Last year I bought an iPad Pro from the Apple website. After six months of use I noticed that the frame had warped substantially, so I took it to the Apple store in London’s Covent Garden. The staff declared that the problem must have been caused by accidental damage and insisted that I pay a £350 out-of-warranty charge to replace it.
I reluctantly paid up, and took the new iPad home, but within two days noticed that it, too, had developed a slight warp. The next day a thick band developed down the middle of the screen, making the iPad unusable.
Back I went to the store – well within the 14-day timeframe Apple insists on – and was again told that this must be accidental damage. By now, very fed up, I contacted Apple’s customer support, which led me to understand that the shop would replace the iPad without further cost. But this was later refused.
During the course of the conversations, Apple staff suggested that the bend might be the result, among other things, of the iPad being carried in a backpack.
Ours has remained at home for the duration, and the second one was carried home in its box, and again didn’t leave the house.
I have paid more than £1,000 and no longer have a working iPad. Interestingly, we have two other iPads in the house, one of which is 10 years old, and both are fine, suggesting to me that there is a design fault with this model, rather than anything we are doing.
I also understand that I am not the only person to experience this.
PD, Oxford
In 2019 Apple was forced to admit that its latest iPad Pros were bending or warping very slightly, owing to the way the tablets were being manufactured. It followed a host of complaints from owners. Apple claimed, at the time, that this was not a defect.
A similar problem also affected some iPhones warping when carried in people’s pockets, and the problem has since become known as “Bendgate”.
Your letter, and a quick look online, suggest that the issue is ongoing. The company put out a directive on the subject in 2019 in which it invited customers whose iPads have deviated more than 0.4mm to contact it.
I asked Apple about your case and, after initially saying that it would not be able to help you, it had a last-minute change of heart and says it will now replace your device.
It says the first iPad you bought had been found to be out of warranty because the damage had been caused by you. It didn’t address the fact that its replacement had also failed.
“On this occasion, Apple is offering to replace the iPad due to incorrect information given about the 14-day return policy, which does not apply for replacement devices,” it says. This suggests that those who pay its out-of-warranty fees, in return for a replacement, have no comeback if that item fails as well. Personally, I don’t think that position would stand up in court, but it wouldn’t be the first time Apple took such a stance.
In 2016 the company was forced into a big U-turn after Guardian Money highlighted how the company was “bricking” iPhone 6s (ie, rendering them as technologically useful as a brick) if they had been repaired by a third party. This, in part, prompted the “right to repair” movement that has since taken off, and which Apple has resisted all the way.
I’d be interested to know whether other readers experienced problems with iPad Pros and how these were dealt with by the company. Please email the usual address.
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