Advice - Apple claim iPhone 5 has 3rd party screen but I haven't had any work done on it?!

Same problem- Resolution

I just had the same exact thing happen to me. I had a battery fail, and looked it up on the internet and Apple had a program to replace batteries in the time frame of my phone. I entered the serial no. and the phone qualified for battery replacement. I had purchased the phone new from Verizon corporate store and it had never been opened since I owned it. My wife took it in to Apple store for service. When she returned to pick it up they said they were not allowed to replace battery because phone had 3rd party parts. I went back to Verizon and they looked the phone up, and I was the only one who had ever owned it as far as Verizon had records. I received it in a box and it certainly appeared brand new when I purchased it. They had no explanation. I thought maybe I received a refurb, but I talked to a friend who works for verizon and he said no refurbs at corporate stores. i decided to follow up with apple to see if they had a record showing whether the phone was sold originally to Verizon. I called applecare and told the agent what I wanted to find out. He asked several questions and then came back and asked some more questions. I mentioned that I still had my box and I was wondering if the serial number on the box matched the serial number on the phone, if the box had such a label. He said he didn't know if the box had that information, but while on hold, I looked and it did have that information and it matched my phone. He asked me some questions about the box, what color it was and the picture on the box. He went back to talk to his supervisor and then when he returned he said he would transfer me to his supervisor and would take care of me. He said they would replace the battery. I said we'll that was good, but I purchased a new phone and got one with non-OEM parts. He said they would send me a refurb that had all Apple parts. I received a return number and was told to take naked phone to UPS store and they would box it and send it back free of charge. I would receive my replacement in about a week. I am partly satisfied with the solution, but not overjoyed. The bottom line is that I was sold a new iPhone that had 3rd party parts. I feel confident that Apple did not try to pull the switcheroo, but that it happened at the factory that contracted the manufacturing. I would have been more satisfied if Apple had offered a new Iphone 5s or 6, since I had been defrauded.

No one said that you were lying. All Apple said is that the device has had third-party service. It's a huge jump to change that to 'they called me a liar'.

Go to the Apple Retail Store that replaced the device for you and speak to a manager and explain the situation: the device was replaced by this store, you've had no third-party service done, but Apple is now saying it's had third-party service. The logical conclusion is that the device did have third-party service, but it slipped through inspection the first time, but got caught the second time.

No one has called you a liar. They've simply presented you with the currently available facts. You're the one jumping to that conclusion.

That makes as much sense as this: 'Bob doesn't like President Obama's domestic or foreign policies. Therefore, Bob is racist against black people.'

You're jumping the gun by claiming you've been called a liar, unless someone from Apple specifically told you that they think you're lying.

Mark Coop

Just to update...

I submitted a complaint to Apple both in the UK and US about the way I was treated and the fact they would not believe I had not had the screen repaired at any point.

I received a call and was invited to meet a manager; when I went in he and the technical support continued to state it was 3rd party screen however they would make a one off exception and replace the battery.

When I returned I was given a very humble and sincere apology from said manager... They had got it wrong and the screen was genuine after-all.

It's a shame I wasn't believed and had to go through such a fight to prove I was telling the truth, however I have been invited back tomorrow to collect a new iPhone 6 by way of apology. My faith in Apple has been restored.

Hey Mark,

Could you let me know where you filed this complaint to in the US? It's ridiculous to get a 'supposedly' new phone for $269, and then after the warranty expired, to be told that it wouldn't be repaired because it has a 3rd party screen - I would like to have a complaint on record as well, there's really no other recourse because the store technicians claim I was sold an original phone from the manufacturer and the screen is replaced after, when I didn't do that.

Thanks!

Mark Coop wrote:

They didn't go into any detail, just that their technical guys got it wrong so apologised profusely and ate a lot of humble pie...

So, when I said: Go to the Apple Retail Store that replaced the device for you and speak to a manager and explain the situation: the device was replaced by this store, you've had no third-party service done, but Apple is now saying it's had third-party service.

That ended up resolving the issue, because upon further inspection, they realized the made an error?

Imagine that.

People make mistakes. And going from a 5 to a 6 is a huge jump. You came out ahead, by sticking to your guns. But again... no one ever called you a liar, now did they? 😉

The thread contains all the information you will get

Mark back last year confirmed Apple did not elaborate on why just agreed it was their mistake

All you can do is escalate to the Store manager and cite the Mark Coop story .Nothing anyone here can do to help or give better guidance than Mark received

I'm not going to speculate on what could have happened. Do you have your proof of purchase? If so use the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page and CALMLY explain your situation.

I had the same thing happen to me at the Arlington, VA store in Clarendon. Ultimate solution: I got really upset. Said over an over again that I was flabbergasted. Asked them if they wanted to call my office which would vouch that I was an extremely ethical person. Wanted to show them the award I got in college for ethics my senior year, they said they didn't think I was lying. But how would an iPhone given to me by an Apple employee in this very store give me a phone with a 3rd party screen. And this is the SECOND replacement phone I've had from Apple because of this issue. I got so upset, ultimately started tearing up. Confirmed that there was nothing the manager could do for me and walked out. After FaceTiming with my boyfriend trying to figure out what to do next. I finally gained my composure, walked back in and found the nicest employee, Debbie. She could see I was upset and took the phone back to get looked at, no questions asked. The manager came back to me, because he "noticed my phone was in the technicians hands again". I told him that I wanted a second opinion because there was no way I had ever done anything to the phone and all I wanted was a replacement to help solve the power issue I had had with three different phones now. He was very apologetic for the hassle and said that even though this wasn't protocol, he had a daughter my age and if he saw her this upset, he would try everything he could to make it right. He then handed me a new phone. So basically I made the manager feel guilty and then when I came back in Debbie perhaps convinced him to give me a new phone.

