Puneet Kumar recently bought an iPhone 4 from a shop in Amsterdam where he went for a business trip. It was an unlocked device, bought at 680 euros from a shop that was very much legitimate. Puneet got a bill along with the device and a “two-year international warranty”.
Unfortunately for him, his iPhone 4 started malfunctioning days after he came back to India. The home button was “erratic” and many a time Puneet found pressing the button wasn’t bringing him back to the home screen. Armed with his copy of bill and a receipt that “specified world-wide warranty”, he visited a service centre that was authorized by Apple to provide after-sales service in Delhi. But he was in for a rude shock.
The customer care executives at the service centre refused to touch his iPhone 4, saying it was not covered under any warranty. Their position was that iPhones are not covered under Apple’s international warranty and the only way for Puneet to get his device fixed was to talk to the dealer in Amsterdam and ship the device to him. Exasperated, Puneet decided to ring up Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. There too he was told — according to him in a not-too-nice manner — that his device is not covered by any warranty in India. While he was free to deal with the dealer in Amsterdam in whatever manner he deemed fit, officially, Apple could not help him in any way.
After coming to know about Puneet’s experience, I decided to dig a little deeper into the warranty policy that Apple follows for iPhone 4 in India. Due to delayed launch of iPhone 4 in India, a large number of people in India use iPhones that they bought abroad — with all bills and warranties — or from the grey market. We hope this information will be useful for these people, as well as to those who plan to buy iPhone 4 in future.
1- No international warranty: Apple is renowned for its warranty. People who use Apple products often talk about how their grievances are handled efficiently without any questions. All because of one simple fact. Most Apple devices are covered under international warranty.
But iPhone 4 is an exception. In India, Apple provides warranty for only those iPhones that have been bought in this country. In fact, for iPhones — because they are often linked to carriers — there is nothing called international a warranty. If some dealer abroad tells you that you will get international warranty on an iPhone, he is misleading you. He may provide a “seller’s warranty” but that is not Apple’s warranty.
2- Buy from ‘authorized’ shops: In plain terms, this means that you should specifically ask the seller if he is authorized to sell the iPhone. It's even better if you check the list of authorized stores at Apple, Airtel or Aircel website and only buy from a shop which figures on the list. It is a fact that iPhone 4 has been launched in India, but not all shops or websites are authorized to sell it. So take care.
3- You are doomed (likely) if you bought iPhone 4 from the grey market or from abroad: Officially, service centres authorized by Apple in India are not supposed to touch any iPhone 4 that has not been bought from “authorized source”. This means that even if people are willing to pay money for parts and service, Apple will officially not provide any service to such a device in India. That’s the official policy. In reality, some centres — read the more benevolent ones — may take pity on you. But that is no guarantee.
4- iPhone is an exception: Apart from iPhone, all other Apple products are covered under international warranty in India. Apple claims that because of the complexity — read jail-broken devices — and its business model that relies on carriers like Airtel and Aircel, the company does not provide any international warranty to iPhone 4 in India.
Unfortunately for him, his iPhone 4 started malfunctioning days after he came back to India. The home button was “erratic” and many a time Puneet found pressing the button wasn’t bringing him back to the home screen. Armed with his copy of bill and a receipt that “specified world-wide warranty”, he visited a service centre that was authorized by Apple to provide after-sales service in Delhi. But he was in for a rude shock.
The customer care executives at the service centre refused to touch his iPhone 4, saying it was not covered under any warranty. Their position was that iPhones are not covered under Apple’s international warranty and the only way for Puneet to get his device fixed was to talk to the dealer in Amsterdam and ship the device to him. Exasperated, Puneet decided to ring up Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. There too he was told — according to him in a not-too-nice manner — that his device is not covered by any warranty in India. While he was free to deal with the dealer in Amsterdam in whatever manner he deemed fit, officially, Apple could not help him in any way.
After coming to know about Puneet’s experience, I decided to dig a little deeper into the warranty policy that Apple follows for iPhone 4 in India. Due to delayed launch of iPhone 4 in India, a large number of people in India use iPhones that they bought abroad — with all bills and warranties — or from the grey market. We hope this information will be useful for these people, as well as to those who plan to buy iPhone 4 in future.
1- No international warranty: Apple is renowned for its warranty. People who use Apple products often talk about how their grievances are handled efficiently without any questions. All because of one simple fact. Most Apple devices are covered under international warranty.
But iPhone 4 is an exception. In India, Apple provides warranty for only those iPhones that have been bought in this country. In fact, for iPhones — because they are often linked to carriers — there is nothing called international a warranty. If some dealer abroad tells you that you will get international warranty on an iPhone, he is misleading you. He may provide a “seller’s warranty” but that is not Apple’s warranty.
2- Buy from ‘authorized’ shops: In plain terms, this means that you should specifically ask the seller if he is authorized to sell the iPhone. It's even better if you check the list of authorized stores at Apple, Airtel or Aircel website and only buy from a shop which figures on the list. It is a fact that iPhone 4 has been launched in India, but not all shops or websites are authorized to sell it. So take care.
3- You are doomed (likely) if you bought iPhone 4 from the grey market or from abroad: Officially, service centres authorized by Apple in India are not supposed to touch any iPhone 4 that has not been bought from “authorized source”. This means that even if people are willing to pay money for parts and service, Apple will officially not provide any service to such a device in India. That’s the official policy. In reality, some centres — read the more benevolent ones — may take pity on you. But that is no guarantee.
4- iPhone is an exception: Apart from iPhone, all other Apple products are covered under international warranty in India. Apple claims that because of the complexity — read jail-broken devices — and its business model that relies on carriers like Airtel and Aircel, the company does not provide any international warranty to iPhone 4 in India.
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