Will not buy iPhone 12 or any iPhone

...Ghost... · 02-11-2020 09:16PM #1

I've been a fan of Apple products since the iPhone 4. I've owned a 5, 5S (twice), 6S (twice, plus a 6S for work), a 7, 8 and currently an 11. I've also owned a few iPad minis. I don't plan to buy another phone until maybe late next year, but it won't be an Apple phone.

Apple have been making their phone harder to repair over the years and now they won't even function if replacing with genuine Apple parts. What's worse is Apple don't really do repairs anyway. They wipe your data and give you a refurbished model in many cases. I've replaced parts and broken screens for family members over the years and I won't repair any iPhone after the 6S because the phone likely won't work anyway after being repaired.

I came across this video => on youtube

and it's enough to make up my mind. I know other manufacturers have made moves in this direction, but nowhere near this extreme and not with genuine parts as far as I know.

Heres Johnny · 02-11-2020 09:20PM

Good man. All you'll achieve is an apple v android argument here

Doodah7 · 03-11-2020 09:28AM

Apple will be devastated by the loss of your custom. Tim Cook can't get to sleep now.

turfthrower · 03-11-2020 10:40AM

I love Apple gear, but this guy is right. It's one thing to look after your own intellectual property and to guard the 'user experience' of your customers jealously, it's another to deliberately make your equipment hard to repair. If you pay for something, you then own it and should be free to do whatever you like with it that doesn't impinge on IP.

Apple is a fantastic company, with lots and lots of flaws. It makes amazing products, with lots and lots of flaws. I'd rather it didn't work with China because of human rights abuses there. I'd rather it made its phones more repairable. I'd rather it's products were made in a 100 per cent ethical way and I'd even pay more for that (but at Apple's scale I don't think that's necessarily needed)

I still like it's products but I'd like them more if it fixed these issues.

iniall · 03-11-2020 10:59AM

...Ghost... wrote: »

I've been a fan of Apple products since the iPhone 4. I've owned a 5, 5S (twice), 6S (twice, plus a 6S for work), a 7, 8 and currently an 11. I've also owned a few iPad minis. I don't plan to buy another phone until maybe late next year, but it won't be an Apple phone.

Apple have been making their phone harder to repair over the years and now they won't even function if replacing with genuine Apple parts. What's worse is Apple don't really do repairs anyway. They wipe your data and give you a refurbished model in many cases. I've replaced parts and broken screens for family members over the years and I won't repair any iPhone after the 6S because the phone likely won't work anyway after being repaired.

I came across this video => on youtube
and it's enough to make up my mind. I know other manufacturers have made moves in this direction, but nowhere near this extreme and not with genuine parts as far as I know.

Where do you think the refurbished phones come from? They are repaired phones.

...Ghost... · 03-11-2020 12:42PM

Doodah7 wrote: »

Apple will be devastated by the loss of your custom. Tim Cook can't get to sleep now.

Didn't mean to upset the fan boys. On the bright side, your comment put Tim Cook to sleep, so there's that.

iniall wrote: »

Where do you think the refurbished phones come from? They are repaired phones.

It's pointless when they won't repair the customers phone for the customer though. Receiving a refurb can end up being worse than hanging onto your broken phone. I have experience of this with iPad mini and a refurbed model sent back to me by Apple under warranty. Luckily I had nothing really important stored on the original and I had a recent enough backup from a month previous.

I really like the Apple devices, but when I spend hundreds of euros on a device, I expect to own it. It's not really ownership if the manufacturer makes every effort to block you from repairing the device with genuine parts.

...Ghost... · 03-11-2020 01:14PM

Mr.S wrote: »

But does Apple repair your device if the repair is straightforward. Screen / button / camera module replacement etc.

Anything more complicated and they issue you a replacement unit, because it would take longer to repair and they don't want to keep the customer waiting. You can have a screen replacement completed within the hour if you go to an Apple Store. Refurb units are not new devices.

Would you rather get your phone back ASAP or wait longer?

Wiping data is a moot point, everything should be backed up locally or on iCloud.

What Apple IS guilty of is restricting repairs and replacements to Apple and authorised dealers - I agree with you there, but based on the quality of parts that a lot of places use....I'm not that fussed about having to go Apple for repairs.

My experience of Apple repairs in Ireland (other than repairs I carried out myself) has been a need to send the item by post to Apple. It was a screen that developed a backlight problem where it would not respond to the ambient light level of a room, so was probably a sensor. I expected my item to be repaired, but I received a refurbed item which developed a touch screen fault after a few weeks, but this was now outside the warranty period and Apple didn't want to know. I would have preferred and fully expected to receive my iPad repaired. I would have waited longer and customers should be given that option.

Plenty of people don't want to cloud store data and prefer it be stored on their device. That is their own risk, but not everyone has a device they can backup to and not everyone wants to risk their data being compromised in the cloud. There is no need to wipe a phone for the vast majority of repairs. I don't understand why Apple do this.

Regardless of the quality of third party parts, Apple should not be actively trying to block repairs to a device they do not own. It's next level stuff when they are blocking repairs when using genuine Apple parts. I would like the option to choose who repairs my phone, especially when knowing that Apple have a tendency to recommend buying a new product because the cost of repair nears, or exceeds the cost of a new product.

Bottom line is that Apple is forcing people to use them for repairs/refurbs. The only other option is to lose functionality by going elsewhere, or live with the problem........or buy another brand.

...Ghost... · 05-11-2020 12:27AM

Mr.S wrote: »

Out of interest, why? Under our consumer laws, it's permitted to just replace. Not just an Apple thing.

Often cheaper and easier for any company to just replace vs repair.

The replaced unit you get will be no different than the original one you had. It's not like you can have sentimental value.

Have a local backup then, no need to use iCloud if you don't want to. If you don't have a device to store the backup...I don't really get what your argument is - Apple are providing two ways to backup, which you don't want to use?

When Apple repair something (let's say, screen replacement) they don't wipe the data but they make sure you've backed everything up in case something 'goes wrong' - they don't want to be liable. That's fully understandable IMO, and not unique to Apple. Anyone dealing with data will tell you the same thing.

Agree with you here. Right to repair should not be exclusive to Apple.

My order of preference when dealing with a broken/faulty item is:

New replacement
Refund
Repair
Refurbished replacement is a distant last

I've received refurbs a couple of times and results were not satisfactory.

For back-ups, I use my PC. I was just making the point that some people can't do local backups and the cloud is limited unless you want to pay. My understanding is that Apple do factory wipes before touching a device. It's been a while since I have been in touch regarding a fault, but that was definitely the case when I asked about my sisters XR under warranty. It was a bad speaker issue. Agent confirmed wiping phone was routine and said a replacement would likely be issued....refurb.

I personally received a new iPhone 8 when after a week the screen died in front my eyes.....but that was from the provider and was within the first 28 days.

I have already started to move away from Apple. After many iPads, I now use a SurfacePro. The apple price was too high for the specs and the inability to repair anything on latest models which have many documented failures was not a risk I was willing to take.

The iphone 11 will be my last Apple device unless their policies change. I may be just one customer, but if enough people vote with their feet, change will happen. I really hope it does, because their design and UI is something I will miss.

Dades · 05-11-2020 11:11AM

I've got two refurbs back from Apple in 12 years of iPhone ownership. Both were indistinguishable from new, never gave a day's trouble, and were sold on to fund an upgrade.

I replaced one screen myself, and had CompuB replace the screen on my XR. Both no issue.

Yeah, it would be great if they were easier to self-repair, but I have no issue with backing up my phone and getting an as-new one back.

Will not buy iPhone 12 or any iPhone

Comments