Help needed: What are my options with a mildly (but noticeably) scratched 6+ screen?

[HedgeKnight84]

Last night my 6+ had an unfortunate encounter with a cluster of keys, and at first I didn't think it left any damage, but once I sat down to browse the web, while holding the phone in landscape mode I noticed what I at first believed to be a smudge of some kind near the 'top' of the screen while looking at a white background.

It didn't wipe off.

I then looked more carefully under a lamp with the phone off, and sure enough, a series of scratches (running 'north/south' on the screen as seen in portrait mode) from the damned keys.

Looking more carefully with the screen back on, it's hard to see on darker images and on videos, but sure enough there's about 5 spots that now have a mild but permanent distortion that's not hard to spot on white/bright imagery.

When the screen is on, those scratches look like a string of little 'dashes', alternating between light and dark.

So... *sigh* I don't entirely know what my options are.

I don't have AppleCare+. Never needed it for my 3G, 4, or 5. Or iPad 1 or 3.

So my question is: What all can I do?

Could I repair this myself somehow?

Could I pay Apple or a third party to repair it somehow (short of replacing the screen)?

Should I just pay Apple to replace the screen and be done with it?

After using the phone more this morning, I suppose I could live with it, but they are permanent and they are noticeable, though at least I can say they're relatively subtle. But they bug me for sure.

Looking at the Apple website, it looks like it'll either cost me $129 or $329 to have them fix it, right?

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/repair/screen-damage/
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/repair/other/

Anyone have any prior experiences with this kind of an issue with their phone (how to deal with minor but noticeable scratches)?

Thank you for your help!

 

[wessyk87]

Go to Squaretrade online and buy the accidental damage warranty, wait until you accure more damage and then file a claim.

 

[johnparjr]

Scratch on the screen won't prevent you from adding AppleCare you have 60 days

 

[HEK]

You could add a glass screen protector. That might make the scratches invisible to your view. I have the Zagg glass and it feels just like the naked screen.

 

[HedgeKnight84]

Scratch on the screen won't prevent you from adding AppleCare you have 60 days

So if I add it now, I believe my total expense would be $99 + a $79 repair if I were to ask them to fix the screen? Or would they even agree to fixing the screen since it's minor and they'll likely deem it 'cosmetic'?

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You could add a glass screen protector. That might make the scratches invisible to your view. I have the Zagg glass and it feels just like the naked screen.

That's interesting; why would that make the scratches invisible?

 

[Trebuin]

So if I add it now, I believe my total expense would be $99 + a $79 repair if I were to ask them to fix the screen? Or would they even agree to fixing the screen since it's minor and they'll likely deem it 'cosmetic'?

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That's interesting; why would that make the scratches invisible?

The adhesion acts like a liquid in most cases (all soft covers definitely) and essentially fills in the small scratches. I had that on my first iPhone and bought the protector and it worked like a champ. If you plan on selling it at the end of life, buy the screen (I recommend fully body) protection and get coverage. The scratches drop the value...but probably not much. Your call on the cost. the $99+$79 repair. Check out ebay to see how much is lost between flawless and slightly scratched 2 year old phones. Sell around 2 years.

 

[HedgeKnight84]

The adhesion acts like a liquid in most cases (all soft covers definitely) and essentially fills in the small scratches. I had that on my first iPhone and bought the protector and it worked like a champ. If you plan on selling it at the end of life, buy the screen (I recommend fully body) protection and get coverage. The scratches drop the value...but probably not much. Your call on the cost. the $99+$79 repair. Check out ebay to see how much is lost between flawless and slightly scratched 2 year old phones. Sell around 2 years.

Hmm. That's interesting and gives me some hope.

I'm hoping to be able to visit an Apple store tomorrow evening and have them take a look and tell me what I'm dealing with, what my options are, etc.

Maybe if I'm lucky it's something that can be fixed without much expense. *crosses fingers*

Meanwhile, looking at this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1789799/

I see some saying that minor scratches (that sound kind of like mine) could just be "oleophobic coating scratches"? I've heard of this coating but don't know specifics about it other than I thought it's a chemical treatment of some kind that makes it easy to wipe off finger print smudges and the like.

If that's what's happened with me, that would suggest I can repair these scratches, perhaps?

Lastly, this guy goes /hard/ on an iPhone 6 screen with keys, giving that phone worse than my screen got, yet he says no visible scratches??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9zOeMtaS4o&channel=Majidsyed2

Are 6+ screens weaker somehow, or is mine just weaker/a fluke, or what should I make of this? Keys ran across my screen, but certainly not with the force or frequency this guy applies them to that poor 6; why then do I have these permanent marks?

 

[Trebuin]

Hmm. That's interesting and gives me some hope.

I'm hoping to be able to visit an Apple store tomorrow evening and have them take a look and tell me what I'm dealing with, what my options are, etc.

Maybe if I'm lucky it's something that can be fixed without much expense. *crosses fingers*

Meanwhile, looking at this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1789799/

I see some saying that minor scratches (that sound kind of like mine) could just be "oleophobic coating scratches"? I've heard of this coating but don't know specifics about it other than I thought it's a chemical treatment of some kind that makes it easy to wipe off finger print smudges and the like.

If that's what's happened with me, that would suggest I can repair these scratches, perhaps?

Lastly, this guy goes /hard/ on an iPhone 6 screen with keys, giving that phone worse than my screen got, yet he says no visible scratches??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9zOeMtaS4o&channel=Majidsyed2

Are 6+ screens weaker somehow, or is mine just weaker/a fluke, or what should I make of this? Keys ran across my screen, but certainly not with the force or frequency this guy applies them to that poor 6; why then do I have these permanent marks?

If you ever meet a demo guy in person, ask them if you can do it with your keys and see what happens. Some car keys are made hard to allow them to last. The screen difference is a very big debatable subject. The size alone changes things. Batches can be different, it could come from a different company, so on. My vehicle's back window had a poor mix to the batch and it shattered by closing my front door during the first window. Was covered by recall thankfully.

 

[HedgeKnight84]

Just to follow up, I went to the nearest Apple Store (about an hour away) on Monday, and my goal was to just get a sense of how bad the damage was and what it would take to fix.

Well, they offered to swap out my phone with a replacement for $129, and considering my damage I think they were being generous because of the nature of the damage (mild scratches) and the fact that I don't have Apple care +, so I bit and paid to get the replacement.

I'm going to get a screen protector for my new one.

I'm bummed that I feel over-protective with this phone. First I was babying it in pockets because of the bend scare, now I've seen first hand they can scratch more easily than my previous iPhones/iPads, so I'm getting a hard case to help with the first problem, and I'm going to put a protector on to help with the latter problem. I love naked iPhones, so that's not ideal for me.

But I'd prefer that to being paranoid of damaging it all the time while it's naked.