Apple Bellevue Square — Local services in Bellevue

I have been an Apple customer for nearly 15 years and this has to have been the worst experience I've ever had. On March 24th, I purchased a new iPhone 15 Pro Max. Unfortunately while on vacation in London this past week my phone was stolen. When I went to Apple at Bellevue Square yesterday to get it replaced I was met with apathy, arrogance, and patronization.

It started when I was placed in a small group with two other people also looking to purchase iPhones. The couple was very excited to be getting their new phones and, not wanting to be a wet blanket on their joy-filled moment, I asked if I could wait to meet with a representative one-on-one, seeing as how it wasn't a very busy Saturday afternoon. Apparently their "business model" has changed within two weeks so now the product buying experience is "more social".

When I explained what had happened, the representative complete disregarded what I had just told him and turned to the other couple and said "Okay, so this kind of relates to you guys as well because right now we are going to look in our iClouds for backups." I asked him, "Why wasn't Find my iPhone able to locate my phone when it had been stolen and why was it suddenly removed from my device list?" He responded with saying "You must have had Find my iPhone turned off." I replied by saying, "When I set up my new phone two weeks ago that was the first thing I did; turn on Find my iPhone," knowing I am always using my Apple Watch to ping it around the house. The representative continued by saying, "Well you must have given him your AppleID Password so he could turn it off when it was taken." It was so fun to have had someone else convince me that I was the apparent reason that my phone was unretrievable. I then asked the question, since I'm not an idiot and didn't deliberately give a criminal all of my login information, "How could the man that stole my iPhone within a split second, riding on a rented Lime bicycle, have obtained my AppleID as well?" He shook his head and turned to the couple and began looking at their iPhones and said "Okay, so now I want you guys to give iPhones a quick backup". Moving on from him dodging my questions, he then asked to borrow my old iPhone (luckily I hadn't completely erased my previous iPhone and that still had some information) and then proceeded to turn off Find my iPhone on my old one, with the help of me putting in my AppleID Password.

This whole situation was making me uncomfortable, so I proceeded to ask a "head employee?" if there is someone else I could be with. I explained the situation to him again and he said "I want to help you, I really do, so I need you to answer these next few questions honestly." I responded with "Okay," thinking they were going to ask my about my AppleCare coverage, or something along those lines. He says to me "Did you have Find my iPhone turned on?" I replied with "Yes I did. That was the first thing I turned on when I bought my phone." He then said, "Well you must have not because otherwise you would be able to find your iPhone." Shocked by the fact that this second Apple employee was arguing with me about turning on Find my iPhone, things were becoming too much. He moved on by saying, "I want to help you move on, so the reality of it all is that you must have not turned on Find my iPhone."

What had gone from being a simple question had snowballed into a bigger issue. Going into the Apple Store, I just wanted to get a new iPhone. Knowing that I hadn't opted in for theft-protection, I wasn't expecting anything besides help navigating this difficult and upsetting situation and them answering a couple simple questions. I would have been satisfied with the employees saying "I don't know why Find my iPhone didn't work, but I'm sorry that happened to you." Instead I received frustration, accusation, and egocentrism and putting the company's best interest ahead of the quality of customer service and prioritizing customers.

It's unfortunate that this is the most recent experience...

Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Systemic Connectivity Failures and Hardware Defects in iPhone 13 Pro Max

Apple Bellevue,

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding severe and persistent connectivity failures with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. These issues, which are extensively documented across your own support forums and by third-party technical experts, point to a systemic hardware and software defect in this model, not isolated user incidents.

My device, along with those of countless other users, suffers from a complex suite of connectivity problems that render its core functions unreliable or completely unusable. Standard troubleshooting protocols provided by Apple and my carrier, T-Mobile, have proven entirely ineffective because they fail to address the root cause of the problem.

The issues appear to stem from a combination of latent hardware vulnerabilities in the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which are then triggered by iOS software updates. These defects include:

A Critical Motherboard Design Flaw: The "stacked" logic board is prone to mechanical failure at the interposer, causing the connection between the CPU and the radio components to sever. This "split board" issue results in a catastrophic and permanent loss of all network connectivity.

Inadequate RF Shielding: The device exhibits a unique vulnerability to external radio frequency interference, causing issues like Bluetooth audio to consistently drop in specific geographic locations—a clear indicator of a hardware design deficiency.

