go for it, and then update back that they still got nowhere after going to Fair Trading/ACCC/NCAT/ASIO/FBI/BBQ/etc.

  • Halo375 on 28/11/2018 - 19:31

    I guess the reason they’re doing it is for a couple of reasons.
    1. Because they can
    2. Because it probably (not certainly) was the fake screens fault
    3. So they can repair your phone and give it to someone else as a replacement phone (can someone confirm if Apple refurbishes and sends out used phones?
    When in doubt check your contract, they’ll have covered their ass in fineprint for exactly these sorts of situations.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/11/2018 - 20:18

      These things can be so hard to repair they often end up breaking them while trying to repair them, in which case they just swap it for a new one. They don't want to if OP has a third party screen since he'd get a 'free' upgrade to a first party screen that way.

      Also worth noting that they don't really 'know' the third party repair hasn't broken something else until they look inside, then they could discover it was at fault. Other companies handle this by charging a fee if their product wasn't found to be at fault. Eg, if they open it up and find the fault was caused by the repair, you're up for a fee just to cover the time spent to get that diagnosis, which is reasonable, they can't be responsible for something someone else broke.

      Personally I just suck it up and get first party repairs while trying to maintain warranty coverage, otherwise shit like this happens. And you might even be within your rights, but good luck. Best you can do is make a lot of noise and hope.

  • bobbified on 29/11/2018 - 08:24

    It's never Apple's fault. It's your fault, OP. You're probably holding the phone the wrong way! :p

  • try2bhelpful on 30/11/2018 - 00:05

    Sometimes the third party repair problems don’t show up until the software upgrades. I never understand why people opt for third party repairs on under warranty devices. It isn’t worth the hassle for the cheaper prices.

    This is not a common problem it is affecting a limited number of machines. There is a test that can be run to detect if you have that fault, are they refusing to run the test?

    I agree that replacing the phone might be problematic with a third party screen. If in doubt go talk to the relevant consumer affairs body.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2018 - 21:55

    New York third party repairer, Louis Rossmann (YouTube), has plenty on Apple's dubious "repair" practices, although I'm not qualified to comment on this case.

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