Last week, Business Insider obtained a copy of Apple’s internal “Visual/Mechanical Inspection Guide” document, which offers the public a unique glimpse at what goes into determining when, and under what circumstances, Apple’s repair staff are allowed to offer in-warranty repairs, out-of-warranty repairs, or an outright denial of service on a damaged iPhone.
Known within the walls of 1 Infinite Loop as the “VMI,” Apple’s inherent document pertains exclusively to repair policies concerning the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7 models — along with their Plus-sized counterparts. According to one Apple technician who spoke to Business Insider, the company actually has similar documents for all of its products, which are used primarily as staff “training tools.”
Apple’s Traffic Light Policy
As you can see in the diagram below, Apple’s “VMI” is broken down into three ‘sections’ — Green, Yellow, and Red — each representing increasingly serious types of accidental or cause-effect damage scenarios and what type of service Apple employees are to render.
The green section is devoted to problems like minor liquid damage — under the terms of which Apple WILL provide warranty service. The yellow and red sections, meanwhile, denote scenarios in which Apple will provide out-of-warranty service, and issues the company will outright decline to fix, respectively.
Minor issues such as debris under the display or a hairline crack through it are problems Apple will automatically fix under warranty — even if additional forms of accidental or liquid damage are evident. Meanwhile, Apple will apparently offer out-of-warranty, out-of-pocket service on devices that have succumbed to “liquid damage confirmed by the user,” large LCD fractures, camera lens damage, extreme abrasion, puncture holes, or a maligned chassis.
Ultimately, devices that have had their components switched, been tampered with by the user, or have endured “catastrophic damage” fall into the red category and are not eligible for service at all.
Interestingly, Business Insider claims that Apple has a completely different document for training employees how to detect internal and external water damage when diagnosing issues. This is particularly interesting because the company instructs its employees to deny certain types of in-warranty service if signs of water are discovered.
Why Does This Matter?
Apple employees claim that the “VMI” is seldom if ever used unless there’s an “oddball issue” that can’t be identified. “There are always those one-off issues that the phone is technically not covered under warranty but we swap the phone anyways under warranty,” an Apple technician told Business Insider, adding that the VMI is “more of a guide” than a general rule of thumb when it comes to issuing replacements. The employee also noted that Apple’s “VMI” rules don’t apply to devices covered under AppleCare+ protection plans, which provides customers with an additional two-years of warranty coverage on their product (including up to two instances of accidental damage per year).
And so, if you’re the slippery-fingers type who always seems to be dropping their iPhone everywhere they go, then perhaps it might make sense to invest in AppleCare+. After all, with repair guidelines as rigorous and costly as these, three-years of AppleCare+ at $129 could ultimately save you thousands of dollars in the long-term.