Apple store wouldnt replace my phone because they said a third party had changed the part with the serial number inside my phone, i know for a fact that i did not use a third party to fix my phone, why and how could this of happened?

Have you or any one else opened this phone?

If you are very curious and have the time (make appointment) take your iPhone to another Apple Store (or same one) and ask the Genius (probably will be different person, could be same) to evaluate your iPhone again. See what they say. If still, with the problem you claim, then have the Genius show you the Yellow Sticker and show you exactly the serial number discrepancy.

Regarding your article. I have seen finger prints in stock iPhones, especially iPhone 3G and 3GS. I have seen extra screw in stock iPhone 3GS and I have seen missing part in stock iPhone 4. On the other hand I know of many and I mean many iPhones that have been tampered with and the Genius has been kind and still allowed replacement under Warranty. Genius are people and overwhelmingly they make the customer happy, even the customers who cheat Apple. I can understand the Genius being very vigilant in trying to decrease the fraud, but their interpretation of the iPhone findings can be wrong.

Anyway go back to Apple and see if they can give you an answer which makes sense to you. If the Serial numbers are mismatch, it could have been Apple Factory Error, but you can't blame the Genius for doing their job. Good luck.

I have just experienced this issue. I got my iPhone 5 from Vodafone in Jan 2013 and have just taken it to Apple after it stopped recharging. They took it away as they thought the battery had become loose. Upon returning, they said they had reseated the battery but that they would do no further work as there are "stickers" in there that shouldn't be so a third party has been in it. I stated they had not but got a disbelieving look and suggestions I take it up with Vodafone. I went to Vodafone who said that they wouldn't have been in it as Apple insist any repairs are done by them so they send them to them. Irrespective, it has never been in for repair before today and never been opened (to my knowledge and it was in a sealed box when I got it). I am rapidly losing faith in Apple. This is the first phone I have owned that has developed a mechanical fault (suspiciously just out of warranty) and when I go to get it fixed I am accused of having a third party interfering with it. I thought Apple supplied "premium" products given that they charge premium prices? I read in here that others experience the same accusations. I suggest Apple ask questions of their production line as to me, there are clearly issues there, not with their customers. As an aside, they also said that if the phone got damaged whilst they were opening it would have to be sent off for repair at £209. I politely suggested that we cross that bridge if we came to it and that I would be paying nothing if my phone got damaged whilst Apple were repairing it!

Was it a refurbished phone? You need to call apple by phone and talk to them. Sometimes the people at the apple store don't really know what they are talking about. If for some reason they think you entered the phone there is nothing you can do to convince them otherwise. If its not to much trouble take it back and talk to someone else, they might not look at it the same way.

No, not a refurbished phone. Brand new in the packaging from Vodafone. I am currently researching the alleged "third party hardware" and believe it is the dock connector that Apple claim they didn't put there. These retail at about £4.99. Believe me, if I had had a third party repair of a £4.99 piece of kit I would just do it again not take it to Apple to try and fix. There is no logic to it. I'm not going to go down the cynical route of the fact that this "intruder discovery" was made whilst the phone was out of my sight being worked on by their repair staff!?!?

I have also discovered there is no one to email at Apple to complain. The only suggestions appear to be phoning or the Genius Bar. Obviously, I've been to the Genius Bar to be told that they won't do anything because of this mysterious intruder in their phone.

Further, I am now in a position where I cannot dispute that the phone has been opened as it now has; by Apple. The staff admitted that before they opened it "it didn't appear to have been opened before" but they stuck by their "we won't do anything" stance upon their discovery.

I've got a photo of the inside of the phone and to my untrained eye everything appears immaculate. None of of the screw heads, numerous of which would have to be removed and replaced for the "intruder" to get in there, are marked in anyway. Can't see why anyone would go to the trouble.

The phone isn't even under warranty so it's not like I'm trying to get a new for old - I just wanted it fixed by the "experts".

Rest assured, I will get to the bottom of this.

the apple people who can do the most are the people on the phone. They can make the apple store give you a new phone if they want. they have the most power and influence. But you have to be persistant and work your way up the chain of command. When you get far enough up the ladder some of those guys will give you a new phone just to get you off the phone. My friend at the local Apple VAR has seen them give brand new computers to customers who had nothing of the sort coming to them. Blew our minds.

During fiscal 2012, Apple sold approximately 125 million iPhones. Assuming a 1% failure rate, 1.25M iPhones were replaced under the one-year warranty. Why would Apple lie about yours, just to prevent it from replacing one more?

As per my previous, it was out of warranty. I was happy to pay for the repair but they wouldn't do it.

I gave up in the end.

Apple refused to budge. They maintain that the phone had been subject to third-party interference despite my protests.

In short, I was stuck between Apple saying it was Vodafone I needed to speak to and Vodafone saying it was Apple. All the while, my phone didn't work and was just an expensive paperweight. I was therefore forced to have a third party repair to get a working phone. it cost me £30 and worked perfectly.

To rub salt in the wound, the fault my phone developed has now been recognised as a fault by Apple and it is eligible for repair! But I've had it done by a third party now so they won't touch it.

Despairingly, I have since accidentally damaged my screen and my insurer require Apple to repair it to honour the insurance. I booked it in to the Genius Bar and guess what, they won't repair it due to the third party repair that they left me no option but to have!

I have had the same argument again with a different employee but Apple again refused to help me.

This is nothing to do with warranty or getting something for nothing, I wanted to pay them to do it but they wouldn't do the work. Why is that?

No, AppleCare phone support cannot force an Apple Retail Store to do anything. The Store Manager of an Apple Retail Store has the final say on what is allowed at his store, in regards to going outside the standard procedures. Not even a Senior Advisor at AppleCare can overrule them.

While persistence is useful, don't give people false hopes that by calling AppleCare they can get anyone to force anyone else to do anything.

And yes, I'm aware how old this post is, but just in case anyone comes across this and thinks that it's accurate, I figure it's best to nip it in the bud.

At this point, you've voluntarily had third-party service done, so it's a moot point. While you might have been able to fight it previously, now you've definitely lost the battle.

Apple makes the final determination on whether or not they will service a device. Vodafone has no authority to overrule them.

There have been other reports of similar issues with Vodafone .......

You cannot be sure they did not get their tame 3rd party repairer to fix a faulty out the box unit repackage and then put back in stock awaiting the next ......

But why won't they repair it for a paying customer?

if my Ferrari broke down and I took it to an independent garage to fix and then it broke down again so I took it to ferrari they wouldn't say "no, we won't help because someone else has been under the bonnet". They would certainly charge me more but they would still fix it.

True, but surely a "faulty out of the box" would just get sent back to Apple and they would replace it free of charge. Surely Vodafone would 't waste their time diagnosing, repairing and then repackaging a phone to sell off as new??