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iPhone 4s Catastrophe

B

bigmac58

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 4, 2011
57
1
Last night I made the unwise decision to place my iPhone 4s on the hood of my car telling myself the whole time not to forget it was there. Guess what, I forgot. The phone is in an Otterbox Defender, however, let me put to rest anyone's question whether or not the case can protect an iPhone at Interstate speeds. It can't. At approximately 60mph while traveling on an on-ramp, my phone took flight. 30 minutes later I had located it seperated from the Otterbox in a not so gentle manner. As you can imagine, both side shattered and the frame is slightly off skew. To my surprise the phone still functions flawlessly. From what I can tell, the back glass, front glass/digitizer/LCD, and chassis need replaced. I have watched a few how-to videos on youtube and am fairly tech savvy and think I can pull it off (If not I guess me and my parts will go to someone who can).

Anyway, I would like advice on which replacement parts are of the highest quality. From my research, Apple does not provide true OEM parts to vendors. My biggest concern is the quality of the LCD/digitizer. I would like as close to OEM look/feel as I can get. Also, which vendor supplies good backs? I know they're not as important but if I'm going to do it I want it to look right.

Thanks!
 
Before you buy all those replacements, wouldn't it be cheaper to turn to Apple for an out-of-warranty replacement? If no parts are missing and you tell them the whole story, the might replace it for, I'm not sure, $200?
 
How does that work? I'm not familiar with doing that. The phone is still covered under the standard warranty, but I'm certain this mishap isn't covered. Do you basically just give this to them and they give you another for a fee?
 
You can check out the price here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_States&product=iphone

On the left hand side, click on Warranty & Service pricing and then on My iPhone isn't eligible for warranty service. ...

In the end it's still Apple's decision whether or not they'll replace your phone for $200, but yes, you give them your old phone and then may buy a new one for a fee. Best to do it at an Apple store, I think.

edit: but if it's still working, they should be able to just plug it in to their computers to check the serial no of the device (so they know it's actually yours and not someone else's). But I really don't know :)
 
The phone is functioning just fine, however, the OOW terms state that a phone that has experienced "catastrophic damage" would not be eligible. I wonder if this fits that bill.
 
You could just call Apple and ask them. But even if their answer were no, you shoul still try it directly in an Apple store. I would imagine that leaving one's iPhone atop a car is something that happens rather often.
 
Usually they will replace it out of warranty for the $200 just out of good will, if you are honest and explain what happened i am betting you will be ok. Granted, you are paying for it.
 
bigmac58 said:
put to rest anyone's question whether or not the case can protect an iPhone at Interstate speeds. It can't.
Click to expand...

You don't say! LOL.

OTOH everything works means is all cosmetic right. Have fun on the "reconstruction."
 
I thought that Otterbox had some kind of "if your phone gets broken in our case, we'll replace it" policy? Not sure if this would qualify, but worth a shot. If not, then yeah - a replacement from Apple would be FAR easier (and probably cheaper) than repairing it.
 
bigmac58 said:
The phone is functioning just fine, however, the OOW terms state that a phone that has experienced "catastrophic damage" would not be eligible. I wonder if this fits that bill.
Click to expand...

best bet is to make an appointment with the local apple store if you have one.
 
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