consumer-protection
Is blocking users to take phone backups on external harddrive by Apple not unlawful?
<p>Over the past few weeks I am having some hard time restoring my backups from external harddrive after my iphone got bricked.</p>
<p>I am using a new iPhone 12 Pro with 512gb space and I keep backing up my phone on external harddrive (since these phone comes with huge space - I have not enough space on my MacBook Pro to hold that much data). Apple's way of backing things up is subscribe to iCloud, which is of course comes with a price.</p>
<p>After my phone got bricked, I went to Apple and got that phone hardware replaced for being within a year of warrenty coverage of purchasing the phone. But then, surprisingly I found that I cannot restore my data on my new phone from those external harddrive.</p>
<p>I called Apple customer care and they said I should have used my Mac or iCloud to backup those data.</p>
<p>There were tons of personal data, banking info, cryptos, auth tokens saved in my phone. The sum total of loss can be worth equivalent to 150K-250K in USD. I called some of the lawyer around the place where I live in Florida, but with all I have talked so far  I am having hard time explaining what is going on.</p>
<p>Right now, what I am seeking is to understand if there are any scope for taking any legal action against apple? If so I would want to know what laws protect my consumer rights. And in this scenario how can I get settled with the loss that I had to go through because of Apple's unsolicited restrictive practices with phone backs-and-data-restore.</p>

<p>You can backup your iPhone in three ways: on your Mac using iTunes (may work with windows as well, I haven’t tried it), using iCloud (not free, but 200 GB is very cheap), or using whatever method you can figure out that works for you.</p>
<p>The first two methods are “guaranteed” to work, that is if your phone gets destroyed or stolen, you can buy a new phone, set it up with the same Apple ID, and restore it to the original state. Some software, like banking software, may not like it. My banking software figured out it wasn’t the same phone and I had to register it with my bank again. If things go wrong, Apples liability will be limited. The third method, you’re on your own. Any problems are your problems.</p>
<p>There was a case were someone claimed to have lost $600,000 worth of Bitcoin due to a fraudulent app. I don’t think they got any compensation.</p>

<h2>There may be grounds</h2>
<p>You <a href="https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iOS15_iPadOS15.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">agreed</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol start="8">
<li>Limitation of Liability. TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL APPLE, ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS OR PRINCIPALS BE LIABLE FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, CORRUPTION OR LOSS OF DATA, FAILURE TO TRANSMIT OR RECEIVE ANY DATA (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION COURSE INSTRUCTIONS, ASSIGNMENTS AND MATERIALS), BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE APPLE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES OR ANY THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE, APPLICATIONS OR SERVICES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE APPLE SOFTWARE OR SERVICES, HOWEVER CAUSED, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY (CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) AND EVEN IF APPLE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. In no event shall Apple’s total liability to you for all damages (other than as may be required by applicable law in cases involving personal injury) exceed the amount of two hundred and fifty dollars (U.S.$250.00). The foregoing limitations will apply even if the above stated remedy fails of its essential purpose.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>So, under contract, you might get U.S.$250.00.</p>
<p>However, we need to focus on “TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW”.</p>
<p>In most jurisdictions limitation on liability clauses for consequential loss are not prohibited. That means the damage you suffered for your iPhone destroying your data is capped at U.S.$250.00. You have not stated where you are so check local law.</p>
<p>Such limitations are generally not allowed for the direct subject matter of the agreement - if goods or services are faulty, you are usually entitled to have them repaired, replaced or supplied again. In some jurisdictions you may be entitled to a refund. However, it appears Apple has done this - they have replaced the iPhone and resupplied the software.</p>
<p>Of course,if you are using third-party software to back up your iPhone then you have no cause of action against Apple - you need to check your contract with that supplier.</p>
