Apple has a new iPhone repair policy which just landed them a lawsuit filed by an angry, mistreated California customer. The new policy requires Apple employees to deny warranty coverage to any iPhone whose watermark (Liquid Submersion Indicator, or LSI) has turned from white to red. Which doesn’t sound completely unreasonable until you discover that the two LSI’s can be activated by cold weather, humidity, a bead of sweat, or a drip of condensation from a nearby glass. There are two external LSI’s located on the headphone port and on the dock connector.
iPhone LSI Locations
The new policy applies to the one-year warranty offered automatically within the purchase price of an Apple iPhone and to the AppleCare Protection Plan, an extended two-year warranty. Under both warranties, a customer may bring his defective phone to an Apple store and have it repaired, replaced, or refunded free of charge. Lack of coverage for liquid damage on ANY of Apple’s products is nothing new — but the new policy of actively denying a shred of help to customers and their products that have alleged water damage is something new.
As the Consumer Affairs website states, “The suit alleges, among other things, breach of warranty, fraud, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.”
I think most people would agree with me when I say that Apple has terrible customer service, and a new policy to match. I have been an Apple customer since 2005, when I purchased an iBook laptop that came with an iPod. I was even sucked into the AppleCare Protection Plan for my laptop, the value of which I’m STILL not sure about. I gave up on Apple computer products after replacing my power adaptor twice because of its bad design. I own an iPhone (and I am currently on the lookout for anyone who can offer me a bubble for my iPhone that will still somehow allow me to make calls, play with apps, and listen to music. )
My best advice for dealing with Apple’s new policy is to first take your iPhone to a reputable computer repair company such as A+ Mobile PC Doctors for a preliminary opinion. The technicians will examine your iPhone, externally and internally, for any sign of water damage. If there is no water damage, you can then bring your iPhone to an Apple store and pray that they’ll take pity on your damaged goods by replacing your phone. The WORST thing you could do is to blindly bring in your iPhone to the Apple store and solely rely on their opinion. From reading forums on the Internet to hearing about my friend’s recent experience dealing with Apple customer service over a supposedly water-damaged iPhone (strikingly similar to the lawsuit situation), they will try to take advantage of you.
A+ Mobile PC Doctors is a Boston computer repair company that has eight years of experience in PC repair, laptop repair / MacBook repair, and Mac computer repair / Apple computer repair. Located in 20 states, we conveniently offer onsite computer repair services for all of our services. For a full list of our services, see our computer repair services website.
Speak directly to an A+ Mobile PC Doctors computer technician TODAY by calling 1(617) 723-1986!
