I have an iPhone which i got in the US (I am in Ireland) it keeps dropping calls, very very poor signal and battery life. I am having these problems using turbo sim and zIphone's software unlock. So i am pretty sure its a hardware issue. So how do i return this to apple? Obviously the phone isn't activated, so can I send the phone back to apple? Or will they check to see if its activated?

Well, simple DFU RESTORE will do the job, unless,of course your phone was 1.1.2/1.1.3 OOTB which all have 4.6 BL, and in the process of unlockig via ZiPhone you unintentionaly downgraded your BL to 3.9 .... That would be very suspicious to any Apple service man ... So check up ...

And one more question, hope you did not used TurboSIM along with ZiPhone unlock ?

It was a 1.1.2 OOTB and i downgraded to BL 3.9. Its a week 46 build so it wasnt too far into the iphone production run off 1.1.2 OOTB's.

Id have to post it to the apple repair centre (there is no apple shops in Ireland), but would the apple repair centre not question the fact that the phone hasn't been activated and I am complaining about the signal ?

Also would it be possible to legally activate the iPhone with a non bill pay sim on O2 here (the iPhone is being launched on March 12th in Ireland on O2) or are you required to sign up to a contract ?

I hate to say this but there is NOTHING you can do!

Apple will not touch the phone as it is a US phone - they would only sort it out if you went back to the US and went to an apple store!

They ALWAYS check the serial so it will show as a US phone and they won't accept it.

Then you have the bootloader issue- again they will check it against the records and see you hacked it and won't change it for you.

I suppose if you activated it gophone in the US and returned to an Apple store IN the US then you might get someone who doesn't care that much and swaps it for you BUT NOT in the UK OR IRELAND.

I am afraid that you should have known Apple will only honour unhacked and activated iPhone warranties in the country the phone was purchased in. It is the risk of buying in the US!

So even if I brought it into a US Apple store they still wouldn't replace it, if its not activated?
Also what happens if i got the phone in the US and activated legitimately and then moved outside the US. Will they not honor the warranty?

Will the apple shop always send the phone in for repair, or if it wasn't even turning on would they replace it there and then ?

Apple will only repair under warranty phones that are activated on a current "official provider" plan for the country in which the phone was purchased. ie. Apple US will only repair AT&T activated and currently on-plan phones.

Sorry to say, you are out of luck. (I'm in the same situation as you)

Crap. Thanks for the info. I think ill just have to sell it on ebay to someone in the US then. What are you going to do with yours ?

put your iPhone in the microwave! it really helps! Some guy here at hackint0sh did that and then returned his phone and he got a new one because the guy the apple store couldn't see what's wrong with it! hahaha

I must add, if you put it on the microwave ONLY DO IT FOR 2 SECONDS!.

I'm on mexico and I did this with my GF's phone then I returned to US and they happily changed me the phone because it won't turn on

I can confirm you that this really works!

ned a receipt?