Returning iPhone to store, but without AT&T service...

[dallas.daines]

This is my first post in the forum. I joined just for this! I have had an iPhone 2G for a little under a year now, meaning I should still be covered with my warranty. It's unlocked and jailbroken, and I'm currently using Tmobile as a cellular service. I'm having pretty serious wifi issues and have tried every fix I could come accross on the internet with no luck. I figure now my only choice is to replace it with a new one. I don't have an AT&T phone number, and don't think I ever registered the iPhone when I purchased it since I didn't set it up via AT&T. How can I go about returning my phone for a new/refurbished one? I am completely helpless without my wifi. PLEASE HELP!!

 

[jfox00]

First things First

You mentioned that your phone is unlocked and jailbroken. What steps did you take to try and "fix" your wifi problem?

The first thing you should do to troubleshoot this is to restore your phone to factory defaults. Relock it, un-jailbreak it. Probably want to borrow a friends SIM card and see if the phone will work, and if the wifi is working.

If you wifi IS working, then you know the phone is alright. If wifi is not working, you have a phone that can be returned to the apple store. Grab your receipt, grab the box, and head on in. They should be able to replace the phone. Not sure the best approach on taking the phone in without a SIM, but try it. If they cant help you, try it again later with a buddy's SIM in there.

That's the way I would approach this.

 

[aristobrat]

I don't have an AT&T phone number, and don't think I ever registered the iPhone when I purchased it since I didn't set it up via AT&T. How can I go about returning my phone for a new/refurbished one?

From my experience at the Genius Bar at my local store (and from AppleCare telephone support), Apple will not service an iPhone that's not associated with a valid AT&T account. Furthermore, it's hit or miss if they'll service a phone that's visibly jailbroken, even if there is an AT&T account asociated with it.

I had a friend in the same situation as you, and they wouldn't service it, so he signed up for an AT&T account, got his phone serviced, and then called AT&T back and canceled, saying the service didn't work. I don't think he ended up paying anything to AT&T since he did that all in one day.

 

[dallas.daines]

You mentioned that your phone is unlocked and jailbroken. What steps did you take to try and "fix" your wifi problem?

The first thing you should do to troubleshoot this is to restore your phone to factory defaults. Relock it, un-jailbreak it. Probably want to borrow a friends SIM card and see if the phone will work, and if the wifi is working.

If you wifi IS working, then you know the phone is alright. If wifi is not working, you have a phone that can be returned to the apple store. Grab your receipt, grab the box, and head on in. They should be able to replace the phone. Not sure the best approach on taking the phone in without a SIM, but try it. If they cant help you, try it again later with a buddy's SIM in there.

That's the way I would approach this.

I have restored it multiple times and re-jailbroke it. Same problem. I even restored it to 1.1.4 so I could use KiPhone and downgrade the baseband. Nothing worked. I know the Dev team released a wifi fix way back when we were all on 1.x firmware, but the symptoms aren't like mine, and in order to use the fix, you need wifi. I'm at a loss, andthe nearest Apple store is two hours away. I would like to take care of it over the phone, but the first thing they ask for is an AT&T number. What if I tell them I cancelled my AT&T service and just use my iPhone as an iPod?

 

[nctalkinghead]

Not what you want to hear, but...I had a 2g that was not activated with an AT&T account. The external speaker would not work and the phone "thought" the earbuds were plugged in. I took in to the Apple store in Raleigh, NC. The CSR took it into the back and returned to say that without an active AT&T account he could not repair the problem. I asked if that meant he could fix it if it had the AT&T account. He smiled and said again that he could not repair a phone without an AT&T account! He did confirm that th speaker problem was covered by the warranty.

 

[jfox00]

It seems like the best approach would be to borrow a friends SIM card that is on AT&T (preferably using an iPhone) and put it in your broken phone, and take it in, have them fix the phone, and give your buddy his SIM card back. Don't forget his 6 pack of beer, either!