Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Broken iPhone 4? Cracked Screen?


I was taking my "baby" (my precious dog for those of you who aren't familiar) out for a walk the other day when the unfortunate happened! My cell, my beautiful, without a scratch, iPhone 4, which I had always been so careful with, decided it wanted to fall out of my pocket. Needless to say, it cracked the screen, even with a protective cover on it! and it was such a short drop!! I was crushed and was really upset because it was my lifeline. There were 4-5 cracks extending about halfway through the screen. Then I had a decision to make...

Get a new phone at 199.99?! or try to fix the screen myself with some parts online which would cost me ~$80 on the low end and that's without equipment, just parts. So I decided to do a search online and after a while, I came to this one thread. I read about miracle stories about how Apple had amazing customer service and people were going to pay the $120 flat rate Apple charged to fix the phone and then all of a sudden, they would appear from the back with a brand new phone, free of charge. So I got my hopes up. Hey, this was 6 full pages of follow ups from other people so it really depends on the store and the staff you deal with.

I headed into the store with my hopes up and well, I didn't get a freebie but I did get something in return. So, here's my tip for those of you who broke your screen and have not gone past your first year's warranty yet. If you crack your screen, take it into Apple before you spend money on trying to fix it yourself. The associate who helped me basically said, if you buy AppleCare, which with tax in New York, ends up around $75, I'll get you a new phone. Note: By new phone, she means refurbished. I know the phone I got was definitely not 100% new, it had usage on it by the meter. And, it has to be the same phone you brought in...so no switching for white, which kinda bummed me out too because I had always wanted the white one. However, you would've spent the same amount and more on a new screen that you would've put on yourself which takes time and patience in tinkering with the parts. I admit, I don't like the idea of a refurbished phone, but I now have AppleCare to extend my warranty one more year so if there's something wrong with this phone they gave me, you bet I'll be taking it back to them. So, there you have it...a cheaper and easier alternative to fix your cracked iPhone4.

Until next time,
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10 comments:

About a Mom said...[Reply]

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Already following you via GFC! I just followed you on Networked Blogs, Twitter and FB! Have a great day!

Book Lover said...[Reply]

Follow me / Follow you ;)

Mandie
http://time4mommy.com

Grace Fonseca said...[Reply]

Well at least you got a replacement phone. I hate when things break. Come visit me over at Livre De Amour, New Follower.

MusingMom6 said...[Reply]

Thanks for writing about your experience. I have wondered how the Apple Care would work. So far no issues.

Stopping in from BSM Boosters

Scrumptious Reading said...[Reply]

I had the same thing happen to my iPhone 3 without any coverage. I ended up sending it off to get fixed for $120. I now have an Otterbox for my iPhone 4. I have dropped it a lot but it has no scratches. The $20 Otterbox case is my life saver now!

books4me said...[Reply]

So glad it all worked out well for you! I don't have an iphone but do they make phone covers for them? I purchased a phone cover on ebay for my cell phone because I tend to drop it many times in a month. My cover is scratched and a piece broke off but my phone is fine!

Unknown said...[Reply]

You can purchase the screen + LCD from Ebay and it's VERY easy to fix ;) Currently doing my 2nd iPhone 4 and have done several iphone 3/3G.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

That is such a good idea! I have an iPhone 4 now and it only has a little crack on the screen, in the corner - nothing major. My iPhone 3G though I dropped several times and it had spiderwebbing cracks ALL over it, it was almost impossible to see what I was doing. Wish I would have thought to do this back then!

Jamie @ Bookerella

Cinny said...[Reply]

Hi Angelica,

Thanks for the tip. However, as I had posted, most of the time, buying the part would've costed more than AppleCare itself. Plus, a lot of the retailers on Ebay were selling the parts that were advertised as all you needed but in reality, they were not and then you would've ended up paying more than you had intended. I read a lot of the sellers' feedback and it always seemed like they would short you out on the LCD screen and that they wouldn't come together. So, why risk it? That's another reason why I didn't buy my own parts, especially off of Ebay. :)

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Great tip, sorry your phone cracked in the first place tho. :/
Refurbished isn't so bad anyway, I have plenty refurbished, only difference I know is it's cheaper. hehe. I'm a new friend coming over from Monkey do monday blog hop. :)
Hope to see you over at http://daytodaymoments.com
xo!

oh and following you on twitter too :)
I'm @daytodayMOMents on twitter :)

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