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iPhone firmware update 1.1.3 has got me really, really upset… almost fuming, actually.
What’s not to love about iPhone’s new GPS feature, the mass text messaging capabilities and the now customizable home screen? Do I agree with Blackberry fanboy Russell Shaw, who is “mostly unimpressed” by the upgrade?
Absolutely not! What irks me about the latest iPhone update is that I can’t enjoy it, because last night my iPhone’s touchscreen was disabled after I accidentally dropped my iPhone, cracking the glass.
As you can see in the image on the left, the glass cracked in about five places after I dropped it on my wood floor.
But the cracks are not on the top glass layer of the iPhone. I can actually slide my finger down the screen and it’s completely smooth.
What appears to have cracked is the touchscreen beneath the glass. So my iPhone works perfectly fine, except that I can’t interact with it.
As long as my SIM card is inside, I’ll continue to get phone calls that I can’t answer, my preprogrammed alarms will continue to go off without my being able to hit Snooze, and the phone will not turn off until the battery drains.
The obvious downside of a touchscreen phone is that, generally, if one feature breaks they all do. The lack of hardware buttons means you can’t answer calls, turn off alarms, send text messages or do ANYTHING without a working touchscreen.
Is iPhone’s Glass Easily Cracked?
When I read the results of PC World’s iPhone stress tests, I admittedly got a little cocky and decided to go without a case for my iPhone.
I’ve dropped my iPhone a number of times, without a problem. However, this was the first time I dropped it directly on its glass surface… and it broke.
After doing some research, it seems the problem is not uncommon. iPhone Atlas notes that “an awkward fall, too much pressure and other unnatural impact can cause cracks in the optical glass.”
Cracked Glass Under Warranty?
Apple states on the iPhone Warranty (PDF) that “Service may not be available if your iPhone has been damaged due to accident or abuse.”
Nevertheless, iPhone Atlas said they “received reports from some readers who had success having their iPhones with cracked screens replaced free of charge by geniuses at the Apple Store … but don’t count on it.”
I’m going to try my luck this weekend at the Apple Store, but I’m not feeling too hopeful. If Apple declines to replace my phone for free, I’ll either have to pay them $249 to repair my iPhone, or have it repaired by someone else, which will void the warranty.
What really bugs me about the $249 repair fee is that it’s only applicable to 8GB iPhones. The 4GB ones cost $199 to repair, even though the hardware that I need replaced is identical on both versions!
So I gave Apple more of my money on January 29 to get an 8GB iPhone, and now they want to exploit that and charge me more for repair? I think that’s unfair. Even more unfair than not being able to test out iPhone update 1.1.3 
Broken iPhone Glass Repair: Other Options
SlashPhone posted a tutorial for replacing your iPhone’s broken glass with a $5 sheet of plastic. It’s not quite like the real thing, but it’s also $245 cheaper. Note that if you choose to do this, your warranty will be voided.
This is not an option for me because, as I mentioned above, it’s the touchscreen below the glass that is broken, not the glass surface itself.
I’ll be sure and report back after visiting the Apple Store this weekend to let you all know whether Apple was willing to replace my broken iPhone for free.
Until then, I’ll be relying on my trusty old Motorola phone from Wal-Mart. Not quite as useful as the iPhone, but it does make phone calls!
Update: I got my replacement iPhone from Apple. Click to read about my experience.
Update #2: Want a strong case that will unfailingly protect your iPhone? Check out the Otterbox Defender.
Ever Cracked Your iPhone’s Glass?
If so, did you get a new phone for free or did you have to shell out big bucks for repair? Please share your experience in the comments.
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I just dropped my Iphone 16GB 3GS on my way home from work about 3 hours ago. I just got it 5 days ago so its very new. I didnt take out any Insurance cause I didnt think it was going to happen to me but it did. So my best advice is get an Insurance if you dont have one.
Luckily, I manage to find a loophole cause they only offer/accept insurance while you sign a contract and I rejected getting an insurance. But I have to pay AUS$100 if i claim on the first 3 months so Im not sure if I should claim straight away or let my iphone rest for 3 months and get it repaired.
Its still working, its just the screen is badly cracked.
Just go on ebay (or the internet) and buy the glass/digitizer and the toolkit and do it yourself for $30.
I cant do that or ill lose my insurance and warranty. Im just waiting for my bill and then I’m gunna claim my insurance. I think $100 is a reasonable amount and I know that people who are repairing it are qualified and its by Apple its maker.
