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cliona

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 16, 2016
2
1
So I'm in a frustrating situation right now and I'm wondering if anyone could give some advice/tips please? It would be much appreciated! :)
Ok so I recently bought a new iPhone 6 plus from apple.com. About a week after receiving the phone I noticed a black line down the middle of the phone. It would come and go then got more frequent until the point where it would not leave the phone....very annoying. Anyway I contacted apple (customer service line) numerous times. I was told to restart the phone as new etc. but the line did not disappear. I contacted them again and the told me to bring it into a store, either compub or iconnect, as we do not have an actual apple store here in Ireland, unfortunately. So I brought it into them, they took it and sent it off to be 'examined'. 2 days later I got an email telling me my product was ready to collect. When the man brought out the phone it was just wrapped in paper with sellotape. I had to ask him was it the original or a new one...he just said it was a 'replacement', yet just before I left he said it was brand new. When I left the store I went to switch it on and it would not turn on. When I got home I charged it up all evening. I looked at it later and it was on about 98%. I went away and came back about 5 mins later, ready to set up the device and the screen was black and could not be turned on at all. I had to ring apple helpline and they helped me to reboot the phone by holding the home button and the button on the right side. Unfortunately this was only the beginning of the problems. When I finally got the phone on, i went to set it up. When it came to choosing a iCloud backup to restore onto the phone it said none were available which is not true because I have multiple backups. I decided to try the backup restore through iTunes but when I plugged in my phone into my macbook it said the software on the phone was too old (which is strange since it is supposedly a 'brand new' phone). Anyway I updated the software and somehow got the backup restored onto the phone. About 1-2 minutes later I went to the phone and when i tried to unlock it (swiping the screen) it would not work. the touch screen was suddenly irresponsive! by this stage I was really pissed off. I then decided to examine the physical phone's state and noticed that on the left side it looked like the screen had been raised ever so slightly. it was hardy noticeable but when i compared it to the right side which was seamless, it was obvious to me. It still gets worse.... I left my phone in my room for a few hours because it was useless. Later in the night I was showing my parents the side of the phone and how touchscreen was unresponsive. During this time the phone literally switched itself off and then came back on. The screen went GREEN for a few seconds, then black, and then vertical fuzzy grey lines were flashing on the screen....?! by this stage I was ready to throw it out the window hahah. These sort of things should not be happening to a 'brand new' phone as far as I am concerned. Especially when this phone is a replacement and the original phone that I paid 800euro for was faulty :-(
So i went back into Compub today and explained what happened and also showed him a picture of the screen when it went grey and fuzzy flashing. He tried to turn on the phone himself but it just went to an apple logo and the started flashing the way it did the night before. I asked them again 'Is this a new phone' and the guy (different from the last time) told me that he could not 100% percent guarantee that because it is apple that sends the products and they 'do not have contact with apple'..... i also asked him where the original phone is now and again he could not answer that.
So the current situation is that they have taken the second phone, the one which was meant to be the 'replacement' for the first faulty phone, back to be examined which is ridiculous. I got an email this evening saying that they need to 'order parts' to fix the phone which takes 1-2 days to arrive before they can solve the problem. This I do not understand because i am absolutely not taking back this phone, even if they claim to have 'fixed' it. They told me it was new yet all these problems happened within the first few hours, so i can only imagine the problems i may face with it down the line.
Is there any way that I can guarantee that i am being given a new phone? And what are your thoughts on the whole situation? Am I being screwed over? Someone suggested asking to see the box it comes in, when I go in to collect the phone next time (I know I can't take the box though). Any opinions/tips/advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
I'm not in Ireland, so all I can give you is some very general information. Generally, when Apple replaces a phone it's a "remanufactured" phone. Meaning, the casing, the battery and any failed parts are replaced. It's then tested and sent along in a white box (unmarked and which does not contain accessories). Some brand new phones are diverted from production to be assigned as replacement phones and are thus also packaged in these white boxes. So, the replacement could be new or it could be remanufactured. Only chance determines that.

Where your shop is getting these replacements I don't know. It's unfortunate that you do not actually have a real Apple store as they most certainly could resolve your problem.

I would call Apple again and ask to speak with a higher up manager or supervisor. Continually telling your story to the lower level CSRs is not resolving your problem. Escalation may be the answer.

While all this is fresh in your mind I would begin to document it so you have something to show Apple as well as a way to keep your information in order.
 
I'm not in Ireland, so all I can give you is some very general information. Generally, when Apple replaces a phone it's a "remanufactured" phone. Meaning, the casing, the battery and any failed parts are replaced. It's then tested and sent along in a white box (unmarked and which does not contain accessories). Some brand new phones are diverted from production to be assigned as replacement phones and are thus also packaged in these white boxes. So, the replacement could be new or it could be remanufactured. Only chance determines that.

Where your shop is getting these replacements I don't know. It's unfortunate that you do not actually have a real Apple store as they most certainly could resolve your problem.

I would call Apple again and ask to speak with a higher up manager or supervisor. Continually telling your story to the lower level CSRs is not resolving your problem. Escalation may be the answer.

While all this is fresh in your mind I would begin to document it so you have something to show Apple as well as a way to keep your information in order.
Ok thank you for your advice! I am told that the replacements come directly from Apple themselves, but that is all they can tell me. They cannot say whether they are 100% new or refurbished yet I rang apple this evening and the guy told me they were all new. Although this kind of stuff should not happen to a phone. Or else I am just extremely unlucky!? I will definetly ask to speak to a manager or supervisor and ask for advice because I just cannot justify paying so much money for a new phone which is clearly faulty and being replaced with another faulty one. I know that I have certain consumer rights which I will be sticking to!
Thanks again :)
 
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Ok thank you for your advice! I am told that the replacements come directly from Apple themselves, but that is all they can tell me. They cannot say whether they are 100% new or refurbished yet I rang apple this evening and the guy told me they were all new. Although this kind of stuff should not happen to a phone. Or else I am just extremely unlucky!? I will definetly ask to speak to a manager or supervisor and ask for advice because I just cannot justify paying so much money for a new phone which is clearly faulty and being replaced with another faulty one. I know that I have certain consumer rights which I will be sticking to!
Thanks again :)
My concern is not so much where the shop is getting the replacement but whether there is a disconnect between what they actually get from Apple and what they are giving you (and others) - if you know what I mean. ;)

And Apple will always tell you it's new because to them it technically is.

Good luck and report back!
 
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