I have an iPhone 15 Pro that stopped connecting to cellular service after I returned from an international flight and turned off Airplane Mode. The Cellular settings showed an error, and updating or restoring from a backup did not fix it. The phone otherwise worked normally over Wi-Fi.
I took it to an Apple service location, where an employee performed an update and restore. That factory-reset the phone, but afterward it could no longer complete the activation process. During setup, after connecting to Wi-Fi, it displayed an error saying it could not activate and needed to be updated, with no way to continue.
Apple told me the issue was probably related to the antenna or cellular hardware and estimated about $500 for repair. I decided to upgrade instead, but the store could not accept the old phone as a trade-in because it could no longer scan the required QR code. Before the reset, several employees told me that the phone might still qualify for trade-in as long as it could scan the code, even though cellular service was not working.
Is there any realistic way to request compensation or a trade-in credit from Apple since the reset performed at the store left the phone unable to complete setup? I understand the phone already had a hardware problem, and it is possible the trade-in inspection would have rejected it anyway.
3 Answers
It is uncertain whether the phone would have been accepted even if it could still scan the QR code. The scan may only start the trade-in process, after which the store could run diagnostics and discover the cellular hardware failure. You can still ask Apple for a manager review and explain that employees told you the device could potentially be traded in, but compensation is not guaranteed.
The cellular or baseband hardware was probably already failing before the reset. That would explain why the phone stopped reconnecting to the network after Airplane Mode was turned off. The reset may not have caused the original problem; it likely exposed it by requiring the phone to activate again during setup.
Ask whether the store can process a manual trade-in assessment or use a manager override. Some trade-in systems normally require a QR scan, but staff may be able to answer the condition questions manually. You can also ask them to check whether the phone can be placed into a diagnostic mode for the assessment, though the store ultimately decides whether the device meets its trade-in requirements.
I would definitely ask about a manual assessment. My main frustration is that the phone worked well enough to access its functions before the reset, while afterward I could not get past activation at all.
That is what I am unsure about. Multiple employees made it sound like the phone could be accepted if it scanned the QR code, but they may have been referring only to whether the trade-in process could be started. It is possible the diagnostic check would have rejected it anyway.