Monthly payments on cell phone, Good thing!!!

[rennigade]

Battery...this is one of the major flaws with the iphone. You used to be able to swap out your battery. With each model it became more difficult..not even sure if its possible with the 7. Even with the 5s models most people would end up breaking their phones.

Couldnt care less if I had an android/iphone. If you cant do something as simple as swap out a battery thats an issue...yet everyone chooses to ignore it.

[Snydley]

Originally Posted by phantom View Post
I don't think I'd suggest anyone buy an iPhone 5 at this point.
I agree. Buying a 5-year-old computer/phone is not a good idea regardless of the price.

I buy older, refurbished, super-cheap smartphones on ebay because I use my phone for calls, texts, navigation, and checking email maybe once or twice a month. I would argue that in my case it makes absolutely no sense to have an expensive phone or data plan, and it makes perfect sense to buy a 5+ year old phone.

I'm on my laptop more than 1/2 of my working hours (probably ~75%) and I just don't want to be in "online" more than that, particularly when out and about. It's just my preference, but I like to be present (real world not cyber world) and screen-free as much as possible.

The cost difference in smartphones is so dramatic ($30-$700, 20+ fold) compared to maybe 2-3 fold for cars (~20K-60K mostly), to me its not just about someone liking a more expensive variety of something. I guess it's about valuing having many apps open at once, or these live pictures, etc...none of that interests me when I have a laptop I can open and look at 30 sites at once with no problem.

[disneysteve]

I buy older, refurbished, super-cheap smartphones on ebay because I use my phone for calls, texts, navigation, and checking email maybe once or twice a month.

For that, the cheap phone makes sense.

The cost difference in smartphones is so dramatic ($30-$700, 20+ fold) compared to maybe 2-3 fold for cars (~20K-60K mostly), to me its not just about someone liking a more expensive variety of something.

It's really not a meaningful comparison to compare a cell phone to a car. Well-maintained, a car can last almost indefinitely. There are still plenty of 1920s vehicles being driven by antique car enthusiasts. How many folks are still using a 10-year-old cell phone, though?

Technology changes rapidly. My mom had to replace her cell phone recently because AT&T upgraded their network and her phone was no longer compatible so it wouldn't function anymore. She didn't have a choice. That doesn't happen with cars. You can keep your old one as long as you're willing to spend the money to keep it running.

As I said, I had to replace my iPhone 3 when it stopped working because Apple stopped supporting it. I didn't have a choice. I'm now approaching that point with the iPhone 5. They haven't stopped supporting it yet, but some developers have already.

[Milly]

That sounds like a very frustrating situation. If I were you, I'd keep them very in the loop. Be extremely polite and a true seeker of information, not a complainer.

You can tell them that you've asked people all over on all sorts of social media and forums and that other people seem as confused and upset at your system as you are. Get their reputation on the line =)

Don't back out of your obligations, because then you aren't the victim anymore and you will lose. You should definitely try to get out of any provider payments on that line until a phone on that line is in your possession and functional. It is a reasonable request.

If they keep giving you trouble, get a little more aggressive and record conversations, and let them know you are recording the conversations so you can keep it all straight.

Good luck!

[msomnipotent]

It is customer service like this that drives me nutty. I would take it back to where I bought it from and tell them that they must have sold me a refurbished model due to the Apple store stating this has been worked on before, and see what they say. Then I would get a statement from the store or copy of my receipt showing that it was purchased new, go back to the Apple store and speak to a manager.

From what I have read, it could be a software bug and a reset could help. If the Apple tech thought it was already tampered with, he or she probably didn't try to do anything to fix it. I would try the reset but still straighten the matter out with Apple. This is a common problem from what I have read and you will have to go through this again.

[97guns]

Got the phone back today and Was supposed to be returned to us unfixed but everything is working now, either they gave in and fixed it or it fixed itself