Apple Launches Repair Program for Blank Screen Issue Affecting Third-Generation iPad Air

[jayducharme]

So far so good for me. I'm hoping the screen doesn't blank out after their repair program has expired. One issue I have noticed on the Air 3 though is that when I touch the home button, the screen near that area turns white, as if the screen itself is being pushed down into something.

 

[Yorkshire Lad]

I had a similar problem when upgrading to iOS13, in that the screen would often not wake up (even though the iPad had) from screenlock. In the end a reinstall fixed it, and it's been fine ever since (now I have the Google Maps app crashing and requiring a hard reboot instead). Does make me wonder if I shouldn't wander down to my local Apple Store and see if there's a test that they can run.

 

[MoreRumors?]

The only thing I've experienced so far is sporadic unresponsive screen and end up doing do a soft reset

 

[scupking]

I think the 10.5 pro and air 3 are just bad designs. Apple most likely tried to reuse as much as they could from the problematic 10.5 pro.

 

[magicMac]

the chip that disables the 120Hz mode on this LCD display is failing (same display as 10.5" iPad Pro)

 

[Gutwrench]

Wow, I don’t know which iPad I have but for the past several weeks its been flickering periodically. I thought it was related to a software update or I had dropped and damaged it (don’t remember any drops though).

Edit: Apparently my experience is unrelated. I plugged my serial number into a website which says:

Production year : 2018
Production week : 17 (April)

 

[randyhudson]

Do they really repair it or do they replace it?

iPads are not serviceable.

 

[MauiPa]

So they only have confidence in their screens for a 2 year lifespan. Any problems beyond that and you are left high and dry. Thanks very much Apple.

That is not very enlightened. More likely, if the problem is going to occur it is as close to 100% as you can get to occur within the first 2 years of use

 

[Expos of 1969]

That is not very enlightened. More likely, if the problem is going to occur it is as close to 100% as you can get to occur within the first 2 years of use

On what information is your statement based?

 

[MauiPa]

"Apple has determined that, under certain circumstances, the screen on a limited number of iPad Air (3rd generation) devices may go blank permanently. A brief flicker or flash may appear before the screen goes blank."

Ahhh... there it is.
"a small number" ,"a limited number", "a tiny, tiny, tiny, (almost microscopic) number" of [insert model] ... /s

Just a personal thought:
Clarity, unambiguity are seldom, if ever, a part of Apple's corporate dialect.
So stupid because, at the end, clarity and truthfulness only purifies and increases customer trust.

Some fast notes (I was curious):

1. The iPaid Air 3 (3rd. generation) was sold starting mid-March 2019.
2. This potential flaw involves, most likely than not, all iPad 3's bought in 2019 (manufactured up to, and including, October 2019)
3. Apple sells, conservatively, on average, about 10M iPads per-quarter.
4. Even if 1:3 Pads bought in 2019 are iPad 3's -- a conservative estimate -- this covers about 10M units.
5. And, the graphics core of iPads 3 is an Apple 4-core graphics processor -- all in-house. This is Why? they know.

And you know what you are talking about why? The article specifically gave a manufacture date of about a month, not all iPads ever made, so it is likely a bad part slipped into the chain, or a bad assembly for whatever reason, weather, neglect, interrupted power supply, problems with shipping,...)
Now if you have actual facts to support your assertions, like internal memos or something, glad to hear them.

 

[Expos of 1969]

And you know what you are talking about why? The article specifically gave a manufacture date of about a month, not all iPads ever made, so it is likely a bad part slipped into the chain, or a bad assembly for whatever reason, weather, neglect, interrupted power supply, problems with shipping,...)
Now if you have actual facts to support your assertions, like internal memos or something, glad to hear them.

The article states an 8 month period, not "a month" as you incorrectly state. As in the past you are very quick to rudely attack posters and it turns out you are wrong and you never apologise. Not a very nice approach to life and interactions with others.

 

[MacFan23]

I bought one on launch day and this issue occurred within the first month. Apple just swapped it out for me.

 

[JohnnieBBadde]

Any news about a potential repair program for the iPP 10.5 2017 with the usual bright spot at the center above the home button?

(Mine appeared a few months after the end of Apple Care+ and is getting larger )

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

And you know what you are talking about why? The article specifically gave a manufacture date of about a month, not all iPads ever made, so it is likely a bad part slipped into the chain, or a bad assembly for whatever reason, weather, neglect, interrupted power supply, problems with shipping,...)
Now if you have actual facts to support your assertions, like internal memos or something, glad to hear them.

MauiPa: About a month?

Apple's own announcement (from March to October) covers almost all iPad 3 sold in 2019 as candidates to show a blank screen -- possibly subjects in the 10M range.

Why?
Reread my post, because... "Repetition is the Mother of all learning"

 

[Corrode]

Yet Apple wouldn't do this with the white spot issue on the pro 10.5 and a lot more people had issues with that.

After researching a new iPad, I ended up just getting the cheapest 9.7” since many of the other ones had this issue. I was surprised Apple hadn’t addressed this issue with a repair program. Hurts their brand, in my opinion.

 

[myrtlebee]

iPads are not serviceable.

That’s what I thought. Then why does the article say repair?

“Apple says that affected devices were manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019, and that any iPad experiencing this issue will be repaired by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider free of charge.”

 

[CarlJ]

I was just thinking. That’s close to a years worth of iPads. Not very limited if you ask me. Sounds like 10s of millions. Limited. Lol.
...
Yes a small percentage is one thing. This is almost a years worth of iPads. Millions and millions is not limited.

What are you on about?
Nobody has said a year’s worth of iPads will have or will have this problem.
Nobody said millions and millions of iPads have or will have this problem.
Nobody said every iPad manufactured in the specified time frame has or will have this problem.

• If there are 10 million of this iPad, and 10% (1 million total) have the problem, that’s bad.
• If there are 10 million of this iPad, and 0.0001% (10 total) have the problem, that’s not bad.

How small the percentage is absolutely does matter. (Or did you think percentages could only be integers?)

I’d venture a guess that the number that actually have this problem is substantially higher that 10 (otherwise they wouldn’t set up a special repair program), but probably no higher than a few thousand.
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That’s what I thought. Then why does the article say repair?

“Apple says that affected devices were manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019, and that any iPad experiencing this issue will be repaired by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider free of charge.”

Who says they’re not serviceable? Apple sells refurbished iPads - do you think refurbishing simply means polishing up the outside? They can certainly replace screens, which may be what is necessary here. They may handle it by giving affected customers a refurb and putting their broken one into the system for refurbishment, simply to save time (so you would be getting a repaired iPad, just not the one you walked in the door with). Wouldn’t be any real difference for the end user unless they’ve engraved something on their iPad.

 

[V_Man]

What are you on about?
Nobody has said a year’s worth of iPads will have or will have this problem.
Nobody said millions and millions of iPads have or will have this problem.
Nobody said every iPad manufactured in the specified time frame has or will have this problem.

• If there are 10 million of this iPad, and 10% (1 million total) have the problem, that’s bad.
• If there are 10 million of this iPad, and 0.0001% (10 total) have the problem, that’s not bad.

How small the percentage is absolutely does matter. (Or did you think percentages could only be integers?)

I’d venture a guess that the number that actually have this problem is substantially higher that 10 (otherwise they wouldn’t set up a special repair program), but probably no higher than a few thousand.
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Apple says that affected devices were manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019, and that any iPad experiencing this issue will be repaired by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider free of charge.

so any iPad manufactured between this 8 month period is affected.

 

[triangletechie]

I have a launch day Air 3 that has been flawless so far.

 

[mi7chy]

Yet Apple wouldn't do this with the white spot issue on the pro 10.5 and a lot more people had issues with that.

White spot is usually from a pressure point. Do you use a case? Or, perhaps from a bend.

 

[subjonas]

Ahhh... there it is.
"a small number" ,"a limited number", "a tiny, tiny, tiny, (almost microscopic) number" of [insert model] ... /s

Just a personal thought:
Clarity, unambiguity are seldom, if ever, a part of Apple's corporate dialect.
So stupid because, at the end, clarity and truthfulness only purifies and increases customer trust.

I was just thinking. That’s close to a years worth of iPads. Not very limited if you ask me. Sounds like 10s of millions. Limited. Lol.
[automerge]1583581832[/automerge]

Yes a small percentage is one thing. This is almost a years worth of iPads. Millions and millions is not limited.

“Limited”, “small”, “many”, “large”—legalese sneaky wording in these public types of statements. With no other context, these words are completely meaningless because they are completely subjective. “Limited” really just means not unlimited; any number can be considered “small” if you compare it to a bigger number, and vice versa; and legally, “many” is any number between zero and infinity. Not just Apple, but all entities in the public eye use these useless words as much as possible in order to sound good but avoid legal trouble. But really they’re just wasting everyone’s time. Better for Apple in this case to not try to be manipulative, and just say what they’re willing to say, “Some people have this issue, and we’re fixing it.”

 

[kazmac]

I am glad are acknowledging this and fixing. I wish they’d address the irresponsive screens and white spots too.

 

[CarlJ]

Apple says that affected devices were manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019, and that any iPad experiencing this issue will be repaired by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider free of charge.

so any iPad manufactured between this 8 month period is affected.

NO. The affected iPads were, indeed, manufactured during that time period. ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF IPADS THAT WERE NOT AFFECTED. They can simply narrow the defect down to having occurred during that timeframe. That doesn't mean every iPad Air they made during that time is broken.

They likely got a batch of parts from some supplier, where one of the expected QA tests wasn't being done. Many of the untested parts would have passed that test, but some would have failed. If everything had been working properly, the parts that would have failed that test would have gotten rejected and not put into iPads in the first place. Instead, some iPads made it out the door with the defective part (along with a bunch with perfectly fine parts). They know the range of dates when the supply of improperly tested parts were used, so they know ones outside that range are not affected, but they don't know which of the ones in that range are affected. So, they say, "any iPad (manufactured in this date range and) experiencing this issue will be repaired free of charge".

They told you that a small percentage of devices were broken, and they narrowed it down by telling you that devices outside of a certain date range cannot be affected by this. That does NOT mean that all devices manufactured in that timeframe are broken, just that the devices that are broken were made during that timeframe. It really is just simple logic.

 

[jinnj]

I just bought one of these about a month ago..hopefully i am not effected, but its ment to be a holdover until the new pro 12.9 comes out in the fall (acording to the rumor)

Just go to the Apple website and check the serial number.
Sorry they don't have a serial number checker for this issue. So like CarlJ stated, this was probably a faulty batch of components from one provider. So it's not all that were manufactured but some.

 

[Zaft]

Was thinking of getting the air 3 but got the 10.2 inch iPad for much cheaper. Good decision by me.