iPhone repair at Apple Store, unexpected replacement.

[Alex.ne]

So, I brought my 3 years old iPhone 13 Mini to the Apple Store to replace the battery yesterday, they've made the diagnostics and there were 2 yellow question marks for the battery and for the screen in the test results. They said I shouldn't care about those. They returned the iPhone after 2hrs with the new battery.
Today I noticed that the screen looks more vivid than before and I do not see the issue it had before (reddish gradient tint visible on the dark background in the min level of brightness, basically visible only at night).
Is it possible that they've replaced the old screen with a new one and told me nothing? Is there a way to see the production date of the screen or smthn? Also I assume they've fixed the taptic engine that was a little loose.
If so, I am really impressed with Apple service.

 

[goldmac2006]

So, I brought my 3 years old iPhone 13 Mini to the Apple Store to replace the battery yesterday, they've made the diagnostics and there were 2 yellow question marks for the battery and for the screen in the test results. They said I shouldn't care about those. They returned the iPhone after 2hrs with the new battery.
Today I noticed that the screen looks more vivid than before and I do not see the issue it had before (reddish gradient tint visible on the dark background in the min level of brightness, basically visible only at night).
Is it possible that they've replaced the old screen with a new one and told me nothing? Is there a way to see the production date of the screen or smthn? Also I assume they've fixed the taptic engine that was a little loose.
If so, I am really impressed with Apple service.

Hello dear,

It’s usually up to the Genius who handled the issue in your iPhone to decide their options for repair. 🧑‍🔧

The opinion you shared seemed quite above and beyond their scope of work, which includes performing diagnostic tests for both physical and software testing, including mechanical testing and mobile resource inspection diagnostics. They did pay attention to each defect in your iPhone.

It’s pretty typical for a battery replacement turnaround time to be around 1-2 hours on a busy Apple Store day. However, I’m surprised they even replaced everything based on the description of the functionality of the parts that were replaced by the Genius in your iPhone 13 mini.

If you still need to prove that it was actually replaced, you can request an inspection from a Genius through a walk-in or Genius Bar appointment at an Apple Store. You can also ask a specialist to refer you to a Genius for a brief chat about the advanced or complex issues, as they know all the details about your iPhone.

If you also have another iPhone or Apple product in the house, like an iPad or Mac, and a lightning to USB-C cable, you can perform Apple self-service diagnostics. This is the consumer’s version of the diagnostic tests that Geniuses perform, but you can do it in your own convenience.

Here’s a link to the instructions: https://getsupport.apple.com/self-service-diagnostics

 

[JPack]

If it were replaced, it would show up under Parts and Service History.

 

[goldmac2006]

If it were replaced, it would show up under Parts and Service History.

Great idea. OP should check this in Settings > General > about.

After every part swap, since iOS 18 y’all calibrate it to get it working without having to deal with part serialization messages. Especially in an Apple Store setting where they used genuine parts.

 

[Alex.ne]

If it were replaced, it would show up under Parts and Service History.

Thanks a lot, I didn't know about this menu. The display indeed is shown here as repaired part !

 

[goldmac2006]

Thanks a lot, I didn't know about this menu. The display indeed is shown here as repaired part !

Proof as screenshot by any chance, dude?

 

[Alex.ne]

Proof as screenshot by any chance, dude?

here it is

 

[goldmac2006]

here it is

There you go ! So the technician has seen anomalies with the display and Taptic Engine so they had fixed it as a precaution. This is newfound proof since iOS 16/17 and now on 18 with parts calibration you can see a complete picture of the descriptions of major components in your iPhone whether they are used, new or unknown part(s).

An article with more info here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102658

You can also see an Apple Genius thru walk-in or appointment if you have any questions especially if you want to verify the Taptic Engine is replaced (as iOS does not go TOO deep into certain parts including Taptic Engines or LiDAR).

 

[Stella_Fudge]

Not so much that they replaced it because there's anomalies, they don't really do free work like that if it's out of warranty because they have to get customer permission to do out of warranty repairs on additional parts.

More than likely what actually happened coming from somebody who has worked under apples repair system for a long time is that the heated display fixture, which is used to separate the display from the metal body on these models and loosen up the stupidly strong adhesive, probably made the display itself delaminate from the little plastic frame that is used to help hold and clip everything into place, and whenever that happens it has a nasty tendency of making it really really easy to either crack the display when it's opening or damage the actual OLED panel itself at which point it would develop things like lines or no image at all. When this happens, the display is basically ruined and Apple basically has to just eat the cost of the damage and replace the display. Alternatively, the display hmy not have been damaged, but the demalination could cause issues so they wouldve just escalated the issue to a specialty team and got a CS code (one-time exception) to cover ocst of display replacement. As far as taptic engine, on most iPhone models that part has to be removed in order to help make the removal of the battery pulltab adhesive a lot easier, meaning that they have to reinstall the taptic engine afterwards, which involves tightening the screws with torque drivers to a certain spec s othey dont come loose anytime soon.

Obviously without seeing the history within the repair ID itself or whatever diagnostic results exist with an AST2 (cloud-based diagnostics system) this is just speculation, but 99% odds this is what actually happened.

 

[goldmac2006]

Not so much that they replaced it because there's anomalies, they don't really do free work like that if it's out of warranty because they have to get customer permission to do out of warranty repairs on additional parts.

