- Checking iDevice Warranty Coverage
- What Are Order Numbers?
- Deciphering iOS Speak
- How Do Warranty Repair Orders Work?
- Creating an ESD-Safe Workspace
- Documenting and Securing Your iDevice Components
How Do Warranty Repair Orders Work?
I have to hand it to Apple in how they architected their Apple Retail Stores—it is a pretty slick operation.
Assume that your iPhone is malfunctioning somehow and you make an appointment to visit an Apple Genius at your local Genius bar by visiting the website at https://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/. What happens after you hand the Genius your iDevice?
- The Genius uses Safari to access Apple’s online iOS Diagnostics web app at https://iosdiags.apple.com. Apple Stores may alternatively use a hidden app on iOS devices called iOS Diagnostics or Behavior Scan.
- The Genius opens a session ticket and sends a link to your iDevice.
- After you agree to the process, the iOS Diagnostics web app runs a series of scans on your iDevice and generates a report.
The results of an iOS Diagnostics scan are pretty robust; they are generally broken into the following categories:
- Battery Health
- Usage Statistics
- Call Statistics
- Thermal Statistics
- Detailed Analysis
The “Detailed Analysis” also scrubs your iDevice for diagnostic log entries that may reveal the past installation of jailbreak apps. Remember that if the Apple Store technician discovers evidence of jailbreaking, your AppleCare warranty will be voided.
If, by contrast, the problem with your iDevice is definitely hardware-based, the Genius might (at the most) remove the bottom screws and remove the rear panel. You won’t find that any Apple Store staffer field-strips your iDevice.
If your warranty claim is approved, you receive a replacement device—period. I sometimes wonder to myself if any Apple Store has an employee who knows how to completely disassemble an iDevice.
Apple Store personnel use a number of proprietary, internal iOS apps. It’s far beyond our scope to consider these, but if you want to practice your Google-fu to learn more about them on your own, here is a not-at-all comprehensive list of internal app names:
- Apple Employee Directory
- AppleConnect
- Behavior Scan
- Chatterbox
- Concierge
- Espresso
- Merlin
- MobileGenius
- RFA
- speX
- Switchboard