Did my 5s bricked itself ?

[Racineur]

Hello to the forum. Something very strange happened this week. On Tuesday, my iPhone 5s died before my eyes. All the afternoon, while resting on its stand beside my iMac, it would wake up every few minutes and I would have to manually enter the code to unlock it. I charged it but did nothing. Later on, it just turned itself off. Wednesday I called Apple Care. The advisor had me restore it from iTunes. I went well for a few minutes but then Error 40 appeared. After two attempts, I was taken an appointment at the Genius. There the phone would stay totally bricked whatever the technician tried on it. I came back home with another 5s but it's refurbished one (packed in a small white box, SN beginning with F). Came with iOS 10.1. I know the subject has been raised zillion times but again, can I trust a refurbished iPhone? Why wouldn't Apple give me a brand new one? This refurbished becomes very warm plus, the battery life is terrible but I like very much iOS 10. Questions: should I argue with Apple to have a brand new one. I paid for a new one. It comes with a 90 days warranty since it's a replacement within the 1 year warranty of the bricked iPhone. Stil,, no one has been able to come with an explanation. The Genius said he had never seen such a dead iPhone since he works there.
Thanks for your help and cues

 

[foxconn]

another entitled to a new iPhone person..

you gave them a used phone, you're not entitled to a brand new phone.

refurbs are just as good, if not better, than new as they go through more testing.

 

[Racineur]

Well, I had not thought of it this way. Good thinking. I may have to see this through these eyes. Hope I didn't sound upset cause I'm not at all. I'm rather surprised at the speed and the effectiveness of Apple.

 

[Freakonomics101]

I've never had a problem with an Apple-issued refurb. They have acted the same as a new one.

 

[44267547]

Well, I had not thought of it this way. Good thinking. I may have to see this through these eyes. Hope I didn't sound upset cause I'm not at all. I'm rather surprised at the speed and the effectiveness of Apple.

If the refurbished phone you received, is having hardware or software issues, Apple easily replace it with another refurbished one. It's possible that you may have received a faulty refurbished device. If that is the case, there should be no issue with Apple just switching it out for another one for you Without question. Most times, refurbished iPhones work fairly well without any problems.

 

[Racineur]

Hello and thanks for you replies. I'm not that much worried with the refurbished iPhone I have now. If there's a problem, there's the 90 days warranty to have it solved. Read on Apple site. Quite impressive.

• undergoes full functionality testing and any defective modules identified in testing are replaced.
• is put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection.
• includes either the Operating System originally shipped with the unit or, in some cases, a more recent version.
• is placed into a Final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock.

But still, I wonder what happened with my first iPhone. What could have bricked it? Could it be a dead battery? A virus? Can iOS shut down to a point it becomes unusable?

 

[eyoungren]

Why wouldn't Apple give me a brand new one?

Three reasons I can think of offhand.

1. The warranty states they replace with new or 'like new' at their discretion.
2. The iPhone 5s is no longer manufactured. If you can no longer buy a new iPhone 5s, how could they give you one?
3. It's been 3.5 years since the iPhone 5s was released, why should you get a new 5s in exchange for a 3.5 year old phone?

Please note, I am not reproaching you, I am just answering the question you posed.

 

[Applejuiced]

Most likely it had a hardware issue.
There is no virus for ios that will brick a stock iPhone.
Glad they took care of you with their great customer service as usual.
Replacement devices have brand new case, screen, battery and some reused internal components. They look and work like brand new and since neither you or anyone can tell the difference just enjoy your new device.
You can argue with them all you want but its within their legal right to replace it with a re-manufactured device. They will not give you a brand new iPhone many months later for your old, used and broken iPhone.
Stop acting entitled and difficult and appreciate the service, reliability and support Apple provided you instead. No other phone manufacturer would have treated you any better.

 

[Racineur]

Well eyoungren, I said to myself, I bought this 5s in March 2016 brand new. That makes 11 months. They still sell it at many places...The one I bought from my provider was a brand new one boxed with a SN as for a new one. Back in March 2016, I browsed Apple forums to know about the 5s and this came out: "They have already stopped making all models of the 5S expect the 16gig Space Grey and 16gig Silver. Posted on Mar 4, 2016 10:55 AM". So I said back then I'm good is something goes wrong. My 5s is space grey. That's what I was thinking, having no experience a all in Apple replacement policies.
Thanks

 

[nox5]

5s with fresh restore often gets warmer than normal for first couple days. It has something to do with background programs in iOS

 

[eyoungren]

Well eyoungren, I said to myself, I bought this 5s in March 2016 brand new. That makes 11 months. They still sell it at many places...The one I bought from my provider was a brand new one boxed with a SN as for a new one. Back in March 2016, I browsed Apple forums to know about the 5s and this came out: "They have already stopped making all models of the 5S expect the 16gig Space Grey and 16gig Silver. Posted on Mar 4, 2016 10:55 AM". So I said back then I'm good is something goes wrong. My 5s is space grey. That's what I was thinking, having no experience a all in Apple replacement policies.
Thanks

Again, I wasn't coming down on you or condemning you. The answer I gave was from Apple's perspective.

It's a factual thing, not an angry opinion type of thing.

I do hope your issue resolves to your satisfaction.

 

[Racineur]

Hello again eyoungren, I didn't feel you were coming down on me at all. I just tried to explain how and why I came to think I would get a brand new phone. In a nutshell, I'm most happy with the settlement. Plus, the Genius was a real one. He truly took good care of me. And as for iOS 10, no problem yet.