Warranty and jailbroken iPhones

Nht

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Aug 16, 2009
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I recently acquired an almost brand new 3gs that was only used for a day. Previous owner activated for her dad but he refused to use such a high tech gadget so he declined the gift

The phone is now unlocked and jailbroken with tmobile sim and working perfectly fine so my question is in the event that my phone should face malfunctions ie bad battery, nonfunctioning phone features, etc., how would I go about getting the phone fixed as I don't have AT&T service?

I'm well aware that apple will not validate jailbroken or unlocked iPhones but I'm sure there's a way around it but I'm not savy enough to find a solution. What's some ideas guys? Thanks for any input you can provide
 

Nht

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Restore it and take it into the apple store.


I completely understand this part because I also have an iPod touch and that's usually how you get warranty issues handled. But wouldn't an iPhone be a different animal being as you are required to be an AT&T customer for apple to honor warranty repairs? Don't I have to have an AT&T sim in order for them to troubleshoot phone issues? That's my concern. Thanks
 

plb

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Aug 20, 2009
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Curious also, I took an iPhone 3G to an Apple store cause of dust under the screen and they said they'd replace it but I need an AT&T account.
 

lnthai

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I have t-mobile. I had a problem with my wifi after 3.0 update so what I did was I called the 1800MYAPPLE number. Then I told the lady rep that my wifi stopped working after the 3.0 update. She asked me for an AT&T number and I told her that I just use my iPhone as an iPod Touch and I wasn't the original owner. After that they sent me an empty return box and I got a replacement phone a couple of days later because they weren't able to fix my phone. I don't think I can do it a second time though cause this second phone's serial number is not registered under Apple.
 

Nht

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Thanks for the reply. That seems like a viable option but let's just hope that I won't have to go thru that. Will this work in store? Any other ideas?
 

Ipheuria

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Wow in the US they are really strict. I wont go through my whole scenario but I basically bought my phone for full price personally. Whenever I take it in to the Apple Store they don't ask any questions they just check if it's still under warranty and if there's water damage. I can see two options, buy an AT&T SIM and if you ever have to get anything done pop it in and tell them that you just decided to get the phone activated but it was misbehaving? Borrow someone else's AT&T SIM and take it in, or pop your SIM out and then say the problem is with the phone not the SIM and you left it at home so you would like a new phone without having to go all the way home. Although if they ask you for your number then you'll look kinda silly.
 

Nht

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Haha. It would look really silly if I didn't know my own AT&T number. Using someone elses sim would probably work and that idea has crossed my mind. Only thing is that I don't know anyone that has AT&T that I can bother to do me that favor. Does this mean I'm SOL if I'm ever to have phone problems?
 

Ipheuria

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You could move to Canada where we don't care LOL I'm guessing that the previous option of calling and saying you were using it as an ITouch because you won it in a contest would work for you. If they tell you to send it back just be sure to ask if the replacement will continue to have warranty. It would be stupid if it didn't.
 

Allyson Kazmucha

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To have Apple honor a warranty in the US, you absolutely have to have an AT&T account, if you have a T-Mo or any other SIM in it, they will not touch it.

Buy a pre-paid AT&T SIM or find a friend who has AT&T and pop their SIM in your phone if you need to take it in. That's really your only option in the US.
 

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