Buyers of the brand-new iPhone 16 series, including the much-hyped iPhone 16 Pro Max, are left shocked and frustrated as their new purchase is facing critical issues. After paying record-high prices for PTA-approved devices, many users are discovering that their phones become completely unresponsive during calls or while checking messages, leaving them unable to answer urgent calls or do anything else.
For consumers who spent upwards of Rs. 600,000 on Apple’s latest flagship, the experience is nothing short of humiliating. A survey in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad found that dozens of early buyers are facing this crippling glitch. The phone suddenly freezes when a call comes in, or when a user tries to view or respond to a message. During this interval, the phone is essentially a useless brick.
A furious customer in Islamabad wrote: “I bought the Pro Max thinking I was upgrading to the best in the world, but it freezes on me at the most critical moments. I feel cheated.”
Complaints are particularly pouring in from The Apple[1] Shop at Star City Mall in Saddar Karachi, where buyers say they have been left stranded with unresponsive devices. What makes the problem worse is the complete absence of support. Vendors selling the sealed phones wash their hands of any responsibility, claiming they import packed sets and cannot be held accountable for internal glitches.
The official distributor for these iPhones in Pakistan, Mercantile, has been equally dismissive, with users asked to factory reset their phones multiple times before being told to “contact Apple helpline.” But with Apple having no formal presence in Pakistan, the helpline is useless, leaving buyers caught in a vicious loop.
Mercantile has even tried to blame local networks such as Jazz and Telenor, though users point out that the same SIMs work flawlessly in older iPhone models. Another buyer in Islamabad said:
They told me to change my SIM, but when I put it in my old iPhone 14 Pro Max, it worked perfectly. The problem is the new device, not the network.
The issue is not limited to Pakistan, but is common in international models as well. Users complaining on Reddit have explained that they are able to receive calls normally from non-Apple users, but the phone freezes every time it’s an iPhone call. The user said that the official Apple support is not able to assist much either.
I already did put it in airplane mode on/off, reset network settings and updated to the latest ios update. I contacted apple support and they weren’t able to assist much.
Some frustrated users even approached the police and FIA, only to be directed to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Yet the regulator, which collects massive taxes on every imported iPhone, sometimes more than a quarter of its price, has remained silent.
Consumers argue that PTA, as custodian of the telecom sector and prime beneficiary of handset taxes, has a duty to protect buyers. “We pay millions to the PTA so our phones can work here, but when the devices fail, they tell us to chase vendors. Who will protect the consumer?” asked an irate Karachi buyer.
References
- ^ Apple Mobiles Price in Pakistan (propakistani.pk)