Fault after battery replacement at Genius Bar

Downsy · 20 Nov 2021 at 20:37

Hello all,
Took my phone in for a battery change as it was showing 51%. This was done this afternoon. When I got home and used the phone I've noticed that the power button does not work. Do you think there will be any push back from the store when I go in tomorrow? Are they going to blame me for the problem? From what I saw they ran it through their diagnostic systems and flagged up the battery, would the buttons have been checked at the same time?
Thank you for your thoughts.

Downsy · 21 Nov 2021 at 16:44

To follow up on this, I took it to the store today to be told that although the phone ran through their diagnostic process ok after the new battery was fitted, they will not be responsible for any further work to repair it as when it was repaired last year on insurance, the company used third party parts and did a bad job - not replacing screws, incorrectly fitting the battery, and not replacing board cowls. I've not got to go back to the insurance lot and try to explain this!

Minstadave · 21 Nov 2021 at 16:49

Apple will have run the same tests before the work. Ask them if that showed a fault.

Downsy · 21 Nov 2021 at 18:15

They said they don't test the on/off button. What confuses me is that they still went ahead with the battery replacement knowing that it was a third party screen, but didn't tell be beforehand that if it bricks, it's not their responsibility.

Alpherah · 23 Nov 2021 at 14:41

The diagnostics don’t test physical buttons as .. well .. it’s a physical button. Well tell a lie it does test for power to the button.

The Terms and Conditions explain re: third party components. No one reads them however (so I do make a point of explaining the risks if I can validate presence of third party repairs pre repair)

What phone was it out of curiosity? My gut tells me iPhone 7 as most third party displays I see are terrible on this phone and a large proportion don’t work properly after being opened.

Edit
Originally you mentioned power button? But then something about the screen? So a bit confused

Downsy · 23 Nov 2021 at 22:45

It’s an 8 plus.
It was sent to my insurance’s repairer in December last year when it fell out of a jacket pocket and smashed the screen. The screen was replaced and it was working well. When Apple replaced the battery the side sleep/wake button stopped working.
I suppose that it’s probably near on impossible to tell a third party screen without removing it.

Deleted member 77746 · 23 Nov 2021 at 22:57

If the power button doesn’t work how did they switch it on. Surely that’s an important working part of a phone.

You can get it replaced privately with a genuine part. It actually might not be connected or might need to be re-connected again. Might be the only way to get it fixed but might cause more problems.

Downsy · 23 Nov 2021 at 23:15

You can switch it on by plugging it in to a powered connector. I assume they did this to run diagnostics.

Downsy · 24 Nov 2021 at 18:34

Follow up for those who are interested, my insurer wants me to send my phone back to their preferred repairer for warranty repair. I've lost faith in these lot as they have proven themselves to do a bad job. I'm going to get back to them in the morning to reject that course of action as I cannot be sure that the work will be done to a satisfactory standard, and that there will be no way I could be confident that they will use oem parts.

Feek · 24 Nov 2021 at 19:07

From what I understand, unless their repairer is Apple or an Apple authorised service centre, they won’t have access to oem parts.

Downsy · 24 Nov 2021 at 19:43

From looking at the repair company website they say that their technicians are apple certified and use genuine OEM parts, but I cannot find them on the Apple website as being an authorised supplier.

Alpherah · 25 Nov 2021 at 06:56

Downsy said:
It’s an 8 plus.
It was sent to my insurance’s repairer in December last year when it fell out of a jacket pocket and smashed the screen. The screen was replaced and it was working well. When Apple replaced the battery the side sleep/wake button stopped working.
I suppose that it’s probably near on impossible to tell a third party screen without removing it.

Interesting.
The power button is mechanical - and everything to do with it is basically boxed away from anything Apple would touch when doing a battery repair so yes it’s pretty much impossible they damaged it. But also curious as to how it suddenly stopped working.
When you claimed was it repaired or a refurbished replacement? As we only usually find the buttons get flakey when the rear enclosure isn’t “legit”

Downsy · 25 Nov 2021 at 17:16

Yes, the rear enclosure was cracked as well and they replaced it.

Alpherah · 25 Nov 2021 at 17:21

Oh ok then that makes sense. We’re supposed to deny repair for rear housing third party replacements for this exact reason

Downsy · 25 Nov 2021 at 17:32

I'm waiting for a call back from the insurance. The repairer wants to have another go but I have lost faith in them doing a good job or using the right parts. But I doubt if I'm going to be able to leverage a repair at an apple authorised dealer. Odd thing is that the repairer states that they have apple certified technicians and oem parts, either they are falsifying this, or they have a lower level of service for insurance jobs.

Alpherah · 26 Nov 2021 at 19:10

Apple don’t replace the rear housing. If a device is sent to an Aasp or aarc the phone is replaced for rear damage - exception being 12 and 13 series phones where the display and camera is salvaged onto a new phone body.

Downsy · 26 Nov 2021 at 20:00

The repairer has stated that the parts are OEM as they are the same as Apple use, although they don't have Apple logos on them i.e. straight from the manufacturer and not through Apple.

Alpherah, do you think that if the phone was sent to Apple for repair they would just scrap it and charge me for a new/refurb phone?

Terminal_Boy · 26 Nov 2021 at 20:02

Downsy said:
From looking at the repair company website they say that their technicians are apple certified and use genuine OEM parts, but I cannot find them on the Apple website as being an authorised supplier.

Unless it’s repaired by Apple, it won’t be fitted with genuine Apple spare parts.

Deleted member 77746 · 27 Nov 2021 at 00:42

I why hasn’t apple said anything though after replacing the battery. They should know what parts have been replaced.

An iPhone on/off button is easy to replace on most models anyway so any phone repair company should be able to do it.

Alpherah · 27 Nov 2021 at 06:51

The store will probably do it, but honestly it’s not worth the money for a phone of this age.
Just get a Apple refurbished XR instead

Downsy said:
The repairer has stated that the parts are OEM as they are the same as Apple use, although they don't have Apple logos on them i.e. straight from the manufacturer and not through Apple.

Alpherah, do you think that if the phone was sent to Apple for repair they would just scrap it and charge me for a new/refurb phone?

Sent you a trust message btw