09/24/2007, 3:10pm, EDT
Monday, September 24th
Hacked iPhones may be rejected at Genius Bars
Users who have hacked or modified the software on their iPhones may be denied warranty service, according to new reports. Users have noted iPhones brought in for service at Apple retail locations are being denied service if their phones were hacked to add third-party applications or unlocked to run on networks other than AT&T. ifoAppleStore reports that at least one person experienced a situation where an Apple Store Genius blacklisted a hacked iPhone for future service or return, but was finally able to arrange to return the iPhone under the 14-day policy after paying the 10 percent restocking fee. While MacNN contacted a few retail stores locations to find a consistent answer, our calls and emails to Apple PR went unanswered.
At the downtown San Francisco Apple Store, one employee said that the store would not necessarily deny service if an iPhone had third-party applications installed, depending on the nature of the problem being experienced adding that he thinks some of the third-party hacks are "great." Other area stores, however, told us that iPhones with third-party modifications would be denied warranty service regardless of the issue for which the unit was brought in.
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Anyway, as a poster said, seems clear that you shouldn't expect warranty service if you've hacked the phone. At the same time, it seems a pretty academic issue - unless you're a complete good, I would think one of the first troubleshooting steps would be to restore your phone to its default state.
My opinion is that you'd be an utter idiot to bring in an iphone with a bunch of third-party apps on it and say "No workie! Halp!", but then again, I suppose I should never underestimate the abject stupidity of your average american.
Using that logic, it means that there is 1 billion iPhone are blacklisted from any future repair or return.
OK, this meant to be humorous.