Similar experience. Sent an iPhone 14 Pro Max in for replacement about three weeks after I bought it. Apple denied the claim stating “phone not returned.”
Long story short, when I mailed my phone in using their pre-posted packaging, someone at FedEx intercepted it and replaced with weights. Only saving grace is the thief (assuming a FedEx employee) didn’t replace with an exact weight, so they were able to determine that the contents were tampered with after I initially dropped off.
Similar experience. Sent an iPhone 14 Pro Max in for replacement about three weeks after I bought it. Apple denied the claim stating “phone not returned.”
Long story short, when I mailed my phone in using their pre-posted packaging, someone at FedEx intercepted it and replaced with weights. Only saving grace is the thief (assuming a FedEx employee) didn’t replace with an exact weight, so they were able to determine that the contents were tampered with after I initially dropped off.
The fix: I only pickup from an Apple Store now.