4S is a POS

Question

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September 28, 2013
Tim Cook, CEO
Apple Inc
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Mr. Cook;
I have been a dedicated Mac user/lover/advocate/proponent since the mid-80s.  I have always loved my Mac products, because they were easy-to-use, intuitive, and reliable. I am one of your devotees who has constantly bashing other technological gadgets as inferior to Apple’s….but I am afraid that has changed.
I currently own 4 iPhones, four Mac Books (for each of my family members), and a Mac Pro desktop machine; and again have been very happy over the years, but my story of the last few months has made me feel very frustrated with your company, and apparently what you have done to it.
I have had an iPhone and loved it since the beginning.  When my trusty iPhone3 got too small and slow for my use, I got an iPhone4.  My iPhone4 worked great also…I could get 2-3 days out of a battery charge. I became reliant on it to do my work (both as a firefighter using it to access drug interaction information) and in my music production business. 
I also outgrew my iPhone4 and waited for the iPhone5 rather than get an iPhone4S.  Finally, this July, I could wait no longer, as I was having to delete pictures and music off of my iPhone jus to stay functional; so I upgraded to a 64 gig 4S.  Even with the upgrade discount for renewing my contract with ATT, it cost me $599 to get this phone.  Now, I am sure that even a CEO making your salary can appreciate that this is a lot of money for a phone….
….and it would have been worth it, if the **** thing worked!
Within a few days, I noticed that my battery life was between 6-8 hours off of a full charge.  I called Apple Care, they gave me some tips to improve battery life, which I implemented.  Within a few days, my battery life was down to 4 hours after a full charge.  I went to my local Apple Store and was told by one of your employees that that was normal and within operational specifications. I argued with him, and frankly was so ****** off by the conversation, I had to leave the store before I started shouting.
I then looked up on your website the operational specifications for the phone, and was affirmed in my opinion that I should have significantly longer battery life.  I called an Apple Care representative who also gave me some song and dance about it being normal that the battery life is less.  I asked to speak with a supervisor who listened to my issues, and sent me a text, which allowed him to look at the operational details of my phone.  I will remember his quote well, “Wow!  Your phone is down to 6% battery life and your last charge was four hours ago…that’s not right.  You need a new phone.”
So he set up an appointment at the same Apple Store for me to get a new phone.  This time it was a pleasant experience.  I walked in, got a new phone, and walked out.  I was sure at the time that this was an isolated incident…even Apple with occasionally have a faulty product.  No big deal…or so I thought.
A few weeks later, I was on a roof, emceeing the annual Firefighter Challenge in our local community festival when one of my colleagues pointed to his phone and mimed from the ground that he was trying to call me.  I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and it was dead, even though it had just been working ten minutes earlier, and would not turn back on.  I did a hard reset after the event and it came back on. 
I did not have any more troubles with this phone until about a month later when it happened again.  This time it happened when I was going into a stranger’s house to look at an item I found on Craig’s List.  As you may know, this activity can sometimes be dangerous, so I checked my phone before I went in to make sure it was ready if I had an emergency. When I came out of the house to call my wife to tell her that I had the item and was safe, the phone was dead again; and again took several minutes to turn back on using a hard reset.
I called Apple Care and was told to back up my data to iCloud and do a factory reset on the phone to see if that worked.  I did that last week and at the same time upgraded the OS to iOS6.  A few days later, the phone shut off spontaneously again three times in a ten hour period. I called Apple Care again and was told that this was a faulty phone and to bring it in to be replaced.  I did this yesterday, so far this phone appears to be fine….I will keep you posted.
As if that is not enough to be mad at Apple about, it continues….my wife damaged her iPhone 4S about a month ago, and replaced the phone with a new one after paying the $199 insurance deductible.  The new phone has been working fine until today.
This morning at 4:00 AM, I turned her phone on to make an adjustment to her calendar before she left for a four-day trip; and the phone was dead. I remember her charging it last night, so was surprised that it could have run the battery down overnight with no use.  I plugged it into the wall and it turned on and showed a full battery charge.  I unplugged it and it died.  I plugged it back in, and it turned on.  I tried to restore it, did a hard reset, called an Apple Care tech and did EVERYTHING we could think of to get this phone working. It too needs to be replaced. My wife is now on a four-day trip flying all over the country without a phone. 
For the first time in my life, I am cursing Apple.  You have let me down.  Your product has failed to work when I needed it to, and you have left my wife and I out of touch when we have important family issues to communicate about.
I will be replacing this phone today, but this is it.  This is your last chance on the 4S. When I was in the Apple Store yesterday, there were several people bringing their phones in with hardware problems (I saw at least three whose phones were very hot). 
If my new phone or my wife’s new phone do not work, I will be starting to look for an attorney to research a class action law suit against Apple for problems with this product. 
Apple has earned its sterling reputation for high quality technology that makes people’s lives better. As CEO are responsible for tarnishing that sterling reputation.  Steve Jobs would be turning over in his grave if he knew about my recent experience.  I hope for your sake and Apple’s sake that the iPhone5 has had better quality control than the iPhone4S.  If not, you might want to start polishing your resume.
Sincerely,
Jason

Answer 1

Try doing a DFU Restore.