Background: I've taken in THREE PHONES to this Apple store because of battery charging issues. The two replacement phones they gave me (less than three weeks apart!) had same issue as my original phone: when the phone was at 0% battery and ultimately shut down, I couldn't do anything to get it back on.

Side note: The women sitting next to me at the Genuis Bar told me that her son brought his computer in to this very store for a fix and they said the warranty was voided because they found water damage. Which was untrue, he took great care of his computer. He then took it in to a different Apple store, they replaced it no problem. She mentioned something about how they hypothesized that there were store quotas and not being able to replace every little thing due to store limits. So maybe the store I went to was reaching it's max of free phones they could give out to replace phones that were no longer working? Who knows. I don't like making a fuss but I knew this wasn't right so I found a more sympathetic employee who went the extra mile. Thank you Debbie!

So this happened to me last night in Pennsylvania, this is just ridiculous! I had an iphone 5 that I bought almost 3 years ago (unlocked, no carrier), at the Apple store here. After about 2.5 years (Apr 2015), it had water damage, so I took it to the same store, and the genius said best option is replacement for $269, and I took it. Supposedly got a brand new iphone 5. Realized later that it was an iphone 5s, not iphone 5. 3.5 months after(fast forward to now), the touchscreen stops working completely. Take it back to the same store, and the genius says they can't repair it because the display is not original Apple! The phone is in mint condition, and I had no work done on it - so I was surprised and mad. Initially they claimed that the phone I brought in was not the one that I bought as replacement since the receipt says iphone 5 and the phone I have now is 5s - I said that's not possible, I was given the 5s, it's the same phone, and asked to check the work logs (I had the receipt from Apr 2015). They go back, do some more digging, and retract that statement, now say the genius in Apr 2015 entered the wrong serial number, and that I was indeed given this particular iphone 5s. However, they claim the display is still 3rd party (!!!!), the 90 day warranty has passed, and the only option I have is to replace it with another $269 !!

I don't want to yell at the apple store peeps, it seems like they just passed through a defective product to me in April, and it might no thave been their fault, but the fact of the matter is I paid close to $300, used it for less than a week, and have a brick in my hand!

Late March I purchased an iPhone 6, 64 gig model new from Sams Wholesale in North Little Rock, Arkansas. About 10 months out the screen would take spells of being unresponsive. I had to cycle the power button, lock/unlock to get the responsiveness back. Warranty was about to run out so I took it to the Apple Store here in Little Rock. Upon examining, the told me it would not be under warranty because it had a 3^rd party screen. As a Sr. Software Engineer that is on call 24/7, the phone never leaves my side. So it’s not like I loaned it to anyone that could have cracked it and replaced it before bringing it back. Since I purchased it new, I can say definitively it has not been touched or opened while in my possession. It was in a case and kept in pristine condition. They replaced the screen at a cost of $119 with tax, and it appears to have corrected the problem. But I have questions about if and how a 3^rd party screen got on my new device. Sam’s wholesale has a deal where you can bring a phone back in 30 days if unhappy. I’m going to check with them via the serial to see if this phone was every purchased and returned prior to me getting it. From what I can tell from the packaging when I received it, there was no indication of this and I thought the shipment of 64 gig phones had just came in because I was waiting on them to arrive, they had been out. Because of this, I question Apple. They said they could tell it was third party because of a circular ink stamp on the inside. Just can’t figure out how this happened, if I waited for the new shipment to come in, and I know it didn’t happen in my possession seems like a small envelope for someone to get phone, bring it back in day or 2 with altered screen before I got there. I came in to get it like 2 days after shipment arrived of the 64 gig models.

new rule. see: http://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/30/iphone5-battery-display/

third-party screen replacement allowed if getting the free battery replacement for iphone 5

thank god!!!apple just rang me and said the exact same thing...3rd party screen but ive never had any work done on it at all...also coincidently I also purcahased mine from EE in Sept 12 ......apple please help...this is poor

There have been reports of SOME UK Carriers repairing iPhones damaged or returned and then passing them off as new having resealed them

and both of you used the same carrier ..............................and we know nobody has access to genuine Apple parts outside Apple certainly not carriers or their repairers

Just a thought ........................

SSame thing happens to me today with an iPhone 5s , brought it yesterday and the screen was fine, today when I went because I got a free repair because the way Apple treated me in the phone and the mistakes they made , after taking the phone to the back of the shop where they repairs, they came back and told me I will no get the free repair because it's a 3rd party screen. This phone has never been touch by any one by Apple staff, yesterday the screen was ok , they never said anything about the screen no being Apple, today when I come back they say is no Apple, more like they are lying or the changed the screen them shelves to avoid giving the repair for free