any hope for less than $250?

[bobdole1337]

Hey,
I dropped my 6 day old iPhone today. It was a 4 foot drop I immediately looked at it and said "wow...not a scratch." Then I looked at the screen. It has a single hairline fracture on it. Hard to see. Here's the kicker: the outer screen (the glass) is not cracked. Only the touch-sensitive layer. So the screen now looks really, really good. But none of the touch sensitivity will work.
Will they actually charge $250 to fix a $400 phone? How would you recommend framing the situation so as to maximize the chance of a charge-free return?

 

[ivi7]

Hey,
I dropped my 6 day old iPhone today. It was a 4 foot drop I immediately looked at it and said "wow...not a scratch." Then I looked at the screen. It has a single hairline fracture on it. Hard to see. Here's the kicker: the outer screen (the glass) is not cracked. Only the touch-sensitive layer. So the screen now looks really, really good. But none of the touch sensitivity will work.
Will they actually charge $250 to fix a $400 phone? How would you recommend framing the situation so as to maximize the chance of a charge-free return?

I am not sure what excuse you could give them. They will probably charge you for the repair.

 

[overanalyzer]

I'd check with your credit card company and see if they offer coverage. Some cards do offer a sort of warranty on new items. Barring that, I think you're probably at the whim of Apple support or your local Apple store....

 

[Avatar74]

I'm really astonished by the number of threads in which people are asking if Apple will replace a phone that someone broke accidentally or out of their own negligence.

My response to that is... Hey, I got in an accident and my VW Jetta is now totalled. Do you think VW will replace my $28,000 Jetta?

 

[overanalyzer]

I'm really astonished by the number of threads in which people are asking if Apple will replace a phone that someone broke accidentally or out of their own negligence.

My response to that is... Hey, I got in an accident and my VW Jetta is now totalled. Do you think VW will replace my $28,000 Jetta?

No, but there is car insurance.... I agree that when it really comes down to it, if you break something, you're sort of stuck paying for it. But if you do for some reason have an option that entitles you to pay less or be covered, you might as well exercise it.

 

[Avatar74]

No, but there is car insurance....

You wouldn't drive a car without insurance, would you?

This is why there's property insurance. If he didn't get property insurance on his iPhone, that's his problem not Apple's.

I agree that when it really comes down to it, if you break something, you're sort of stuck paying for it.

Not "sort of"... You're stuck, period.

But if you do for some reason have an option that entitles you to pay less or be covered, you might as well exercise it.

See above... it's called insurance. Replacement insurance on a $500 purchase is not that expensive. I paid peanuts for the addition of special clauses to cover my wife's wedding ring and my wristwatch at fully-appraised replacement values.

I also recently moved and had a bunch of items damaged... I paid for full replacement value coverage and got back in some cases more than I paid for the items because their cost has gone up since then.

 

[bobdole1337]

its also a phone.
people drop their cell phones all the time.
i've never seen a phone that would have broken from that drop.
not one.
a case wouldn't have really helped with this either i dont think.
at minimum they should be offering insurance on the phone or do repairs at reasonable prices. we all know that it doesnt cost apple $250 to replace a screen. they're making a huge profit on in.

 

[overanalyzer]

Replacement insurance on a $500 purchase is not that expensive. I paid peanuts for the addition of special clauses to cover my wife's wedding ring and my wristwatch at fully-appraised replacement values.

Good call on the extra insurance. But for my insurance policy at least, I still have a couple hundred dollar deductible, even with full replacement coverage for everything. So it wouldn't be worthwhile for me to file to cover a $250 repair. I have it in case I have a bigger issue ever...flood, fire, theft, etc., or at least a larger damage cost, like a computer or my TV.

That all being said, I suppose you can get coverage through your home owner's or renter's insurance, but since AppleCare exists, I don't think you can get normal "mobile phone" insurance through AT&T. And since the iPhone isn't sold through anywhere like BestBuy, you can't get the extended warranties they're always hawking. So what coverage do you suggest for iPhones?

 

[cyclingplatypus]

there is always ifixit

 

[overanalyzer]

there is always ifixit

I see the screen assembly:
http://www.ifixit.com/iPhone-Parts/iPhone-Display-Assembly/IF105-012
but that's $200. Do they offer a cheaper option? Have you ever used them for anything before? They come up a lot obviously, just wondering how their parts and documentation are.

Edit: by the way, yes this isn't really relevant to me, but I do find the information interesting, and hopefully it'll end up being helpful to bobdole1337 and others.