Bent iPad Pro owners may face obstacles in receiving warranty-covered repairs from Apple

After reports surfaced last year of bent iPad Pro devices, it appears that the bending issue can not only damage the tablet’s logic board, but might not fall under the criteria for warranty-baed repairs at the Apple Store.

The iPad Pro, which has an Apple-defined 300 to 400 micro range of deviation, could fail to meet criteria for repairs. In addition, the bending, when present, can affect the connection for the main board, thereby leading to a potential $449 repair fee through the Apple Store.

In other worst-case scenarios, as documented over at Macworld, the Apple Store has refused to help, blamed the user for the issue, claimed that the bending issue wasn’t real, and noted that Apple has yet to issue any guidance on the problem aside from a support article that works to explain away the issue with the 2018 model iPad Pro.

The support article itself also states that the new tablets “meet an even tighter specification for flatness than previous generations.” Apple blames the iPad’s new straight edges and the presence of “antenna splits” on the cellular model for “subtle deviations in flatness more visible only from certain viewing angles that are imperceptible during normal use.” In short, if you think it’s bent, you’re looking at it wrong.

The support article notes that “small variances do not affect the strength of the enclosure or the function of the product and will not change over time through normal use.”

Macworld’s article notes that even after it’s highlighted user, Marcus, was denied the bent iPad Pro repair warranty repairs by two Genius Bar technicians, Marcus was able to send the table into an Apple Repair Center (located via getsupport.apple.com), and was sent a replacement iPad Pro “the very same day” his defective iPad Pro was received, proving that Apple’s policies and its actions may not be completely in sync, to Marcus’ advantage.

If you have any bent 2018 model iPad Pro repair horror stories to share, please let us know about your experiences in the comments.

Via Macworld and getsupport.apple.com