Will Apple replace my phone?

What are your rights?

If you are going to have apple fix your iPhone, it's worth a quick look at Apple's warranty conditions. Every new iPhone comes with a one-year limited guarantee and complimentary technical support for 90 days. Apple warranty covers defects in the manufacturing and materials provided that the product is used normally and in accordance with guidelines published by Apple. In other words, they will replace your iPhone or fix it for free only if you can prove that the defect was created during the manufacturing process not by the user.

For example, the limited warranty excludes coverage for damage resulting from accident, disassembly, unauthorized service and unauthorized modifications. This includes any service offered by third-party shops that are not authorized by Apple as well as jailbreak. The limited warranty does not apply in cases such as physical damages and defects caused by external causes such as earthquake, fire and liquid contact. Normal wear and tear or consumable parts like the battery and cover are also not considered eligible for warranty. However, in the Apple legal terms 'not eligible for warranty' may not be equivalent to not eligible for Out-of-Warranty Service (OWS). You can still get your iPhone fixed by Apple at a higher price. This is true unless you have smashed your iPhone in to a million parts or it was tampered with by an unauthorized person.

If you've got AppleCare+ for your phone, it provides you extended technical support as well as additional hardware coverage up to two years. Under AppleCare+ you are able to have your accidentally damaged iPhone replaced by Apple twice. In addition, it is possible to get express replacement service online or at the Apple Stores.

Why your iPhone needs replacement?

Whether Apple will replace your phone or not depends on what you did with your device. Apple's staff always look for the cause of the fault to assess the eligibility of the product for warranty or replacement. Let's review some common scenarios for a broken iPhone.

Suppose that you accidentally drop your iPhone in a toilet, bath or a cup of hot tea. You bring your phone to the nearby Apple Store and ask them for replacement. Unfortunately, the staff will tell you in a polite manner that your device's warranty is voided due to contact with water. But how they know that your phone was submerged? Apple has some Liquid Contact Indicators (LCI) that are hidden in the device's charging port and headphone. In the normal condition, the LCI is white, whereas a pink LCI is an indicator that shows your iPhone was exposed to excessive water.

If you can't hear any sound from your iPhone, it is possible the speaker has stopped working. In most cases, this is because of fluff has got in the headphone port which can be easily solved by a technician. However, if you can prove that the problem is originated from a manufacturing defect you will receive a new iPhone from Apple. You may as well try.

As Apple explains on its website, the limited one-year warranty includes replacement coverage for a defective battery. So, if during this period or extended two-years warranty of AppleCare+ your iPhones' battery is draining too fast you can send your phone to apple for testing. But you should first make sure that software problems are not the cause. They will test the battery and if the results show that it holds less than 50% of its original capacity, Apple will replace your iPhone's battery for free.

If your phone has slipped from your hand and cracks showed up immediately on the screen or the worst, it smashed into spider's web of sadness. Sorry, in this case, Apple will not replace the screen under warranty. If you have AppleCare+ you are lucky in that Apple will replace it with a new display for just $29. Otherwise, you have to spend more. Sometimes the repair of a broken screen is so expensive that you'd be better off selling your damaged iPhone and getting a newer model.

In the majority of cases, Apple refuses to replace your iPhone unless there is a defect in manufacturing or workmanship. You are allowed to file a claim for an iPhone replacement only within the period of limited one-year warranty or AppleCare+