Apple refusing to replace my 11 Pro phone despite telling me it’s faulty. They said to take it back the store I purchased. They wrote me a letter confirming the quality is sub par but said I had to wait for software updates.
What’s my best steps? VCAT?
I think what OP is trying to say is that his photos aren't the right way up, as shown from the images above. Simple fix: rotate phone.
Unfortunately 11 rotates the photos on upload sites. More software issues I suspect. Had no trouble with the XS
@John678: Images not being rotated is a metadata issue. Could be because of HEIC to JPEG conversion or just the site not picking up orientation metadata.
Those photos look fine from what you’ve provided. Particularly that concert shot with the confetti, looks pretty impressive for a somewhat low light scene. What exactly are you complaining about?
PS it’s hard to determine why you’re posting comparison XS photos of completely different scenes, but if your issue is that there’s some grain in the photos where you wouldn’t expect any on the XS, it’s because the XS was overly aggressive at noise reduction that’s been pretty much universally criticised. They’ve got a new algorithm for the 11 that isn’t as harsh. That’s a good thing.
Nothing unusual. Photos are as clear as they should be.
I don't know what you are expecting.
If you want to see if there is faulty, have two phone of the same model, and take the exact same picture of an object at the same time. Compare the results.
Can you do a side by side comparison? Take a shot of the same scene with both phones? You're comparing oranges to bokchoys right now.
Iphone 11 is a let down.
Is a new phone, wait it out for the update then if it is failed then complaint.
Perhaps your photos are not as expected because you are not good at taking photos? I mean you upload an image sideways and you take a photo of the physical piece of paper but cut off the sides. You took the photo for the sole purpose of uploading it to show people and yet you couldn't be bothered to take it properly?
You arent even comparing the same pictures. All looks good to me.
JFC. But of course number 1 comment goes to Buy an Android I have to say, what a crock of sheet.
Dear lord this is some serious buyers remorse.
Generally department stores have pretty generous returns policies. Probably could have taken it back to the retailer for a full refund. Oh well, their loss.
My Iphone 11 Pro takes amazing photos better than any of my previous Iphones, and Im technically challenged when it comes to using phone cameras. I think you may be regretting your purchase.
OP need to show the photo. The small image sensor on phones will never be as good as a large sensor in DSLR camera. Even my 12 years old cheap APS-C DSLR camera takes better photos then modern phones.
11 pro photos definitely went all out with their software processing. Looks like some noob messed with the photo too much with the HDR slider and noise reduction.
Not gonna lie… those 11pro photos look awful.
They look better than the XS.
The first XS photo is over sharpened. The center walrus looks like it has been shopped while the one in the water has a blocky back
The first 11 pro photo shows definition of a black table cloth and an off lighting rig in a night photo while capturing several direct light sources. The foreground is over processed, but it is back lit at night showing detail that is black in the dinner photo while having significantly smaller grain.
In the second photo's, the 11 pro shows more detail when comparing trees, and that is using the 11 pro's wide angled lens….
The third XS photo, while nice, it overly grainy and lacking detail in all unlit areas.
The third 11 pro photo, while over processed, shows more finer detail than any of the XS photo's presented, plus it catches two UFO's. Those buggers are hard to catch, just like pepper's ghost. The sky looks weird, but that window is filthy.
Oh man The way OP describes is like a cha. El 7 news report where it just becomes fake news.
Where did you get the phone, OP? Why the reluctance to return it to the store?
OK, I get it now. Phone was bought in April from DJ and 6 months later, you suddenly realise that its not good enough and want a brand new one. Did that realisation come before or after Ozbners pointed out that you have far less savings that you thought you did?
The iPhone 11 only came out last month …
OP wants professional level photos.
Can't even take photo of a paper in the right orientation.
Now I know you're trolling
You bought an 11 pro while owning an XS. Lord have mercy
Grainy when zoomed in. Good lord.
ENHANCE!
if you want a camera phone, buy a proper camera.
also buy an oppo or other android phone, 1/5 of the cost and 1/5 of the headache.
Gofundme to ask all the fanbois to pay to defend the reputation that Apple is better.
Have you seen what OP is actually claiming? Did you see any of the 'proof'? Or are you commenting with no inkling about the situation, as typical of van Android sheep?
