The Compass/Level issue

[ame]

Even though I know there's no chance of a refurb, I will admit I never full trust the warranty exchange phones. I went through double digits with the 4S issues and it got OLD.

 

[ame]

I think my phone knows it's going to the Apple Store soon, because the TouchID is 50-50 for being timely right now.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I know you quoted ame, but I also wanted to tell my opinion. It feels great when you order on the launch day, but when your phone has issues at least for me I feel disappointed in the phone and even if I get a full functional replacement my experience towards this phone will never be the same.


Sent from my iPad Mini using iMore Forums mobile app

It's a fair stance, no doubt about it. I've historically been known to buy in early on technology, and about 90% of the time, I've been satisfied with the results...the only time I can remember being absolutely disappointed was with the HDDVD player (still have mine, it's been in a box untouched with about 20 HDDVD's for years and years)...it was an expensive investment that is now completely useless and worthless. Given the pretty high success rate on buying in early, I've learned to deal with a sprinkling of bugs, but I can appreciate some people having no tolerance of such...

Again though, the great thing about Apple is the fact that you're never more than a phone call or trip to your local Apple store away from a replacement device if you have a phone that isn't performing like others are reporting. I'm not going to try and convince anyone that a refurb is worthy...all I can say is that if a "refurb" performs better than the "new" one, why get stuck on labels?

 

[ame]

So I just got home with the replacement. Let me just say that it was not without drama. 1) the genius I was working with was having NONE of this "compass drama" that the internet was spewing about, 2) he thinks that it is all software, not hardware and 3) told me that TouchID is NOT instant, and I was making a big ordeal out of nothing, but because I made the appointment and his manager told him he had to replace it, he would do it. The manager is who checked me in and I spoke with about the phone. I told them that I wasn't sure it was serious, is this something that really is hardware, and the manager said "yes, unfortunately we've had a few come back with this issue. we'll swap it out, hang tight". The Genius was a total ****** and after he swapped it and we erased my other one, he walked off, and then the new one would NOT activate. So I was there for another 20 minutes waiting for another Genius, and the one I had rolled his eyes at me as he left for break. It eventually activated, and we reset network settings...it was a whole ordeal. They were going to reswap it before it came up, and I should've just let them.

So far this one seems fine, the level is 1? off, and I can handle that. The TouchID doesn't seem any better but whatever.

 

[JSHidaka]

So I just got home with the replacement. Let me just say that it was not without drama. 1) the genius I was working with was having NONE of this "compass drama" that the internet was spewing about, 2) he thinks that it is all software, not hardware and 3) told me that TouchID is NOT instant, and I was making a big ordeal out of nothing, but because I made the appointment and his manager told him he had to replace it, he would do it. The manager is who checked me in and I spoke with about the phone. I told them that I wasn't sure it was serious, is this something that really is hardware, and the manager said "yes, unfortunately we've had a few come back with this issue. we'll swap it out, hang tight". The Genius was a total ****** and after he swapped it and we erased my other one, he walked off, and then the new one would NOT activate. So I was there for another 20 minutes waiting for another Genius, and the one I had rolled his eyes at me as he left for break. It eventually activated, and we reset network settings...it was a whole ordeal. They were going to reswap it before it came up, and I should've just let them.

So far this one seems fine, the level is 1? off, and I can handle that. The TouchID doesn't seem any better but whatever.

wow that looks like my country client service! lol, but IMO, anyone exchanging their iPhone coz the level "issues" is wasting their time, Apple haven't say anything about that, If it's hardware issues it wont be fixed till they make a hardware revision, if its software actually even if its hardware, is easy to fix just adding the option to "calibrate it" and saving the setting, if your is -2 ,to anything it give you, rest 2...

 

[jmr1015]

So I just got home with the replacement. Let me just say that it was not without drama. 1) the genius I was working with was having NONE of this "compass drama" that the internet was spewing about, 2) he thinks that it is all software, not hardware and 3) told me that TouchID is NOT instant, and I was making a big ordeal out of nothing, but because I made the appointment and his manager told him he had to replace it, he would do it. The manager is who checked me in and I spoke with about the phone. I told them that I wasn't sure it was serious, is this something that really is hardware, and the manager said "yes, unfortunately we've had a few come back with this issue. we'll swap it out, hang tight". The Genius was a total ****** and after he swapped it and we erased my other one, he walked off, and then the new one would NOT activate. So I was there for another 20 minutes waiting for another Genius, and the one I had rolled his eyes at me as he left for break. It eventually activated, and we reset network settings...it was a whole ordeal. They were going to reswap it before it came up, and I should've just let them.

