my iphone 4 which was never abused suddenly had a software failure 1 month out of warranty

[biltno]

and apple wont even consider helping me. They rattle off the same thing to every customer like a robot. i was told they cant tell me what caused it but it could be anything

probably the charger he said. well they sold me the charger so what is the deal . i have had at least 20 cell phone since Bell Atlantic mobile and must say i never had a phone last me 13 months. all i can say is unless you have money to waste   stay away from apple.

[gina7239]

Do you have vzw insurance? You can go to them.

[commonsense101]

what kind of software failure? put in dfu mode and restore?

[kaebfly]

What do you mean by software failure? Be as specific as possible. Have you tried the usual? Restore (you will lose all of your data but if you were doing backups either via a computer or using iCloud then you can restore your last update)? What is (or isn't) the phone doing? As far as advising others to stay away from Apple based solely on your issue...it's a little bit unfair to do so when the exact issue isn't clear and what fixes have been attempted but failed. Also, there are plenty of Apple users that would disagree with you and have been able to retain use of their devices far past 13 months as you implied...the same can be said about any brand phone...aside from a broad issue with the brand chances are most users are able to use their phones (assuming no damage occurred) well beyond their 2 year agreement timeframe....and choose not to update every time they become eligible. At any rate, maybe someone can help you out on here if more detail is given. If it's only a software failure like you stated then the phone can be restored and is still capable of working. Now if it's actually a hardware failure and it's out of warranty then no, Apple nor VZW is required to do much as far as helping you...it's a risk we all take if we choose not to get one of the extended warranty plans available.

[biltno]

my iphone suddenly dropped a call then slowly got to the point where i just had a picture of a usb connection.

i tried several restores

i then took it to 2 apple stores and basicaslly was told the same thing by both people.

a warranty is a warranty, and there is no way we can tell what caused the phone to fail and it cant be fixed.

i was thinking of how my business would be if i treated customers in such a way.

i was also (in not so many words) was told there is no way they can tell i caused the problem.

this phone was also replaced once already about 8 months ago.

it cost me 150.00 again to have a phone.

if this phone was never replaced i would accept that but i would think the quality in apple products would mean they would last longer than 8 months  especially using it to make 2-3 phone calls a day.

If i cant get assistance, it may we a wise choice for me to replace all the apple products i purchased while they still operate 

thank-you for your timely response

william j tiano

[kaebfly]

I don't claim to be an Apple superfan but I have never had any serious issues with any of the Apple products that I have ever owned (several iPods and 2 iPhones) and I've never had the issue you are experiencing. As far as your statement about a warranty being a warranty...that is true but there are things that void the warranty (not sure why you made the statement...the original warranty on your device assuming that nothing has voided it is 12 months...on replacement devices I'm not sure if the warranty is for an additional 12 months or if the warranty only remains for the remainder of the original warranty. You can find this out by looking at the paperwork received when the replacement device was given or checking Apple.com/support for the documents that will clarify. If you purchased an extended warranty then it will be governed by whatever rules are set for that after the original warranty has expired).

I assume you may have already went through the following link but it doesn't hurt to look and see if anything on there is something you haven't tried.http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2802

As far as being able to tell what caused the phone to fail...it depends on what the issue is. If there is water damage (to include corrosion for humidity for example that would be less noticable to the user than if catastophic water exposure had occured) then yes, Apple techs would easily be able to know what caused the issue. But that would imply hardware failure...you say that it's software failure...which if that is all that it is then restoring your device to factory settings should work. If there is something corrupt on any previous backups that you are restoring from then you may need to restore without using a backup....again, assuming you haven't done this already.

Not sure what kind of Apple store you went to but I have never heard of an Apple Genuis at an actual Apple store tell the customer without even attempting to do anything that there is nothing that can be done and there is no way to tell what happened without actually trying to see first. You need to ask to see a supervisor in the store if this is what you are being told without any real attempt to look at your phone is occurring. Now if you are out of warranty then that may be the reason why you are being told that...which in that case, as much as it may suck the are not required to offer out of warranty assistance or if they do it will cost you. You mentioned paying $150 to get another device (I assume the replacement you received). That does not sound like the practice of an Apple store...it sounds more like the practice of a Verizon store if you were required to pay the deductible under the insurance/warranty plan if you have that. I may be wrong on that but generally, even if you had AppleCare you would not be paying $150 for a replacement....and if the replacement you were given was due to a defect covered under the standard one year warranty then you would not have paid anything for a replacement device due to a covered issue (and not an out of warranty replacement option if something was wrong that voided out the original warranty or it had expired....then that might explain the $150 if charged by an actual Apple store). You might need to check in to what exactly happened.

You originally mentioned 13 months...unfortunately, after 12 months (the usual standard coverage by most brands) then it's not poor customer service or cruelty if you aren't helped with an issue...although it would be nice if sometimes the rules were bent and the terms ignored. Sometimes they are, but since you mentioned a previous replacement (no idea under what circumstances that occurred) then that act may play a part in the willingness to do more after the warranty has expired...that one is hard to say without knowing the whole story. As I stated before, if you truly feel like something was not done correctly (you can NOT cry foul if the warranty is expired) then ask for supervisors and have your case escalated. If you truly are dissatisfied enough to end your use of Apple products that is definitely a right that you have, but barring any unusual actions on Apple's side be aware that if the same circumstances occurred with another brand you may experience the same results. I have Apple iPods that are well over 5 years old that still work perfectly and are in use....my iPhone 4 was ruined in a car accident so I can't say that my personal iPhone use has lasted well past the warranty although my 4 was just a week or so away from it's 1 year warranty expiring and worked perfectly fine and my current 4s works fine with no issues. The other iPhone 4 on my account has had no issues in it's 18 months of use (2/7/2011 - current use) so I feel confident in saying that at least for me and my family, the iPhone and the iPods we have used have been great Apple products. Maybe we have been lucky...but everyone I know that uses Apple products also have similar or better success stories with their use.

Good luck with whatever you choose. Hopefully you can get the help you are looking for. If not, hopefully you will be happier with another brand.