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Just shattered the glass on the front of my iPhone 4!!#^&@*

2

212rikanmofo

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 31, 2003
1,987
812
I am terribly upset since I have had this phone since launch and have babied it to death. I was distracted coming out of my car and the phone fell onto the concrete and the glass shattered on the front. The phone is still useable but it's hard to see with all the lines from the shattered glass. I was holding out for the new iPhone 5 that is supposedly coming out this September-October and I was going to give this one to my mom as a gift. At this point I'm not sure what to do with it, since Apple charges about $200 to replace the front glass. I'm so upset because I had promised her I'd give her my phone once the new one comes out and now this happens. What would you guys do in my situation. Any helpful advice is greatly appreciated. :confused:
 
Unlocked galaxy nexus. Save your upgrade for when the 5 comes out and see whether you think its worth upgrading. You might really like the nexus and wait a little longer.
 
Well, I'd pay the $200 bucks and get it fixed - since you promised your mom. If you or your mom don't care about OEM quality parts, you can probably get the job done for $80 or so. It'll look different, but at least it will be functional.

Personally, I can tell the difference and prefer OEM (official apple parts) so I'd just pay the 200 so bucks.
 
ValerieDurden said:
Apple will charge you $149.99 plus tax to replace the entire phone out of warranty.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? I've heard people saying it was $200 to replace the front glass. And how long does the process take if I were to choose this route?
 
212rikanmofo said:
Are you sure? I've heard people saying it was $200 to replace the front glass. And how long does the process take if I were to choose this route?
Click to expand...

10 minutes - it's a straight swap in any apple store (book a genius bar appointment first obviously)
 
Yep you might get it replaced for free so I'd go to the apple store. Paying $150 to get it replaced is cheaper than $350 for a galaxy nexus as someone suggested.
 
I would get it replaced. If you can afford to.

As you say there is nothing mechanically wrong with the phone, I just gave mine to my mom too! She is very excited about it. Cost me $50.00 to get it unlocked and about $40.00 to ship it, but heh she's worth it!

This way you also don't have to worry about finding an alternate cell phone for yourself while you are waiting!
 
212rikanmofo said:
At this point I'm not sure what to do with it, since Apple charges about $200 to replace the front glass. What would you guys do in my situation. Any helpful advice is greatly appreciated. :confused:
Click to expand...

I'd send it to MissionRepair outside of Kansas City. I've taken several Macs, IPads, etc. there. They offer several shipping options and their prices are either comparable or cheaper than an out of warranty iPhone.

MissionRepair: iPhone 4 Services

Best of luck and let us know what you decide.
 
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rockyroad55 said:
If you tell the apple guys honestly, they may do it for free. It has happened.
Click to expand...

ste1164 said:
Yep you might get it replaced for free so I'd go to the apple store. Paying $150 to get it replaced is cheaper than $350 for a galaxy nexus as someone suggested.
Click to expand...

Listen to this!!!! I dropped mines in a puddle of water and it also cracked the front glass. Went to Apple store ready to pull out my credit card, and got a FREE replacement instead even though I was out of warranty.

Not saying everyone gets that lucky. But Apple employees are know for being this generous, it's like they have a generous quota to fill. It's at least worth a try. So go.
 
I'd book a genius bar appt. if you don't like what they offer, try one of the other alternatives. Personally, I don't do third party when it comes to my Apple or Nikon products. But that is me. YMMV.
 
All is not lost! I ruined my screen attempting to fix something, and found a new screen on ebay for $36 delivered. Works a treat. It's a complicated process to install yourself though.

That's bad luck about breaking your screen though. I dropped mine two floors down onto concrete and it didn't break.
 
rockyroad55 said:
If you tell the apple guys honestly, they may do it for free. It has happened.
Click to expand...

This. Or at least a version of.
Shattered mine a few months back. Went in was honest and polite. I told them I had dropped it. Was ready to shell out. Genius told me 30.00 and within 15 minutes later had a brand new front.
 
So I finally got around to taking my iphone to an Apple store. The genius told me that they can't replace the glass or they don't do it at the store and will offer me a full refurbed replacement with a 90 day warranty for $150 which I thought was a better deal then paying $200 just for a glass replacement. However my phone had already been unofficially unlocked through AT&T and I was curious if I were to go to AT&T online unlocking site to request another unlock that it would go through? I tried to call AT&T directly to talk to a representative but they told me they changed policies and only do unlocking online only know through the form. Since doing it this way, I'm assuming they have no idea that this new refurbed iphone that I got from Apple is a replacement that they won't grant me an unlock. I just submitted the unlock request today and I know it can take up to 7 days to hear back, but I'm anxious to know. Have any of you guys been in a similar situation?
 
If Apple provides you with an Out of Warranty (OoW) replacement, then it will be set to have the same unlock status as the iPhone it replaces. Just ask the Apple Genius to confirm that your existing iPhone shows as unlocked in their system and they will make sure that the replacement is also unlocked.

Dave
 
There are some pretty talented repair places that won't charge you a ton of money. I'd look into them.
 
dave006 said:
If Apple provides you with an Out of Warranty (OoW) replacement, then it will be set to have the same unlock status as the iPhone it replaces. Just ask the Apple Genius to confirm that your existing iPhone shows as unlocked in their system and they will make sure that the replacement is also unlocked.

Dave
Click to expand...

The genius told me that they cannot offer me an unlocked refurbed phone and said that I would have to call AT&T and have it unlocked again.
 
I am about to shatter glass on mine as well and thus justify buying the new one:D
 
Refurb

The refurb for $150 sounds pretty good. You should be getting a new battery in it as well, something you would have had to pay $99 to replace, maybe coming due, in an original Ip4 that is almost 2 years old.
 
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