Apple refuses frozen iPhone repair
Cold customer service for iced phone user
Apple has refused to repair an iPhone 4 on the grounds that it was used in an ambient temperature below zero, in breach of the specifications.
Norwegian rag Bergens Tidende reports it was -12 outside as Lenin Kristin Løvvik connected her iPhone to the car stereo for the provision of musical accompaniment on the way in to work.
Løvvik reckons the inside of the car was up to 20 degrees by the time the iPhone conked out on her. However, she told the paper, Apple is sticking to the line that the iPhone is not spec'ed for sub-zero operations.
Apple is maintaining its traditional silence on the matter, politely refusing to comment as ever, but the iPhone specifications are pretty clear that it's a phone designed for Californian beaches rather than Highland mountains.
iPhones don't need to be coddled all the time - when not in use an iPhone 4 will happily drop down to -20 centigrade according to the specifications, but Apple won't promise successful operation until the ice starts melting. That compares badly with the competition: the Samsung Galaxy S recommends that you try to keep it above freezing, but provides no get-out clause if you don't, while the Sony Ericsson X10 reckons it's tough enough to play Angry Birds at -10 at least.
This could become increasingly important. The UK might not be as cold as Norway, but the northern parts have already seen temperatures down well below the -12 that caused the iPhone such problems. ®
COMMENTS
Apple is right
You use it AS WE TELL YOU. If you use it on your left hand, warranty is void. If signal drops, its users fault. It its cold, its your fault.
We love your money, not you, undertand?
St. Jobs is always right, and if you dont believe, read the previous line.
cold car...
Oh, so because your car is incapable of getting higher than +3, then that means that there are no cars in the world that can do that.
Using your logic, based on my sample size of 1, all posters to this forum are stupid.
Hmmm
So if you use it in the rain and the little bit of water sensitive paper gets damp (inside the headphone jack) warranty is void, if you use it outside when it is below 0 warranty is void (which according to my climate data for the Scottish Borders is currently running at 5 months of the year where this is possible) if you use it inside you get reduced signal strength due to walls / metals etc.
This is rapidly reducing the available times you can actually use your iphone!
I wonder how long it will be until it can only be used on certain days of the week?
cold car?!
@SuperTim, you must have pretty cruddy heater on your car.
And those of us who live in the Nordic regions actually _expect_ that our things work even in sub-zero temperatures.