More than likely what actually happened coming from somebody who has worked under apples repair system for a long time is that the heated display fixture, which is used to separate the display from the metal body on these models and loosen up the stupidly strong adhesive, probably made the display itself delaminate from the little plastic frame that is used to help hold and clip everything into place, and whenever that happens it has a nasty tendency of making it really really easy to either crack the display when it's opening or damage the actual OLED panel itself at which point it would develop things like lines or no image at all. When this happens, the display is basically ruined and Apple basically has to just eat the cost of the damage and replace the display. Alternatively, the display hmy not have been damaged, but the demalination could cause issues so they wouldve just escalated the issue to a specialty team and got a CS code (one-time exception) to cover ocst of display replacement. As far as taptic engine, on most iPhone models that part has to be removed in order to help make the removal of the battery pulltab adhesive a lot easier, meaning that they have to reinstall the taptic engine afterwards, which involves tightening the screws with torque drivers to a certain spec s othey dont come loose anytime soon.

Obviously without seeing the history within the repair ID itself or whatever diagnostic results exist with an AST2 (cloud-based diagnostics system) this is just speculation, but 99% odds this is what actually happened.

So is this where the anomaly comes, like if the genius happens to damage the screen and any other component due to excessively heating up the adhesive or accidentally prying it out the wrong way?

 

[Stella_Fudge]

So is this where the anomaly comes, like if the genius happens to damage the screen and any other component due to excessively heating up the adhesive or accidentally prying it out the wrong way?

If the genius bar people damage some a part during the repair, then Apple basically covers the cost of that part, or the cost of a replacement device if necessary, and then the only thing you pay is whatever your initial service quote was, assuming there was a price to begin with. If a display "looks a little off" (which by the way is a vague statement from the genius bars perspective and can mean a lot of things), but otherwise works perfectly and has no damage, it's not going to get replaced out of the goodness of Apples heart. If somebody walks in with a battery issue and a very obvious display issue at the same time, like a cracked screen or some other display artifact, and the device is out of warranty, they're not gonna cover the display for free, you're getting billed for both parts and get signed paperwork before they proceed with work.

 

[Alex.ne]

Not so much that they replaced it because there's anomalies, they don't really do free work like that if it's out of warranty because they have to get customer permission to do out of warranty repairs on additional parts.

More than likely what actually happened coming from somebody who has worked under apples repair system for a long time is that the heated display fixture, which is used to separate the display from the metal body on these models and loosen up the stupidly strong adhesive, probably made the display itself delaminate from the little plastic frame that is used to help hold and clip everything into place, and whenever that happens it has a nasty tendency of making it really really easy to either crack the display when it's opening or damage the actual OLED panel itself at which point it would develop things like lines or no image at all. When this happens, the display is basically ruined and Apple basically has to just eat the cost of the damage and replace the display. Alternatively, the display hmy not have been damaged, but the demalination could cause issues so they wouldve just escalated the issue to a specialty team and got a CS code (one-time exception) to cover ocst of display replacement. As far as taptic engine, on most iPhone models that part has to be removed in order to help make the removal of the battery pulltab adhesive a lot easier, meaning that they have to reinstall the taptic engine afterwards, which involves tightening the screws with torque drivers to a certain spec s othey dont come loose anytime soon.

Obviously without seeing the history within the repair ID itself or whatever diagnostic results exist with an AST2 (cloud-based diagnostics system) this is just speculation, but 99% odds this is what actually happened.

Thank you for the explanation, it seems to be the case here (also as I know in case of some failure during the reparation they could have replaced the whole unit what luckily didn’t happen, however I am kinda surprised that they did have a part of a veeeery unpopular model in stock). Probably there was some kind of delamination problem with the display from the beginning (the red tint on one side). Is AST2 access is available only for apple and repair shops? I’ve made the “service mode” procedure as was recommended earlier in the thread, it did show that there still was a problem with the display with no further details (but I do not think I gonna investigate further as I am pretty happy with how it is now).

 

[Alex.ne]

If the genius bar people damage some a part during the repair, then Apple basically covers the cost of that part, or the cost of a replacement device if necessary, and then the only thing you pay is whatever your initial service quote was, assuming there was a price to begin with. If a display "looks a little off" (which by the way is a vague statement from the genius bars perspective and can mean a lot of things), but otherwise works perfectly and has no damage, it's not going to get replaced out of the goodness of Apples heart. If somebody walks in with a battery issue and a very obvious display issue at the same time, like a cracked screen or some other display artifact, and the device is out of warranty, they're not gonna cover the display for free, you're getting billed for both parts and get signed paperwork before they proceed with work.

Nah, the phone was in perfect shape with literally zero scratches on the display (as was always protected by glass). I really hope the genius bar guy not gonna be in the trouble for the good thing he did

 

[goldmac2006]

Nah, the phone was in perfect shape with literally zero scratches on the display (as was always protected by glass). I really hope the genius bar guy not gonna be in the trouble for the good thing he did

If the genius bar people damage some a part during the repair, then Apple basically covers the cost of that part, or the cost of a replacement device if necessary, and then the only thing you pay is whatever your initial service quote was, assuming there was a price to begin with. If a display "looks a little off" (which by the way is a vague statement from the genius bars perspective and can mean a lot of things), but otherwise works perfectly and has no damage, it's not going to get replaced out of the goodness of Apples heart. If somebody walks in with a battery issue and a very obvious display issue at the same time, like a cracked screen or some other display artifact, and the device is out of warranty, they're not gonna cover the display for free, you're getting billed for both parts and get signed paperwork before they proceed with work.

It is completely okay. He did it above and beyond and still sorted it and with Stella's reasoning the other replacements were done free of charge asides from battery as the display was not quite lot of damage. They would not do it like that if the display was really shattered instead of just discoloration, as it would be beyond the scope of a defect/accidental damage in midst of repairs.

The paperwork you mentioned Stella, is the Genius Bar Work Authorization that we sign before the Genius takes the iPhone in right? It lists the liabilities within data loss if the iPhone is wiped and warranties post-repair, and in case the repair came to be unsuccessful.