I was just flushing you out! Well the OP seems to have a letter as proof. So you got proof to disprove that assertion? Seems like you are both OP and Apple. Typical Apple fanboi.
OP:
They wrote me a letter confirming the quality is sub par
Letter from Apple:
Test images were taken from a known device side by side comparison - unable to verify issue
Did you read the letter? They could not verify the issue, which is in direct contrast with what OP wrote. Unless you can elaborate what unable to verify issue means? Typical Android fanboi, lmao
@netjock: I have to be impressed with your resilience - even in the face of absolute proof, you hang on to your sheepy ideals. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
@ThithLord: Absolute proof. Apparently consumer isn't allowed to claim product is faulty. Long as the manufacturer sends you an email about the product unseen.
@netjock: OP basically admitted themselves it isn't faulty, bruv. 90% of people are stating OP is wrong.
The notes say you complained of images taken in medium lighting being slightly grainy when zoomed in. They ran their internal diagnostic tests and determined there’s nothing wrong with it, but that your complaint is related to software. They are refusing to replace your phone with a new one because they’ve determined there’s nothing wrong with it.
If the person who sold you the phone promised it would be free of grain at such light levels, you’ll have to pursue the matter with the place of purchase as it has nothing to do with Apple. If you were led to believe there’d be no grain at such light level by Apple, well you’re gonna have to show evidence that they misled you.
Seems to me like you’re raising a fuss over a whole bunch of nothing… Otherwise, please elaborate to us why you think the phone is faulty.
Op, just return/sell it and buy something else and, if I may add, use the savings to pay off your cc.
go to an apple store i 10000% guarantee you will get a replacement on the spot.
I will get the iPhone 12. It will be special.
I've had every iPhone from the 3GS to the 7 plus. Every single one.
But for now, the best phone battery, camera, screen, features is the Samsung galaxy S9+. It's the first time I haven't needed to upgrade to the next phone.
S10 might be better I don't know
Mate if that attached photo is any indication, I’d say user error.
I see nothing in the letter which confirms either a fault or it being 'sub-par'. Methinks you're fishing for sympathy and grossly exaggerating the content of the letter, which I take a very dim view of.
The photos you've posted show the camera working pretty much as expected. Suck it up, princess.
They didn't directly admit fault and did say this most likely will be fixed up with a software update which you were told.
They directed you back to the retailer as it sounds like you didn't purchase it directly from Apple. I see nothing wrong with this.
Judging from your replies here you want Apple to replace it even though they did not sell it directly to you and you don't want to take it back to the original retailer.
You were given a reasonable response.
Apple do replace phones on the spot, if they're Australian stock and inside the ACL - regardless if purchased elsewhere. But only if it's a hardware issue. I've done it many times (I work in I.T.) and had the phone replaced on the spot.
No I agree, sort of depends on what it is but just like any retailer, they will push you to the place you bought it from unless it's under their warranty. In this case, they confirmed it to most likely be a 'software' issue which they let the OP know of (which they took as Apple admitting fault).
I also work in IT and have done my fair share of returns for both personal and business but never for a software-related issue.
Too much misinformation getting around on this thread, glad someone knows what they are talking about, at least!
They didn’t say it was a software issue, they said that future updates will improve image capability. Nowhere in that letter did they say anything was faulty.
OP wouldn’t take no for an answer, Apple weren’t going to replace it given that the letter states they couldn’t verify the fault, so they told them to go back to the retailer they bought it from.
Apple replace devices on the spot if they are not up to scratch. I had my wife’s 1.5 year old iPhone power button intermittently stop working, took it to Apple. They advised that to replace the power button they have to replace the entire motherboard, here is a whole new unit, then and there.
Deemed as software
That is them pointing to it being a software and not a hardware problem.
Unable to verify the issue
This is coming from an 'Apple Genius' who will do their basic troubleshooting checks and compare it to a working model like they did in this case.
@Normalise: They didn’t say it was a software issue. I almost guarantee that they convo went something along the lines of OP not being happy with the image quality, Apple not finding any issues and the best they could give OP is that software updates will give minor improvements to image quality if OP is not happy with the current quality
Given they’ve specifically tested a similar device side by side for OP and couldn’t verify issue (i.e. they both looked the same and were probably up to scratch)
@sghetti: Don't get me wrong, I am not disagreeing with you. I did say 'pointing' for a reason as those reps don't exactly investigate the issues.
