Sending iphone 4 for repair Q

Tones69

Sending my iphone 4 for home button repair/replacement, still under warranty, home button is driving me mad as its gone very very unresponsive and have to press it really hard.

My first question is how long will i be waiting roughly to get it back? (Ive heard 10 days to 2 weeks) And secondly is my stuff auto backed up on itunes or will i have to go in now and do all that before i remove the sim and send it off
Cheeeers

Dublinstiofán

Firstly if you haven't already requested service you should enquire about the advanced
mailing option. Last i checked the service costs €29.99 and basically what it does is
Apple will mail you out a new iPhone 4 and you have 10 days to return the defective
one. (Apple will put a hold of the price of the iPhone on your CC but you should have
no problem so long as you return it). Hence it alleviates the problem of not having a
phone for any extended period of time.

The other option which is better value (if you are content in keeping your iPhone 4 for
a few years) is you buy an Applecare protection plan. They can be bought for between
€40 and €60 on Ebay or €68.99 from Apple. Basically what this does is extends your original
warranty to a full two years from the date of purchase. What it also does is it makes the
aforementioned service free of charge for that entire period and gives a full two years
of telephone support. Hence if you need a replacement during this period you will
always receive it before you have to send the faulty device back and you won't have to
pay €29.99 each time you need an iPhone in advance (or have to pay anything at all)

In answer to your questions

1)

You could get it as quick as 4 days once they receive the broken one. It could take up
to 10 business days though.

2)

Sync the phone before you send it off. If the device is not already on the latest
firmware it would be worth your while to update it and then sync your phone. The
reason for this is because the new iPhone Apple send you back will likely have the
most recent firmware and if the firmwares don't match you will have trouble restoring
all your most recent messages etc to the device. I.e if your device currently has 4.2.1
and the new one has 4.3.3 it won't allow you to restore your information onto it because
the firmware files wont be compatible.

Tones69

Sent it off tues morn, they got it this morn, its already been fixed, but at the bottom of the page of the repair status it says

Step 3 - Return
Product replacement pending (26-May-2011)

Does this mean theyre just giving me a new iphone? My friend said thats probably what they'l do, that would be sweet

eeloe

Yep, they are replacing your phone.

It'll either be brand new, or refurbished, either way you'll never know as a refurbished unit is as good as brand new.

DubDJ

My gf is havin the same problem but her button wont press in at all. It's useless she can't power it off now if she needs to she has to wait for it to go dead and charge it to automatically turn it back on. Does the Warranty not cover it for a free repair? Why is their a €30 charge?

whiterebel

DubDJ wrote: »

My gf is havin the same problem but her button wont press in at all. It's useless she can't power it off now if she needs to she has to wait for it to go dead and charge it to automatically turn it back on. Does the Warranty not cover it for a free repair? Why is their a €30 charge?

Read post #2 above.....

DubDJ

whiterebel wrote: »

Read post #2 above.....

I did but it doesn't say anything about just sending it away without receiving a replacement iPhone. She is still under warranty, the original one year that came with it. What i'm wondering is can she send it away and get it fixed and returned free of charge. Or do you have to do it that first way and pay for a replacement?

whiterebel

DubDJ wrote: »

I did but it doesn't say anything about just sending it away without receiving a replacement iPhone. She is still under warranty, the original one year that came with it. What i'm wondering is can she send it away and get it fixed and returned free of charge. Or do you have to do it that first way and pay for a replacement?

Either send it away and wait for the repaired/replaced one back for free, or
Pay €30 to get the replacement first, and send back the broken one within 10 days.

DubDJ

whiterebel wrote: »

Either send it away and wait for the repaired/replaced one back for free, or
Pay €30 to get the replacement first, and send back the broken one within 10 days.

Good stuff thanks White Rebel.

whiterebel

DubDJ wrote: »

Good stuff thanks White Rebel.

No probs. As one of the previous posts said, buy the AppleCare plan, gives you an extra year's warranty and you don't have to pay for the expedited replacement service.

DubDJ

I always thought the Applecare was pointless, just a moneymaking scam. But I can see how it would pay off for you. If the screen cracked or it got water damaged would they cover that or is it still basic protection they offer?

whiterebel

DubDJ wrote: »

I always thought the Applecare was pointless, just a moneymaking scam. But I can see how it would pay off for you. If the screen cracked or it got water damaged would they cover that or is it still basic protection they offer?

No, it's extended warranty, not insurance.

hdowney

i have to send mine back for the exact same reason. i cannot avail of the option where they hold the money on your cc as i don't have one so it would be a send off and wait jobby.

i am fed up with apple iphone at the mo tho. this phone is the second iphone 4 i have had since they came out in july. one month after getting it i had to send it back cos it turned off and came on all bandy (long story) and now the buttom is up the creek and has to be sent back again. and the madness is that this button problem is VERY common, so they could send me back another new one and it could go again out of warranty. completely unfair in my opinion when it is a well known fault