[sugar]

Hi, everyone. I did a bit of reading round before posting this topic, since I didn't see one just like it. I'm (obviously) new, and I'd like, if you can give it, some feedback/advice.

I got my First Gen iPhone this past January. It has been my single favorite gadget, coming in handy for teaching, talking, organizing my life, music--pretty much a lifesaver.

A few months ago, I noted what looked like a stuck pixel. I found an app online that would cycle through the color spectrum in an effort to "unstick" the pixel, but it didn't work. Eventually, the problem looked less like a pixel and more like a screen (hardware) issue, since there was this odd "halo" effect when I would look at the screen (yellow halo when a white screen, brown when a black screen). Last week, I called up Apple, and they sent out a Replacement Phone pronto (*amazing service*).

Uh, the new phone, while shiny and new and fab, was a dud. I restored it four times in less than twenty four hours, as it would freeze (unresponsive screen). I'd hold down the "home" and "power" buttons to perform a hard restart, and the phone would then sit on the apple logo screen for hours, unable to bring anything up. Unexpectedly, it would come back, though it would crash less than an hour later. Sooo, I called up Apple, and they asked me to send the Replacement Phone back to them. I did this today.

The Apple care person said that all First Gen Replacement Phones are just refurbished phones and that my Replacement Phone was probably not checked out very well by Apple Tech folks before they sent it back out. I wonder if this has happened to anyone else? If so, how many times did you play the "send one back and get one" game with Apple? I wonder, too, if I should have just kept my phone with its rather screwy screen--hey, at least the phone worked beautifully, never crashed, never had trouble. I am using a wacky GO phone now, and man do I miss my lovely iPhone. I hope Apple fixes this problem. Are they good at sticking with an issue, following through?

Thanks for any feedback you can offer.

Angela

[mduell]

Sending out refurbished units (when they're available) for warranty replacements is pretty common for consumer electronics companies, including Apple.

[Simon]

Yep, quite common.

But actually Apple's refurbs have an excellent reputation. It's very rare that a refurb unit isn't in impeccable condition. But mistakes do happen even when something comes straight from the factory (have you seen the latest MBs with two m keys and no n key?). If you do get a faulty refurb unit you are obviously entitled to an immediate exchange.

I have never had to exchange a refurb. I have OTOH received refurbs that came with better than advertised specs. Also, I have had to replace units that came straight from the factory. It's rare, but it happens. Just bad luck. The important thing is how Apple handles those situations. In my experience if you call them, explain the issue, and stay friendly they're usually very quick to send out a replacement. Last time for example my MBP's brand new charger was DOA. I had a replacement in my hands 22h after I called Apple about it.

[sugar]

Thanks for your kind feedback.

I guess I was under the impression that, with the new 3G, no "new" First Gens were available. Others referred to brand new replacements for various issues.

At any rate, I will rest assured that their service will fix the issue.

[CorpITGuy]

I once had a PowerBook G4 (the last generation before the Intel MacBook Pros). I had a problem and they replaced it - out of warranty - with a brand new 15" Intel MacBook Pro. I was shocked. My wife still uses that machine.