Apple recently released an emergency iOS update to deal with undisclosed security issues that address three vulnerabilities, but for one customer, the update led to a crisis of her own.
In a recent video, TikToker Tori Sage (@sagetori111) said downloading the new software made her phone lose touch connectivity, locking her out and making the iPhone an expensive paperweight. The issue reportedly sent her on an eight-hour mission to fix her phone.
“I have never been so angry and so frustrated with a company as I am right now at Apple,” she said before launching into her disappointing tale.
Sage said she began the day as normal, scrolling through Facebook, when her phone suddenly stopped responding to her touch and locked. She took her phone to AT&T and was reportedly told that “they have customers every day coming in with the same issues.” Sage said the worker ran a diagnostic and informed her that the phone was in perfect working order; the issues lay with the new software. Luckily, her phone was less than a year old and still under warranty.
Sage said she headed to the Best Buy next door since it was Apple-certified. A Best Buy worker reportedly inspected the phone, ran a diagnostic, and attempted to do a factory reset but was unable to fix the phone.
“Again, this guy tells me the exact same thing. It’s the iOS update; he’s having so many customers coming in having very similar issues,” Sage said. “But again, he tells me, ‘Yes, your phone is only four months old, so it will fall under Apple’s warranty.’”
Sage said the worker told her that the Apple Store would take care of the issue or give her a new phone. So, she drove an hour and fifteen minutes to the only Apple Store in her area.
Unfortunately, Sage said the Apple worker wasn’t as helpful as the last two. According to the TikToker, the Apple worker accused her of tampering with her phone and didn’t believe it was only four months old because it was an iPhone 13. She said that after confirming the phone was four months old and under warranty, the worker agreed to repair it. However, Sage said when she returned to the store an hour later, the worker told her that her phone wasn’t fixed and he stripped a screw during the attempted repairs.
“And I’m like, ‘OK, what does that mean?’ He said, ‘Well, that means your warranty is now voided because the screw is stripped,’” Sage said.
In a bizarre twist, the worker supposedly claimed that the stripped screw proved the phone had been tampered with, and she would now need to pay $500 to repair the phone.
“At this point, I have been at this for almost five hours, and I’m crying in this Apple Store because I’m stressed and dumbfounded,” Sage continued.
@sagetori111 Let me know if anyone else has had any kind of crazy problems with this new update. I’m very disappointed in Apple right now not only did they screw me over on my warranty, but they won’t even take accountability that this happened because of something they did. #stitch #storytime #applewatch #apple #iphone #ios17 #terriblecustomerservice #customerservice #storytimevideos #iphone13 #iphonerepair #fypシ #fyp #dissapointment #dissapointed #screwapple ♬ original sound – Tori sage
After taking the phone back to AT&T and Best Buy, Sage said she was forced to open a new line with AT&T to get a new phone.
“Now I’m making payments on that phone, but now I’m stuck with this other phone that’s barely four months old that I’m still making payments on that Apple won’t touch because they stripped the screw, and their iOS 17 update broke my phone,” she said. “So the moral of the story is, please, for the love of god, don’t update your phone.”
Viewed over 459,000 times as of publication, the clip drew a flood of comments from people offering advice and sympathy.
“Call apple support and ask for a sr advisor. That was 100% not ok!” a viewer said.
“I just got a $92 settlement check because of one of their updates. It is ridiculous that their software destroys the hardware,” a second shared.
“AT&T worker here! This has been happening QUITE often lately… I have everything Apple but the customer service is a complete joke with them,” another said.
Apple rolled out multiple updates before Christmas. One reportedly handled security issues stemming from spyware attacks. In an Apple discussion thread, numerous customers reported multiple issues that stemmed from the recent iOS update. Several customers reported a loss of network connectivity and battery-draining issues. Another iPhone 13 user reported that they’d lost touch capabilities after downloading the update as well.
iPhone bugs are an ongoing issue. Before the update, some phones would allegedly shut down during the night, affecting morning alarms. Others have claimed that Apple’s customer service causes more harm than good, like one customer who took her computer in to have crumbs cleaned from the keyboard only to have the entire computer wiped due to miscommunication.
The Daily Dot reached out for further information to Sage via TikTok comments and Apple via email.
