CRACKED iPHONE SCREEN (STILL WORKS)
I am in the United States Navy, currently deployed on an aircraft carrier somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, half way through a 6 month deployment.
My iPhone screen is cracked. I took it out of my backpack while on liberty in Korea about a month ago, and the glass is spiderwebbing from a chip on the edge of the button on the front. The screen still works but it is cracked. One crack goes completely across the length of the screen, three go towards the right side, and 9 go towards the left side. No glass is missing, it feels smooth, and no sharp edges are protruding. From a directly front view, the cracks are not completely obvious. I can still watch movies and use the device. But from any off-center angle the cracks are quite obvious. There are 5000 people on this ship, and people are always asking what happened to my iPhone. It's really annoying and bad PR for your device.
I would like to get this fixed but I do not have access to an Apple Store until late November, when we return to San Diego.
Calling 1-800-MY-IPHONE was sadly a horrible and torturous experience:
1. I had to stay up until 11pm because that is 8am your time, and customer service is not open 24/7.
2. I am on a ship with slow and unreliable internet and phone connections.
3. After waiting on hold for 20+ minutes, I reached a technician. I explaned my story, and he said there is a military program and he'll help me out. Then he said he needed to go on hold for a minute. 25 minutes later my call disconnected.
4. I called back and eventually spoke with another technician who basically told me I was out of luck. I told him the 1st guy mentioned a military program, and he also put me on hold to investigate and 10 minutes later the call dropped again.
5. By the time all was said and done, it was 1 am my time. I was furious, tired, and had to go to bed to wake up at 0530.
What are my options? The 2nd tech I talked to said that by the time I get back to the States my phone will be out of warranty. Also, I use this thing all day from when I wake up (its my alarm clock), to running my day (the calender and alarms), to when I go to sleep listening to music. I really would hate to send it in and be without it for a few months (because mail is so slow to/from here).
What I want to happen is this:
1. (Preferred) Send me a new iPhone. I will send this POS back when I receive a new one. In fact, I would be willing to PAY for a new 3G model. But I still want my old one repaired so I can sell it or give it to a friend/family member. I cannot buy one because even if we pull into an Asian port that happens to have an Apple Store (unlikely), they probably won't be able to speak English and they will probably require me to get phone service with them (under contract). I do not want service on the new phone (or old repaired phone) until I return to the States. I will use it like an iTouch until that time. Note: I don't want an iTouch because I need a phone when I return to the States!
Or
2. Record my situation in my account. Give me a number or something to call when I get back, so I can speak to someone who won't give me a bunch of crap about my phone being out of warranty and blah blah blah.
Thank you,
Ian B. Jungling
(My AT&T phone service is currently disconnected because I don't get very good reception when I'm hundreds or thousands of miles from land for months at a time; so I felt it wasn't economically wise to keep giving AT&T $75 per month. Also, this 2G phone doesn't even work in Asian countries that I may or may not visit. Plus, iTunes iPhone setup said my credit ***** so I had to do the month-to-month plan. I think the automated system was screwed up, but actually I'm glad I'm not on a subscription.)
BTW: why wasn't I offered an extended warranty when I purchased this thing at the Apple Store? Does AppleCare not cover the iPhone?
Finally, I am so far very displeased with Apple's technical support on this issue. I did have a very pleasant experience a few years ago when I had to send in an iBook for AppleCare repair, which was very quick, courteous, and knowledgeable service.
My iPhone screen is cracked. I took it out of my backpack while on liberty in Korea about a month ago, and the glass is spiderwebbing from a chip on the edge of the button on the front. The screen still works but it is cracked. One crack goes completely across the length of the screen, three go towards the right side, and 9 go towards the left side. No glass is missing, it feels smooth, and no sharp edges are protruding. From a directly front view, the cracks are not completely obvious. I can still watch movies and use the device. But from any off-center angle the cracks are quite obvious. There are 5000 people on this ship, and people are always asking what happened to my iPhone. It's really annoying and bad PR for your device.
I would like to get this fixed but I do not have access to an Apple Store until late November, when we return to San Diego.
Calling 1-800-MY-IPHONE was sadly a horrible and torturous experience:
1. I had to stay up until 11pm because that is 8am your time, and customer service is not open 24/7.
2. I am on a ship with slow and unreliable internet and phone connections.
3. After waiting on hold for 20+ minutes, I reached a technician. I explaned my story, and he said there is a military program and he'll help me out. Then he said he needed to go on hold for a minute. 25 minutes later my call disconnected.
4. I called back and eventually spoke with another technician who basically told me I was out of luck. I told him the 1st guy mentioned a military program, and he also put me on hold to investigate and 10 minutes later the call dropped again.
5. By the time all was said and done, it was 1 am my time. I was furious, tired, and had to go to bed to wake up at 0530.
What are my options? The 2nd tech I talked to said that by the time I get back to the States my phone will be out of warranty. Also, I use this thing all day from when I wake up (its my alarm clock), to running my day (the calender and alarms), to when I go to sleep listening to music. I really would hate to send it in and be without it for a few months (because mail is so slow to/from here).
What I want to happen is this:
1. (Preferred) Send me a new iPhone. I will send this POS back when I receive a new one. In fact, I would be willing to PAY for a new 3G model. But I still want my old one repaired so I can sell it or give it to a friend/family member. I cannot buy one because even if we pull into an Asian port that happens to have an Apple Store (unlikely), they probably won't be able to speak English and they will probably require me to get phone service with them (under contract). I do not want service on the new phone (or old repaired phone) until I return to the States. I will use it like an iTouch until that time. Note: I don't want an iTouch because I need a phone when I return to the States!
Or
2. Record my situation in my account. Give me a number or something to call when I get back, so I can speak to someone who won't give me a bunch of crap about my phone being out of warranty and blah blah blah.
Thank you,
Ian B. Jungling
(My AT&T phone service is currently disconnected because I don't get very good reception when I'm hundreds or thousands of miles from land for months at a time; so I felt it wasn't economically wise to keep giving AT&T $75 per month. Also, this 2G phone doesn't even work in Asian countries that I may or may not visit. Plus, iTunes iPhone setup said my credit ***** so I had to do the month-to-month plan. I think the automated system was screwed up, but actually I'm glad I'm not on a subscription.)
BTW: why wasn't I offered an extended warranty when I purchased this thing at the Apple Store? Does AppleCare not cover the iPhone?
Finally, I am so far very displeased with Apple's technical support on this issue. I did have a very pleasant experience a few years ago when I had to send in an iBook for AppleCare repair, which was very quick, courteous, and knowledgeable service.
MacBook 2.2GHz Core2duo (Black), 4GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.5.4), iPhone 8GB, AppleTV 160GB, 1TB Time Capsule
