Broken screen on new powerbook.

[Statik]

I just bought a BTO 15" powerbook from apple. I've had it for a grand total of 4 days now, and in a freak accident, I broke the LCD!

Anybody know what I can do? Apple says they don't cover accidental damage, but it's only been 4 days! Do I have any chance at all? Help! The LCD was barely even bumped and it broke. Could I claim build quality?

I'm shocked that it broke because I used a 12" iBook for years and it is still as good as new. Is the powerbook screen that much more fragile than the iBook?

 

[mkrishnan]

Anybody know what I can do? Apple says they don't cover accidental damage, but it's only been 4 days! Do I have any chance at all? Help! The LCD was barely even bumped and it broke. Could I claim build quality?

What *exactly* did you do when it broke? (FWIW, I seriously doubt it's any more fragile than the iBook one...and anything that would've made it unusually fragile, like an annealing/tempering issue with the glass, would've made it not work in the first place).

 

[calyxman]

Accidental coverage is not that uncommon; certain vendors provide accidental coverage on the notebook lines they sell, and even manufacturers provide warranties where accidents are fixed free of charge--such as cracking an LCD. HP has something like that.

If Apple won't fix the damage, you're gonna have to fix it yourself. PBfixit.com sells the entire display assembly for a whopping $900. Do some googling on the net to find if any place will sell just the LCD display by itself. I found one place selling the 15" screen for around $460.

And if you're brave enough, you can checkout the tutorial that Pbfixit.com has on removing the Powerbook display.

I'm shocked that it broke because I used a 12" iBook for years and it is still as good as new. Is the powerbook screen that much more fragile than the iBook?

There has been a history of cracks in PB displays, particulary amongst the 17" models, but I do tend to think that the larger the display, the more susceptible it is to breaking.

 

[Nuc]

..

well you could say you just opened the box today and you found the screen broken... That is if you haven't registered it yet. But if you barely bumped it I would say that the screen was defective to begin with or either it was under tension with the frame.. Call them and tell them that it was defective to begin with.... That way you won't have to explain the whole situation. I don't think this would be unethical since there was probably a defect anyways.

Nuc

 

[alexprice]

Sorry to hear your news, I would be very upset if that happened to my 15" PB, how did it happen? does your house insurance cover it? Maybe you could get insured now and claim or something along those lines.

Alex

 

[Statik]

I was sitting on the couch browsing the internet on the powerbook, and put it down to get a glass of water. When I stood up, I bumped a remote control that was on the back of the couch, it dropped, bounced on the couch, did a graceful arc and hit my powerbooks screen. It really wasn't a hard hit at all, so I was shocked to find the LCD was broken (The actual front of the monitor is undamaged, but the LCD display shows a crack pattern and won't display anything on the bottom 1/2 of the screen)

My Mastercard offers accidental damage coverage for <90 days, so I'm going to see if I can get a claim in with them. I'm also going to phone Apple support to see if there is something they can advise and will get an estimate on repair from the local Apple shop.

The reason I'm asking about if it is more fragile than the iBook is I'm sure I've had things drop on my old iBook before with no damage. Especially since my ex was so accident prone Was I just lucky before, or is the 15" screen more fragile than the 12" on my iBook?

 

[Statik]

Something tells me that if I do get this 15" powerbook fixed, it will be chained to the desk! My stomach dropped to the floor when I saw what happened to the screen.

 

[Statik]

Something tells me that if I do get this 15" powerbook fixed, it will be chained to the desk! My stomach dropped to the floor when I saw what happened to the screen.

House insurance might be a good idea.. I'll check into that.

 

[Applespider]

Sometimes it can be just the way it hits. I doubt it was faulty; might just have been the battery end of the remote hitting or a corner hitting badly. It's really bad luck.

If you bought on your Mastercard and it has accidental damage cover, then that's the way to go first of all. You should already be covered and it seems the most logical way rather than trying to get retrospective cover.

I wouldn't advise trying to con the insurance company by taking out insurance and then immediately claiming on it. It will look very suspicious. Insurance companies share names and details and you don't want to be blacklisted for home insurance (or pay more for years). If you already have home insurance, then that's something else entirely.

 

[yvovandoorn]

Wow that is amazing. My wintel laptop has accidental damage protection and i already took advantage of it twice. I have a HP zt3000 which i bought with 3 year ADP and the ADP has cracked once and my dog got hold of it the second time. bascially I am surprised that Apple doesn't provide such warranty on their laptops.

Like others said, claiming with mastercard seems the best way to go or saying that it opened up like this. You can also claim manufacturer defect if you are good at lying. For example saying that the LCD cracked when you shut the laptop, etc.

 

[shane-o-mac]

Dude that sucks. Be agressive with apple, say the computer arrived damaged or suffered screen failure after you bought it. In many cases apple will replace the product. Just call them and tell them it is damaged and often they will allow u to send it back in for service.

Good luck!

 

[Sun Baked]

Go through MasterCard, call them up an it shouldn't be any big problem -- especially if they have a 90-day policy.

This is usually a lot safer than trying to get it put on the homeowners policy (especially if you are in the US).