These underlying hardware weaknesses are often activated by software, with many users reporting the sudden onset of severe problems immediately following an iOS update. My phone now experiences the following specific symptoms:

Complete Signal Loss: The phone frequently enters a "No Service" or "SOS only" state, making it unable to make or receive calls and texts.

Anomalous Network Downgrading: In areas with excellent 5G coverage, the phone will inexplicably drop to the unusable 2G "Edge" network.

Unstable Data: The 5G and LTE connections are extremely unstable, with frequent data dropouts even when the signal indicator is strong.

Constant Dropped Calls: Voice calls are unreliable, frequently failing to connect or dropping mid-conversation.

Location-Specific Bluetooth Failures: My Bluetooth audio cuts out at the exact same physical locations every day, pointing directly to the RF shielding hardware issue.

Spontaneous Modem Reboots: The cellular modem appears to crash and restart, causing a temporary loss of all service.

Attempting to resolve this through official channels has been deeply frustrating. I am caught in an "accountability gap" where my carrier insists the network is fine and that the fault lies with the Apple device, while Apple's diagnostics pass the device and suggest the fault lies with the carrier. This cycle fails to acknowledge the well-documented, device-specific nature of this widespread problem.

Given that these issues stem from a latent design and manufacturing defect, the burden of resolution should not fall on the consumer, regardless of warranty status. A software update cannot fix a failed motherboard connection.

I demand that Apple acknowledge this systemic issue and provide a meaningful resolution. I request the following:

The immediate establishment of a formal Service Program for the known connectivity and logic board failures affecting the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

A no-cost, out-of-warranty replacement for my defective device with a unit that is not susceptible to these known hardware flaws.

I expect a substantive response that addresses the specific hardware and firmware issues outlined in this...

I am writing to share the absolutely ridiculous experience I had at the Apple Store in Bellevue Square. I took my iPhone in because the back camera glass was scratched and dented. Since I have AppleCare—and have had this exact issue fixed at this very store before—I expected them to help me. Instead, a staff member flatly told me that it was just a “cosmetic issue” and therefore not eligible for repair. I found this completely unreasonable and inconsistent, considering they had repaired this same issue previously.

Naturally, I questioned their so-called “standard” for deciding what’s fixable. I even asked, “If the phone were actually broken, would you fix it?” Their response? A dismissive, “Sorry, that’s policy.” Frustrated, I left the store, called AppleCare, and also asked friends about their repair experiences. I felt compelled to give it another shot, so I made a second appointment an hour later. While waiting outside, my phone accidentally fell to the ground—an unfortunate mishap, but things happen.

When I returned for my second appointment, I waited a few minutes before a senior manager named J came out. Shockingly, he wasted no time accusing me of deliberately breaking my own phone just to force a repair under AppleCare. I asked him how he reached that baseless conclusion, and he admitted he hadn’t seen me do anything at all—he simply “put the pieces together” because I’d inquired earlier about fixing a broken device, then came back with a phone that was now more damaged. Based on that flimsy logic, he decided I must have damaged it on purpose. Then he lectured me on how I was “wrong” to do that!

He took less than five minutes to gather whatever information he thought he needed from the staff, and then left a note on my account effectively banning my phone from being serviced at any Apple Store. Meanwhile, when I showed up on time for both of my appointments, I had to wait at least ten minutes just for someone to help me. It’s astonishing how quickly they jump to accuse and punish paying customers, yet they show no sense of urgency when it comes to actually providing customer service.

This ordeal was beyond disappointing—being unfairly accused and then barred from service, all without any real evidence, is both insulting and outrageous. If this is how Apple treats customers who simply want a device repaired under a valid AppleCare plan, I can’t imagine what they consider “proper” customer care.

When I spoke with J, he told me, “This iPhone will be excluded from any service at any Apple Store. You did this the wrong way. The only option is to buy a new one.” He seemed to be enjoying himself while lecturing me, practically smirking the whole time. Yet when I contacted another Apple Store later, they said they could do an out-of-warranty repair for around $200—meaning there was an alternative to buying an entirely new device.

Clearly, J misled me, never mentioning this out-of-warranty repair option. He acted like purchasing a brand-new iPhone was the only solution. I can’t believe a senior manager—someone who’s supposed to lead an Apple Store—would take an adversarial stance toward a customer and show such skill in punishing rather than helping.

I’ve already filed a complaint about this...