How Not to Waste Your Time With the iPhone 6 Plus Camera Replacement Program

A few days ago Apple quietly announced details of its iSight Camera Replacement Program for iPhone 6 Plus. In a nutshell, if your iPhone 6 Plus is producing blurry photos and falls into the eligible serial number range, Apple will replace your device's iSight camera, free of charge.

If your iPhone 6 Plus camera doesn't take blurry shots Apple may not replace itIf your iPhone 6 Plus camera doesn't take blurry shots Apple may not replace it

So I checked my serial number and lo and behold, mine was among the afflicted. (You can check your serial number, too.) I hadn't noticed any more blurry photos than usual, but I shoot a lot of blurry images anyway, so I figured it was worth having it checked out by a pro. 

The available service options are: 

  • Apple Authorized Service Provider 
  • Apple Retail Store
  • Apple Technical Support

I choose option 2 and made an appointment at my local Apple Store for the first convenient time, which is this coming Friday afternoon. That was yesterday; this morning I decided to hit the Apple Store today and see if you can actually get the work done without an appointment.

The good news is that you can. I walked in, waited about 30 minutes (I went shopping and they texted me when it was almost my turn). Ultimately, the Genius examined my phone for a while and then excused himself and took it in the back. He returned a few minutes later with bad news -- since my iPhone didn't seem to take blurrier pictures than usual, they declined to replace the camera.

So... if your iPhone has an eligible serial number, Apple may (or may not) replace it at its discretion. As far as I could tell, the Genius checked the camera's auto-focus by tapping the screen and watching closely. He said auto-focus not working properly was one of the symptoms. I thought he snapped a picture or two but when I looked later there were no new photos on my Camera Roll. So if he did take some pictures, he also deleted them (and deleted them from the Recently Deleted album as well).  

The moral of the story is that even if your serial number is among the affected, unless your iPhone 6 Plus camera is producing blurry photos or its auto focus isn't focusing properly, don't bother wasting your time trying to get the camera replaced under this program. In hindsight, I shouldn't have bothered -- the program is in effect for 3 years from the date of purchase. So, if my camera exhibits the symptoms anytime before then, I know the drill.