Faulty iPhone t-mobile or Apple issue?

pruey

I bought an iPhone 4S in April 2013. In April 2014 my phone had a speaker fault, we took it to a T-Mobile store where we was advised to take it to apple to fix it under warranty. On 21st June we travelled to the Apple store in Meadowhall who replaced my phone. In Dec 2014 my phone developed a fault where the wifi button became greyed out and it lost both the wifi and Bluetooth. We contacted apple and went through troubleshooting steps, and ensured all software was working and up to date. This did not fix it, and was advised to go to an apple store. We went to an Apple Store on 2nd Jan and was told that the phone needs to be replaced as the WiFi and Bluetooth components aren't working and they can't be repaired. We have it in writing that there are no signs of excessive wear or misuse. We was told that it's a hardware fault and I need to contact T-Mobile because the phone was outside of Apple warranty. We then went to a T-Mobile store in Meadowhall, and was told to speak to customer service. My wife spoke to customer services on 3rd Jan explained everything and was told to take my phone to a T-Mobile shop for it to be sent away and assessed. We went to a shop on Sunday 4th and was told they can't do anything and that I was given the wrong info, while in the shop I rang customer services to be told again that the previous service member has given me the wrong info and that the phone has to be sent away for engineers to check. We were told we can't get a replacement or a free repair as phone was outside of warranty, and told phone has to be sent away for checks and no loan phones are offered, and it could take up to a month before I could get it back, and a replacement would be chargeable. When I mentioned that this phone is a replacement given to me by Apple in June 2014, I was then told they can't do anything about it as it's not the original phone given to me by T-Mobile, and they would send it straight back as serial numbers wouldn't match despite me originally going to apple for replacement under the advice of a T-Mobile store rep. We was told nothing can be done by T-Mobile, and to go back to Apple and let them sort it as they have given me the replacement. We spoke to Apple on 5th Jan and was told I will get an email with a written confirmation to show T-Mobile that this is a replacement phone given to me by Apple. We was referred to consumer law and told its providers responsibility to sort out any repair or replacement. Apple keep referring me to consumer law and that its T-Mobile responsibility and T-Mobile keep telling me to go back to Apple and neither will fix my phone unless I pay a fee. Any Help???


Regards,
Simon Prue

JJ_Egan

April 2013 so its out of the standard vendors 12 month warranty .

After six months under what you call consumer law its up to you to prove the fault is a manufacturing defect or the product should have lasted longer . For that you will need an independent engineers report .

When was your phone replaced by Apple .

AS you don't really know the position regarding Soga and Apple and TM then i suggest you contact Trading Standards .

grumbler

If the phone was replaced by Apple then T-mobile aren't responsible for anything even if the OP gets a report.

JJ_Egan

Question then is how long do Apple warrant the phones they replace six months .
Does SOGA now apply to the OP needing to take action against Apple then .

grumbler

Yes, this is an interesting question.
I think that the SoGA does apply as it covers even free 'gifts'. However, when replacing the phone Apple acted like a manufacturer, not a retailer.

ess0two

Using a hair drier play warm air into the speaker jack socket with fone switched on.
When the fone asks to be shutdown due to overheating turn it off,allow it to cool,when you swictch it back on the wifi/bluetooth issue will be cured.
The heat process refreshes the dry solder issue,google it further.

diamonds

ess0two wrote: »

Using a hair drier play warm air into the speaker jack socket with fone switched on.
When the fone asks to be shutdown due to overheating turn it off,allow it to cool,when you swictch it back on the wifi/bluetooth issue will be cured.
The heat process refreshes the dry solder issue,google it further.

If that works I would be under SOGA be asking for a replacement, its not fit for purpose.

gjchester

ess0two wrote: »

Using a hair drier play warm air into the speaker jack socket with fone switched on.
When the fone asks to be shutdown due to overheating turn it off,allow it to cool,when you swictch it back on the wifi/bluetooth issue will be cured.
The heat process refreshes the dry solder issue,google it further.

There are a lot of surface mount electronics in that area. Just directing air hot enough to melt solder (which means 300 'c or greater) in the rough direction of where you want to reflow a join is a risky proposition. This may work, or make issues far worse.

d123

ess0two wrote: »

Using a hair drier play warm air into the speaker jack socket with fone switched on.
When the fone asks to be shutdown due to overheating turn it off,allow it to cool,when you swictch it back on the wifi/bluetooth issue will be cured.
The heat process refreshes the dry solder issue,google it further.

The chip that controls wifi is about half way down the phone, I've tried the hot air method on a number of phones directly onto the chip after removing the back of the phone (using a Hot Air station that actually gets hot enough to reflow solder) and I can't remember it ever being successful, we got a few working by packing a bit of card on top of the chip and then putting the back back on, but it was always a temporary fix that went wrong again.

grumbler

diamonds wrote: »

If that works I would be under SOGA be asking for a replacement, its not fit for purpose.

The only question is whom to ask?
Well, it's not T-mobile. In fact the question is whether Apple, as a manufacturer, has any obligations under the SoGA.

gjchester wrote: »

There are a lot of surface mount electronics in that area. Just directing air hot enough to melt solder (which means 300 'c or greater)

You must be joking. It's a hair drier, not a hot air gun. And I think there is plastic around that will melt well before the solder starts melting.
BTW, hair drier diffusers are made from plastic that melts at temperatures well below 300C.

This may work, or make issues far worse.

Agreed.