Adventures at the Genius Bar...#4's a charm

[jamoses66]

So like so many others, I ran out on the 29th to be one of the first to have an iphone. Just holding the box then seemed like a victory, but the fun was only just beginning. Upon getting home I dutifully did the ceremonial unboxing, and was delighted that my activation only took about 2 minutes which seemed almost TOO easy right? Well started playing around with my shiny new Jesus Phone and decided to demo all of the features and thought I'd try playing an episode of Scrubs through the external speaker. No sound. Hmm. No worries, must be a setting or the silent switch. Nope volume is turned all the way up and noticed that I can hear just the faintest sounds coming from the bottom speaker and shortly thereafter it was clear that the external speaker was DOA. No problem I figure, I'll immediately make a genius bar appointment and get a replacement bright and early on the 30th.

So I get to the Apple store right as they open on the 30th and I am appointment #1. The genius was exceptionally apologetic that I had an issue so soon and after a bit of figuring out how to actually do an iPhone troubleshooting as per Genius Bar standards, the consensus was that the speaker was dead and I would get a new iphone. Great I think, no hassle and even the re-activation only took 2 minutes again after swapping out the sim card. I thanked the genius and was on my way with my now fully functional iphone...or so I thought...

A few days pass and after a few charge cycles I ran the battery all the way down to about 30% and poof...within the span of about 5 minutes after reaching the 20% warning the phone was dead. I tried to write this off as just an anomaly and maybe the battery just needed to be cycled and calibrated to work as it was supposed to and get that full charge...1 more day passes after a full charge and the same exact thing happens right around 30%....a steep drop from 30% to 20% to 15% 10...dead...I didnt even have time to dismiss the notification messages warning me the battery was running low.

Ok now I'm a bit peeved but this is the price of being an early adopter right? So make another appointment at the apple store, and again the genius was more than willing to replace my iPhone with a brand new one with out any real demand for testing or anything which I found nice having had issues in the past with other apple products where the geniuses demanded you reproduce the issue before they would even act. So I took iPhone #3 and left the apple store, sat down on the mall bench and opened the shrink wrap, unboxed it, flipped it on and....DEAD and STUCK PIXELS...ok this is just crazy and now I'm freaked out. I know apple is really stingy with dead pixels in their LCD screens and they typically require quite a few before they will even consider a warranty replacement. So, no 5 minutes after walking out of the apple store, I walk back in and the Genius gives me a funny look and I explain my horror to find the dead pixels on my THIRD iPhone now. Without any kind of debate, referral to a manager, or sifting through acceptable dead pixel policies, the gentleman took the freshly opened phone back, and again reached under the counter and pulled out another one, opened it, inspected for dead pixels, showed it to me, I approved and was finally, finally on my way with a working iPhone.

What is the lesson here? Apple quality control for these things appears to have been pretty poor, or my luck is truly just that bad. But I think the best lesson here is that the Geniuses at my local store were exceptional in the level of customer service the provided me and were not put off by even my request to return a phone I had opened 2 minutes earlier and noticed something that admittedly most people would not even notice. So say what you will about how genius the genius bar folks actually are, but they certainly deserve credit for providing a great customer service to me in my week long ordeal.

-J

UPDATE: #4 has a usage time of about 5:30 of "usage" and is around 30-40% this morning and I decided to turn it completely off and back on because safari was crashing quite a bit. So when I go to turn it back on it says I must plug it in because it claims the battery is dead. I charged it for about 10 min...it says I've got about 20% left...I use it to make a call...dead within 1 min. This is just plain nuts. I'm about at a loss, but I'll drag this one back and try for #5. I'll keep this thread updated.

 

[ecks618]

I agree, though I didn't need to have my iphone swapped they helped me with it when I had some trouble. Apple support has always been one of the biggest reasons why I always keep coming back.

I can't imagine going back to the Dell way of calling and being on hold and talking to different CSRs about the same problem and then have them talk back like your retarded and don't know where the control panel is.

Its good that you finally got a working iPhone, even though it took 4 tries you can always say that your the only person to own 4 different iphone is a few days period.

 

[The Prise]

Let My 4th Be a Charm Too Please!

