Apple product recalls and free repair programmes
Apple product recalls and free repair programmes Having trouble with your iPhone or iPad? Maybe you can get a free repair. David Price looks at Apple’s replacement programme
Wondering whether your broken Apple product qualifies for a free repair, or is part of a replacement programme? You’ve come to the right place. If your iPhone or iPad has gone wrong and you don’t think it’s your fault, you may be able to get the tech giant (or a company authorized by Apple) to repair it for free, provide a replacement product, or refund your money. You can attempt this
on an individual, case-by-case basis, but occasionally Apple institutes a general recall or free repair programme for a particular product or model that it acknowledges has a congenital problem.
Over the following pages we cover the firm’s current replacement programmes: check to see if your faulty device is included. You might be in line for a free replacement.
Will Apple repair products for free?
Sometimes, but don’t depend on it. Apple product recalls are an unusual occurrence. When it is prepared to admit that a problem is inherent to a product line or certain models within that line, it will agree to repair or replace these devices, and either announce this publicly (expecting you to get in touch yourself and seek redress) or in smaller cases contacting affected users proactively.
It did this with the iPhone 5, whose power button was prone to failure – your humble reporter went through this process and was able to get a new iPhone 5 at no cost, even though that handset went wrong in a completely different way several months down the line.
Apple has also instituted a programme for failing MacBook Pro models that faced an issue known as ‘staingate’, following a saga that caused distress and frustration for many of our readers. But for most problems you’ll need to approach Apple as an individual, and demonstrate that the issue was fundamental to the product rather than something that has developed over months and years of
ownership. In those cases you will generally need to fall back on your warranty and insurance rights.
iPhone repairs and recalls
iPhone 6s battery shutdown issue In November 2016, Apple acknowledged that iPhone 6s handsets made in September and October 2015 were faulty and prone to spontaneous and unexpected shutdowns; it said the issue was battery-related. The firm is therefore willing to offer a free replacement for the battery unit in affected models.