Dropped the phone, now having power button issue

[heyitsfez]

Dropped the phone while I was doing my homework and it was at about a 1 and a half foot height. The phone is in a case and screen protector. I had a mini panic attack because the phone was laying face down, but when I picked it up everything looked good as new as before appearance-wise. Since I was listening to music, I saw the top of the phone hit the wood floor first.

Now the sleep/wake button partially works. It slightly works only if I press the right side. Left side doesn't register anything only if I press it reallyyyy hard. The button also appears to have been sunked-in, as I immediately noticed some difficulty pressing the button down with my case on.

Now, should I bother taking the phone to the genius bar? I'm not worried so much for the case but it's the screen protector that's a pain in the butt to remove and insert again. Also I'm afraid that I'll get a unit that's worse than mine since these are "refurbished". Is there any noticeable difference between the new and refurbished units? I'm hoping that maybe I can get a unit that supports the T-Mobile frequency, since mine is an iPhone 5 bought factory unlocked straight from Apple.

Let me know what you guys think. Really appreaciate the help, thank you in advance.

 

[Leonard1818]

Sorry to hear about your busted power button... I feel your pain as I just (20 minutes ago) dropped my naked/skinned iphone 5 across the pavement.... More on that below.

Anyway, to your question... My launch-day iphone 5 sleep/wake/power button stopped working only 3 months after getting it. Mine was a bit different where it would only work if I pressed the left side... Regardless, my only option was a refurb... Honestly, I noticed a yellower screen on the refurb and I pursued it with apple... It was very noticeable to me compared to my first one. Apple gladly sent me a new phone. The new phone had a crooked rear camera... The lens pointed off center and the pics were really crooked and poorly focused on one side. I ended up sending the one back with the crooked camera cause a functional camera is more important to me than the hue of the screen. I decided not to pursue the yellow screen issue any further as having nearly $1000 tied up on hold while you have apple advance you a phone is not conclusive to finishing remodeling projects at your house. But I digress

Besides the fine tale above, I don't notice any difference in the refurb units. Everything else is just fine. I would take an apple refurb any day... The only thing they reuse is the processor... You get a new screen, battery and outer casing. You could put a new one next to a refurb and you'd never know the difference.

That's why I went with AppleCare + as I'd rather have an apple refurb than a repair or a 3rd party reman/refurb. I'll likely be swapping mine out here soon cause I dropped it and chipped the glass. I don't know, maybe I'll save the claim and just roll with it till the next one comes out.

As for what I think you should do:

Go get a refurbished phone with a functioning top button and move on with life. Go out. Have a drink or a piece of pie. You'll never know the difference with your refurbished phone.... And if you do have a problem, send it back and get one without a problem. (Then go get some pie)

 

[Jordan921]

There is nothing wrong with refurbs. I had to get mine switched out and it works and looks perfectly fine.

 

[sulpfiction]

Some even claim that refurbs are acually better then new because they are thoroughly checked and tested...And not off some high speed production line. And as someone said above, the entire outer shell and battery are brand new. Not a single thing to worry about with apple refurbs.

 

[jianghb]

Sorry to hear about your busted power button...

 

[heyitsfez]

Wow, I didn't know that much attention went into refurbished iPhones. I'll have to book an appointment pretty soon. Thank you guys!