iPhone 5 (HK model) water damage - need replacement but located in Canada
Please advise on the following situation:
I have purchased an iPhone 5 in Dec 2012 through a carrier located in Hong Kong.
Most recently I have cancelled my contract with them and have immigrated back to Canada.
During last week I dropped my iPhone in the water and now the phone will not turn on (but will attempt recovering the phone when plugged into the comptuer - which ultimately fails).
Here are the steps that I took:
1. I went to Apple store in Canada for assessment of the phone. They suggested getting a replacement phone but cannot do so because my phone (purchased from HK) is apparently built differently from the models sold in North America. They advised me to contact Apple HK
2. Contacted Apple HK through phone; advised me to contact carrier which I got the iPhone from because apparently they will not offer a replacement phone without first attempting to resolve the issue with the carrier - i.e. Apple will replace / fix it when there's some sort of proof from the carrier that they will not / coudln't fix it (the representative I was talking with on the phone sound limited in terms of knowledge in this area). I asked for the cost of a replacement phone in HK and no price was given (unlike the time when I asked in the Toronto store).
3. Called phone carrier at which I got the phone from: told me to bring the phone to store and have them take a look at it. Carrier would not issue replacement phones, but can attempt to fix it (for a fee of course).
Now before mailing my phone back to my relatives in Hong Kong and have them resolve the issue through the carrier (which would likely end up with an expensive repairment cost that is more than a replacement phone from Apple), I am wondering if there is something that can be worked out with Apple directly.
Has anyone here gotten into the same situation with me that can offer me some advice on what I can do? i.e. Can I...
a) request to have a replacement phone (HK model) sent to the Apple store in Toronto, Canada and pay for the replacement cost there?
b) replace my iPhone 5 HK model with an iPhone 5 North American model?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Felix
iPhone 5, iOS 6.1.3