Just made me laugh when I saw a reply of 'images being grainy when zoomed in' which should really be covered under common sense of of how a camera works.
Also only just realised how the OP took the picture for the report with half the text being cut off and taking it vertically (nearly broke my neck looking at it). Makes me think it isn't a problem with the phone….
Get it replaced and try again. They go through a checking process before they return it from the shop. My 11Pro seems fine.
I don’t see anything in that letter that says the device is faulty.
They specifically said they checked with another comparable device and couldn’t verify issue.
They stated future software will improve quality, yes, anything software based (if they’re doing software based photo enhancements etc. will improve it.
Everything I’ve seen in this so far screams that you’re putting words in their mouth.
As per the pics posted by OP which were taken from different devices and of different locations, it's difficult to judge them.
Those images looked ok to me.
Honestly, if it's a software issue then replacing the device won't solve OP's problem, it would have been better if OP could click the images of the same location at the same time using another iPhone 11 pro side by side for comparison.
This.
I don’t know why anyone would buy from anywhere but Apple.
Why did I waste my time to see this post, obviously the photos OP trying to compare is not even same and they are all look fine and expect to loss some details when you zoom in a photo.
I know you're trolling.
I don’t know why anyone would buy from anywhere but Apple.
If it's Australian stock, it does not matter at all where you bought it from - if there's a hardware fault, they'll replace the device on the spot.
Apple won't replace OP's phone cos they were unable to verify a fault, at all - so they advised returning to the retailer as, I assume, they may offer a refund/replacement for change of mind policy.
I don’t know why anyone would buy from anywhere but Apple.
Because DJs you can use:
- Discounted eGift cards
- Potential staff discount (not sure if this excludes apple, kerfuffle might know.)
You can definitely get staff discount on Apple products, but it's a piddly amount (5%). When Dick Smith used to run the electronics department, it was 10%, which was great when combined with the 10% off Macs sale that happened often.
The photos are blurry when taking pictures of scenary at 100km on a bumpy dirty gravel road.
Definitely entitled. To a refund.
You need to return this to your place of purchase. They are the ones who under ACL are entitled to offering you a replacement, refund, return etc for a fault should it be deemed one (either as a major or minor fault with differences on what they have to offer).
However as per the notes (as someone who used to write these, although this one wasn’t very well written as I personally wouldn’t have noted that software updates may change the experience), there is not a verifiable issue and it’s a matter of preference that you don’t enjoy the quality of the photos in certain conditions as they match other identical hardware.
This means your concern falls under consumer change of mind. Under change of mind you are not guaranteed the ability to return or receive a replacement or refund from your place of purchase. It will be up to David Jones to decide what they want to do with your device but Apple here is basically in the right.
Consumer laws in Australia make sense - to protect both buyers when things are unfair and when guarantees are necessary and sellers too from pure change of mind.
OP, based on your sample photos (XS vs 11 Pro photos), there is one thing you need to confirm…
Were you using the ultra wide lens on 11 Pro? There are three things to note about the ultra wide lens on 11 Pro:
If your complaint is on the ultra wide angle lens, there is not much that can be done. Apple could address some of the issues on the software level (for the low light perhaps). However, please don't look at those review samples and expect low light photos to come out sharp all the time or those bling bling wide angle shots / scenes. Generally, ultra wide angle lenses are used for landscape photography with good/ample light. Low light mode could involve longer shutter, which can make photos more blurry if you are not holding the phone / camera steady. Honestly, I don't quite buy into this super duper low light photo mode on phones. It's already a pain getting decent low light shots using a DSLR (for me). It's just unrealistic to expect top notch low light shots from phones.
Take photos using the standard wide angle lens and the telephoto lens to do a proper comparison. Yes, the ultra wide angle lens is a selling point of iPhone 11/11 Pro, but it is also part marketing and part catching up (because Android phones have ultrawide so iPhone 11 Pro needs it too).
You would think David Jones would replace with a new one without much fuss? They seem to be so lenient with returns for clothing and other electronics. I swapped my 3mths old Breville nespresso no issues at David Jones.
Did op even try exchanging at David Jones yet?
Perhaps phone has already been dropped or scratched so David Jones isn't exchanging….
Nothing new. The first lot of MacBook Pro Retina had ghosting or artefacts and didn't do anything about it.
The photos look great.