If it is that new, i suggest calling someone at apple to tell them about it. I got mine 6 days ago and dropped it on the tile in my bathroom while i was taking a crap. They offered me a FREE repair the very next day. Just have to get lucky with a nice guy and tell him how new it was.
I just dropped mine like two days ago and it shattered the glass and broke the LCD thing under the glass so it just lit up white when I turned it on. I took it to one of those privately owned cellphone places and they are replacing the glass and the LCD for 130 bucks. I know this voids the iPhone’s warrenty but I have had my phone for a year now and I never purchased an extended warrenty so it doesn’t make a difference to me. They even offered to jailbreak it for free haha.
So if you have had your phone for a while and don’t need the warrenty I suggest taking it to a third party shop and having them do it for half the price Apple charges. He even told me that he will warrent the glass if it doesn’t work after a while, just take it back to him.
so just yes2day i drop my iphone In New york subway track and my glass got broken but when my friend call me it work but i could not answer it so i want it to get fix but t cost $250 can any1 help to get my iphone fix for cheep .thank u
I just recently broke my 3rd iPhone. It only fell off my bed. But I feel really ashamed and I want to get it repaired asap without my family to find out… Haha I know that’s stupid, but still. Can someone tell me how I can get it repaired? I am willing to pay any price. Thank you.
My story is the best! My phone was up on the windshield (GPS style), I jump in the truck, blinded by the sun I throw the visor down- the phone flies out of the “GPS holder” and slams into a pepsi can! The entire screen is shattered!! There was even glass on the pepsi can.. totally bummed. Will Pepsi pay for my phone to be repaired?? lol
I shattered my phone 3g today and after reading all the comments here decided to look on eBay for a replacement glass and digitizer. You can get them for about $18. BUT! – I found a retailer called “skyviewcomputer” that will fix it for you and return ship it for $18! The only additional cost to you is shipping it to them!
So, if you aren’t 100% confident in your ability to fix it yourself have him do it! I did also see on his auction that he can also fix other models, so it’s worth checking out! I’ll try to remeber to update here after I’m finished getting mine fixed and returned to let everyone know how it goes!
I have a question about warranty… if a third party fixes the glass, and does a good job at it, does it negate the rest of the iphone warranty if it is still in place at the time the glass is fixed. Anyone know?
I bought a thinner version of the Otterbox case..so far so good, but I’m not convinced the glass is all that protected.
I had a similar situation on my phone where the screen cracked, i searched around and found http://www.PhoneRepairDepot.com they were really amazing i mailed in my phone on Saturday from Virginia and on Wednesday i had my phone back in my hands all the way from Dallas. Check them out they are really great and they sent me a free car charger!!!
***64G
I dropped my 16G iTouch a few months ago. It cracked the screen across. I had purchased the warranty from Best Buy, so I took it in the next day. Geek Squad said that though they can’t fix it, it should work fine. It had been working fine until the day after Christmas, when it suddenly just went black and wouldn’t turn on. I took it in again, and they said it was ‘basically dead.’ Now my new iHome ($200) and my iTouch ($400) are useless. I had it for only a few months.
Is it even worth taking to an Apple store or sending it in?? I don’t live near one.. probably about 3 hours away is the closest location.
I have seen many peoples’ screens cracked. I haven’t heard many stories of getting them fixed though. What is the warranty for if it doesn’t cover being dropped?? Accidents happen, it’s silly that they’re not covered by the warranty.
if you buy your phone at Best Buy.. they offer you monthly insurance. they dont try to repair your phone, once something cracks or gets dropped in the lake.. they just mail you a refurb one in 2 days. its super easy. its 14.99 a month.. but.. if you multiply that times a 2 year contract.. thats $360. which is a MUCH better price for unlimited repairs, within your contract.
the catch is.. you DO have to buy your iPhone at a best buy mobile location.
Lorraine, they do have insurance, you pay more money for it. Makes sence really.
My iPhone screen cracked quite badly… Will it have any side effect by continue to use it? Will the screen suddenlyexplode if I charge it? Lol
I just bought 2 3GS Iphones for me and wife at Bestbuy. For $14 per month per phone, I get full replacement except of lost/stolen and water damage. They understand that the water sensor is open to the enviornment and that they are very lenient if there is only small amounts of water damage. ATT will not give that policy. I will keep the insurance for some months till I feel comfy with the phone(have leathers covers on both)so you can get coverage.
My 1st generation has a 1 inch area under the glass that has just devoped in the last week. For lack of a real name for this, it looks like an EKG printout, back and forth peaks or an etch-a sketch look to it and it;s getting bigger by the day. HELP… Steve
Dr.CellPhone fixed my Iphone the same day I broke it. They are located all over and you can even mail it in. They did a great job on my phone and it was about 75 dollars.look them up on google, you will be happy.
