iPod Repair Question

[ken0042]

So, the iPod I got my gf for Christmas is starting to act up. No problem, it's under warranty, right?

Well, sort of. Apparently since it has been over 6 months since purchase I have to pay $40 for shipping. So, the warranty doesn't cover getting it fixed because Calgary isn't big enough to have a Apple repair depot? WDF?

Anybody have any experience with this? Am I missing something- they showed where I could take it in to be fixed in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, but not here.

The other thing I saw was it appears I can pay $70 to extend the warranty to 2 years and that also seems to provide free shipping. Is that a better option?

In case you are wondering, it is a 16GB iPod Touch, so it's not like it would just be $100 to buy a new one.

Thanks guys!

[bluejays]

This may or not be of help because I have a Sansa, which reeks of firmware problems, but did you try somehow reloading the firmware on the Touch? Again, I don't even know if it's possible to do that with Apple products, but perhaps whatever problem you have can be fixed with reloading the firmware?

[ken0042]

The problem appears to be hardware related. Basically the headphone jack seems to have a faulty connection, the more you move the iPod or the headphone jack the more the left channel cuts out.

And yes, we tried a few different headphones.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by ken0042

The problem appears to be hardware related. Basically the headphone jack seems to have a faulty connection, the more you move the iPod or the headphone jack the more the left channel cuts out.

And yes, we tried a few different headphones.

Could very well be a hardware problem. Just one thing though and I know it may not be the same problem, but again comparing to the Sansa that I have, the left channel cuts out when put on a custom equilizer. The thing is, it only cuts out on certain songs and sometimes comes back on at certain points on that song. It's a well known problem with all of them. Basically, what I'm getting at is, if it's cutting out at a certain song's point or a certain song it may be software related. Though, you did say that it cuts out when you move the headphone jack. In this case, some of the CP Calgary locals with the product probably need to help (though I think they have 2.5 jack inserts at The Source which you plug your headphone jack into and then you plug that 2.5 jack into your player to use as an insert if you plug/unplug your headphones often so as to not loosen up the hole.

[Ardor]

I've also recently been having problems with my 80GB headphone jack. I live in Edmonton so I took it to the MyMac Dealer here. Apparently they no longer 'fix' iPods, as they ended up wrecking a lot of them that they tried to fix. However, the guy there directed me to a place called "Game City" located in the Bonnie Doon mall here. I haven't taken it in yet, but plan to in the next week. I'm a little unclear about their procedure, but from what I gathered, you have to drop your iPod off at the location - the "fix-it" guy(s) picks it up from there, takes it away, looks at it, then gets ahold of you with a quote on what it will cost to fix. I know, it's sounds kinda weird, but I will let you know how it works out. They're supposed to be really good. Of course, this may not be helpful if you're not in Edmonton, but they may know of some other options for you. The other thing is, I'm almost certain that these guys wouldn't be "certified" Apple technicians (for lack of a better term), so I'm not sure that that would work out with your warranty situation. It's an option though, take it for what it's worth.

[Yellefan]

I've had 2 iPods "repaired" in the past... just be aware that when you send it back to them they won't "fix" it, they'll send you a refurbished unit. I've had problems with one of the refurbished units I got back and ended up having to get it warrantied again about 5 months later, so it may be worth it to go for the warranty extension just in case anything else goes wrong.

[Barnes]

I have sent 3 iPods back under warranty and never paid for shipping. Who did you contact Ken?

[ken0042]

That was just following the info on the website. Who did you contact? Were your iPods more than 6 months old?

[metallicat]

Any interest in trying a non-official route to get it fixed? My OLD iPod broke down, and I sent it to ifixipods.com (I think was the website), and it was very quick and easy. He did only have to replace a defective battery, but I would have trusted him to do more. I thought it was worse, but he discovered the problem was minor, so that spoke volumes about his honesty and ethics.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by ken0042

That was just following the info on the website. Who did you contact? Were your iPods more than 6 months old?

I have sent 2 back just before the year warranty and one back after it. I called the support number which is harder to find than a Fotze post without a momma joke.

I'll see if I can dig it up.

[Barnes]

Actually, they have made it easier to find.



1-800-263-3394