# I cracked my iPhone 4 screen!!!



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

My Otterbox Defender failed to protect my iPhone,
Had a spill and fell flat on my face, No, It wasn't that funny.

iPhone was in my front pocket and the screen is now veined with cracks,
Called the Apple store and they said it'll cost me $258. to fix it,
They said also it'll take just ten minutes to fix.

Looks like I'll be throwing away my Otterbox Defender,
It just doesn't defend as well as the reviews say it does.

Guess I'll have to start using my Magellan box,
It's built like a Brick sh*t house and it's waterproof.
But, It doesn't work that well with an iPhone 4.


----------



## chrisburke (May 11, 2010)

You can buy a replacement screen from third party sites and fix it yourself.. It'll cost less than $100 and take 10 minutes to fix


----------



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

chrisburke said:


> You can buy a replacement screen from third party sites and fix it yourself.. It'll cost less than $100 and take 10 minutes to fix


I don't want to void the warranty, It's just 3 months old,
Had it been out of warranty, Then I would consider that option.

Thanks for the suggestion.


----------



## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I fail to see how a 3rd party screen fix will void your warranty.


----------



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

dona83 said:


> I fail to see how a 3rd party screen fix will void your warranty.


I already made the appointment.


----------



## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

dona83 said:


> I fail to see how a 3rd party screen fix will void your warranty.


Any unauthorized repairs or modifications void the warranty. Same as on a regular Mac.

I fail to see how you could expect to retain warranty coverage after having an unauthorized company perform a repair.


----------



## Elric (Jul 30, 2005)

Lawrence said:


> I already made the appointment.


They gave my son a brand new iPod when he broke his screen. Just take it in, and be honest (funny helps too), I had to sign, but it was zero dollars. 4 months in, totally his fault. They were awesome.


----------



## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

I sold my old iPhone 3GS to a friend. He dropped it and broke the screen when it was one month from the end of Applecare I had purchased. He took it to Apple and told them the truth, he dropped it. The Apple store in West Edmonton Mall replaced it free. Just saying.


----------



## chrisburke (May 11, 2010)

3rd party may void your warranty.. But if you find the right part, that has apple markings (ppl do sell them) then apple won't know it's been switched.. Also if you are in warranty, why is it costing you money to fix.. That's the point of a warranty...


----------



## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

chrisburke said:


> 3rd party may void your warranty.. But if you find the right part, that has apple markings (ppl do sell them) then apple won't know it's been switched.. Also if you are in warranty, why is it costing you money to fix.. That's the point of a warranty...


Warranties don't cover user damage. Duh.


----------



## chrisburke (May 11, 2010)

John Clay said:


> Warranties don't cover user damage. Duh.


 I've had apple fix things before that were user damage.. You just gotta know how to talk to them..


----------



## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

chrisburke said:


> I've had apple fix things before that were user damage.. You just gotta know how to talk to them..


That doesn't change the fact that user damage isn't covered by the warranty. You have no right to claim service on a user-damaged product.

If the Genius decides to replace/repair it anyway, that's great - but it's entirely at their discretion.


----------



## chrisburke (May 11, 2010)

The internetz has been so hostile lately.. In real life, if someone got a sweet deal, like apple fixing something I broke at no charge, people would be like "oh sweet man, such a great deal" but not on the internetz..


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 26, 2010)

chrisburke said:


> The internetz has been so hostile lately.. In real life, if someone got a sweet deal, like apple fixing something I broke at no charge, people would be like "oh sweet man, such a great deal" but not on the internetz..


I find people are often hostile in a text based communication medium when people use dumb spellings like using z instead of s to make a word plural that shouldn't be to begin with... ???! 

User damage is not warranty covered. Period. Sometimes you get lucky and catch someone at the right moment/place/time and they throw you a freebie. Sometimes Apple wants you to have an iPad when your wife doesn't. SOMETIMES. Most of the time you are SOOL.


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Okay, listen closely: this is what you're going to do.

Make an appointment for an Apple genius bar appointment.

Take your phone.

Go to the appointment.

Explain, truthfully, what happened. Say you realize the warranty doesn't cover damage, but you are surprised that the phone cracked this way given how strong Apple says the glass is. Still, it's your fault, but ask: can they do anything to help you.

After that, return here and report the results. At the worst, you've wasted a few hours. But you might be surprised otherwise.


----------



## kloan (Feb 22, 2002)

10 minutes?!?!!? You have to tear the freakin thing down to scraps before you can even remove the screen. What are you guys talking about??? The rear glass, sure that's a couple minutes to replace.

Taking it apart to get to the screen does void the warranty because you have to remove a little sticker that can't be put back... unless you can find the little sticker somewhere.

Meanwhile, it might take 15-20 minutes for someone who's already done the job a bunch of times, but for anyone who's doing it for the first time, expect it to take at least 45 minutes.


----------



## BlackViper (Mar 2, 2008)

I would guess the 10 min estimate is the time required to get a replacement unit from the store-room and run it through the activation process. Apples out-of-warranty repair for iPhone is a swap for a refurbished unit. Make sure your old unit is properly backed up before you go in.


----------



## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

BlackViper said:


> I would guess the 10 min estimate is the time required to get a replacement unit from the store-room and run it through the activation process. Apples out-of-warranty repair for iPhone is a swap for a refurbished unit. Make sure your old unit is properly backed up before you go in.


Yep

229 + HST = $258.77 (in Ontario)


----------



## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

HowEver said:


> Okay, listen closely: this is what you're going to do.
> 
> Make an appointment for an Apple genius bar appointment.
> 
> ...


