Forum Pakistan is reporting a troubling situation for consumers who have purchased the new iPhone 16 series, including the flagship iPhone 16 Pro Max, in Pakistan. Despite paying exorbitant prices—upwards of Rs. 600,000 for PTA-approved models—many users are experiencing a critical glitch that causes their phones to become completely unresponsive during crucial moments like receiving calls or checking messages.
A recent survey conducted in major cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad has revealed that dozens of new iPhone 16 owners are suffering from this crippling bug. The phone freezes unexpectedly when a call comes in or when the user attempts to view a message, rendering the device useless at the most critical times.
A Vicious Cycle of Blame and No Support
The situation is made even more frustrating by the complete lack of support for these high-end devices. Customers who purchased the phones from retailers, particularly from “The Apple Shop” at Star City Mall in Saddar, Karachi, are being left stranded. The vendors are washing their hands of the problem, claiming they are only importers of sealed devices and cannot be held accountable for internal software glitches.
The official distributor, Mercantile, has been equally unhelpful. According to user complaints, their representatives are advising customers to factory reset their phones, a solution that has proven ineffective. When that fails, buyers are simply told to “contact Apple helpline,” a futile suggestion given Apple’s lack of formal presence and support infrastructure in Pakistan.
As one frustrated customer in Islamabad put it, “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.”
A Global Problem with Local Implications
This issue is not limited to Pakistan. Reports on international forums like Reddit confirm that the freezing bug is a global problem. Users abroad have noted that the phone specifically freezes during calls from other iPhone users, while calls from non-Apple devices work normally. International users who have reached out to Apple Support have also reported a lack of a clear solution, despite having tried common troubleshooting steps like force restarting and updating the iOS software.
The situation has created a consumer protection crisis in Pakistan. Despite the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) collecting massive taxes on these imported devices, sometimes exceeding a quarter of the phone’s price, the regulator has remained silent. Consumers are now arguing that the PTA, as the custodian of the telecom sector, has a duty to protect them from such defective products.
Both Mercantile and Apple have not yet provided any official comment on the matter, leaving thousands of customers who have invested a significant amount of money in their devices with no recourse.
