Unhappy iPhone 4 customer - Where do I stand?

Tweets_1980

This is my first post here so please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section. Please also move it to the relevant section.

I purchased my iPhone 4 on release day and I opted for a factory unlocked/SIM free handset. The reason for this is because I travel a lot and I want to be able to put any network SIM in, anywhere in the world without having to connect to iTunes every time I swap the SIM. For the first seven months of owning the handset this was fine. I had to have the handset replaced and was issued with a replacement, which was also issued with a replacement, and that was also replaced due to other faults but that's another story.

Anyway, my O2 contract was up last week and I placed an order online for a Vodafone PAYG SIM and when it arrived I popped it into my phone so I could get up and running. The minute I popped the SIM into the phone I got the screen that tells me to connect to iTunes. At first I thought that perhaps Apple had replaced my phone with a non unlocked handset but this turned out not to be the case as after I connected to iTunes I was able to use the phone as normal. Out of curiosity I popped my O2 SIM back in and the same happened again. I made an appointment at the local Apple store and told them what was happening and they confirmed that the phone I had been given was indeed and unlocked phone but the genius couldn't understand why it was happening. The genius went off to speak to other Geniuses and came back and said "When you get an unlocked replacement handset whenever you change the SIM card you have to connect to iTunes and it's (hidden) in the Terms & Conditions." I pointed out that when I was told to sign their glorified iPod Touch/iPhone you get it shoved at you and told to sign with no time to read the pages and pages of crap. I also pointed out that something as serious as this should actually be told verbally to the handset owner.

I told them that the handset was no longer of any use to me and that I either wanted a full refund or a brand new factory unlocked handset out of the box. I pointed out that I paid £500 for a factory unlocked handset because it can do X Y Z yet a replacement phone, although it can do X Y Z it can only do Z if you don't mind an inconvenience, and to me it is an inconvenience because I choose not to carry my laptop with me when I go abroad and that's why I have an iPhone and an iPad 2. They refused point blank to do either!

I asked if there was anything that could be done to my phone so I could swap SIM cards without having to connect to iTunes every time. The 'Genius' went off and returned 30 minutes later after placing a call to some main Tech Support centre. She said that restoring the handset with the original SIM card in would sort the problem. I informed her that I had not long restored the phone myself and it obviously hadn't done anything. She asked if she could try restoring it and I agreed. When it finished restoring she tried two different networks SIM cards in my phone and both worked without the handset requiring to be connected to iTunes. I pointed out that my phone was now synced to the Apple stores iTunes account and asked that when I got home if my own restore or restoring from backup would undo what she had done. Her answer was "you'll just have to try." Back home I opted to restore my handset from a back up and when complete I popped out my SIM card and popped in the replacement Vodafone SIM card and the handset didn't ask to be connected to iTunes. All very well and good but I don't know if the fact it worked was because the SIM card had been in the handset previously. I am waiting for a couple of new Micro SIMs to arrive so I can try it again with them but I don't hold out much hope of them working, and if they did I would not be happy if I got to a foreign country and popped in a local SIM only to have the connect to iTunes screen pop up..

My question is where do I stand with this? Am I within my rights to request a brand new unlocked handset or at the very least a full refund?

ruggedtoast

No.

........

Wintermute

Tweets_1980 wrote: »

Am I well within my rights to request a brand new unlocked handset or at the very least a full refund?

No, not even slightly.

A brand new iPhone is going to behave exactly the same. My understanding of the unlocking process is when you're phone's unlocked you need to put another network SIM into the phone, sync it with iTunes using the account you originally activated it with before the SIM will be recognised, I believe you have to repeat this process whenever you put a different networks SIM in. That's certainly how it works when you purchase a locked iPhone and get it unlocked via your network operator.

Tweets_1980

Wintermute wrote: »

A brand new iPhone is going to behave exactly the same. My understanding of the unlocking process is when you're phone's unlocked you need to put another network SIM into the phone, sync it with iTunes using the account you originally activated it with before the SIM will be recognised, I believe you have to repeat this process whenever you put a different networks SIM in. That's certainly how it works when you purchase a locked iPhone and get it unlocked via your network operator.

My phone was bought factory unlocked direct from apple and is not a network unlocked phone.