+1

I did the same thing. Make sure you say the fall was minor, you were surprised such a thing would do anything, and that you had it in the otterbox and everything.

They just gave me a new iphone4 without any questions or fuss.


----------



## chrisburke (May 11, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I find people are often hostile in a text based communication medium when people use dumb spellings like using z instead of s to make a word plural that shouldn't be to begin with... ???!
> .


Thanks for proving my point


----------



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

iRepair.ca - iPhone. iPod. iPad. Mac Repair - Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria


----------



## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

Adrian. said:


> iRepair.ca - iPhone. iPod. iPad. Mac Repair - Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria


I've heard that iRepair does good work, however, I think the OP should try his luck at the genius bar before paying a 3rd party to do any work on his phone.


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Adrian, read my post above please.




Adrian. said:


> iRepair.ca - iPhone. iPod. iPad. Mac Repair - Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria


----------



## molasses (Dec 12, 2009)

if you go the iRepair route, buy this to soften the blow (costs):

$19 for $60 worth of iPod, iPhone, iPad, or Macbook Repair Services from iRepair.ca


----------



## digitddog (Jul 5, 2006)

Hey, Lawrence, you might want to double check that the replacement iPhone Apple gives you will still be covered by your warranty in case of future problems. I'd expect it would be, but it might be worth asking....


----------



## lang (Jun 9, 2010)

chrisburke said:


> I've had apple fix things before that were user damage.. You just gotta know how to talk to them..


My sister-in-law has gotten her iPod replaced twice (both times, she forgot to take it out of her pocket before doing the laundry).

Both times, the Apple store replaced them. Mind you, she's 6' 1" and was a cheerleader for the Ottawa Renegades. So that might have have had something to do with it


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 26, 2010)

digitddog said:


> Hey, Lawrence, you might want to double check that the replacement iPhone Apple gives you will still be covered by your warranty in case of future problems. I'd expect it would be, but it might be worth asking....


Warranty on replacement is 90 days or the length of the original warranty, whichever is longer (if you are only 4 months into a 1 year warranty you still get 8 months on the replacement).


----------



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

HowEver said:


> Okay, listen closely: this is what you're going to do.
> 
> Make an appointment for an Apple genius bar appointment.
> 
> ...


That's the best advice ever, Thanks.

I went over to the Apple store after work today and explained exactly what happened,
I took a spill yesterday on my motorbike, The road was slick from the light rain,
My rear tire slid out and I did a face plant with the iPhone in my pocket.

I also said I didn't think the iPhone would be damaged because it was protected
by my otterbox, So I didn't check it until I got home.

I also struck up a conversation with the service guy about my bluetooth helmet,
Since I brought my helmet into the store and he was interested in it,
Apparently he was looking for a bluetooth for his helmet.
(Another motorcyclist, What are the odds)

So the service guy says, I'll just take it to the back and see what I can do for you,
I'm waiting patiently, 20 minutes go by and I'm thinking there must be a real problem.

Next thing I know, The guy comes back and says...
We are going to replace your iPhone 4 with a new iPhone 4 free of charge.
Just sign here, Well, I was shocked and very very thankful.

I think that the camera was smashed as well, But in any case...

Thank you Apple!!!


----------



## whatiwant (Feb 21, 2008)

Lawrence said:


> That's the best advice ever, Thanks.
> 
> I went over to the Apple store after work today and explained exactly what happened,
> I took a spill yesterday on my motorbike, The road was slick from the light rain,
> ...


That's awesome dude. Congrats!


----------



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Just finished the backup sync to my new iPhone,
Glad I did a backup before I took the iPhone in.

Everything has reappeared on my new iPhone,
All 195 photograph's are still there, Whew, I was afraid they were gone forever.

Thanks again Apple, You are a true lifesaver.


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

What great news! You are very welcome.  Just don't ask me how I knew...





Lawrence said:


> That's the best advice ever, Thanks.
> 
> I went over to the Apple store after work today and explained exactly what happened,
> I took a spill yesterday on my motorbike, The road was slick from the light rain,
> ...


----------



## groovetube (Jan 2, 2003)

seems to me apple seems very aware of the propensity for these 4s to crack very very easily. I wonder what changes to design we'll see in the iphone5.


----------



## macmac (Oct 22, 2006)

Lawrence said:


> That's the best advice ever, Thanks.
> 
> I went over to the Apple store after work today and explained exactly what happened,
> I took a spill yesterday on my motorbike, The road was slick from the light rain,
> ...


Well I tried to explain to apple the same message but they were relentless about not making any exceptions. Oh well...good thing I have a flip phone I can use as backup.

I've looked online at replacing the glass myself and its around 30 different steps. Its a big project to get it done, not something id like to do.


----------



## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

macmac said:


> Well I tried to explain to apple the same message but they were relentless about not making any exceptions. Oh well...good thing I have a flip phone I can use as backup.
> 
> I've looked online at replacing the glass myself and its around 30 different steps. Its a big project to get it done, not something id like to do.


Hey macmac, I'm doing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch repairs full-time now. New site ehPhone.ca is *almost* ready to be opened. I've done a ton of iPhone 4's already and would be happy to help you out and give a special ehMac discount.  (Or any ehMac member)

Fire me a PM if you're interested.


----------



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

ehMax said:


> Hey macmac, I'm doing iPhone, iPad and iPod touch repairs full-time now. New site ehPhone.ca is *almost* ready to be opened. I've done a ton of iPhone 4's already and would be happy to help you out and give a special ehMac discount.  (Or any ehMac member)
> 
> Fire me a PM if you're interested.


I keep looking for a thumbs up to give messages,
That's great news.


----------