I agree, Apple is a great company, and I agree that getting the glass fixed for free is a matter of who the manager is. But really I think there has to be another solution to this cracked glass situation. I think it is bigger than Apple wants to admit. When I broke mine last time and took it to another repair place, they ordered the glass and put it in for 1/2 of what Apple does. Now if others can do this, why does Apple have to charge so much? That is what bothers me.
I completely agree. There is no reason for apple to charge so much to fix the phones! I love my iphone but their greediness makes me so angry that I don’t want to own one ever again! I think a resonable price is $50. If all these places can fix them for $70 and they are making money off of it then apple can charge $50 and not have to make money on it! I spent $300 for this phone! I don’t understand why they need to make even more money! seriously it makes me sooo angry!!! I would never believe anyone who says that apple cares about there customers(YEAH RIGHT)! All they care about is making more money! Which fine I understand they are a business but seriously its just ridiculous!!I hate apple so much!!!
i recently dropped my iphone and broke the screen, like others who have commented, i’m not exactly gentle with my phones. it took a long time (a year and a half) and numerous high velocity impacts on some pretty harsh surfaces (concrete, hardwood floors etc.) to break the glass. the rep at the apple store was really professional at first and inspected my fairly abused phone before coming to a verdict. he told me that since the cracks in the glass were “fairly small”, he would be happy to replace the screen for free. to be honest i think it just depends on your attitude when you go in and how nice your apple stole rep is.
i would have to agree with the people at the apple store when they say that the screens breaking really isn’t a problem, i’ve had far worse issues with motorola phones for breaking that i’ve ever had with my iphone. it’s simply a manner of physics and how much force is applied and in what directions. obviously with enough force any screen will break, it’s amazing that the iphone screen is as resilient as it is considering the size.
I found out that I can get my iPhone 3G glass fixed for 80 bucks not 249
i have an iphone 3g in australia with optus and have insurance and my whole screen is cracked and spiderwebbing, the gay part is the excess on insurance is like no cheaper than getting it fixed by apple. so im going to buy the screens of ebay for 30 bucks n if i break it beyond repair claim it as stolen on insurance therefore ending up in the same situtation im in now, but its worth the risk to save over $200
hey guys…. i jailbreaked my phone so im guessing my warranty is void. i dropped my phone from anout 10cm from the ground and my whole screen is cracked… but the phone still works….i looked on ebay for a screen and their only $12.95 au incuding tools. then went on youtube for a step by step guide on how to replace the screen….
Hi Jess and all, for those who have not gone thru earlier posts, there are options to the $200 apple store repair. Check out. Also check google because that is how I found a local store that fixted it for 1/2 of what apple does.
Some also have cheaper repairs. There is a petition somewhere (right now I don’t have time to look for it) where names can be added to let Apple know that something needs to be done. Maybe if you find it you can post it here. I may have even found it here. But someone is making a lot of bucks on this!!!
Sooo, i bought my Iphone off of one of my co-workers in september, and it was pretty much in tip top shape. I have become obsessed with keeping it perfect because i dont have a warranty on the phone because it expired with the previous owner. I even bought a $45 case for the phone just in case it was dropped. this case, however, did not prevent it from being broken and recieving spiderweb cracks on the screen when a co-worker grabbed my jacket (with my phone in the pocket) and slipped on a recently mopped floor and landing on my iphone. Total day ruiner. Now i dont know what to do. I cant get it replaced, im not elegable for an upgrade, and to pay for the screen to get it fixed would cost almost as much as a new one! i’ve had this phone for only about 2 months and already its broken.. so much for tip top shape. Oh and now the speaker sounds like its blown out. love my iphone…….
what happens if you knowingly send in your “3rd party repaired iphone” in on your apple onecare, do they just send it back and say f off or what?
If you purchased your phone with a credit card,many of the cards offer 90 protection plans. Amex just covered my broken screen.
Re: to itasara
That really is good advice because i live in Dallas and i cracked my screen on a brand new 3GS when it fell from my apartment balcony. I was surprised that everything still worked on it. Phew. The poor glass was all shattered though and i just looked on Google and found a repair place. I went to Texas Phone Repair. They are located in a professional office building and weren’t doing it out of there homes which i felt better about. Plus they repaired it in like 20 minutes.
I was devastated when i thought my phone was dead but it helped paying only $79 bucks to get it repaired instead of $200 that apple charges.
