Broken Screen on iPhone 4S; Third-Party Repair Voiding Warranty

[Chocolatemilty]

Hey, MacRumors Forum readers!

So last night the unfathomable happened. I dropped my iPhone 4S face-down after deciding to go naked for the first time I've ever had any iPhone simply because I couldn't find my Otterbox and I was running late for my college commencement. Long story short, I now have a fully functional but shattered screen 4S with only AppleCare. Luckily, there's a shop downtown that many of my friends have used to fix their iPhones after silly drunken nights and they're highly recommended and do great work, or so I've heard. They charge $80 + tax to fix it (vs. $200 from Apple), and with my shoestring budget, I'm leaning in that direction after I start my summer job tomorrow and get the first paycheck.

My question is, if the screen replacement is flawless and good as new, could Apple geniuses or the factory the iPhone is shipped to to do the refurbishment process still notice that the screen isn't the same one that came on the phone or no? I suppose I should ask this shop if they're using genuine OEM parts, but the only thing I'm worried about is if in the next 1.5 years I need a replacement, upon inspection they see the screen was replaced and my warranty is voided. Have any of you gone the third-party repair route and had that repaired unit switched out by Apple?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Pez555]

i may be wrong, and im fully aware someone may correct me on this, but doesnt applecare cover accidental damage?

 

[benhollberg]

Assuming you bought AppleCare you only need to pay $50 (I think) deductible to Apple for a replacement. If you did not buy AppleCare you must to the out of warranty replacement which is the $200.

If you do the third party and need a new phone in the next years for another reason you can still do the out of warranty replacement which is $200.

 

[boomhower]

i may be wrong, and im fully aware someone may correct me on this, but doesnt applecare cover accidental damage?

AppleCare+ does with a $50 deductible.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

i may be wrong, and im fully aware someone may correct me on this, but doesnt applecare cover accidental damage?

Applecare+ covers accidental damage (up to 2 incidents). The OP needs to specify whether he has the standard 1st year warranty or Applecare+.

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Apparently, the OP only has the standard 1st year warranty (that some people call "Applecare").

From another thread:

I'm glad the OP is able to get their iPhone fixed with AppleCare+! It's funny because last night I was actually talking about how I wish I had AppleCare+ on my iPhone 4S, and lo and behold, one hour later I drop it (without a case because I had misplaced it before I had to leave for my college graduation that morning and decided to go solo for the day). As can be applied to many instances, all it takes in one time.

 

[Chocolatemilty]

Yes, I have the original AppleCare, as I had bought it for my iPhone 4 before the original warranty expired then decided to buy an off-contract 4S off craigslist, sell my 4, and transfer my AppleCare within the 30 day window. I had heard about AppleCare+ some 40 days after my transfer, and it was too late to get AppleCare+ by then. That's when I decided to find a third-party insurance provider once I start my job, but this happened some 2 weeks before the first paycheck. :-(