14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has started refusing to honor their warranty obligations to customers who no longer have an active AT&T contract. These customers have done nothing prohibited by Apple and the company has no legal reason whatsoever to refuse them.
Apple is tied to AT&T so that it will not be activated without a contract with the carrier; however, said contract can be legitimately canceled should a customer wish it. While an iPhone obviously won't be able to be used for making and receiving calls without a contract, the Internet and iPod capabilities of the device should remain intact. While canceling your AT&T contract and using your iPhone is perfectly legal, Apple is refusing to offer service to these devices, as Oregon State resident Jake Durgard discovered.
After the bottom buttons on the Home screen stopped working, Durgard went to Apple to get the iPhone repaired, but store employees refused to help without a valid SIM card in the phone. Calling Apple directly yielded the same results, the company informing him that he must have an active two-year agreement to be able to receive any hardware replacements or repairs. Such a requirement is not listed on the iPhone box or warranty and as the device was not tampered with in any way Apple has no legal reason whatsoever to do this.
The matter has gone as far as having Durgard escorted by the police out of an Apple Store when he refused to leave until he received the repairs he was legally entitled to. Apple has not made any official statement on the subject and Durgard is now considering joining a class action lawsuit that would force Apple into honoring their warranties and performing the necessary repairs. While Apple is obviously trying to protect themselves from having to repair the iPhones of people who try to hack them into working with other carriers, people who simply cancel their AT&T contract have done no wrong and deserve better.