iphone 5 Black 64 GB Arrived Damaged

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iphone 5 Black 64 GB Arrived Damaged

Wondering how many of you have this problem or if this is an isolated deal, although it seems "not" to be an isolated situation. I ordered my 64 Black iPhone 5 from AT&T, I received it today and noticed there was a ding on the atenna exactly like the photo inthis linkbut mine is right below the home button. After much confusion at ATT (that's another story) I was told that I would need to make an appointment with Apple to have it exchanged since of cours they were completely sold out but no one knows if the Apple store will even have any in stock. Well, I sold my iPhone 4 and it suppose to ship by Monday the 24th, I have an appointment with Apple genius bar on Sunday the 23rd, I'll post back to let you all know what happened. The bum deal about this whole ordeal is that there seems to be no defined policy on how to handle this situation. I'm very disappointed with At&t and Apple at this point because both companies couldn't give me a definitive answer as to the next steps. So we don't really know what will happen on Sunday, will they have a replacement ready for me? Nobody knows.

B.T.W., No chance will I accept a damaged product no matter how small that damge is at this level (over $400 with a 2 year contract)! I take excellent care of my stuff, my iPhone 4 after 2 years of everyday use has zero damage.

I'm not too worried about it other then I'm in a crunch to ship my old phone as I agreed and before it devalues more. At least I get to use the new iphone in the meantime but it's extra time I have to fuss with which I do not have 😐

Posted on Sep 21, 2012 5:30 PM

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Answer 1

south73

Level 1

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Sep 21, 2012 9:04 PM in response to gtrmanla

My Black 64 iPhone 5 from Verizon also arrived damaged. The packaging was pristine, but upon unboxing I found a small nick in the left lower front chamfer of the antenna. I didnt think too much of it, although for this money I would rather it not be there. The real concern came after powering it up and seeing a scratch on the inside of the touchscreen behind the glass itself. It was also in the lower lefthand side of the phone. The glass itself was perfect. The scratch also appeared to release fine debris across the bottom of the screen inside from left to right. There is also a piece of dark noticeable debris in the upper righthand side of the screen. It is strange when looking at text and such on a white background, because you can see the debris behind the text. For the record, the phone has worked fine other than the visible internal damage to the screen. Anyways, I called Verizon first to see if they could replace my phone and they told me it would take about a month to get a replacement and I had to send in the new phone back in now. I decided to check my options with Apple directly. They are shipping a new iPhone 5 second day shipping and I should have it next week. If they get the phone to me that quickly during a this launch, I will be amazed and very appreciative. Also, they have some prompt customer service as did Verizon. Verizon customer service went above and beyond to help me. I am truly pleased with both companies' response thus far. I feel well taken care of.

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Answer 2

gtrmanla Author

Level 1

14 points

Sep 22, 2012 9:45 PM in response to south73

Thanks for that info! In fact, 8 out of 9 phones that I looked at had similiar damage to it. It was an eye opener for me, 8 out of 9? Really? I'm going to guess that this is the new atennagate topic.

I was able to make an earlier appointment for today 9/22/12 with another Apple store not too far away from me, I live in Los Angeles. What I was told is that if your phone arrives damaged you do not need an appointment with the genius bar, you are able to walk in and just request a new phone. So during this meeting we looked at 4 different black 64 models, ALL WERE DOA (Im sure they worked but Apple considers it DOA). In my case, since I bought it from ATT online I didn't qualify for a shiny new box, instead I had to chose from what they call a "Service Phone". Apple promises these are one of the same.

So after this dissapointment I went to the nearest ATT as suggested by the latest Apple Genius. I was told that they were sold out and to check back another time when they had more in stock! hmmm, not good enough so I went the "south73" way and just called Apple and then I was redirected to "Apple Care". They offered me the same option of 2 Days (for a temporary hold on my cc at $400) but the very helpfull lady at Apple Care suggested I try another Apple Store for immediate service so I did.

At this last store I was shown 5 Service Phones, all but one was acceptable!

So I was asked if I wanted to purchase Apple Care Plus for my new phone, actually I did since I didn't have that option with ATT online. So how it worked is that I purchased Apple Care Plus for the original phone, Apple created a case against a defect on the product, this way I don't get dinged on my Apple Care terms, I still have two cases left to use such as if I damage my iphone I can return for a $50 charge.

So, yes, In the end, Apple has come through yet once again! Thank You Apple!

Next time I will stay away from ATT...

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