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Chances of out-of-warranty free replacement on iPhone 3GS?

jonnyb

jonnyb

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 21, 2005
1,335
1,583
Inverness, Scotland
The screen on my 3GS has suddenly become unresponsive in the middle. It's out of warranty by a month and ten days. I'm going to take it to the Covent Garden (London) store on Monday.

It has been babied all its life and has never been dropped or otherwise mistreated. Has anyone managed to get theirs replaced free if charge outside of warranty for this problem?
 
Let' see, if it outside of warranty I believe that means it's not under warranty anymore.;) So I say the chances are slim to none.:D
 
Julien said:
Let' see, if it outside of warranty I believe that means it's not under warranty anymore.;) So I say the chances are slim to none.:D
Click to expand...

Thanks for your contribution. Clearly, it's out of warranty but we have various national and EU consumer laws in the UK that state an item should work for a reasonable length of time. It was more a question to other UK people to see if they'd managed to get Apple to fulfill those obligations.

Also, my boss's daughter took her dead iPod back to the Regent Street store recently. It was a few days out of warranty and they took pity on her and gave her a refurb. So it does happen. I was just curious if anyone had this particular problem.
 
It likely depends on which Genius you get when you walk up to the Genius Bar.

Last time I went, they simply asked "How long have you had the phone?" I respond, "About a year..."

He plugs it in and does some diagnostics, says I had too many dropped calls, and returned from behind a door with a replacement.
 
jonnyb said:
The screen on my 3GS has suddenly become unresponsive in the middle. It's out of warranty by a month and ten days. I'm going to take it to the Covent Garden (London) store on Monday.

It has been babied all its life and has never been dropped or otherwise mistreated. Has anyone managed to get theirs replaced free if charge outside of warranty for this problem?
Click to expand...

From what I know in America/North America out of warrenty replacements only cost us $199.00. Might be the same in the UK and that's not too bad of a price.
 
I've found a knowledge base article on the subject which suggests it's a known issue

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1827

I hope I get a sympathetic genius. I don't think I should have to pay £146 (which is how much it costs here) to fix a known issue just outside of warranty. I've always had very good customer service at the London Apple stores so here's hoping...
 
jonnyb said:
I've found a knowledge base article on the subject which suggests it's a known issue

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1827

I hope I get a sympathetic genius. I don't think I should have to pay £146 (which is how much it costs here) to fix a known issue just outside of warranty. I've always had very good customer service at the London Apple stores so here's hoping...
Click to expand...

It's a troubleshooting page, but it's a known issue mostly to the original iPhone rather than the later generations (just as the 3G/3GS has a known issue of cracking), per an Apple store manager. Just because a touchscreen can become defective just like any other components of the iPhone doesn't make it a known issue.

That said, Apple is still replacing the real known issues like the plastic macbook case cracking out of warranty but those are widespread issues.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
It's a troubleshooting page, but it's a known issue mostly to the original iPhone rather than the later generations (just as the 3G/3GS has a known issue of cracking), per an Apple store manager. Just because a touchscreen can become defective just like any other components of the iPhone doesn't make it a known issue.

That said, Apple is still replacing the real known issues like the plastic macbook case cracking out of warranty but those are widespread issues.
Click to expand...

All true, though the article was updated in February of this year so it's still current. Well, I'll find out on Monday, I suppose.
 
You shouldn't have a problem if it's still in warranty. Take it in and give it a shot
 
MCRunning said:
You shouldn't have a problem if it's still in warranty. Take it in and give it a shot
Click to expand...

It's not in warranty, hence the thread. I've had plenty of items replaced by Apple within warranty. This will be the first time I've had to take an iPhone back that's just outside.
 
1. Pay $199.
2.Sell NEW iPhone 3GS on eBay for $400.
3. Purchase iPhone 4 for $199.
4. ?
5. Profit!
 
Applejuiced said:
Exactly.
Thats why those warranty dates are for.
Pay the out of warranty replacement price like everyone else.
Click to expand...

So just accept that a phone I paid £529 for should only work for 14 months before I have to pay out another £146 to make it work again? I don't really think that's reasonable.

Warranties do not replace a manufacturer's obligations to their customers under consumer law, in the EU at least.
 
jonnyb said:
It's not in warranty, hence the thread. I've had plenty of items replaced by Apple within warranty. This will be the first time I've had to take an iPhone back that's just outside.
Click to expand...

Sorry misread the title. Just take it in and see what they say. We can't give you a definite answer on here
 
ntrigue said:
1. Pay $199.
2.Sell NEW iPhone 3GS on eBay for $400.
3. Purchase iPhone 4 for $199.
4. ?
5. Profit!
Click to expand...

Nice solution! But this is an unlocked out of contract 3GS that I'm paying £20 a month for. Buying a new iPhone 4 on a new contract at a subsidised price means paying £35 a month for an 18 month contract again. Something I don't want to do.
 
jonnyb said:
So just accept that a phone I paid £529 for should only work for 14 months before I have to pay out another £146 to make it work again? I don't really think that's reasonable.

Warranties do not replace a manufacturer's obligations to their customers under consumer law, in the EU at least.
Click to expand...