If you care to re read my initial post you will see that my initial phone was used for several months with several different SIM cards, some from foreign countries, some from the UK without the need to connect it to iTunes every time the SIM was swapped. I didn't shell out 500 pounds lightly! I did my research and after several confirmations from apple and other various sources I was informed that I would not have to connect to iTunes every time I swap SIM cards, if this was the case then I wouldn't have bought the phone. Also, the fact that apple say that replacement handsets do require to be connected to iTunes after the SIM card is swapped also backs that up.

Network unlocked handsets on the other hand are a different kettle of fish and will need to be connected to iTunes every time the SIM card is swapped.

nicolax

arent all iphones unlocked? im sure i read that somewhere, that the phones arent branded or locked regardless of where purchsed

if im wrong i apologise! am not 100% on this so dont quote me on it!

Tweets_1980

nicolax wrote: »

arent all iphones unlocked? im sure i read that somewhere, that the phones arent branded or locked regardless of where purchsed

if im wrong i apologise! am not 100% on this so dont quote me on it!

If you buy your handset with a contract then it will be locked to that network. I know O2 will unlock your handset after X amount of months for free (or at least they did) and I'm not sure about the other networks. If the network unlock your phone for you then every time you swap the SIM card the phone will need to be connected to iTunes. The advantage of buying a factory unlocked handset from apple is to get round this and SIM cards can be swapped without having to connect to iTunes every time. Then apple shaft you if you have to have your handset replaced as it's not technically a factory unlocked handset and is basically a network unlocked handset.

foxtrot_mike

Can I just clarify something

Once your have inserted a sim card and registered it with iTunes does it then register that sim card on the phone permanently (ill use that term loosely)

If i took my original sim out and used it in a temporary phone would I then be able to put it back in the iPhone no problem?

I want an iPhone but need the option to swap the sim into a cheap phone for use when camping.

Tweets_1980

foxtrot_mike wrote: »

Can I just clarify something

Once your have inserted a sim card and registered it with iTunes does it then register that sim card on the phone permanently (ill use that term loosely)

If i took my original sim out and used it in a temporary phone would I then be able to put it back in the iPhone no problem?

I want an iPhone but need the option to swap the sim into a cheap phone for use when camping.

1st question - No, unless the iPhone is locked to the network and even then you won't have any problems removing and reinserting the original SIM but what you won't be able to do is use a different networks SIM card, unless you get the network to unlock the handset.

2nd question - Yes.

If you do buy an iPhone remember the iPhone 4 uses a Micro SIM card and nearly all other phones use a standard sized SIM card. You can get a converter to convert the Micro SIM to a standard SIM.

BRSurvivor

iOS5 should finally resolve your issue, but you'll have to wait until September.

Tweets_1980

BRSurvivor wrote: »

iOS5 should finally resolve your issue, but you'll have to wait until September.

That's what I'm hoping but then again you never know with Apple! What concerns me with iOS5 is if I change SIM cards and I am confronted with the 'Slide to Setup' screen and it wipes everything off my phone in the process. Luckily I'm not going anywhere between now and then. I don't want to get to a foreign country, pop in a local SIM card only to be shown the 'Connect to iTunes' screen as that will then render my phone useless for the entire trip as that screen will still be there after popping my original SIM card back in.

Some of the countries I visit don't have Apple stores so it's not as if I can pop along and say "hey can I connect my iPhone to one of your laptops so I can use it?" And even if there is an apple store then finding and trailing along to one is not my idea of fun, especially after shelling out £500 for a phone so I can swap SIM cards and not have this problem.

Guys_Dad

Never had an Iphone.

Never stood in line at 7.00 like a sheep on release day to be rushed into signing a contract I haven't had time to read by a sales person with a Genius tag either.

Don't like to be dictated to by the manufacturer of a device that seems to override the networks or 3rd parties who usually sell the handsets, thereby obscuring the normal SOGA contracts.

I prefer handsets that don't have a history of recalls in the USA with the States' lemon laws.

Never felt the need to spend £000's replacing perfectly functioning equipment the minute the next version is released.

Don't like to be tied in to one manufacturer's software / file proprietary formats.

As a result, sorry I can't be of any help. :beer: