Apple No Longer Replacing Front/Back of Broken iPhone 4/4S

[uiop.]

Originally Posted by HeezyBear

Just an update. I told my friend to make another appointment at a different Apple Store. She was hesitant, but she went anyways. They replaced her phone for her at no charge. This inconsistency between different stores seems odd to me for a company like Apple. Oh well.

I agree. Either do or don't. And with AppleCare+, its supposed to be don't.

But knowing how lenient they are on replacing phones with even the smallest of defects (some on here have had their phones replaced for buttons that are "too clicky" ), I'm not too shocked.

[iParis]

Originally Posted by uiop.

I agree. Either do or don't. And with AppleCare+, its supposed to be don't.

But knowing how lenient they are on replacing phones with even the smallest of defects (some on here have had their phones replaced for buttons that are "too clicky" ), I'm not too shocked.

Haha! I know exactly what you mean. One time I noticed that if I went to tap on the button to compose a new text message, that I could tap a centimeter or two to the left and it would still indicate I touched it. Same thing with similar buttons in the Facebook app. I got water in the bottom of my iPhone at work and it freaked out for a day then acted fine, but I was worried about it getting worse. I used the touch location "issue" as a way to convince them to give me a replacement. Worked like a charm, even with the liquid color indicator activated. Oh, and they will almost ALWAYS replace Apple headphones.

[jjlannoo]

Originally Posted by seanfranklin

Don't be so sure. The Slashgear article you linked says Gorilla Glass, but they're quoting the iFixIt teardown. iFixIt says "The front glass panel of the iPhone is reported to be constructed of Corning Gorilla Glass", but they don't give any citation to support that or say who exactly "reported" it.

I don't know if the iPhone uses Gorilla Glass or not. Given the ease with which it can shatter, and having seen videos of strength demonstrations of Corning Gorilla Glass, I suspect it does not. Apple and Corning won't say.

Doesn't matter much as Gorilla glass breaks when dropped too. Its still glass.. its not like its a sapphire watch crystal.

[Bryan Bowler]

Originally Posted by HeezyBear

I understand they don't do one time replacements for free anymore, but it seems kind of absurd that they don't allow you to pay for just the front or the back to be replaced. Has anyone else experienced this?

No big deal. There are a ton of repair shops that will replace the glass on the back of her iPhone for about $30-$35.

Problem solved.

[SAD*FACED*CLOWN]

Originally Posted by seanfranklin

Don't be so sure. The Slashgear article you linked says Gorilla Glass, but they're quoting the iFixIt teardown. iFixIt says "The front glass panel of the iPhone is reported to be constructed of Corning Gorilla Glass", but they don't give any citation to support that or say who exactly "reported" it.

I don't know if the iPhone uses Gorilla Glass or not. Given the ease with which it can shatter, and having seen videos of strength demonstrations of Corning Gorilla Glass, I suspect it does not. Apple and Corning won't say.

it's been confirmed in Steve Job's biography that the first iPhone used GG...it's afe to assume that perhaps they stopped around the time Jobs announced Apple was experiementing with glass in house

[WhiskeyWoman]

I just called my local Apple store and they said they would replace my shattered back glass cover on my iPhone 4 for $30. That sounds like a sweet deal for OEM replacement glass. Appointment needed.

[Greencardman]

I can see my rear glass replacement business taking off if this is true. Its one of the few repairs that is hard to compete with Apple on price. As someone else mentioned, its kind of silly for them to stop offering it since places are still selling those phones. I'm apt to mark it up as an aberration at a few stores than a company wide policy at the moment.