Repair options for a cracked iPad screen

[ckoerner]

After a meeting today I was returning to my desk when my iPad slipped from my grasp and landed face first on one of the wheels of my desk chair. The smart cover was dislodged and when I turned the device over to inspect the damage from the < 3 foot drop I saw the screen was seriously cracked and splintered.

I've only owned it for 2 months and a week and when I took it to the local Apple Store they stated that the best they could do was replace the entire iPad for $269. That's more than half the cost of the device. (16gb wi-fi)

Does anyone have any alternative suggestions for repair? I understand that the front glass is held on with epoxy or glue of some sort and that's what makes repairing them difficult.

 

[RossMc]

iResQ is $149 (iPad screen repair) $209 (iPad 2 screen repair) those are only for them to replace the glass/digitiser if the LCD is damaged its going to be more.

Or order the parts yourself there are plenty of guides on how to replace the screen if you are confident enough you can do it yourself. There are plenty of places to order parts from but I would order for a reputable place such as ifixit.

To be honest if it was me and it's an iPad 2 id probably just pay the extra $60 and get it swapped out with a new iPad from Apple rather than going the iResQ option at $209 for just the screen repair or trying to fix it myself if I wasn't fully confident I could replace the screen without messing anything else up.

 

[tips]

iResQ is $149 (iPad screen repair) $209 (iPad 2 screen repair) those are only for them to replace the glass/digitiser if the LCD is damaged its going to be more.

Or order the parts yourself there are plenty of guides on how to replace the screen if you are confident enough you can do it yourself. There are plenty of places to order parts from but I would order for a reputable place such as ifixit.

To be honest if it was me and it's an iPad 2 id probably just pay the extra $60 and get it swapped out with a new iPad from Apple rather than going the iResQ option at $209 for just the screen repair or trying to fix it myself if I wasn't fully confident I could replace the screen without messing anything else up.

How much would the ipad2 screen costs ?. part only.

 

[number84]

personally i'd just pony up the replacement cost from Apple than try to get it fixed. and who knows, maybe they'd just do it for you as a one-time goodwill gesture....although reading some other threads, seems they are doing this less and less.

 

[ckoerner]

I've found a few places selling the digitizer for around $100. iFixit describes taking the glass off with a heat gun. Yikes.

 

[maayan11]

bak luck

if you have technical experience with electric machines you can buy replacement screen from ebay or any different Chinese sources for 30$ and fix it by yourself.
other way is going to iPhone / ipad repair lab/store - dont pay more than 150$.

maayan brosh,
ifix israel web owner.

 

[ckoerner]

Follow Up

I looked around online at a few repair services. Rocky Mountain Mac Repair offers a replacement service for $179.

I also found the parts and a guide on iFixit as well.

When iFixit says a repair is "very difficult" I think it's best to leave things to the pros.

So I visited the local Apple Store and spoke to someone at the Genius Bar. They gave me a quote of $269 to just replace the iPad whole. They were willing to do it in-store, assuming they had the same model in stock. Unfortunately, since this is the holiday season they were out.

I had the option of either having one shipped to the store and I could return at a later date to swap or to contact AppleCare via the phone and have them setup a return directly to my home. I opted for the latter.

I took the completely wiped iPad (no box, cables or charger) to the local UPS store the next day handed them the iPad and a return code the AppleCare rep gave me and off the recently deceased went. It got to sunny California the next day.

Now I'm waiting for the replacement to arrive.

While not the least expensive option I do have the piece of mind that it will still be under warranty and it was a better alternative than buying a whole new iPad.

 

[piano08man]

I looked around online at a few repair services. Rocky Mountain Mac Repair offers a replacement service for $179.

I actually run RMMR and would like to point out a couple things:

Not all repair companies are equal. We only use high quality glass from our trusted sources. Any company that is offering an iPad repair at a lower price is certainly buying the cheapest (in price and quality) glass they can find. We only use great glass -- and we pay more for it. We're not in the race to the bottom; we refuse to participate in that competition.

If you aren't up for a repair that iFixit gives a 2 out of 10 repairability score... just let us know.

 

[laurenr]

I actually run RMMR and would like to point out a couple things:

Not all repair companies are equal. We only use high quality glass from our trusted sources. Any company that is offering an iPad repair at a lower price is certainly buying the cheapest (in price and quality) glass they can find. We only use great glass -- and we pay more for it. We're not in the race to the bottom; we refuse to participate in that competition.

If you aren't up for a repair that iFixit gives a 2 out of 10 repairability score... just let us know.

I can vouch for that. My Husband dropped his iPad 2 a few weeks ago and cracked the screen badly. He sent it to a third party repair company, because the Apple store quote was so high. The job they did was way below standard, and the new screen, after just 3 weeks, was already showing tiny scratches that could be seen under bright light. With his original Apple screen, until the accident, there was nothing like this. (He normally cleans his screen every night with the prescribed cloths.)

 

[Tali]

My girlfriend dropped her iPhone and we had the screen replaced by a third party repair company. Sure, we saved some money, but boy they did a horrible job. They don't use original parts (I've yet to see one that does) and guess what: you can feel it. The glass feels really crappy.

Furthermore the screen doesn't always respond. It might not be a screen problem, we just don't know. So we thinking about getting her a new phone as the one we had repaired just doesn't work right and it can really get on your nerves.

So I'd spend the couple of extra bucks to have it replaced by Apple.