iPhone 7 Plus 128GB Black AT&T C39 serial.
Hissing noise coming from phone when under load. Noticeable when taking a phone call. Also noticeable in video recording.
I went to Apple chat to discuss. Long story short they said it was a known issue and their engineers were looking into it. They directed me to Apple store for replacement. I told them Apple stores have no replacement stock. They offered me mail replacement. At first they wanted me to send my phone and wait for them to ship a new phone. I decided to go with the express option which puts a hold on your credit card, but they send the phone first.
At first she said 2-3 days for shipping. Then she came back and said it would be delayed but gave no estimate. At this point a senior adviser contacted me via phone. I spoke with her and she basically told me the same thing. Offered me express repair for the phone. She said normally 2-3 days but "please give us an extra day or two" due to low stock.
I asked her if at any point my local Apple store gets new stock can I go in and get replacement through them and cancel the express order. She said this is possible. Figured I have nothing to lose with mail replacement. Will see how long it takes. She said they will send me tracking info when ready.
Thanks for contacting Apple Support. My name is Nicole. Please give me a moment to look over your information.
Me:Hello Nicole.
NicoleHi there! I'm sorry about any wait and appreciate you being so patient! We're experiencing some heavy volume right now, so I apologize for any delays we may have in our chat. What can I help with today?
Me:I just purchased iPhone 7 Plus 128GB on AT&T today from the Apple Store in *****. Upon taking the phone home I realized there is a strange hissing noise coming from the back of the phone.
Me:This noise gets louder if the phone is under load. I tested out a video to see if the noise could be picked up, sure enough the hissing is captured on my video.
Me:I have uploaded a video for reference if needed.
Me:I have also tried restoring the phone. I tried restoring from backup and restoring as new. Neither of these solved the problem.
NicoleHey *****! No need, that’s okay. Just to confirm there is a hissing sound coming from the back of your phone?
Me:Correct.
NicoleI can definitely understand the importance of getting that resolved - I know I would hate to hear any odd sounds coming from my phone. I'm happy to do everything I can to get you taken care of, or on a path to resolution today!
NicoleSo, this is actually an issue that our engineers are looking into and are working to fix. That said, the solution as of now is to get the device swapped out with one that doesn’t hiss. You can either do that by mail in, or you can make an appointment at an Apple location - do you have a preference?
Me:How does a mail swap work? I have already contacted my local Apple store and they told me they have no phones available to swap out. They directed me to Apple online website to figure out what best way to get a new phone.
NicoleSo, there’s two ways to do it - 1) you can either drop it off at a local UPS Store and then we ship a new phone back to you, or, we can have a box sent to you that has instructions to ship it back. It’s roughly a 5-7 day turnaround from start to finish; once we receive the device it takes about 3 days to get one back.
Me:That will be a problem as I have no backup phone. Can you ship me a new phone with a return box and I can return this phone when the new one arrives?
NicoleWe do have Express Replacement Service - where we send you a phone first and you send the old one back to us. The catch with that is we place a hold on a debit or credit card for the full retail value of the new device until the old one is received - then it’s released once we get it.. The standard mail in has no hold like Express does. Checking on the hold amount for you now.
Me:That sounds like a better option so I don't have to be without a phone. Now the question is how long will it take to ship me a replacement phone?
NicoleThe hold would be $869+ any taxes, but again, that is released as soon as we get the old phone back. It takes 2-3 days.
Me:Am I responsible for paying shipping fees with that option?
NicoleNo, no shipping fees.
Me:How long until a new phone can be shipped? I'm worried about the supply.
NicoleTo my knowledge, it’s still 2-3 days, but I’m more than happy to reach out and double check on that to be safe!
Me:That would be great if you could.
NicoleSure! Please give me just a few minutes.
NicoleAre you still there?
Me:Yes.
NicoleJust making sure! I’m still here and still checking into this for you!
NicoleAre you still there?
NicoleSorry, disregard
Me:No problem.
NicoleIt looks like there is actually a delay for the 7+, so you were right to inquire! I’m trying to see how long the delay actually is.
Me:Ok.
NicoleOkay, so there isn’t an exact time frame for the replacement times for Express on that - generally in this case we refer back to where you got it, but you said you’d already spoken to them correct?
Me:Yes the store I purchased from had no replacement phones.
NicoleWhere di you say you were located again? ****?
Me:Yes ******.
NicoleAnd it looks like any of the other locations are a good bit away from you - the closest 28 miles, and I’d rather not have you go that far if we can help it! Let me check into a couple other things here and see if there’s any way to get it fixed any faster!
Me:That is correct.. The next closest would be *****. Thanks for checking into this.
NicoleSure! Give me just a few minutes.
NicoleSo what I’d like to do is get you over to one of my senior advisors so they can help out with this. There is about a 5 minute wait for one of them, though, so I wanted to make sure that was okay with you before I transferred you over?
