I am a (former) Apple Loyalist. I have purchased 3 iPhones, to include the 3G, the iPhone 4, and finally, the 64gb iPhone 5. I also own an iMac Computer.
I have never dropped my phone, I have never gotten it wet. My phone was always in a hard case for protection. I recently did what you are SUPPOSE to do when my phone notified me that an update was available for downloading. I downloaded (or uploaded, whatever, I am not a computer afficianado by any means) the new update. Shortly thereafter my phone (iPhone 5) shut down without provocation. It started going into a continuous loop, blank screen then it would flash the Apple Logo on the screen. It kept doing this, I read online for solutions, and finally I used my updated iTunes account to reformat the phone in an attempt to fix the issue.
I reformatted the phone, which worked for a very short period of time, and then the same issue occurred. The phone shut down, and then the continuous loop of Apple Logo and blank screen continued. This time I attempted, again, to reformat the phone using my iTunes account. Unfortunately this time, my attempts were met with errors to include 4013, 4005, and 9. I attempted to gain assistance via online help through Apple. No solution was found. Being a great Apple loyalist, I made an appointment at my local Apple Store to attempt to gain a solution.
Upon arriving at the Apple Store I explained the situation. The rep plugged my phone into her computer, and immediately concluded that my iPhone 5 was no longer anything other than a glorified paperweight. She stated that the phone was broken during the update, and stated that the update was the cause of the phone being turned into a flashy brick. At this point I was still hoping to get some sort of favorable conclusion since the representative had just concluded that their update had caused my problem(s). She stated that the best they could do was sell me a new phone for $250. I stated that there was no way on God's green Earth that I was paying them $250 for their update breaking my phone. After some back and forth, they concluded (with the assistance of a 'manager') that the best they could do is sell me a new phone for $180. So now Apple expects me to pay $180 for their issue that caused my phone to break?
The extra kicker - after admitting their update had caused this issue, she stated that they couldn't cover it because if they covered my phone it would hurt the bottom line for the extended warranty companies. Yes, they are more worried about the extended warranty companies bottom line than their consumers. I purchased this phone in October of 2012 and have babied it since day 1. I understand it is out of warranty, but when I go into the store seeking some guidance and assistance into the technical matter, I don't expect the store to admit this is a problem caused by their updates then turn around and tell me that I have to pay for it.
Is there any crazy outlandish way to fix this phone? Anyone have any guidance in the matter? I'm far from a computer genius but I can follow instructions if someone can help out. By the way, being that I was going to be in an 'on-call' status at my job the next day, I went and purchased a Galaxy S4. I will never buy another Apple product so long as I live.
Just voicing my opinion on what I feel is ****-poor customer service by a company that has grown too large to care about the people that made them that way, the consumer.