If you're unhappy with them buy a DLSR.
Unless you're trolling, in which case, mission accomplished.
I am really surprised Apple refused to replace the phone. Have you purchased iphone from Australia ?
Take it back to the store.
Done.
Or if you really love the phone, wait for the updates.
Apple have a 14 day no questions asked money back guarantee, as long as you have all original packaging. 14 days should be long enough to work out if you like the phone or not.
Come on this has to be a troll post, the third 11 Pro image is shot from behind a dirty window.
If you're not trolling you're wasting everyones time including your own. If you haven't already, in the company of the Apple support staff take a photo on their iPhone 11 Pro and yours side by side of the exact same thing and compare the photos. If there is noticeable degeneration in quality on your image (using the exact same settings and no dirty window) then I think you have a case.
Nah OP just has buyer's remorse, from their post history he/she is in debt but keeps buying new iPhones.
This is the reason I don't spend more than $150 On a phone
Tldr; photos are fine OP has buyers remorse.
Lol.. buyer's remorse..
Apple has AMAZING customer service… in fact… they have a 2 week return policy!
A few months ago, i dropped about 4 grand on a macbook pro.. only to have a new model come out 10 days later.
They took back the laptop from me, and gave me the new model. No questions.
Only if you buy the products from Apple stores. If you purchased the product from a retailer, they want the retailer to deal with it. Apple will play dumb and assume the retailer would provide similar service.
Also, the "amazing" service is mostly due to AU consumer laws. Some Apple stores overseas don't offer the same deal (at least not for some of the products - with some even flat out inform you no exchange/refund allowed on Apple cables).
Lastly, it is one thing to be in the 14 days money back guarantee windows, it is another outside. A lot of horror stories regarding warranty repair and out of warranty repair rip offs from Apple.
Only if you buy the products from Apple stores. If you purchased the product from a retailer, they want the retailer to deal with it. Apple will play dumb and assume the retailer would provide similar service.
Well, of friggen course - why on earth would Apple deal with a change of mind policy if they didn't complete the transaction? Apple isn't playing dumb, they really have no other course of action so they have to recommend the customer goes back to the place they bought it.
Also, the "amazing" service is mostly due to AU consumer laws. Some Apple stores overseas don't offer the same deal (at least not for some of the products - with some even flat out inform you no exchange/refund allowed on Apple cables).
Of course there's going to be outliers, by they absolutely provide the same level of service universally. They are not forced to give the customer service they do, and certainly not because of our ACL - they provide that service as a complement to the complete package when buying Apple products. Hence the pricing on their devices is premium - it's a package as a whole.
I'm not going to go into cables as I do not have any experience with them.
Lastly, it is one thing to be in the 14 days money back guarantee windows, it is another outside.
Don't know what your point is here - you expect Apple to happily exchange items outside of this window? Barely any companies provide the 14 day window at all, why are you penalising Apple for not doing so outside this window?
A lot of horror stories regarding warranty repair and out of warranty repair rip offs from Apple.
Complete outlier and not experienced by majority of customers. Anecdotally, I've had stellar experiences with Apple for my own devices (had an iPhone replaced outside of ACL, for an issue I didn't even bring to them) and, through work I've had to deal with them 20+ times. Always had devices replaced on the spot.
..er.. my current phone.. an iPhone X, was bought second hand. I didn't even know where it was bought. Had an issue with the power button a week after i got it. Took it to apple to get diagnosed, said it was bought in ..er… Bhutan of all places. Anyway.. it was less than a year old so the fixed it under warranty. I don't think there's an apple store in bhutan mind you.
Here's what I don't get. Android users looooove bashing Apple products. The other side couldn't give a damn.
Something wrong with an apple product.. android users "you shoulda bought an android this or that"..
At the moment, Samsung F'd up their fingerprint scanner thing. They Effed up that foldable screen thing. I just smirk and move on.
@apoy98: Warranty is different to the 14 days money back guarantee. Basically, the OP wants a new replacement, not a refurbished.
While Apple refurbished units generally are good, my mate had his iPhone 5 warranty replaced (with a refurbished unit) after 2 years and the replacement's battery expanded within a year (he then got another replacement).
It is easy to just go.. well, I've GOT a replacement from Apple so it must be good. But, I've heard other stories from family friends and I also have first hand experience with Apple AU not replacing a cable I bought from Apple store because there is a hairline crack on one of the connectors.