As you may have read my posts, apple warranty does not cover the glass, so why pay that much? Go online and google apple screen repair in your area (or variations of this) and see what comes up. Also if you read thru these posts, others have listed places to send your iphone in for repair, but if you are like me, you won’t want to live without your phone. I just paid under $100 including tax to fix mine.
Some people pay as little as $50 something . Just look around. If you phone functionality is damaged I probably would humble myself to go to Apple if it is still under warranty.
i bought my iphone last august and i dropped it and it has a large crack down the entire screen, now it works fine but the volume button fell off, and the wake/sleep button isn’t functional. and the little holder that slides into the phone to place the sim in is also now lost. now i know 1 year warranty is completely void, now i’m just wondering if i can go and get out of warranty service and pay the 250$ or will i have to shell out 600$ for a new one. any advice?
Update. I found a place in Rochester that repairs the iphone glass. I had it taken care of today.
Took about 1/2 hr. The cost with tax (although still a little pricey) was a little less than half of what I paid at the Apple Store the last time this happened. With tax it came to $91.79. The apple store charge was $200 + tax, about $216 or 218.00 Total. It still seems like a lot to me, and I hope it doesn’t happen again, but there are no guarantees. I’m looking into a more protective casing for the phone, but so far I’m not sure which one. I’ve read pros and cons about most of them. BTW I looked into just replacing the phone, but the rep at the ATT store said it couldn’t be done. Who knows? He said my original price was a discount price and they wouldn’t trade it in for another phone which carries a price tag of about $499 or so. Hard to believe. I have spent that just on glass repair so far.
I sure have! It slipped out of my pocket and fell about 40cm and landed on asphalt, and splintered real good. But I found that they are not that hard to fix, I found a replacement glass front panel + digitizer at dealextreme, took 3 weeks to arrive from hong kong, but it was cheap, cost under $24 including shipping, and it wasn’t that hard to repair. I’ve put a complete tutorial an my blog for those who want to try it. http://pappmaskin.no/2009/09/r.....ont-panel/
Well this is the second time my glass screen broke… It slipped off while I moved it onto my wood floor. I couldn’t believe it was cracked. I refuse to pay Apple another $200. And I was just about in the process of signing up for a new insurance company that would cover the iphone for one breakage. I did find someone locally who will fix it for about $75+ dollars. So that is the route I’ll use. He has ordered the glass. Funny he said because he heard the glass on the new G3S I phones was supposed to be a little more flexible and less breakable. Hardly!!! I can’t imagine how much extra money has been made by apple for all the broken glass phones they have repaired. I may order one of those new cases I just heard about that looks like it would protect the phone all around.
Does anyone know of a place or person in the Rochester, Ny area that will replace the iphone glass at a reasonable rate?
I am in my office had just cracked my screen 30 minutes ago. My iPhone came out of my pocket as I was sitting down in a chair. Although the floor is carpeted, the end result is a tattered alectronic device.
Ashley wrote: << I felt like this was the place to vent. The iPhone is still the best phone I have ever had. This was my fault I did drop it definately not on purpose that would be idiotic.
I agree… best phone ever, but the APPLE cost to replair the glass Is Ridiculous. I broke my glass inadvertently about a week or two after I got it. I should have just gotten a new phone but ended up paying the $200 which I am still fuming over. There are a lot of cheaper repair places listed on this board. As I recently wrote, one home insurance company will cover it one time. Apple’s response to me was ridiculous as well… special glass yada yada yada. This is the one time I disagree with Apple’s policy to charge so much for a simple repair. I love Apple, but I think some kind of insurance for breakage of glass at least one time is only good PR or at least don’t charge so much for a 5 minute fix.
I have accidently dropped my iPhone numerous times, I was always very lucky. I figured though that I was bing dumb by not purchasing a cover, so I bought a cute 20$ cover. The next day I dropped it and it cracked. It is not a terrible crack at all. It doesn’t even touch the touch screen part so it works wonderfully. It just looks nasty. I wont pay $250 for this repair, but there are many $100 options out there. It was just frustrating since I bought the cover the day before. I felt like this was the place to vent. The iPhone is still the best phone I have ever had. This was my fault I did drop it definately not on purpose that would be idiotic.
It is a 32gig 3GS if anyone has any not very expensive options that would be greatly appreciated.
If you sign up at dealmac.com and put in iphone emails, you’ll get offers for lower price iphones when they come up. Most of them, if you are okay with the previous models and 8gig are going for $39.00 plus or minus.
I use dealmac.com for many products especially apple products that I’m looking for. It is a great place!