So far this one seems fine, the level is 1? off, and I can handle that. The TouchID doesn't seem any better but whatever.

I would get that Genius's employee number off my receipt and file a complaint. One of the best experiences of owning an iPhone is Apple's stellar customer service. They should be made fully aware when an employee is jeopardizing that reputation.

 

[M.Rizk]

I would get that Genius's employee number off my receipt and file a complaint. One of the best experiences of owning an iPhone is Apple's stellar customer service. They should be made fully aware when an employee is jeopardizing that reputation.

They will do nothing about the complain. Apple itself didn't declare the issue yet in an official statement or press release. And clearly the manager said his information is based on the number of returns they got, not an official statement from Apple itself.

So I just got home with the replacement. Let me just say that it was not without drama. 1) the genius I was working with was having NONE of this "compass drama" that the internet was spewing about, 2) he thinks that it is all software, not hardware and 3) told me that TouchID is NOT instant, and I was making a big ordeal out of nothing, but because I made the appointment and his manager told him he had to replace it, he would do it. The manager is who checked me in and I spoke with about the phone. I told them that I wasn't sure it was serious, is this something that really is hardware, and the manager said "yes, unfortunately we've had a few come back with this issue. we'll swap it out, hang tight". The Genius was a total ****** and after he swapped it and we erased my other one, he walked off, and then the new one would NOT activate. So I was there for another 20 minutes waiting for another Genius, and the one I had rolled his eyes at me as he left for break. It eventually activated, and we reset network settings...it was a whole ordeal. They were going to reswap it before it came up, and I should've just let them.

So far this one seems fine, the level is 1? off, and I can handle that. The TouchID doesn't seem any better but whatever.

It is really sad to know that even the new one you got is having the same issues.

Sent from my iPad Mini using iMore Forums mobile app

 

[jmr1015]

They will do nothing about the complain. Apple itself didn't declare the issue yet in an official statement or press release. And clearly the manager said his information is based on the number of returns they got, not an official statement from Apple itself.

It is really sad to know that even the new one you got is having the same issues.

Sent from my iPad Mini using iMore Forums mobile app

The complaint should have little to do with the device or issue, but more the employees response to that issue. His attitude and conduct. Apple holds their employees to a high standard in the field of customer service... and they should be notified when an employee is not up to that standard.

If he personally or professionally did not feel their warranty should cover this issue, there are respectful ways to deal with it. The first one that comes to mind, is to tell the customer that they don't think they can replace the device for this issue, but he will try his best to get things resolved, and is going to go ahead and bring a manager in on the situation to make a judgment call.

 

[anon(4698833)]

Not to say that you've done this wrong up to this point ame, but a lot of people are having problems with their fingerprint scanner because of the way they set theirs up...in the case you might fall into that category, this might help. The finger print scanner works most effectively when you give it a multitude of approaches for the given finger you are setting up...and what a lot of "complaints" are turning up is that people are doing the initial "dead on" scan, and then just kind of continuing that same process (not turning or rolling the thumb on the scanner)...so essentially, the only way it unlocks is if they scan their thumb straight on.

Mine works from about 10 different angles, just based on the way it was initially setup...and now, I have both thumbs and one index finger setup (since sometimes, when it's laying on a flat surface, the index finger works better than a thumb).

Anyways, here's a kind of "how to" link, hopefully it helps...if not, hopefully an update helps you with your issue.

How to Set Up Touch ID and Use Touch ID on the iPhone 5s [Video]

 

[ame]

It is really sad to know that even the new one you got is having the same issues.

Regarding TouchID yes. I am downloading all my apps now, and as annoying as that TouchID was on that other one, and I shouldn't compare the two, I should've kept it.

 

[ame]

Not to say that you've done this wrong up to this point ame, but a lot of people are having problems with their fingerprint scanner because of the way they set theirs up...in the case you might fall into that category, this might help. The finger print scanner works most effectively when you give it a multitude of approaches for the given finger you are setting up...and what a lot of "complaints" are turning up is that people are doing the initial "dead on" scan, and then just kind of continuing that same process (not turning or rolling the thumb on the scanner)...so essentially, the only way it unlocks is if they scan their thumb straight on.

Mine works from about 10 different angles, just based on the way it was initially setup...and now, I have both thumbs and one index finger setup (since sometimes, when it's laying on a flat surface, the index finger works better than a thumb).

Anyways, here's a kind of "how to" link, hopefully it helps...if not, hopefully an update helps you with your issue.

