iPhone International Warranty ?

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Level 1

9 points

iPhone International Warranty ?

Hi, I am a French exchange student in Taiwan until 06/16. I will be visiting Hong Kong this weekend and plan on buying an iPhone 6s since it's not available in Taiwan.

Will the iPhone be covered in Taiwan and then in France during its 1 Year warranty?

Also there are no Apple Store in the city I study (Kaohsiung) so if I need to be serviced will I have to send the device for repairing myself ?

Final question, depending on whether there is an international warranty or not. Since I'll be staying in 2 different countries during the 1year warranty, how do I get it to work ?

I spoke to a french Apple Expert, he stated that the phone will effectively be under warranty wherever I go for 1 year even if I buy it in HK. I spoke to a taiwanese Apple Expert, he stated that the phone won't be under warranty since there are only local warranties for iPhones.

On the French Terms& Agreement it's written that the phone can be serviced even abroad.

Can someone shed some light ? (with an official document)

Thank you

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Sep 29, 2015 1:59 AM

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Answer 1

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seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Sep 29, 2015 5:31 AM in response to Wick-end

The iphone warranty is only available within the country of purchase. If you need service, you will have to return it to the country (preferably the store) where you purchased it from.

Your French friend is probably referring to EU rules which state that that the terms of use for an item purchased from Apple in one member state are considered as being the same in all member states ... or in so many words.

As you have not bought the phone in France, their Terms and Conditions are irrelevant.

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Answer 2

Sep 29, 2015 5:31 AM in response to Wick-end

Apple's warranties are available on this web site (under the support section, go to the bottom of the page and choose "hardware warranties" then your country or region) and you can read them in full. The iPhone warranty includes the following provision (and always has included it):

"IMPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE AND iPAD SERVICE.

Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone and iPad to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device."

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Answer 3

Wick-end Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2015 5:34 AM in response to Michael Black

Thank you, I tried to find this section on the HK Apple store website but it's not mentioned whatsoever. I called their hotline and they said it will still be under warranty when I buy it in HK and bring it to Taiwan & France. I made sure he said they will repair or replace the device free of charge in Taiwan if I have a problem. It should be enough to convince me that I'll be fine.

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Answer 4

Wick-end Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2015 5:39 AM in response to seventy one

seventy one wrote:

The iphone warranty is only available within the country of purchase. If you need service, you will have to return it to the country (preferably the store) where you purchased it from.

Your French friend is probably referring to EU rules which state that that the terms of use for an item purchased from Apple in one member state are considered as being the same in all member states ... or in so many words.

As you have not bought the phone in France, their Terms and Conditions are irrelevant.

The French Expert was an apple employee on their chat service, I screencaped the conversation but I doubted his answer so I later called Apple Hotline in HK. They basically both told me it will be fine so I'll give it a go.

The thing I'll be missing is the extended 1 year of warranty that comes with every iPhone in France.

Thank you for your help

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Answer 5

seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Sep 29, 2015 5:43 AM in response to Wick-end

Because of the associations between China, Hong Kong and possibly Taiwan, that may be possible. As far as France is concerned, I doubt it. I suggest you contact Apple Support; I really feel uneasy about the Hong Kong hotline answer.

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Answer 6

Wick-end Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 29, 2015 5:50 AM in response to seventy one

I sent them a mail as well and am waiting for their answer. I'll edit this comment when I receive their answer. Either way I'm better off buying it in HK this week since it's not available in Taiwan yet.

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Answer 7

Sep 29, 2015 7:44 AM in response to Wick-end

Just remember that nothing anyone tells you over the phone trumps the wording of the actual warranty of record. I'm not saying the person on the phone lied, but they may be misinformed of the actual terms of the warranty. Read the warranty for France, as it includes the same qualifying statement as the USA warranty I copied and pasted from. And nobody in France has to honor anything anyone in HongKong told you if that information was incorrect.

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