I know you guys in England have some different laws that think you should be getting things fixed or replaced even past the manufacturers warranty expires.
Reality is people abuse or mistreat their stuff and then expect the manufacturer to still give them a new one 2 years later. Thats reasonable I guess. Some people cant keep a working cellphone for months never mind over a year. Its not an item that would last a long time past a year if you dont handle it right. Most places in the world if you're warranty is up and you didnt purchase additional warranty then you either gotta pay to get it fixed or get another one. If you can talk your way out of it and threaten to sue them like some other English people did then more power to you.
The sense of entitlement from UK folks is great though.
 
You were completely right when you spoke about EU consumer regulations. An item has to work for a reasonable amount of time and it's a fair argument that a £400+ item should function for more than 1 year so the warranty means nothing - you are completely within your rights to get it replaced. However you would be safer arguing your case at the seller so if you got the iPhone from a carrier (O2) then go to them as the law applies to the "seller" not the "manufacturer". If you bought from apple then bonus coz that makes them the seller and manufacturer.

Don't let them fob you off (or if it's O2 tell u to go to apple) and state your consumer rights under EU legislation and they will have to replace/fix it or you can take them to court which they obviously wouldn't want.
 
Applejuiced said:
I know you guys in England have some different laws that think you should be getting things fixed or replaced even past the manufacturers warranty expires.
Reality is people abuse or mistreat their stuff and then expect the manufacturer to still give them a new one 2 years later. Thats reasonable I guess. Some people cant keep a working cellphone for months never mind over a year. Its not an item that would last a long time past a year if you dont handle it right. Most places in the world if you're warranty is up and you didnt purchase additional warranty then you either gotta pay to get it fixed or get another one. If you can talk your way out of it and threaten to sue them like some other English people did then more power to you.
The sense of entitlement from UK folks is great though.
Click to expand...

Sure, there are people that abuse their stuff. I hope I can demonstrate to the genius that the pristine state of the phone is evidence that it has been extremely well looked after.

I'm not sure what you think I should be talking my way out of. I've not damaged or abused the phone. I don't even put it down on a surface without something soft underneath it. I'm really quite obsessive about looking after my things.

You seem to be saying that i shouldn't be able to expect something that I've been very careful with to work beyond 12 months. A basic tenet of EU consumer law says that if something has cost a lot of money then it's reasonable to expect it to work well. Working for 13 months and then stopping is not working well. I think it's good that we have some statutes that protect consumers against companies who fail to provide services and products the fair quality of which we ought to reasonably expect.

A sense of entitlement to good products and services for which we pay a premium? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
 
I'm glad you sound like you know what you're talking about. Too many people in the UK think that just because an item is sold with a "warranty" that is all the protection they have which is wrong.

I've found that just being polite and stating the laws is plenty to get them to help because it's the easiest and cheapest option for them. Especially as the phone is in good condition and obviously isn't user damaged.
 
jonnyb said:
Sure, there are people that abuse their stuff. I hope I can demonstrate to the genius that the pristine state of the phone is evidence that it has been extremely well looked after.

I'm not sure what you think I should be talking my way out of. I've not damaged or abused the phone. I don't even put it down on a surface without something soft underneath it. I'm really quite obsessive about looking after my things.

You seem to be saying that i shouldn't be able to expect something that I've been very careful with to work beyond 12 months. A basic tenet of EU consumer law says that if something has cost a lot of money then it's reasonable to expect it to work well. Working for 13 months and then stopping is not working well. I think it's good that we have some statutes that protect consumers against companies who fail to provide services and products the quality of which we ought to reasonably expect.

An sense of entitlement to good products and services for which we pay a premium? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
Click to expand...

I know, you treated it like a baby, I dont know what happened and so on. Thats what they all probably tell them when they bring things back for warranty exchange. :D
Hey if it works, more power to you.
I'd be using that to my advantage also if it was available in the US.
If they give you any crap just say you will take them to court and threaten lawsuit. I heard another member did that and they replaced it right on the spot.
 
Applejuiced said:
I know, you treated it like a baby, I dont know what happened and so on. Thats what they all probably tell them when they bring things back for warranty exchange. :D
Hey if it works, more power to you.
I'd be using that to my advantage also if it was available in the US.
If they give you any crap just say you will take them to court and threaten lawsuit. I heard another member did that and they replaced it right on the spot.
Click to expand...

Look at it this way. The warranty that any corporation provides is arbitrary. Dyson, for example, provides a three year manufacturer's warranty on its vacuum cleaners.

In the UK and Europe these manufacturer's warranties are in addition to 'statutory rights', that is; the right of the consumer to a product that performs reasonably.

Apple don't have to provide a warranty at all or they could provide one that was 1 month long. it doesn't matter. The point of consumer laws is that they disregard the manufacturer's arbitrary notion of what they consider to be a reasonable time. The law takes this notion out of the manufacturer's hands and makes it non-arbitrary. This is a good thing for the consumer because it enables a third party, the law, to make a judgement on what is a reasonable amount of time for a product to work.

It should be the right of every consumer to be able to avail themselves of this. It's a shame citizens of the US don't appear to have that opportunity.
 
I replaced my pristine 3GS because the battery was weak 12 days before the warranty was up when I got my 4. The new 3GS came with a 90 day warranty. The Apple genius told me that if I had waited 13 days, free replacement would not have been possible. What is the value of a brand new 3GS with 60 days of warranty?
 
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