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How to exchange a clearly defective phone if they deny the problem?

murdercitydevil

murdercitydevil

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 23, 2010
1,561
0
california
Title says it all. How can one exchange a clearly defective phone if Apple tells its store employees to refuse anyone with antenna issues? I'm sure their response would be "buy a bumper". That doesn't help me.

Is the return/72 hour hold/new phone method the only option?

Also, is it more or less confirmed that the most recent phones are "fixed"? I've heard that people who got exchanges received perfect phones with no issues. Anyone with that experience? Thanks!
 
sell it for a profit and buy another one.

return it to apple and buy another one.

return it and get a 3gs

return it and get whatever
 
Apple has waved the restocking fee at the present time, no idea how long that will last. If you are not satisfied with your iPhone 4, return it and give that as the reason: you don't have to say "it's defective," you don't have to say "it's not working right," all you are required to say it "I'm not satisfied with this phone, and I'd like to return it per your return policy."

And that's it. If it's a problem for them, ask for the Store Manager. If he or she gives you grief, ask for the contact information for the District or Regional Manager, either phone, email, whatever, and stand your ground. Don't get upset, don't get angry, just stay calm and stay focused.

There is no legitimate reason for them to say "No, sorry, we're not taking it back" if you present the item for return because you're dissatisfied with the purchase/product.

That's about it.
 
br0adband said:
Apple has waved the restocking fee at the present time, no idea how long that will last. If you are not satisfied with your iPhone 4, return it and give that as the reason: you don't have to say "it's defective," you don't have to say "it's not working right," all you are required to say it "I'm not satisfied with this phone, and I'd like to return it per your return policy."

And that's it. If it's a problem for them, ask for the Store Manager. If he or she gives you grief, ask for the contact information for the District or Regional Manager, either phone, email, whatever, and stand your ground. Don't get upset, don't get angry, just stay calm and stay focused.

There is no legitimate reason for them to say "No, sorry, we're not taking it back" if you present the item for return because you're dissatisfied with the purchase/product.

That's about it.
Click to expand...

Well my concern isn't pertaining to returning it, but exchanging it. I'd like to avoid returning it, waiting 72 hours, then buying a new one. I'd like to exchange it in store but I guess they wouldn't be willing to do that.
 
murdercitydevil said:
Well my concern isn't pertaining to returning it, but exchanging it. I'd like to avoid returning it, waiting 72 hours, then buying a new one. I'd like to exchange it in store but I guess they wouldn't be willing to do that.
Click to expand...

So, you think there is something wrong with your 'phone, that's fine. You take it back to the Apple Store and they check it out.

If, as the result of their checks, they find there is nothing wrong with your 'phone, they are under no obligation whatsoever to exchange it for another one.
Needless to say, if they do find a faukt, they will exchange it for a new one under it's warranty.

The only way you are going to "exchange" it is do do as has already been suggested, return it saying you no longer need it, get your money back, and then buy another one.
 
Hence the "I'm not satisfied" reasoning. If you make it abundantly clear - especially if you have a loud voice which carries well in say, a retail store <hint, hint> - then you'll get the exchange.

People need to learn how to stand up for themselves. Just because Apple's so-called "diagnostic" doesn't say it's having an issue in the store doesn't mean the phone doesn't have issues in regular use.

Stand your ground, and don't back down for one second.

Print this out and take it with you if necessary:

http://www.apple.com/legal/sales_policies/retail_us.html

It says right in the first sentence:

Apple Retail Store Purchase Policies said:
Returns

If you are not satisfied with your Apple purchase, return it with the original receipt and original packaging within fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of purchase.
Click to expand...

It doesn't specify anything special about iPhones (although later down the page it does offer more info about iPhones specifically). It's an Apple product, they have to adhere to their own publicly stated return policy, which applies to making an exchange as well.
 
Hello...

Didn't want to start a new thread and get flamed and couldn't decide where was best to ask the question so, seeing as it is relevant to this thread (tangibly!)...

Does anyone know what O2 store policy is on returning/exchanging the iPhone 4??

I get the signal issue but its only there in certain places, most likely low signal areas (i know the deal)... but i am definitely on the fence as to return or see if the firmwar update helps.....
 
Apple replaced my phone even after they did the diagnostics which said the phone only dropped 8 calls even though AT&T will tell you the phone dropped 7 times that.

People need to think logically. Your not there to exchange your phone for the fun of it. Your not there to take a few hours out of your day to goto the Apple store because you need someone to talk to.

You are there to get the product you paid for in working condition. If there is something wrong with your phone, their diagnostics or not, there is something wrong with the phone. In the end it comes down to he said/she said and they should replace the phone for you.

That's it...now if your coming back around for a 2nd/3rd replacement then maybe more of a case to make on your end.