Also, Apple staff once told me, due to not having the replacement plug in store, they cannot replace the faulty plug. However, if I don't feel slightly electrocuted when using it, I can continue to use the plug… What the???
What has Android got to do with this? You are aware that iOS 13.1.3 can kill some iPhone 11/Pro. Samsung screen protector, remove it if it is big deal, at least Samsung didn't use an OS update to accidentally kill phones. I am not happy with the touchbar nor the butterfly keyboard on MBPs, but for work, I have to use them.
OP is an Apple user and he is unhappy about the service from Apple. This has nothing to do with Android. No point changing the topic.
@ThithLord Do you have to twist my sentences and purposely swift the important part? The key part of playing dumb is: assume the retailer would provide similar service. OP is NOT the first OZBer to complain about this.
That is what OP is whinging about. Potentially, OP wants a new replacement iPhone 11 Pro, instead of money back. Apple obviously have more stock.
| If Apple Service is so awesome, explain these: |
|---|
| The mess Linus had to go through for their iMac Pro repair. He was willing to pay Apple to fix it. |
| Check out Louis Rossmann's channel. |
| Items purchased overseas having reduced warranty period here. |
| My friend's iPhone 5 refurbished unit battery exploded. Apple store gave him that unit. |
| Apple refused to replace my cable because there is a hairline crack so to them I abused the cable. |
Examples of the bling bling experience isn't helping to be honest. You could get difference experience from the retailers you buy from (margin on Apple products is low as Apple takes most of the money). If Apple Support don't care about your results and insist on their diagnostic results, you can have a frustrating experience (esp. on Macbook Pros) from Apple.
My initial analysis of this is that OP having too much expectation of the wide angle lens as it doesn't have OIS nor low light mode enhancement. Also, the wide angle lens is known not to be as sharp. It is the norm for all smartphones at the moment BUT with most reviews cherry pick photos to show you, rather than educate people about potential issues when using wide angle lens, it gives people unrealistic expectation. Also, there is no denying that if you buy an iPhone 11 Pro, you would have pretty high expectation.
If you really want to help or Apple is indeed as good as you state, then have Apple help OP out of the misery. At the end of the day, majority of what OP paid do go to Apple.
All these but he didn't buy it from Apple, and another guy "laughing about Samsung products".. Mate, OP is unhappy about iPhone 11 Pro. Apple Support didn't do a good job. Pretty sure they can do more. Maybe verify the issue is on the wide angle lens and if indeed is the case, explain the technical limitations to OP (and better yet, show him the same issue(s) on another iPhone 11 Pro). But, if OP is still unhappy, help OP to get a full refund.
@netsurfer: I'm not going to dignify your comment with a response because you have gone on some pretty weird tangent. Maybe respond to my points and we can have a discussion, bruv.
@ThithLord: The main issue is Apple stores behave sometimes like Apple (the product maker), but sometimes like a store. This inconsistency causes problems and tarnishs customer experience.
Behave like a store has some pros and cons.
Pros:
Cons:
Yes, Apple do regularly give out of warranty replacement for old i-devices. But, my mate and my experience on those are mixed bag. His refurbished unit's battery exploded later on. My replacement i-device, is so laggy (due to latest iOS being installed). The replacement is a pain to use so I ended up buying a new one. Had I known that, I would rather get the home button repaired elsewhere. For my Samsung SSD warranty replacement, Samsung gave me a brand new replacement of the "latest" SSD model with 2X the storage, rather than a "refurbished" SSD.
I get what people are saying with Apple service, but let's face it: Apple do want other retailers to sell their products and it can be quicker to buy Apple products from other retailers (instead of placing the order online to collect, then go to Apple store, queue up and wait for someone).
It doesn't hurt for Apple stores to also act like Apple - the maker of those products. If I visited a manufacturer within 14 days of purchasing a product, that manufacturer should be able to provide proper services to me - including providing a new replacement unit.
I'd hate to be your neighbor.
That letter does not admit fault
XS photos
https://imgshare.io/image/vnmp7
https://imgshare.io/image/vnxdg
https://imgshare.io/image/vnvkq
11pro photos.
https://imgshare.io/image/vnUTx
https://imgshare.io/image/vnY4l
https://imgshare.io/image/vnqnt