iPhone 5 - out of warranty..

[tasha41]

Hi everyone..

I got my iPhone 5 last Fall. I bought it from my service provider, brand new, etc. It has no cracks or any physical damage, just a few scratches that I think are normal for a phone you've had for just over a year?

My home button fell out today. It was fine- not loose or anything, I was on a train and the button was there, then while we were at the aquarium I took it out of my pocket to take a picture and the button was gone. I haven't found it and it was really crowded so hopeless finding it on the floor there.

I didn't drop it before it happened and it wasn't loose or anything before, my screen isn't cracked- I can't see how I could have caused this, so I feel that this is a defect.

HOWEVER I am now out of warranty and it's $269 for an OOW repair, according to the Apple website! I have had an iPhone 3G and a 4 prior to this phone and never had a problem with the button, so I feel that this is a defect.

Do you think they will fix it? I'm not paying nearly $300 for a BUTTON to be repaired! Especially not on a model they've basically discontinued?!

 

[AP]

It's worth a go, we have a similar situation with DHs iPhone 5.(the top key is tempremental) In past experience they have been very kind and gave me repairs for free and a cheap replacement phone for Alex. It's always worth visiting a Genius Bar

 

[Lucy139]

I don't think they will without warranty especially if the screen has a crack on it, my sisters phone broke which was 100% a software issue and had nothing to do with the broken screen but they refused to fix the phone unless she paid £210!! I would suggest either finding someone privately who can do it or download the "floating button" which comes up on your screen and does the same as the middle button x

 

[AP]

You can activate the button by going into Settings and the Accessibilty option that'll help in the meantime

 

[curiousowl]

As much as I love my Apple products (just bought a new laptop) I've never had good luck with them fixing things, even things that were clearly defects. Years ago I had a laptop that cracked upwards from a part inside that got massively too hot, not cracked inwards like it would if you dropped it and they didn't care. People always talk about going into the store and them fixing/replacing for free though so maybe I've just been unlucky. Doesn't hurt to try I guess but I wouldn't hold my breath!

 

[tasha41]

I don't think they will without warranty especially if the screen has a crack on it, my sisters phone broke which was 100% a software issue and had nothing to do with the broken screen but they refused to fix the phone unless she paid £210!! I would suggest either finding someone privately who can do it or download the "floating button" which comes up on your screen and does the same as the middle button x

No cracks- just a couple of slight scratches on the back and sides as I've had it for quite awhile now. Not even 100% noticeable but it's not "mint condition"

As much as I love my Apple products (just bought a new laptop) I've never had good luck with them fixing things, even things that were clearly defects. Years ago I had a laptop that cracked upwards from a part inside that got massively too hot, not cracked inwards like it would if you dropped it and they didn't care. People always talk about going into the store and them fixing/replacing for free though so maybe I've just been unlucky. Doesn't hurt to try I guess but I wouldn't hold my breath!

I had a similar problem with my old Apple laptop from high school- it overheated and I turned it off and closed it.. well it melted the keys and everything!

 

[curiousowl]

I had a similar problem with my old Apple laptop from high school- it overheated and I turned it off and closed it.. well it melted the keys and everything!

OMG. That's insane! Mine just cracked it's way out. Though before that it did have malfunctioning heat sensor so it would appear to randomly jump from 70F to around 400F and shut itself off. I was always amused that it could go that high. I figured it would be melted by that time. Apparently that's true!

 

[tasha41]

^ Mine was in the early 2000s, so it was an iBook, maybe before that heat sensor thing came out. I thought something was on fire in my room because I smelled the burning (did I leave a curling iron or hair straightener on?) I never thought it could have been my (pricey!) laptop!

Watching the movie "Jobs" though rofl It seems they had some issues with overheating way back in the early days of Apple, maybe they continued to have issues with it!

My iPhone 5 has shut off in extreme cold before, I'm wondering if that's what did the button in, it's been -30 celsius here (plus windchill, around -40)

 

[curiousowl]

Same! Early 2000's iBook. I think they've always had heat sensors but normally it just runs in the background. I didn't know that was the problem until I downloaded a special program that told me what each sensor was registering. But I don't think they actually do anything except turn the computer off if they think it's too hot. Guess that wasn't enough to save yours!

Yeah, my dad worked for Apple for years and years and he said that was pretty normal (overheating issues).