After All That

I have been all over the world with my iPhone.

I've sailed the English Channel, hopped out of British cabs, endured numerous buses, snorkeled off the coast of Maui, lounged around a pool sipping lava flows, and even dropped my iOS device from the top row of high school gym bleachers. And through all of this, the 5S survived.

That charmed life ended abruptly earlier this week.

The inocoulous task of cleaning diving gear led to an accidental, and extended, submersion under water. The iPhone was dead.

The 5S was my fourth iPhone, and my first fatality. I still use unlocked 3GS and 4S models as international travel communicators. The original iPhone is a dedicated music player at the house. Oh sure, it has a few bumps and scratches, but it's alive.

Not the 5S. 

After a little research, I learned that Apple will replace my iPhone for $269. I simply submitted a service request online, Apple transmitted my shipping information to UPS, and the next day I walked into a UPS store with phone in hand and said, "here."

24 hours later, I received an email from Apple stating they have received my device. The day after that they shipped me a replacement.

I hate the $269 non-budged expense. But the demise of the 5S was my own doing. And I think that Apple replacing a $800 mobile phone for $269, no questions asked, is reasonable. Plus the process was pain-free.

I will probably never, ever, drop my iPhone in water again. But I have to admit...

I wish all companies would cover my mistakes so gracefully.

-Derrick