This is my Hail Mary post in case anyone has insight into Apple's recycling logistics.
Two days ago, my husband's iPhone 13 stopped powering on. Black screen, totally unresponsive to buttons. He had charged it overnight and it was extremely hot to the touch (we even used an ice pack to cool it down).
The Apple store took his phone saying it was likely a battery/port issue. They held it overnight.
Monday, I went to retrieve it on my lunch break and after much grief was finally allowed to have it. Basically, they could never get it to power on and gave us a new phone.
I don't have an iPhone myself and wanted to be sure all the data would be transferred to the new device. A manager and tech were both there telling me that would happen with the backup. I could not take the old phone back with me.
My husband had not set up automatic backup, and the last backup was from when he got this phone in Jun 2022. Since that time, I went through pregnancy and had a 2nd boy who just turned 9 months. Lots of priceless photos and videos of our toddler and baby.
We immediately called/emailed the Apple store and tried to get the old phone back. While on the phone with apple support, someone from the local Apple store left a message that she would put his phone aside in case we wanted to go through a 3rd party for data recovery (we did want to).
Today I went in to the Apple store and was told the phone had already been shipped off. The manager said there was no way to get it back, period. And that even if we did have a way, data would likely not be retrievable from a phone that would not power on.
I'm totally heartbroken. There HAS to be a way to get this phone back, right!? Even if it is being sent back to Apple for parts, it still exists out there?? I feel so many emotions, but mostly just want to know whether it's possible to get this phone and early photos of our kids back.
We have checked all other sources for possible media backups (iCloud, Google photo, OneDrive, Dropbox etc).
Thank you so much for your help. I guess I am looking for someone who works in Apple's recycling center (nearest UT)!!!!!! I know there's a lot of worse problems to have, but super sad thank you for your help.