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"We can replace the back glass for $30, but the front glass is $199"

jamesryanbell

jamesryanbell

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 17, 2009
2,171
93
Went with my g/f last night to get her phone diagnosed (she dropped it on accident getting out of the car and cracked the front glass), and while they can replace the back glass for almost nothing, if you crack the front glass it requires you to get a new phone. ?? Why not just make the glass replaceable like it is on the back?? I'm sure there's a reason, but it's frustrating that they didn't make it something fixable.

"It's not meant to withstand breakage"

I understand that. It would just be much NICER if the glass was replaceable on both sides and I'm surprised they didn't do that.

I looked at third party repairs....cheapest either of us found was $170. :/

At least it's done though. Just venting.
 
iPhone 4? You can't just replace the front glass alone. The screen and glass are one piece adhered together. To replace the front glass you have to replace the screen. The iPhone 4 isn't like previous iPhones where you could replace the glass without replacing the screen. It makes more sense to replace the entire phone in this case.
 
replacing the front glass requires taking the whole phone apart.

replacing the back panel takes less than a minute.

couple this together with the fact that the screen is glued to the glass on the front panel, you have to replace the whole thing.
 
Apple can't win. If they made the front glass easier to replace like on the 3G and 3GS, people would be complaining about dust under their screens again. I for one, am happy they glued the screen to the glass.
 
Does anyone know how much they would charge to replace the front glass on a 3GS? The LCD itself is fine.
 
slicecom said:
Apple can't win. If they made the front glass easier to replace like on the 3G and 3GS, people would be complaining about dust under their screens again. I for one, am happy they glued the screen to the glass.
Click to expand...

I'll second the hell out of this one. I hate dust under the glass and evidently I am a super dusty person. I had 3 3G phones replaced or the glass changed at Apple under warranty or Applecare due to excessive dust. I even started turning my pockets inside out when washing them and it did not help.
 
slicecom said:
Apple can't win. If they made the front glass easier to replace like on the 3G and 3GS, people would be complaining about dust under their screens again. I for one, am happy they glued the screen to the glass.
Click to expand...

+1 ... Makes sense ... Apple does not expect many people to break them ... they want Dust Free for the iPhone. :cool:
 
Makes sense to me. Changing the glass on the 3G/3GS is a pain and a lot can go wrong (especially when people try to do it themselves). Glad apple made it this way. IMO they did us all a favor with being able to replace the back so easily.
 
slicecom said:
Apple can't win. If they made the front glass easier to replace like on the 3G and 3GS, people would be complaining about dust under their screens again. I for one, am happy they glued the screen to the glass.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this. I think a win would be a device that's properly sealed to begin with. Properly and permanently aren't synonymous.
 
I charge $75 for 3G and 3Gs parts and labor. But they are relatively easy to do, not for everyone, but can be done and figured out by most. 1st gen iPhones are harder to get into, but basically the same. i4s are much harder to get to, and as mentioned they come with glass and screen together. Back glass is just a few screws and can be done by anyone.
 
OneMike said:
I disagree with this. I think a win would be a device that's properly sealed to begin with. Properly and permanently aren't synonymous.
Click to expand...

My understanding was that the glass was fused with the LCD on the 4 not for dust reasons, but to get the physical LCD closer to the surface. Makes a big difference, IMHO - like you're touching the display, instead of feeling like you're touching glass between you and the display.

Like all tradeoffs, it's good and bad. Looks great, sucks if you break it.
 
slicecom said:
Apple can't win. If they made the front glass easier to replace like on the 3G and 3GS, people would be complaining about dust under their screens again. I for one, am happy they glued the screen to the glass.
Click to expand...

amen to that brother.

OP as someone who use to repair 3G/3GS iPhones for friends, even with the stock rubber seal+ additional thin bead of silicone I would apply, in a few months dust would still get between the LCD and the glass.

iPhone 4 for several months, not a speck of dust!
 
At any rate, the glass should be able to withstand drop. The fact that it didn't just showed us how Apple screwed us with the gorilla glass ********.
 
They glued the screens together for afew reasons
1. Dust free
2. Slimmer device
3. Better handle(multi-touch,etc...)
4. Fit more into device(more compact)

If people are complaining about cracking the screen either deal with it or get a case, I think at least 9/10 people bought a otter box the second they got it, and I suggest you do to as well.
 
Its funny reading old posts about dust under the screen on a 3G and 3GS, plus other posts about screen protectors causing problems with the touch controls.

Then apple fuses the screen to the glass to fix both problems, and then people complain about the pricing. :eek:

Stepping back from it all and looking at the bigger picture, its rather humors.
I guess the old adage is true.

You can't please them all.
 
What r ye doing said:
They glued the screens together for afew reasons
1. Dust free
2. Slimmer device
3. Better handle(multi-touch,etc...)
4. Fit more into device(more compact)

If people are complaining about cracking the screen either deal with it or get a case, I think at least 9/10 people bought a otter box the second they got it, and I suggest you do to as well.
Click to expand...

9/10 people, really? how hard did you have to think to make up that statistic?
 
ringgit said:
At any rate, the glass should be able to withstand drop. The fact that it didn't just showed us how Apple screwed us with the gorilla glass ********.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Gorilla glass my ass. I bet the iPhone 5 will be made entirely out of glass, cool to show off but not something for everyday use.
 
So an iPhone can't have a dust free screen and replaceable front glass at the same time? Not sure though but how about the other phones? HTC phones? Samsung?
 
For the record, around here iPhone 4 front glass repair (replace both LCD and glass) for $160 so at least that's a little less than $199. OP, what geographical area are you in?

With the back, you have to be really careful because there is a piece of shaped foil glued to the inside of the back cover that is part of the antenna system. There are uber cheap iPhone 4 backs coming out of China that don't have this foil, and it could affect the already sucky reception.

I would be very suspicious of the $30 back glass replacement, and ask to see the part off your phone alongside with the part they're replacing with, and make sure they look EXACTLY the same.
 
Last edited:
jzon said:
So an iPhone can't have a dust free screen and replaceable front glass at the same time? Not sure though but how about the other phones? HTC phones? Samsung?
Click to expand...

I know the Samsung Galaxy S phones have the same construction as the iPhone 4, digitizer is bonded to display (I think the display on those is AMOLED, not LCD, please correct or verify if you know for sure).
 
OfficeLinebacke said:
For the record, around here iPhone 4 front glass repair (replace both LCD and glass) for $160 so at least that's a little less than $199. OP, what geographical area are you in?

With the back, you have to be really careful because there is a piece of shaped foil glued to the inside of the back cover that is part of the antenna system. There are uber cheap iPhone 4 backs coming out of China that don't have this foil, and it could affect the already sucky reception.

I would be very suspicious of the $30 back glass replacement, and ask to see the part off your phone alongside with the part they're replacing with, and make sure they look EXACTLY the same.
Click to expand...

pretty sure the genius bar wouldnt replace the backplate with a fake backplate.
 
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