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slow hand

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 27, 2010
44
8
iPhone 4 was in my lap when I stepped out of my truck at Walgreens.

Due to my door and the passenger side door shutting, I didn't hear the phone hit the ground. Left Walgreens and headed down the street to my eventual destination, where I realized the phone was missing.

Went back to the Walgreens, and, unfortunately, the phone had landed on the asphalt, screen side down, in the next parking space, directly in the path of the wheel of the car that was parked there. So, not only had it been run over by the compact car that was in the spot when we left as it backed out, it had also been crunched by the Ford Explorer that was now in the parking place as my girlfriend found the phone!

Good news was, I had a Speck hard plastic case on it (the one I received for free as part of Apple's "free case program for the iPhone 4). Despite being run over twice, the only damage seems to be a cracked front screen. Everything works, and there doesn't seem to be any loss of touch sensitivity, color, or definition in the screen. It was probably a stroke of good luck that it landed screen side down, as the shallow lip on the Speck case probably minimized damage.

I was really sick. I pride myself on taking care of my equipment, and this is the first phone I've ever broken. I've owned an iPhone since the 3G came out, and never damaged one. Still sick about it!

I bought this iPhone 4 at the Apple Store the day they came out.

I've attached a photo.

IMG_1357.jpg


Anyway, my main question is, what are my options?

I read in another thread where a member here had his iPhone replaced at the Apple store for a nominal fee - maybe $29.99 or something? If that's the case, I'd probably like to do that, since there's an Apple store here in town.

I also read another thread that said Apple charges $200 to replace the screen. If that's the case, I'd like to consider other options for repair - possibly letting one of the local shops that specialize in smartphone repair do the job?

What about this place I've read about - Direct Fix?

Thanks for any information y'all can provide.

John
Memphis
 

AnotherBrian

macrumors regular
Jun 29, 2010
134
0
iphone ran over

I have heard the same thing just be honest and you may get lucky and they replace it for free. Probable just depends on the day and the mood of the Genius.
 

slow hand

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 27, 2010
44
8
Apple Store replaced the phone for free.

They said next time it'll be $217.
 

pmart

macrumors newbie
Feb 1, 2011
18
0
they cant replace the screen on the iphone 4 like the older iphones. they will give you a new phone for 200 so make sure yours is backed up.
 

Akuratyde

macrumors regular
Feb 7, 2011
249
1
I dropped mine on the kitchen floor this Monday (Feb. 7th) and the screen shattered. I took it into the Apple store and was as polite as can be, I didn't receive a free replacement. Had to pay the full $217. I think it's really crappy that some people are getting free replacements and others are having to pay out of pocket. They need to be consistent with this. Either everyone pays or everyone gets a free one-time replacement.
 

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
I read in another thread where a member here had his iPhone replaced at the Apple store for a nominal fee - maybe $29.99 or something?
FWIW, the $29 charge is to replace the back glass, not the front screen.

Glad it worked out well for you. :)
 

slow hand

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 27, 2010
44
8
I dropped mine on the kitchen floor this Monday (Feb. 7th) and the screen shattered. I took it into the Apple store and was as polite as can be, I didn't receive a free replacement. Had to pay the full $217. I think it's really crappy that some people are getting free replacements and others are having to pay out of pocket. They need to be consistent with this. Either everyone pays or everyone gets a free one-time replacement.

Which store was this?

Was it an iPhone 4?

Did you buy the phone there?

Reason I ask is that I have bought 2 iPhones at my Apple Store (one 3G when they came out, and one 4 when they came out). Customer loyalty could have something to do with why they replaced mine.
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
I dropped mine on the kitchen floor this Monday (Feb. 7th) and the screen shattered. I took it into the Apple store and was as polite as can be, I didn't receive a free replacement. Had to pay the full $217. I think it's really crappy that some people are getting free replacements and others are having to pay out of pocket. They need to be consistent with this. Either everyone pays or everyone gets a free one-time replacement.

Their rule is to charge for every out of warranty replacement.
Now some do get away with not paying but those are considered lucky.
Just cause you paid it doesnt mean everyone else should also and not get a freebie at times.
Dont be bitter:)
 
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