Iphone4 Manufacture issue

coco06

Hi

I have an iPhone for 13 months now. It’s out of warranty but I do have insurance on it. For the past 6/7 months some of the keys have become unresponsive, it’s my own fault for leaving it so long but I was always under the impression I was covered for 2 years with apple products.

I called into Vodafone shop and they advised it would have to be an insurance claim, I rang insurance company and they won’t resolve the issue as it’s a manufacturing issue and not either lost/stolen or damaged!

So I was told I could bring to Vodafone store, get engineer to investigate and get a price for fixing..

Has anyone been in the same situation and what is the best advice ye can give?
Thanks

Sad Professor

I assume you bought it from Vodafone, yes? Then as it's a fault they are obliged under the Sale of Goods Act to either replace it or repair it free of charge for you. This has nothing to do with the warranty offered by Apple, it's part of your consumer rights. They may try and fob you off, but don't let them. Quote the Sale of Goods Act to them and if necessary threaten to take them to Small Claims Court. As they are the seller your contract is with them, not Apple.

coco06

Sad Professor wrote: »

I assume you bought it from Vodafone, yes? Then as it's a fault they are obliged under the Sale of Goods Act to either replace it or repair it free of charge for you. This has nothing to do with the warranty offered by Apple, it's part of your consumer rights. They may try and fob you off, but don't let them. Quote the Sale of Goods Act to them and if necessary threaten to take them to Small Claims Court. As they are the seller your contract is with them, not Apple.

Hi
Yes i bought it from a Vodafone store. So regardless of the one year warranty they quote they still have the responsiblity to entertain me? Is there an end point/length of time they stop being accountable for my purchase?

Thanks..

Sad Professor

Yes, under the law the retailer is responsible.

There's no time-frame or guarantee period in the Sale of Goods Act. It's whatever is considered reasonable based on the product. The buttons should certainly still be working after 13 months.

120_Minutes

Not quite right prof, bit of a grey area.

from citizensinformation.ie:

"Act as soon as you can – a delay can indicate that you have accepted faulty goods or services "

"It is important to note that there are no hard and fast rules as to which remedy you should be entitled to. When seeking redress for problems with goods or services the circumstances of each individual case must be taken into account."

living with a fault for 6/7 months is acceptance in my book.

I've always used the mantra "something wrong on day 1? bring it back on day 2....... day 467.....good luck to ya..."


if what you're saying was true prof, people would be bringing back 5 year old nokias with dead buttons and getting replacements.

theres a real world application here folks, stamping your feet and screaming "its my right" is no good to you if you've lived with it for a while. tough titty old chap.

Nonoperational

What do you mean some of they keys are unresponsive?

A restore is what I'd be doing first anyway.

coco06

gpf101 wrote: »

What do you mean some of they keys are unresponsive?

A restore is what I'd be doing first anyway.

So if I press the keys on the left hand side i.e. qaz1 it doesn’t register and can end up jumping around and entering 3/4 other random letters..

I have tried a restore, I have updated the OS to OS 5 and still the same.
and I don’t particularly have fat fingers before anyone asks!

CathalDublin

Sounds like a faulty digitizer or damaged digitizer.
Unfortunately with the iphone4 you need to change the digitizer&LCD, the cost of the repair should be no more than €80.
The insurance should cover this although there is usually an excess of €60+vat which is almost enough to get it repaired by a third party repair company

aidan_walsh

I have tried a restore, I have updated the OS to OS 5 and still the same.

Did you restore from a backup with your data, or as a new phone with factory settings?

coco06

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Did you restore from a backup with your data, or as a new phone with factory settings?

I updated the OS to OS5, is that the same as a factory restore?

ironclaw

Its a digitizer. Not software based. If it was software you should have seem improvement when you updated.

By the way, to damage a digitizer you'd more than likely have to have dropped it. So I doubt it a manufacturing fault. If it was a hardware button e.g. The Home button you might have a claim.

coco06

ironclaw wrote: »

Its a digitizer. Not software based. If it was software you should have seem improvement when you updated.

