London UK Apple Store service

[mojolicious]

A few days after the iP6 announcement I took out a 5c contract for my daughter. The phone has developed a receiver fault: it's almost inaudibly quiet. Believe this is/was quite a common problem with the 5 and 5c.

Chatted to an Apple person online last night and once we'd established that I'd restored the phone and the problem remained she made a service appointment for my daughter at the Covent Garden store.

Today I checked with the carrier (Tesco Mobile) to make sure that they didn't require that the repair be handled by them; turns out they're happy for the Apple Store to deal with the problem, which is good because I (hopefully) get to avoid their 7–10 day repair turnaround.

A couple of questions for you:

a) I *think* the receiver is a discrete component. Does an Apple Store have a big box of receivers in the stock room and conduct the repair onsite, either while you wait or overnight or... something?

b) If 'yes' to the above for Covent Garden, does anyone know if the Stratford store offers the same level of service? Daughter has announced that Stratford is easier for her, but it's a much smaller unit than Covent Garden

c) If it ends up being a send-away repair (although Apple person seemed to intimate it was an in-store fix) what is Apple's turnaround time? And are there options to have the phone returned either to an Apple Store or directly to my address?

Thanking you in anticipation etc etc etc...

 

[fat jez]

I expect they'll run some tests on it and then swap the phone. I think they're only replacing screens in store. The store you go to shouldn't affect your experience either, they should all be as capable.

 

[Tomo1971]

Do s backup before you go ensuring pictures etc have been backed up. Chances are you will get a replacement handset once it's confirmed the unit is faulty.

 

[mojolicious]

Cheers both.

Complications I'm now envisaging are...

a) daughter is 16 so she might not be legally permitted to sign anything that needs signing if Apple want to swap out or take in for repair

b) the 32GB is no longer offered by Apple themselves (although carriers still seem to have supplies) so a swap-out might be impossible, whether as a matter of policy or a matter of stock

Appointment is on Friday afternoon (first available spot at a convenient time fo day). Will load her up with all the paperwork I can find and wish her Godspeed. If needs be I can always present myself to the Apple Store over the weekend. Seems preferable to putting the phone through a ParcelForce > Tesco > Yodel process!

 

[fat jez]

I don't think either will be a problem. Might have been if your daughter was under 16, but she's not.

 

[mojolicious]

Daughter arrived five minutes before the appointed hour of 4.50pm. The store was very busy but once she'd made herself known to a member of staff she was seen within ten minutes.

A Genius ran off with her phone for a couple of minutes before returning and announcing that the receiver was indeed dead. Was told the receiver would be replaced, and to come back in an hour.

Daughter returned an hour later and was told that replacing the receiver didn't fix it, so she was given what appears to be a *new* phone. Just the phone itself. No protective films on it. But very, very new looking.

For reference, a 5c receiver replacement (item number 923-0542) costs £49.33 if out of warranty, and the replacement of the phone itself was nominally priced as a £165.83 'flat rate repair'.

So... the Apple Store (in Covent Garden, at least) undertakes receiver replacement in-house and while you wait. Can't retrace my steps on the website but when I first started looking for a fix I was presented with a list of three stores: Covent Garden, Regent Street, and Westfield. I guess these must be 'Genius Bar Plusses'?

Was apparently a beautifully smooth experience, only marred by:

a) staff saying she had to have another white 5c (she wanted green; as it's almost certainly my next iPhone I'm perfectly happy with this refusal)

b) when she waved her buggered Lightning cable at them she was told they were available for sale; the days of no-questions-asked cable exchange seem to be over!

I'm still slightly surprised that the exchange was processed without my explicit consent. The online support chat was me 'disguised' as my daughter thus ensuring that she received the diagnostic link from Apple, and that the appointment and case number were in her name. But the only proof of ownership she had was a contract summary email from Tesco, which a) didn't have the phone serial number or IMEI on it, and b) wasn't even asked for.

On receipt of the new phone she signed several bits of paper without reading them and without receiving copies. Lord knows what she's assented to...

 

[fat jez]

Apple will only do like for like replacements, so you won't be able to change colour. The forms she signed will be to give them permission to do the work, nothing more sinister than that.

 

[Tsuchiya]

Apple assume positive intent when it comes to these things so they probably wouldn't have questioned your daughter showing up for the appointment.

As for the cable, is it obviously abused? Strictly speaking you'll need to see a member of the Genius bar to have a replacement made, but when it's busy and the lines for unexpected are long, find just a Specialist near accessories. As long as you've obviously not abused the cable and can show the device is within warrantee, they'll likely just exchange it for you.

 

[Gav2k]

Daughter arrived five minutes before the appointed hour of 4.50pm. The store was very busy but once she'd made herself known to a member of staff she was seen within ten minutes.

A Genius ran off with her phone for a couple of minutes before returning and announcing that the receiver was indeed dead. Was told the receiver would be replaced, and to come back in an hour.

Daughter returned an hour later and was told that replacing the receiver didn't fix it, so she was given what appears to be a *new* phone. Just the phone itself. No protective films on it. But very, very new looking.

For reference, a 5c receiver replacement (item number 923-0542) costs £49.33 if out of warranty, and the replacement of the phone itself was nominally priced as a £165.83 'flat rate repair'.

So... the Apple Store (in Covent Garden, at least) undertakes receiver replacement in-house and while you wait. Can't retrace my steps on the website but when I first started looking for a fix I was presented with a list of three stores: Covent Garden, Regent Street, and Westfield. I guess these must be 'Genius Bar Plusses'?

Was apparently a beautifully smooth experience, only marred by:

a) staff saying she had to have another white 5c (she wanted green; as it's almost certainly my next iPhone I'm perfectly happy with this refusal)

b) when she waved her buggered Lightning cable at them she was told they were available for sale; the days of no-questions-asked cable exchange seem to be over!

I'm still slightly surprised that the exchange was processed without my explicit consent. The online support chat was me 'disguised' as my daughter thus ensuring that she received the diagnostic link from Apple, and that the appointment and case number were in her name. But the only proof of ownership she had was a contract summary email from Tesco, which a) didn't have the phone serial number or IMEI on it, and b) wasn't even asked for.

On receipt of the new phone she signed several bits of paper without reading them and without receiving copies. Lord knows what she's assented to...

The 'receiver' is part of the screen accembely so it would have been easy enough to replace.

Apple do not ask for proof of ownership and never have done

 

[bandofbrothers]

Thank you for your update.

A good reasonable outcome.