Chris Pirillo's iPhone 5 screen cracked; Apple replaced it free of charge...?

jmanley1 said:

Big fan of the Lockergnome YouTube Channel. Chris is a good reviewer and an entertaining presenter with all things tech.

Yesterday he posted this Vlog.

He dropped his iPhone 5 and the front screen cracked. He took it in to the Apple store and they replaced it free of charge. Is this common practice for Apple to do this with a phone that is still in the 1st year, under warranty.

Keep in mind Chris has no AppleCare+ or insurance (not that the latter would have mattered at the Apple Store).

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No it's not common practice. Most people would have to pay the $229 replacement fee. I'm not sure why he got it waived. It may have to do with who he is.

Nice. Now when I go to replace my iPhone and they argue that I have to pay, I can just show them this video.

jmanley1 said:

Big fan of the Lockergnome YouTube Channel. Chris is a good reviewer and an entertaining presenter with all things tech.

Click to expand...

Have to disagree with you there. I watched Chris's videos pretty regularly up until three or so years ago. I finally had to stop because he spent more time drinking wine, yelling, and going off on rabbit trails than actually giving a solid review. Thank God there are plenty of good alternatives to him.

I had the same experience getting my wife's screen replaced on her iphone3 a couple of years ago. I bought a screen replacement to install myself, and I failed miserably. I then bought another one and failed again.

I finally gave in and was prepared to pay the fee to have the Apple store replace it. We made an appointment and they took it in the back and repaired it for free! So they will do repairs for free depending on their mood. By the way, it was out of regular warranty but we had Apple Care.

Depends on the store/staff you come across. Also helps if you have clout as it were...

usually when you bring your sad face to their store and politely sadly patiently consistently honestly tell (not beg) them what happened they will repair it for free

I have had multiple iDevices replaced by my Apple store for free. I just be honest and calm and they always come thru. Even had liquid damage fixed on my Macbook Pro for free once.

My first 4S slipped out of my hand as I was getting into my car. It hit the cement and cracked. Went to the Apple Store, prepared to pay $200 and instead, the genius said she could replace it for free as a "hairline" crack.

Depends on the Genuis you get.