By the way, to damage a digitizer you'd more than likely have to have dropped it. So I doubt it a manufacturing fault. If it was a hardware button e.g. The Home button you might have a claim.

i got it checked and they checked for 1) water damager 2) a fall and they said it is neither.. they put it down to a faulty handset..
but i dont have any come back as its out of warrenty.

anyway.. another question - has anyone changed their screen on iphone4 before? did you use youtube to do it or was it too complicated?
cheers

CathalDublin

Make sure you buy a good quality part, and also the right part.
You need the complete lcd&digitizer

coco06

CathalDublin wrote: »

Make sure you buy a good quality part, and also the right part.
You need the complete lcd&digitizer

i ordered this online
"Touch Screen Digitizer Frame Assembly for iPhone 4G 4"
would this indicate the lack of LCD or do you think i am covered with this?

Thanks

CathalDublin

coco06 wrote: »

i ordered this online
"Touch Screen Digitizer Frame Assembly for iPhone 4G 4"
would this indicate the lack of LCD or do you think i am covered with this?

Thanks

To me that would say "no lcd" therefore useless, If it was cheaper than €30 ex shipping I'd expect it to not include the LCD
was it this by any chance?
Also beware some of the cheaper screens are of very poor quality

coco06

CathalDublin wrote: »

To me that would say "no lcd" therefore useless, If it was cheaper than €30 ex shipping I'd expect it to not include the LCD
was it this by any chance?
Also beware some of the cheaper screens are of very poor quality

looked something similar to that one alright.. so no use??
what are they used for if they dont have the lcd??
thanks

CathalDublin

coco06 wrote: »

looked something similar to that one alright.. so no use??
what are they used for if they dont have the lcd??
thanks

They are suppose to be stuck/fused to the LCD in the factory, scammers usually sell them online as it appears like your getting a good deal and technically they are selling you an iphone 4 screen.
You could buy a loose LCD and put the 2 of them in although it would get pretty dirty between the 2 and wouldn't look very well

Not sure how ebay are letting sellers still sell them example
small print reads "Notice:the item is for Professionals,Separate the LCD screen display from glass screen digitizer is very difficult,if you are not,please contact me whether you can buy it,it is very important!"
This should read
"Separate the LCD screen display from glass screen digitizer is not possible"

coco06

CathalDublin wrote: »

They are suppose to be stuck/fused to the LCD in the factory, scammers usually sell them online as it appears like your getting a good deal and technically they are selling you an iphone 4 screen.
You could buy a loose LCD and put the 2 of them in although it would get pretty dirty between the 2 and wouldn't look very well

Not sure how ebay are letting sellers still sell them example
small print reads "Notice:the item is for Professionals,Separate the LCD screen display from glass screen digitizer is very difficult,if you are not,please contact me whether you can buy it,it is very important!"
This should read
"Separate the LCD screen display from glass screen digitizer is not possible"

ye very misleading.. got a quote of €60 to get it replaced in a shop... any cheaper places out there??

CathalDublin

That's a very cheap price, I wouldn't expect you'll get much cheaper.
Also just to mention, try get a look at a finished phone before you give yours in at that price. Compare the look, feel, quality.
A lot of the cheaper screens bezels don't sit flush with the mid fram(metal) on the phone allowing in dust, dirt, dampness.
Aswell as the home button now feeling deeper than factory standard, this will also cause your home button to break easier.
Just worth having a look before regretting it.

coco06

So i got this screen from the net. Is this LCD or how can i tell? if it isnt then it is no use correct?

Thanks
C

CathalDublin

That's just a Digitizer, there will be no way to separate your old LCD from your old broken digitizer
should be like this


You could buy just an LCD, and put the 2 in together but I'd advise against this as there will be a build up of dirt between the 2 of them not to mention reflection/etc and it will be difficult to actually fit.
Dump it and get a complete front.

AboutTwoFiddy

If it was me I'd try and see if I could extend the warranty by getting Applecare on it, you're only a couple of months out of warranty, they might allow you to sign up.

whiterebel

AboutTwoFiddy wrote: »

If it was me I'd try and see if I could extend the warranty by getting Applecare on it, you're only a couple of months out of warranty, they might allow you to sign up.

They won't, as the system automatically blocks it after the 12 month date is up. You have to go through untold hoops to get it changed after that date, and that's normally only in the event that the purchase date was incorrect.

AboutTwoFiddy

whiterebel wrote: »

They won't, as the system automatically blocks it after the 12 month date is up. You have to go through untold hoops to get it changed after that date, and that's normally only in the event that the purchase date was incorrect.

Ah right, wasn't aware of that.

OP ask Vodafone to fix it for you under warranty, 13-16 months is not what anyone would consider a reasonable lifespan of an iPhone. If they refuse to entertain you then pay your €16 and take them to the Small Claims Court.