Genius Bar Fixing Some Bricked iPhones; How to get yours fixed too
This post was published 2 years 1 month 9 days ago and its content may not be valid anymore.
Apple may be a cold, uncaring faceless corporation; absent any empathy for your bricked iPhone plight, but their employees are a different story. Mac Genius’s have long had the power to bend the rules under special circumstances, and it seems the trend is continuing with reports coming in that some very lucky hackers have had their iPhone’s restored by a caring Genius. If this is true, Apple has a secret re-locking app that they only make available to their employees. What I wouldn’t give to get my hand on that hunk of code!
I’m lucky to not have to try this, but here are a few tips for garnering the sympathy of your local Genius:
- Act Stupid: “My friend/brother/dealer gave me this iPhone for my birthday/graduation, and when I tried to update it last night, it stopped working!” Don’t say brick, don’t be geeky– act the way your grandma would if she was in your position. Refuse to accept that someone “unlocked” your phone, and make sure to ask what unlocking is.
– Find a Geeky Genius: A lot of people unlocked their iPhones just so they could see what happened and have the experience of doing so– something that anyone with the hacking gene can sympathize with. Hang around and try to spot the guy at the bar with the most passion for technology and least concern for the corporate line.
– Beg: If all else fails, resort to pleading. These guys are busy, and would rather just re-lock the thing instead of having you standing there for an hour arguing with them.
Ok but I still don’t see the point…
If you have an unlocked iPhone on TMobile and then the firmware update “bricks” your phone (which Im assuming deems it unusable), then what difference does it make if they can “unbrick” your iPhone back to its original state? Its still unusable on TMobile.
What am I missing?
“and it seems the trend is continuing with reports coming in that some very lucky hackers have had their iPhone’s restored by a caring Genius. If this is true, Apple has a secret re-locking app that they only make available to their employees.” OR they’re just replacing the phone with another. The story, to which you linked, brings up the fact they don’t know if these are being “fixed” or “replaced” Nice to see you’ve figured it out and come to the OMG CONFIRMED!!!1! a s00p3r s3kr3t APP conclusion.
Em… I do recall reading this article… http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2006/11/8494/ stating that it is the customers right in the US to unlock their phone(Or at least soon will be), so why bother trying to plead with them and just slap that in their face?
i have an iphone that had a (no wi-fi) the wifi tab was grey and i couldn’t access my wifi for nothing i didn’t even have the option to turn it on or off. It wouldn’t let me do nothing to work the wi-fi. Then i stored it on itunes and now i can’t activate it and a message pops up says i have a problem with my iphone. I cant no anything anymore i need this problem fix! PLEASE PLEASE help me out. I know you smart guys got a solution for me. I really want my phone to be working properly i cant access the wifi to do anything can’t download any programs or anything.