For those who watched Friends in the 90s (or the re-runs) and remember how difficult it was for Ross and Chandler to quit the gym, the same goes for all you future iPhone owners. Apple has decided that you should only get 14 days to return your iPhone. Previously, you had a solid 30 days where you could return/exchange your phone. If you paid the subsidized price, you were saddled with a new contract, so returning didn’t make a whole lot of sense after the 14 days you get from the wireless carriers. But if you bought one off-contract (an astounding $600+), you used to have a whole month to decide if you wanted to keep that shiny/fragile piece of glass/metal/aluminum/titanium/adamantium/whatever – as the owner of a less sexy Moto X, I’m glad to have left the gym before it was too late. And as I finish this post, I’ll return to my tutorials on how to build an Android App – I got a form working and data going back and forth, I feel like a wizard 🙂
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In the recent past, customers who purchased an iPhone directly from the Apple Online Store and in Apple Retail Stores have had 30 days to return the device for any reason. The only stipulation was that it had to be undamaged and include all of the original accessories. According to an internal document provided by one of our retail sources, Apple plans to change its iPhone return policy to just 14 days beginning on March 13th. However the return policy currently published on Apple.com already reflects this change. All other products purchased from Apple are already subject to a 14 day return policy.
Apple’s prior iPhone return policy was in stark contrast to its carrier partners who only offer a 14 day return window. During this time a customer may choose to return the iPhone to Apple within the 30 day period but if it was returned after day 14 they would still be on the hook for Early Termination Fees (ETF) or any other penalties from the wireless providers.
On the flip side, this policy was helpful for customers simply looking to exchange an iPhone for a different color or capacity because their contract would not be affected. However, it was confusing and potentially misleading to customer who thought they had 30 days to return an iPhone and not suffer any penalties from their carrier.
According to the document, Apple is making this change in an effort to have one universal return policy across all products and to match the carrier’s 14 day policy.