Apple complaints
 

So, I'm still waiting for the bumper for my iPhone 4. My antennae issues seem to be worse than anyone I have met, dropping calls all the time. I've had the phone since July, ordered the bumper that weekend. Now it's October and I still have nothing. They supposedly shipped my case September 12. Tracking says it's currently at their DHL depot in Kentucky. Reality is that it was lost in the mail and they didn't want to admit it. They're sending me a new one from their factory, and even though they agreed to send it "overnight," it won't get here until Oct. 29. That's 20 days from now.

I realize most people LOVE Apple. Call me Tilted, but I can't feel the same. Join me in venting about your bad experiences with iPhones, Apple products, and their customer service.

I've got nothing except for the defect on some of their Macbooks whereby the top faceplate (around the keyboard) is susceptible to cracking between the magnet that holds the unit closed and the bevel on the edge.

Mine cracked. I could have had it replaced for free, but it was inconvenient to be without the computer for 2 business days.

My first gen macbook pro overheated like crazy, the fan made a ton of noise, applications would crash constantly, the battery stopped holding a charge shortly after it was off warranty, and OS X was just not even close to as intuitive as I thought it would be. It would take me several steps to do something trivial that I would be able to do in seconds with a PC. The laptop was pretty to look at though.

GG why didn't you just not buy a bumper from ebay at ¢99? They've got really pretty ones but they come from hong kong so it takes a month to ship them.

I had an iPhone and sold it. It was too slow and I was used to my sony erricsons speed and versatility.

My wife's MacBook Pro has been a constant nightmare. The motherboard they use in it (it's about a 3 year old 17") has terrible problems with overheating and dying. I've had to take the computer back 3 times to have them swap it out and each time they want to charge me for it and it takes them 2-3 weeks. I don't know why they keep replacing the bad part with the same bad part, but hey, that's how they roll.

I also think it's absolutely ridiculous that buying applecare for the iphone does not cover screen damage. When my wife first got her iphone, her mom bought applecare on it for her, and then she dropped the phone in a parking lot less than a month later. Everyone at apple I talked to told us to either deal with it or buy a new phone at full retail. Thankfully with the right case and some clear tape I found a workaround so you barely notice it (fortunately the crack is in a corner and doesn't extend into the primary viewing around), but to drop half the cost of the phone on an extended warranty that doesn't cover the most likely damage? And for their salespeople to not be upfront about it? Awful.

I have a variety of complaints about iPhone backwards compatibility and functionality with new iPhone OSes and the app store, but I'll save those for later.

I'll complain that they didn't put a GPS in my iPod TouchAnd they haven't released an iWorks ' 10 or '11 yet. And the mini-display port doesn't work as well as a simple HDMI.

They should make laptops without DVD drives to reduce weight.

*They should make laptops without a DVD drive, with the new touchpad, matte screen, and at least an i3 processor. Built in GPS would be nice as well, but not expected.

I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but there's a difference between any kind of warranty and insurance. Applecare is not insurance against accidental damage, it is an extension of Apple's warranty. If I run my car into a brick wall, should I expect my extended warranty to pay for the repairs? No, that's an insurance matter, nothing to do with warranty.
When I bought Applecare for my laptop the dealer specifically said that it did not cover damage, saying that if I spilled a soda on the keyboard, I was on my own. Whether extended warranties are a good value is a separate issue. But if they cost half the replacement cost of the item, probably not.

Lindy

genuinegirly, thank you, venting is good.

I love my Apple story. Thinking their new products looked good, I saw a deal on an iPod. It was refurbished, direct from them, what could possibly go wrong? It came with two chargers (wall and firewire) but neither worked. I called support and they said because my PC may have 4-wire firewire, unlike all Apple computers, that it won't work. I repeated that the wall charger didn't work either, then realized and explained that my firewire port did have 6 wires. She said the wall charger wasn't working so I'd be sent another.
I thought that sounded a little silly, but didn't want to argue. After waiting a few seconds, she told me it wouldn't be free, because my warranty expired. Apparently it expired ~6 weeks before I made the purchase. I had to argue a bit, but finally it was overridden by a supervisor.
The new wall charger didn't work either, and once again I had to argue with support and explain how time works. Luckily a coworker told me he had similar problems and they sent a new one. I asked and they agreed to cross ship a new iPod.
Then it turned out that the only method by which I could ship the defective unit to them was via DHL, and the only way, whatsoever, to do that was by calling an 800 number for a drop off point. It listed only one place, and that place turned out to be a mailbox slot that a box doesn't fit into.
I called again, re-explained everything, and they explained that I could call a number to find out where to drop it off. Once again they had trumped their stupidity. Repeating that that didn't work, and I needed another option, I was told "that's how it works".

Because it was cross shipping and they wouldn't let me ship the defective unit, a time period expired and $400 was billed. Had to call the credit card company and dispute it. Much fun.

The "extended warranty"/insurance sold by virtually every other mobile carrier/company on the planet covers all damage and, in some cases, loss or theft. I understand the difference, I just think Apple's is inadequate and differs significantly from the industry standard for the "pay for additional protection for your phone" plans. I also don't appreciate the person who sold it to us not being more clear that it doesn't cover that, but, at the end of the day, I suppose it's our job to read before we pay.

Thanks for the responses! Misery loves company - it's good to hear that many of you have had far worse experiences. I especially love that Yoda picture.

Because the one from Apple is supposed to be free.

Jeesus! It's ¢99!

How about this for a trade off then, you can have "x" for free with "y" amount of stress ... or you could pay ¢99 for it with zero stress. Pick one.

I'm with genuinegirly on this one. Why should she have to pay for something to fix a defect in the Apple product? Why does the free fix have to be such a pain?

It's not about how much money it is. It's about Apple doing what they said they would do.

I don't own any Apple products. I've considered some in the past. I'd love to be able to play around with Garage Band and have thought about a Macbook, but the price tag on them turns me off every time I look at them. I can get a perfectly serviceable Toshiba for well under $1000. The one I'm typing on right now came to me second hand for a mere $250, and while it's not the fastest machine on the planet it fulfills my needs admirably. Even cheap secondhand Macbooks seem to go for more than twice the cost.

'Cause the world ain't perfect Paco!

My 3rd hand iBook G4 has 0 battery life...also my hacked apple TV overheats if I watch too much 720p video on it, and it doesn't have enough processing balls to play 720p MKV's without an external chip that isn't compatible with Boxee, meaning I have to convert everything HD to MP4.

/whiner.

maybe it's because you live in Puerto Rico, because you know it's not part of the United States.

Apple canceling bumper orders to Puerto Rico? | TiPb

Here's a positive post.

I bought an iMac 3.9 years ago, and decided to get the extended Applecare. Last month, it started acting up, lots of freezing and beachballs. Took it in, got a new logic board and optical drive. It was a bad logic board, so a week later they gave me a second one. Last week the hard drive died, and they gave me a bigger one. Sure, there's been about 2 weeks total when the computer wasn't in my house, but for free I can't complain. I think the only part left that isn't new is the screen.

So, I bought applecare in the store when I bought my imac, and the hard drive just went out. It was less than 3 years ago (as of October 30th, actually), but when I look online it says the apple care was never activated? They told me in the store when I bought it that I didn't need to open the apple care package or do anything, so I didn't...now that I open it, (to see if there is anything I need to do to get it serviced) it says I needed to or it was voided...do you think it would be worth going in to the store to see if there's anything they can do for me?

yes because your HD might just be covered under a normal 3 year warranty anyways. :)