I thought I would share my recent experiences with an iPhone XR coming back from the dead, but being replaced anyway.
The beast suddenly died on Tuesday night. Wednesday morn it was still dark and silent. It was still covered by AppleCare+, so I initiated a chat with Apple. Nothing they asked me to try could revive it, so we started talking repair options. At first it was mail it in, wait 2 - 4 weeks, might be delayed, etc. But then suddenly she came back and said there was an express exchange option. I could put a charge for a new device on my credit card, then they would ship it to me with instructions to send back my old phone, and as soon as they received it, they would reverse the credit card charge. I went for it.
(Ironic aside here: I tried to use Apple Pay to temporarily pay for the new device but that wouldn’t fly because… wait for it… Apple Pay insisted I verify my purchase on my iPhone XR! Which was dead! Which was the whole reason for the transaction in the first place! Anyway, I digress…)
So then I went back to work on my iMac, ignoring my dead iPhone, which was now sitting on a stand on my desk, and still connected to my iMac via a USB cable. But then, a couple of hours later, the iPhone suddenly awoke! Apparently as good as new, and refreshed from its nap! I immediately went and checked the battery settings, and they showed that the phone had been charged at 70% up until about 9 pm the previous night, at which point the charge abruptly flatlined for the next 12 hours.
My brand spanking new iPhone XR arrived the very next day (Thursday), and I am now boxing up the old one (which seems to be working perfectly well at this point) and preparing to send it back, along with a letter explaining the circumstances.
Not sure yet whether I will keep the new phone or they will return the old one to me at some point.
Anyway, very impressed with Apple’s support, especially during this period when stores are closed and geniuses are isolating along with the rest of us, and sharing this tale in case it might help others.