How to Set Up Touch ID and Use Touch ID on the iPhone 5s [Video]

I actually turned the phone around almost 360 to get all the angles on the fingers I put in, and my right thumb, which i mostly use, I actually registered as two fingers.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I actually turned the phone around almost 360 to get all the angles on the fingers I put in, and my right thumb, which i mostly use, I actually registered as two fingers.

Not that it should make a difference, but have you tried deleting one of the right thumb profiles...perhaps the device is getting confused between the same finger and two different profiles?

I know this seems I'm trying to make excuses for Apple, but I assure you, it's not that at all...all we can really do as consumers is try to assist as much as possible and offer our own experiences with it. I really hate that people are not finding success with the tech because it has really proven quite handy to me, and I don't think I would want a phone without it now that I'm used to using it so successfully.

 

[GibMcFragger]

wow that looks like my country client service! lol, but IMO, anyone exchanging their iPhone coz the level "issues" is wasting their time, Apple haven't say anything about that, If it's hardware issues it wont be fixed till they make a hardware revision, if its software actually even if its hardware, is easy to fix just adding the option to "calibrate it" and saving the setting, if your is -2 ,to anything it give you, rest 2...

Apple never admits mistakes, with the exception of Maps. I exchanged mine because of the level issue, and my replacement is bang on (as well as my Touch ID being much faster on my replacement). So no, we are not "wasting our time".

I paid full retail for this phone, it should work as advertised.

 

[Jose Hidaka]

Apple never admits mistakes, with the exception of Maps. I exchanged mine because of the level issue, and my replacement is bang on (as well as my Touch ID being much faster on my replacement). So no, we are not "wasting our time".

I paid full retail for this phone, it should work as advertised.

Sorry for you, but you have to be really unlucky, all the 5s I've seen/had on hand/use from my friends all the same, level 0 no(2-6), TouchID Depends on the ppl fingerprints, saying the TouchID is faster don't really makes sense unless you can prove it.

I did pay full retail, and its working as advertised.... Now that you mention that... Apple didn't advertise it "calibrated" lol

 

[ame]

This one is all sorts of jacked. I am going to do a restore tonight, and if that doesn't fix this thing up I guess I'll be back over there tomorrow.

 

[GibMcFragger]

Sorry for you, but you have to be really unlucky, all the 5s I've seen/had on hand/use from my friends all the same, level 0 no(2-6), TouchID Depends on the ppl fingerprints, saying the TouchID is faster don't really makes sense unless you can prove it.

I did pay full retail, and its working as advertised.... Now that you mention that... Apple didn't advertise it "calibrated" lol

I can prove it as I have used two phones (prints on both learned the same way) and my replacement is twice as fast (and accurate) at reading my thumb. Of course they didn't advertise it as calibrated. They don't have to. It's a given being IT'S A LEVEL. Thats like a company putting out a ruler with inches randomly the incorrect size and saying "they didn't advertise it as being accurate".

 

[ame]

Yep, going back today. Gah. I need to stop buying things at launches. My last two have been epic fails. I wonder if they still have my other one. That worked way better all around than this.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I can prove it as I have used two phones (prints on both learned the same way) and my replacement is twice as fast (and accurate) at reading my thumb. Of course they didn't advertise it as calibrated. They don't have to. It's a given being IT'S A LEVEL. Thats like a company putting out a ruler with inches randomly the incorrect size and saying "they didn't advertise it as being accurate".

The difference is, a ruler comes "calibrated" (for lack of better term) directly to the consumer...when you open the compass/level app on the iPhone, you yourself have to calibrate it the first time, so it's certainly not something that comes that way. You can actually force the iPhone into a recalibration mode using a common refrigerator magnet...and it's possible that the recalibration could help some of these devices that are off by so much. I forced mine just a second ago to recalibrate, and then tested it on my desk, and it was off by 2*...reset it again and recalibrated it and it's back to 0*, so you can cause a difference I guess in the way you move the phone during calibration.

 

[mpham2]

I tried mine this morning and it was off 8 degrees. Now tonight in the same place it is bang on. It did have me spin it for re calibration tonight though.

 

[jmr1015]

I tried mine this morning and it was off 8 degrees. Now tonight in the same place it is bang on. It did have me spin it for re calibration tonight though.

After several recalibration sessions, my inaccuracy seems to have been slightly reduced. It is now off 1 degree flat on its back. (Down from 2) 1 degree in landscape. (no change) and fluctuates between 1 degree and 0/level when standing upright in portrait. (was solidly 1 degree off before)