I have had my iPhone for about 4 months now. And just had my first major crack like Friday. It so freaking crazy. It dropped of my charger and dock when someone past by and bumped it. It fell to the Tile floor and cracked all over. it still work perfectly butwho wants to walk around with a cracked screened iPHoNE!! It’s ridiculous. I don’t plan on buying anothorone till next year but I just need a exact solution for getting a new one for under $50 or no money at all. I’m a senior in school and really don’t have the extra money to be buying a new one or get it repaired for that matter.
When I broke my glass my iphone was one week old. No way was I going to buy another one, although I see what you are saying. I could have, but I still think it is too expensive a cost to replace that part. apple says the phone’s real price is something like $499. I have my doubts.
I am looking into Travelers HOme insurance. My agent said it’s less costly in general than what I have now and it would would cover the iphone glass with no deductible up to ONE TIME. Better than nothing!
why not just by another iPhone or even 3GS? they both cheaper than the repair cost (3G is only about 100$ and 3GS is only about $200)
I JUST cracked my screen and my plans just gonna get another new iPhone. not gonna evenbother fixing it xP
Last summer me and my uncle decided to go crazy with shrooms. I went on the top of my house and was pretending I was spiderman. That’s when my phone slipped and dropped ten ft. on to the concreate. I was devastated. My phone had about 40 cracks in it. When I went to turn it on I was amazed that it actually still worked! All the cracks were on the outer piece of glass and not the LCD side. I’ve been looking around the Internet for alternatives to being repaired by apple. I have found this website called drcellphone.com and they do repairs alot cheaper than ATT. So as I’m writting all of this on my iPhone right now I would just like to ask If anyone knows cheaper alternatives. I will not get my
phone repaired untill it is demolished and unusefull.
Well, like everyone else posting I loved my new iphone until it fell out of my pocket facedown onto a cement floor yesterday. The whole screen shattered like a spiderweb. The phone is just over 1 month old and was in otherwise perfect condition. The surface was still smooth and everything still worked fine. I took it to the Apple store and had to pay $199 ($214 with tax) for the glass repair which took the Apple Genius about 10 minutes. I think it is absolutely disgraceful that this is how they treat their customers! If this was not a work phone, I would not be doing business with them any longer!!!
I got my iphone 1st genaration for my birthday and a week before I got my protector it got cracked… But lucky for me my brother had a friend who could repair it if we paid for material and labor, it cost about $80 total, I was happy.
I want to add to recent comments that Apple’s comment to using third party repairers was that they use special glass and it is not the same quality!!! I think this is BS and I still encourage people to send in comments and letters to APPLE. If you have a third party repair and it is working like new, let APPLE know!!
I still urge all of you to send a letter to Steve Jobs. If enough letters are sent maybe something will be done about this situation. As I mentioned in an early letter I got a call back with the usual rheteric… I said I did not accept their excuses and they could only deal with people’s complaints on a one to one basis. So if we bombard apple with letters, then maybe change will happens. Meanwhile I’m asking my insurance carrier about getting glass insurance on the phone… My representative is looking into it. The address is:
Steven P. (Steve) Jobs, CEO and Director
Headquarters:
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
United States
haha, sorry about that. Mine fell from a roller coaster last weekend at Six Flags…screen cracked and pieces of the glass were missing, but part of the screen still worked. I found this place online that does iphone repairs, http://www.drcellphone.com. They were great, and really fast. I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to fix that too. Rad
Okay so, I got my iPhone 3G on my birthday which was June 23 of this year. Me and my friends were walking and my friend tries to hand the phone to me and it drops between her fingers. That was this week. So, the bottom of the screen was cracked. It still worked though. These phones are slick. I took the case off and forgot to put it on though. Okay so, today my “friend” pushed me off our school stage while I had my damn phone in my hands. It fell and slide halfway across the gym. Now, I am pissed because the bottom half of my screen won’t work.
I broke my iPhone screen a little while ago and just searched around for a little while and found a place in dallas http://www.texasphonerepair.com/ they had the best prices along with 24 hour turn around and free insured return shipping.
i bought a 3g 8gb ihone with a broken glass for $160. bought new glass on ebay for $9.99, replaced it and also a new metal bezel and replaced it….new bezel, and new glass equals unlocked and jailbroken iphone for about $180 dollars and good as new
I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket this morning and it slipped out of my hand and landed screen facing down on a cement floor. The whole screen shattered like a spiderweb (it looked like a cracked windshield on a car). The surface was still pretty smooth and everything still worked fine. I took it to the Apple store right away and had to pay $199 for the repair – and they just gave me a brand new iPhone.
Needless to say I bought a case while at the store!