So I messed up, carried my iPhone 11 around with no case and cracked the back screen. I don’t have AppleCare+ on this device. Is it worth contacting apple to look into a replacement back screen or is it the same price to just replace with an iPhone SE or even an 11? Looks like AT&T has some deals right now, my line is elegible for an upgrade. Won’t make the same mistake twice, but not sure what to do with the current situation.
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iPhone 11 Cracked Back on iPhone 11 Repair or Replace?
- Thread starter mikedude86
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Apple will only replace the entire phone at the out of warranty cost, replacing the rear glass is a procedure that isn't available from Apple due to the way the camera rings are secured from the inside of the phone (rear glass is sandwiched between camera rings and inner chassis) which makes rear glass replacement not feasible... There are 3rd party alternative repairs but water resistance is gone and if you watch videos on the procedure it's defiantly not something I would personally consider..
Prior to your phone breaking what were your thoughts? I mean were you attached to your 11, or were you planning to upgrade either now or after this year's iPhone is released? Is your phone still even usable? Like @BugeyeSTI said, the back is not repairable through Apple, it must be replaced. Now if you did choose to go with the out of warranty replacement, you'll still have a great phone that will last at least the next few years. I also agree, I definitely would not use a 3rd party repair for this. Sorry not much help, but this is something only you can answer.
Since this year’s iPhones will be released soon, I would just put a back glass protector and case on the phone to hold it together until then and then upgrade once the new iPhones are released.
Thanks for the feedback! I’m leaning towards keeping it as is for now, it’s still usable, just a real drag. Stupid things like that bug me more than they should and I know it can easily be covered with a case and forgotten, but I like the look of my phone without a case. Was never super attached to the 11, just needed a new phone cuz old one was getting glitchy. I also do update about every year to two years. I can wait, but wonder what delays in the 12 there will be given the pandemic. Can I get anything on a trade in for a device with cracked glass like that? Not sure if ATT would give me anything for it, if i go upgrade route.
Considering repairing the phone will be costly, I doubt AT&T, Apple or anyone else will give you much for a trade in if anything at all.. Your best bet would be to sell it privately as is. Someone will want the phone for various reasons..
Yes. Considering the back of the phone is cracked and not the actual display, you will still get a decent trade-in, but below T.I.V. The phone has to be ‘functional and working‘ according to their guidelines, however; Apples trade-in policy is a bit different, and they probably won’t meet/come near what your carrier will give you for a trade-in.
I have an iPhone 10s Max. I keep it in a protective case. Recently, as I was stepping from the car, I dropped my phone to the concrete driveway (about an 18 inch drop) and then I picked it up and continued my day. I never even considered the possibility that the back glass would crack as the drop (and the impact) was so minimal, but when I removed the phone from the case two days later I saw where glass on the rear bottom corner was cracked. I couldn't believe it. But then it got worse; I learned from Apple that the cost to replace the glass was 599.00 dollars! This makes no sense and this type of situation really isn't fair to the iPhone buyer who tried to protect their phone. This is where Apple really gets to me with building such a tender-ass phone and making the owner of such a phone pay through the nose to repair/replace it. I love Apple products but I'm not sure what to do about this. Right now I just use it with the case on, knowing that my phone is all but worthless.
Dang @servenvolley sucks that even with a case it cracks. I’m looking at otter boxes rn but dang, the phone is already pretty huge, the thought out making it bigger and harder to get in and out of my pocket makes me wanna just downsize to and SE and call it a day. Wish Apple would make a cheap (or ‘rugged’) iPhone without a glass back.
That won’t work. Other than glass, which would then eliminate wireless charging capabilities, which is why Apple is using a glass back versus aluminum( <— Which interferes with the wireless signal.)
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Good old plastic would work as well. Remember iphone 3G and 5c?
But i don’t use wireless charging anyway.
apart from that I’m sure that willing engineers would be able to find a solution cheaper than $600 to exchange a $50 glass back. Remember Nexus 4?
I fought with myself the last 24 hours, almost pulled the trigger on a new SE, was 100 off at AT&T, but only with that weird 30 month commitment. I was kinda mad I wasn’t able to get the Walmart deal going right now but I couldn’t get it to work, I think maybe because I have a corporate account. $199 for the 64GB seems like a steal. In the end I ordered the Smart Battery Case for the 11. I recently upped the cell plan with ATT to unlimited elite for the HBO and hotspot. So hopefully the new case will help with battery life when I’m tethering to my iPad.
With a cracked back, it may not last long. It could also become a physical hazard. You also don’t want it shorting out and catching fire overnight, or while you are trying to charge it.
If this happened to me, I would get a new phone, or a reliable used phone.
If this happened to me, I would get a new phone, or a reliable used phone.
Really? It’s a crack that goes across the lower 1/4 of the phone. So even with the case on the back you think it could short out?
All you can see is the outside damage. I am not saying it is likely to occur. I am saying there is a chance, one I wouldn’t want to take, if I were in your tech shoes. better to be safe than sorry.
I think I’ll keep as is for now, with the battery case. I’m looking into the IUP which, given my nature, sounds like it may be the next way to buy, but don’t want to pull that trigger in July. So hopefully it doesn’t burn me in my sleep before the 12 drops.
Thats a very theoretically point. There is still a metal sheet between glas and battery.
a defect to the battery doesn’t happen just by dropping the phone
I just found out that those new iPhones are ridiculous! I have the iPhone X that i bought 1.5 years ago and i've never carried it without the case, in fact always had pretty thick case on it and always tempered class screen protector, and really don't remember dropping my phone. I don't know how it happened but just took my case off couple of days ago and saw that back glass is broken. Talk to the guy that repairs iPhones and he told me that it's very common and easy damage to all newer iPhones that made with back glass. You don't really have to drop it, it can just be squeezed a little in your pocketbook or pocket and it gets cracked very easily. It's ridiculous that iPhone charges so much for their products and they can't even make it durable.And how it can be broken so easily. And then they have ridiculous prices to fix it that's closed to almost buying new one! Very disappointing!
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Oddly enough, this info makes me feel better. I've owned several iPhones, never used a case, and yet I've never before broken one. I'm keeping my busted iPhone 11 (which still works perfectly) and will attribute the cracks in the back glass Apple's poor design - or maybe I can say it is a deliberate fractal design!
My iPhone X is almost 4 years old with no damage. Glass breaks if dropped without a case regardless who makes it. If you want wireless charging, there's no way around a phone with rear glass. A case reduces the chance of damage significantly. Saying a poor design is the reason for dropping your phone is ridiculous..
You can use a plastic back rather than glass. Yes it would scratch more easily but I'd rather a scratched plastic back than a smashed glass back. Apple makes the situation a lot worse by effectively making the glass part of the rear housing. Other phones have glass backs that are easier to remove and have the same water resistance as iPhones.