Apple replaced both of our phones with little fanfare and it did fix the problems. It fixed ALL of them. Both our phones were useless and now they are perfect.

Put the burden on them. If they say nothing is wrong, ask them why the phone continues to drop calls. Ask them to get AT&T on the phone while your there and go over AT&Ts call logs which are much more accurate that what the iPhone tracks.

Hell take screen shots of every failed call for a day or two.

They have a 15 minute window to help you, go when its busy and push the time limit. If you get someone smart they will realize replacing the phone is a easier way out than arguing with you.

I say all this assuming your truly having a problem with your phone. We did with ours and the replacements as I said have been absolutely flawless.
 
vebs said:
You can cancel the contract & send everything back within 14 days after activation I think. It's on their website somewhere.

That might just be online orders though.
Click to expand...

you have 30 days to return the iPhone. I copied an excerpt from thier returns & refunds section:

iPhone Return Policy
If you are not satisfied with your iPhone purchase, please visit online Order Status or call 1-800-676-2775 to request a return. The iPhone must be returned to our warehouse within 30 calendar days from shipment to avoid an $175 early termination fee. The iPhone must be returned in the original packaging, including any accessories, manuals, and documentation.



Note: iPhones must be returned to the original point of purchase (e.g., Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Store, AT&T, Apple Authorized Reseller) with a proof of purchase (e.g., Shipment Notification, Invoice Receipt).



Service Cancellation
By returning your iPhone purchase within 30 days from shipment, your wireless service will be cancelled automatically. You will be responsible for all applicable usage fees, prorated access charges, taxes, surcharges, or other charges through the termination date. Please contact AT&T for more information about applicable fees.
 
jfyrfytr25 said:
you have 30 days to return the iPhone. I copied an excerpt from thier returns & refunds section:

iPhone Return Policy
If you are not satisfied with your iPhone purchase, *snip*
Click to expand...

Just wanted that pointed out more clearly... ;)

That's all that matters: you are not satisfied. That's all that's required to make a return, period, or an exchange if that's what you're interested in.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

br0adband said:
jfyrfytr25 said:
you have 30 days to return the iPhone. I copied an excerpt from thier returns & refunds section:

iPhone Return Policy
If you are not satisfied with your iPhone purchase, *snip*
Click to expand...

Just wanted that pointed out more clearly... ;)

That's all that matters: you are not satisfied. That's all that's required to make a return, period, or an exchange if that's what you're interested in.
Click to expand...

That's for returns, not exchanges, which is what the OP is interested in.

But if the phone is "clearly defective," they should have no problem getting an exchange regardless of the return policy.
 
Well if its THE antenna issue, how would another phone correct this? I mean its a design issue not a defect issue.
 
maflynn said:
Well if its THE antenna issue, how would another phone correct this? I mean its a design issue not a defect issue.
Click to expand...

People have exchanged defective phones that drop calls for working ones that don't so it's not a design issue, especially considering they're in the same location. All the freezing iMacs had the same hardware but some were affected and others weren't, despite having the exact same graphics card, until the software fixes came out. No different here.
 
I've thought about taking mine back, but mine seems to be intermittent. Just tried again to cause the signal drop, but only went down a bar. Yesterday, same place, dropped 4 bars. Not having any dropped calls yet. Not sure I would have a very strong case. Not even sure I actually have the problem.
 
murdercitydevil said:
Well my concern isn't pertaining to returning it, but exchanging it. I'd like to avoid returning it, waiting 72 hours, then buying a new one. I'd like to exchange it in store but I guess they wouldn't be willing to do that.
Click to expand...

Its pretty common knowledge now that they are not replacing phones for "reception/signal/antenna" issues.

Your only option is to return it for full refund. Look at it this way, your 30 days starts over again when you purchase another one. As long as people are reporting any kind of issues and as long as class action lawsuits are looming, the new 30 day return policy will not go away.
 
murdercitydevil said:
Title says it all. How can one exchange a clearly defective phone if Apple tells its store employees to refuse anyone with antenna issues? I'm sure their response would be "buy a bumper". That doesn't help me.

Is the return/72 hour hold/new phone method the only option?

Also, is it more or less confirmed that the most recent phones are "fixed"? I've heard that people who got exchanges received perfect phones with no issues. Anyone with that experience? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I exchanged mine at the genius bar, but it seemed to be a reception non-antenna issue. Meaning that my phone would drop calls even while sitting on a table. Before I went to the apple store though, I went through all the troubleshooting instructions from customer service such as restore etc.

That seemed to be an important step before they were willing to exchange. But they were very apologetic at the genius bar about the HW issue. And they never suggested buying a bumper. This happened late last week.
 
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