This is my first post and this thread is actually what finally made me register and start posting. My story is quite like yours. So here goes.

I get my Phone on the 29th. I go home all excited open it up plug it in and wow! They didnt put the black better cover on correctly and its ajar. So I rush Back to the store that s having an extended sale. They have one left for me I take it. I get home activate it everything is great. #2 A few days of use I am in bed its dark in my room I hit the camera button for no reason at all. and I see all black except 3 stuck pixels and several stuck sub pixels. Im a little peeved but the days go by and I dont care as much and I just say Ill deal with it on a random day. I decided today was that random day. I just happened to go buy the apple store . The one I do not like here in austin mainly because most of the employees are snooty. Either way they take it in the back and then come out and say yeah we are gonna replace is. Its not that bad but lets get you a better one. Im like sweet. They give me my 3rd one and Im on my way. I activate it in 1 min sync it up. eject it from my computer pick it up and the first thing I see is a magical black dot right where the green phone icon is. im like omg you have to be kidding me. I turn on a movie I see a very large stuck green pixel which is viewable most all the time. I also notice a second dead pixel upper right corner. Im pissed I call apple care calmly. I tell them whats up they are cool about it. They say I have 2 options. One They will set me up a genius bar apt. to look at and replace my phone at the store in austin. Or I can send mine in. I decided go with the genius bar apt at the store in austin I like and that is nicer. I figure with a case number and case notes its going to be an in n out type of deal. im afraid to say it but apples QC is slowly slipping. So Friday I hope to have my 4th phone. and I hope its the gem im looking for. I could have done with the 2nd one honestly. But I was reading on about peoples pixel problems and I kept seeing how easily people were getting them replaced. I decided If They have great screens I should too. anyways Friday the 13th should be a lucky day haha! wish me luck and If they turn me away its all about a phone call to apple care to have them send me the box. They always follow though.

 

[Daiden]

I think I'm going to exchange mine because of the rather large yellow spot that is visible on the screen. Although, after hearing some of these stories, I'm hoping the new one I get has no dead pixels. That's even worse then a yellow splotch.

 

[millerrh]

This is my first post and this thread is actually what finally made me register and start posting. My story is quite like yours. So here goes.

I get my Phone on the 29th. I go home all excited open it up plug it in and wow! They didnt put the black better cover on correctly and its ajar. So I rush Back to the store that s having an extended sale. They have one left for me I take it. I get home activate it everything is great. #2 A few days of use I am in bed its dark in my room I hit the camera button for no reason at all. and I see all black except 3 stuck pixels and several stuck sub pixels. Im a little peeved but the days go by and I dont care as much and I just say Ill deal with it on a random day. I decided today was that random day. I just happened to go buy the apple store . The one I do not like here in austin mainly because most of the employees are snooty. Either way they take it in the back and then come out and say yeah we are gonna replace is. Its not that bad but lets get you a better one. Im like sweet. They give me my 3rd one and Im on my way. I activate it in 1 min sync it up. eject it from my computer pick it up and the first thing I see is a magical black dot right where the green phone icon is. im like omg you have to be kidding me. I turn on a movie I see a very large stuck green pixel which is viewable most all the time. I also notice a second dead pixel upper right corner. Im pissed I call apple care calmly. I tell them whats up they are cool about it. They say I have 2 options. One They will set me up a genius bar apt. to look at and replace my phone at the store in austin. Or I can send mine in. I decided go with the genius bar apt at the store in austin I like and that is nicer. I figure with a case number and case notes its going to be an in n out type of deal. im afraid to say it but apples QC is slowly slipping. So Friday I hope to have my 4th phone. and I hope its the gem im looking for. I could have done with the 2nd one honestly. But I was reading on about peoples pixel problems and I kept seeing how easily people were getting them replaced. I decided If They have great screens I should too. anyways Friday the 13th should be a lucky day haha! wish me luck and If they turn me away its all about a phone call to apple care to have them send me the box. They always follow though.

Which Austin store? I went to the Domain one for dead pixels and they wouldn't replace it! Called Apple care, they said it should be replaced, so I made an appointment at Barton Creek for today. *crosses fingers*