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How To Get the Most From Your iPhone’s Warranty

busted_iphone

CC-licensed photo by Jeff Turner

By Jonathan Zschau

Apple released the iPhone 3G on July 11th, 2008, which gives you early adopters just a few weeks before your one-year warranty runs out.

What does this mean? It means you should give your iPhone a good hard look to determine if it’s in your best interest to take your iPhone to your local Apple Store to try to obtain a replacement.

There are at least 18 well-known defects with the iPhone, all of which oblige Apple to replace the handset for free. All are detailed are over the next few pages, including ways to test your iPhone to make sure everything is functioning properly.

Issues that Apple considers grounds for replacement include hairline cracks, discolored screens, dead pixels, flakey WiFi, dodgy GPS and crackly speakers.

If your precious iPhone is suffering from any of these problems, read on to make sure you’re properly prepared before you head down to your local Apple store and get a replacement. Hurry, before it’s too late.

The purposes of this article are twofold: to help the average iPhone owner decide whether or not to seek a replacement iPhone pursuant to Apple’s 1-year warranty; and, to prepare the average iPhone user for the process of replacing his or her iPhone.

Should You Replace Your Old iPhone?

There are three main questions you should answer before bringing your iPhone to a Genius. First, does your iPhone have a problem caused by a legitimate defect? Second, is your iPhone still covered by its warranty? (July 10 is the last day if you purchased your iPhone on July 11th, 2008). Third, do you really want to replace your iPhone? Ultimately the decision is yours to make and should be made honestly – it is not in your best interest to try to obtain a new iPhone based on false pretenses.

The bottom line: if you genuinely believe your iPhone is defective, it is your right to demand that Apple repair or replace it pursuant to its 1-year warranty. Let’s discuss.

Turning your problem into a defect.

Take a close look at your iPhone. Get out a magnifying glass if necessary. It does not matter how insignificant the problem may seem. For this article, a “problem” refers to any imperfection in your iPhone.

If you want to exchange your iPhone, you will need to show that your problem is also a defect. A “defect” refers to any physical flaw that is not attributable to the iPhone owner’s fault or negligence. That is, a defect is a problem with the iPhone that is wholly attributable to either a flaw in the iPhone’s design or an imperfect manufacturing process. 

Hardware problems are by far the easiest to claim to be a defect. This is the case because, absent blatant evidence of abuse like water damage or trauma, it is simply not feasible to open an iPhone up and diagnose each and every one of its many parts. That is, the Genius will usually just give you a new iPhone.

The next thing to do is to prepare to for a trip to your local Apple Store.

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About the author

jzschau

Jonathan Zschau is a young attorney in Boston, Massachusetts. He is an active member of the Boston Bar Association. He is a food and travel enthusiast and spends most of his free time reading, writing, and dabbling in graphic design.

Email the author | Read more posts by Jonathan Zschau.

9 comments

    Some interesting stuff there, although it’s probably worth noting that your mileage my vary depending on the consumer rights available in each particular country. In my experience, although the UK has very strong consumer rights that enable customers to make claims up to seven years after purchase, Apple fights desperately against such things. In the US, despite the country having weaker general consumer protection laws, it seems Apple Stores are often more likely to offer replacements for faulty hardware rather than argue the toss about whether a defect was there at the point of manufacture.

    [...] How To Get the Most From Your iPhone’s Warranty [...]

    [...] How To Get the Most From Your iPhone’s Warranty [...]

    I believe that I am just not lucky when buying anything and I am constantly fighting with apple about my iphone (I purchased it from an apple store). I have to say, that although it is usually a time consuming and frustrating effort, they have come through.
    I as well, have an issue with my time line for warranty on all items as apparently I am very disorganized. I recently fount this website that is awsome, at least for a persone like me. http://www.warrantyelephant.com Hope this helps others

    Very cool site. If I would have known about this 3 months ago, I probably would have saved some money. Easy to sign up, easy to use. Great Idea.

    [...] Your Warranty. First, read this article about getting the most out of your one-year warranty. Although you may not know it, your iPhone 3G may be defective. If you are able to identify a [...]

    [...] Your Warranty. First, read this exposition about getting the most out of your one-year warranty. Although you may not know it, your iPhone 3G may be defective. whether you are able to identify a [...]

    hi Jonathan,

    I was recently scammed by a guy who sold me an (dead pixels, cracking plastic, discolored screen) iphone 16gb for $290. Today I followed everything you said and walked into an Apple store with an appointment and walked out with a NEW iphone 3g 16gb!! I did my homework well on those three flaws and it paid off!

    Thanks a LOT

    This guide helped alot!
    Thank you so much
    I worked my way into the guys brain
    I told him that I had Been saving up
    and that I wanted to work at the store when I’m older
    he replaced my phone even though I had water damage
    which usually isn’t covered
    thanks a million really helpful!

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