iphone 4s wifi greyed out.

As I expected - these 'magic' solutions are all temporary, may last few hours/days or even weeks,
but eventually the problem will show again. Only solution is to replace the wifi/BT chip, or the phone..

Nobodys arguing about the 'temporary status'.... we simply asked if Apple would acknowledge its a hardware fault; a fault in their equipment or process. Its very clear to me, in the industry, that this is a fault in manufacture that they should address but as usual Apple have decided that acknowledging this would open a up a whole can of worms that would cost an awful lot of money and hassle.

Do you want to fork out $600 every 18 months? I dont and will work around it by using something cheaper. Luck I've got my old phone or I would be even more disgruntled.

I wont be buying another iphone due to the lack of feedback from apple, Their custom services has gone down hill over last few years.

Due to this software that cause permanent hardware issue. And Apple doesn't stabd by their overpriced priduct. I've gone Samsung & don't regret it. there's some adjustments but worth it. Good luck!

The fact that Apple Australia recognizes this issue but not here in US is just.... OK, beyond me.

reference: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1581448 (see #8)

They did a replacement even for out-of-warranty 4s.

So I guess Apple US is waiting for what? Maybe they feel they can afford to lose a few thousand sales. No biggie to them. It's probably cheaper than replacing all these defective phones. I'm sure they're looking into that or have done so already. Step up Apple.

BTW all in reply to my last post I ending up taking my phone into a Apple store in AU and they did replace it free of charge even after warrently had expired so all good! I think here in AU if you mention the Australian Consumer Law then it helps! I'm wandering how how many views and replies does it take for Apple to take action? Half a million? - plus this can't be the only forum on this hardware issue! Good luck to all.

What's weird with my situation and makes it hard for me to believe it's a hardware issue is that sometimes after enough restarts my wifi will kick back on, I'm not sure how long it even lasts but after surfing for a few minutes I realize I'm back on cellular data. So if it's a hardware issue with the wifi chip having connection issues wouldn't it stop working all together once it's been disconnected? How would it magically be able to connect again randomly? It's also hard to believe that the worlds "best smart phone" is having major issues, with multiple devices, completing what should be a relatively basic task. 😟

JustDaveT wrote:

I wont be buying another iphone due to the lack of feedback from apple, Their custom services has gone down hill over last few years.

So, when you called Apple Support, or visited a local Apple Retail Store, they didn't say anything at all?

If your out of warranty you won't even connect to Apple Support unless you purchase a $20 one time support blah, blah, blah. If you go to the genius bar, their suggestion is to buy a new phone for $199...

Another weird thing that makes it hard for me to believe it's a hardware problem with the chip is that I've never had a problem using my bluetooth and supposedly the bluetooth uses the same chip as the wifi. So how does one work fine and the other not at all. Something just doesn't add up. My fingers are crossed for a software update correcting the problem..

btrau1 wrote:

If your out of warranty you won't even connect to Apple Support unless you purchase a $20 one time support blah, blah, blah. If you go to the genius bar, their suggestion is to buy a new phone for $199...

Or, if you request an exception, they'll usually grant one. Or, if it turns out it's a hardware issue, you don't get charged the $19. In other words, if you do all the troubleshooting steps in the articles, it's almost definitely a hardware issue, so the $19 fee is moot.

Another weird thing that makes it hard for me to believe it's a hardware problem with the chip is that I've never had a problem using my bluetooth and supposedly the bluetooth uses the same chip as the wifi. So how does one work fine and the other not at all. Something just doesn't add up. My fingers are crossed for a software update correcting the problem..

Just because one 'channel' works, doesn't mean the other one will. Either Wi-Fi OR Bluetooth OR both can be affected by a hardware issue.

Actually if you select "request an exception" the only option your given is to provide Apple Care information. Your explanation doesn't explain why wifi would sometimes work. And if it is a hardware issue then what would be the point of contacting Apple Support, or visiting a local Apple Retail Store? If your out of warranty they'll still only offer you a new phone for $199. No other advice or service will be given. They didn't even try to restart my phone or anything. Just looked up my serial number saw that I was out of warranty and said their was nothing that could be done besides buy a new phone. At least when I went to Verizon the guy reset my phone and it worked instead of saying "It's a hardware issue. All we can do is offer you a new phone for $199." Obviously it's a manufacturer defect if nothing else on or in the phone is damaged. Truly disappointing Apple.

Hi TJBUSMC1973:

I am sorry but I am afraid what you are saying is not accurate, at least as applied to where I am located (UK).

It is enshrined in UK consumer law (in the sales of good act 1979) that goods purchased should be @Fit for purpose and last a Reasonable length of Time".

Now the law in the country does not put a time limit on the 'reasonable' length of time but lawyers and the consumer minister was quite explicit that this time does NOT have to be the length of the warranty the company chooses to provide. A company by law is not required to provide a warranty at all, but this does not mean that the good are not covered the minute it is bought.

Most lawyers agree (when arguing this in court) that the 'reasonable' length of time is related to the cost of the item, so, for example if I bought a 20p (or around 30 US cents) plastic pen from the shop, and it breaks after 10 days then it has lasted a reasonable amount of time. However if I bought a £1000 ($1600) TV set and it breaks after 1 years and 1 month (regardless of the length of warranty, because, as I have stated no supplier is required to provide one in the first place), and I have not misused or damaged it, then to a 'reasonable' person this does not sound a 'reasonable' length of time. I would assure you this that point had case law precedent, as has been successfully argued in court.

So if I were to buy a £500 ($800 or whatever) phone and it malfunctions in a years a bit (i.e. Wi-Fi greyed out) I would not consider this a reasonable length of time. We may differ on what time period is reasonable; however, I would assure you that case law has demonstrated that for expensive items the 'reasonable' length of time as considered by a judge is longer than a year. Expensive phones fall into this category as was actually referenced by the consumer minister recently.

So, as you can see, the law (in the UK) actually states that the manufacturer are liable for a 'reasonable' length of time (which can be demonstrated by case law to be longer than year). I am jot sure about the law in other countries but at least for the UK you are wrong.

You can argue about the morals of it, what I am saying is that your statements are not accurate according to the law in a marjor country where millions of iphones are sold. These laws may also exist elsewhere. So please in the future, I would encourage you to think a bit about your statements before posting them.

Regards

Another point is that, in this case in the UK, the law supercedes the warrenty the company provides, I have gheard of people getting money back for defects washing machines which are years old through the small claims court in this country.

Call Apple Support directly. Talk to a live human. Request an exception.

Why does the wi-fi 'sometimes' work? Some hardware issues are intermittent. Some are constant. That's how technology works. For example, a loose fuse in your car can cause your power windows to work sometimes, and other times not.

Did you have an appointment at the Genius Bar? If so, they should have done more testing. If you had an appointment and they did no testing, complain to the Store Director. It's not Apple's policy to refuse to test a device if you have an appointment.

Why do you need to check to see if it's hardware or not? So you know for sure if it needs to be replaced.

Sounds like you got sub-par service at an Apple Store, and don't want to talk to Apple Support. Talk to the Store Director, because he or she controls that particular store, and is in charge of those employees. Unless you tell someone that can do something about, nothing will be done about it.