What rights for iphone5 wifi problems?

wookeywarn

Ok, i have an iphone5 and i am one of many people apparently affected by poor wifi connectivity - mainly dropping when the phone goes to sleep. This can incur heafty charges as the phone uses your mobile network instead of wifi when the homescreen is off.

There's lots of talk on the Apple forums about it and the one i have contribited to had has over 52k views which suggests a widespread problem. I have tried all the 'fixes' offered on the forums with no sucess and i went to the Apple 'Genius' bar to be told a network reset would solve the problem - it didnt.


My question is simple - what are our rights here? It's not fit for purpose but its the age-old problem of needing to prove there is a problem with the handset. And who should resolve it for me - my mobile provider or Apple? I've only had it a few months.:mad:

Moomum

I had this when the 4s came out, went into apple and they swapped it straight up for a new one there and then.

grumbler

wookeywarn wrote: »

My question is simple - what are our rights here? It's not fit for purpose but its the age-old problem of needing to prove there is a problem with the handset. And who should resolve it for me - my mobile provider or Apple? I've only had it a few months.:mad:

Consumer Rights Armour - Martin's article.

The legal protection you have here is from the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
....
Know who's responsible

When returning items, beware shops trying the oldest trick in the book: saying they're not responsible for the shoddy goods and you must call the manufacturer. This is total nonsense!
If a company fobs you off by saying “go to the maker instead”, it's wrong. It's the retailer's job to sort it.

It doesn't matter if it's an iPod from a high street shop or a designer frock from a department store. If something's broken, torn, ripped or faulty, the seller has a legal duty to put it right as your contract is with them.
....
Consumer rights: Quick dos and don'ts

...

Do return it to the store, NOT the manufacturer

However, with such fault you need to collect enough evidence before going to the network. WiFi connection depends on the router, distance, interference and even the phone position.

wookeywarn

[However, with such fault you need to collect enough evidence before going going to the network. WiFi connection depends on the router, distance and even the phone position]

Thanks for this. I have photos of my handset next to an ipod and ipad both connecting to wifi and the iphone5 not. very difficult to get evidence of the wifi droping when it's asleep as the screen is off - except i am expecting a mega mobile bill

Buzby

Considering this is a computer, and there have been 2 firmware updates to directly address the wifi issue (which does not affect all users), you would need to ensure you have updated to iOS 6.0.2, and then found the issue unresolved.

Have you done this?