Accidents happen. When they happen to your expensive iPhone, which by the way AT&T and Apple won’t insure, you may be tempted to count it off as a total loss. Before you pry out the Sim chip and go looking for your old cell phone, you should know that there is hope. I should know. My iPhone screen was shattered last night, and just 12 hours later, it was as good as new.
The first thing I did after the incident was to call ATT to see if the warranty from my last phone had been carried over to my iPhone. It had not. AT&T’s warranty company does not cover damage to iPhones. There is only the manufacturer’s one year warranty that does not cover accidental damage or theft.
The next thing I did was put out a message to my personal network and search the internet to see what others had done in the event of a destroyed iPhone. Most people had taken it back to it to the Apple store to be charged $200 to $300, the cost of a new phone with a contract. Some paid that just to have the screen repaired, others had their phones replaced. One person lucked out and had her cell phone replaced for free. Being cute and shedding tears helped. Basically it is up to the employees of the store to decide what they are going to do for you. Knowing the people at my iPhone store are less than forgiving, I didn’t want to take my chances, so I started looking into getting my screen repaired.
Lo-and-behold, iPhone screen replacement came up in my internet searches as being very affordable, albeit a little risky. My options were to purchase a kit, pry the phone open and fool around with the delicate internal workings of the phone for $40-$50.00 or I could pay $80 and have someone else do it. What a relief. But then there was the problem of possibly letting my phone go for a few days to an unknown site and waiting for it to back. That would never do.
My final and triumphant step was to search for “iPhone screen replacement” and “my city” The found the website of someone who did the mail in service, but was also willing to fix my computer in person… in 15 minutes. I have to admit I was caught off guard when I reached the technician’s location to find that it as a personal residence. For safety’s sake I called my husband to let him know I was going into someone’s home, and I called the person to verify that I was supposed to be at a residence. It all turned out well in the end, and the technician fixed my phone like new while I ran out for cash.
My technician used actual iPhone parts, so as to not void my warranty like this iPhone hack that involves cheap plastic and a dremel tool. He also warrantied his work for a year, so I feel as comfortable with the transaction as I would with a brick and mortar store (which tend to close very quickly around here).
Hopefully my disaster will help you save some steps and make some good decisions when and if your iPhone screen is damaged. Regardless of what Hopefully my disaster will help you save some steps and make some good decisions when and if your iPhone screen is damaged. Regardless of what AT&T says, you don’t have to pay them hundreds of dollars for a new or repaired phone, so don’t let them hold you hostage. If you are extremely handy with technical items, you can buy a kit and replace the screen yourself. You can also pay a little more to have an experienced person fix it for you.
