It would appear that my iPhone is suffering some issues with the microphone lately. I will be on a phonecall chatting away happily, then suddenly the caller won’t be able to hear me at all. I can then hang up from that call and try to record a voice memo, and the microphone works perfectly.

I first noticed it on Sunday during a phone call to my Dad, but at that time it was making a lot of static noise. Monday it happened 3 times consecutively on phone calls with Mat, but this time it was just silence. Today it was mostly fine, but still managed to be painful during one phone call earlier today.

I rang Apple, and after a few questions they said they will send me a brand new phone. They will courier it out to me, and using the same packaging I need to send my current phone back to them. They also have $900 on my credit card on hold as security to ensure that I send my phone back, and don’t just keep both phones.

A couple of things they noted on my confirmation email made me a little worried though:

If Apple receives your original product and determines that it has been subjected to damage that is ineligible for warranty or AppleCare Protection Plan coverage but is eligible for Out-of-Warranty Service, Apple will charge you the Out-of-Warranty Service Fee.
$268.95

If Apple receives your original product and determines that it has been subjected to damage that is ineligible for warranty or AppleCare Protection Plan coverage and is ineligible for Out-of-Warranty Service, Apple will charge your credit card the Equipment Replacement Value.
$375

It’s all the what if’s that are killing me. What if they say the damage was caused by water? I’m 100% positive the phone has never been near a liquid, but Ihave worn my belkin iPhone arm band with the phone in it while doing the fun runs. What if my arm was sweaty, and it caused damage to the phone? What if they say it’s been dropped? What if, what if, what if? What if I have to pay $270 or $375?! I don’t exactly have that laying around ready to spend on another iPhone.

I have to say though, Apple customer service was pretty spectacular. The whole process took about 20mins or so while the assistant tried to troubleshoot the issue, then determined it was a hardware problem (hence the new phone). She grabbed my details, and voila. Also, the fact that I’m getting a new phone before sending them my old phone is a huge lifesaver. I recall cracking my old nokia many many years ago, talking to the phone provider about it, and having to send it away for a week. In this day and age, and with the amount that I rely on my phone, I just couldn’t do that. Getting a phone before sending my phone away is just brilliant.

So, the new phone should arrive in a few days. After that, I will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed that Apple don’t call me to let me know they didn’t find any issues. I’m glad my phone is in as good a knick it is – no scratches to be seen anywhere. Definitely glad to have always had a case on it; speaking of which, where is that case I ordered last week? Hmm…

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