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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 
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 broke my iPhone 3GS screen the other day while playing baseball. Luckily the LCD didn’t break. I found this company http://www.netefx.net, that fixed my iPhone in less than an 2 hours. Normally I guess it takes 2 days but I dropped mine off and the owner did it while I was there. These guys are amazing, they even updated my firmware and polished the case up. It looks like new. If I ever break my iPhone again… I will use them again.
I gave https://www.ifixyouri.com a try after finding this post. I sent my iPhone to them over night. I had it repaired and back to normal in a matter of hours. I think the total time i went without my iPhone was about 36 hours. I didn’t even notice it was gone. They quick, professional, and more important, affordable.
comment to AlbanyDog: when I broke my screen last year on my one week old phone, it might have been cheaper to buy a new phone, but at the price I paid for it, AT&T would not let me buy a new phone unless I paid something like $599.00. They put a time limit on when you can get a new phone at the <> price with NEW CONTRACT.
addendum… it should say reduced price.
I threw my boyfriend’s Iphone at a wall and completely smashed the screen to pieces! I quickly googled how to repair cracked screen and loads came up on youtube. So I ordered a new screen repair kit online last week for $30 CAD and I just got it today.
I followed the step by step instructions on the many youtube video’s and it took me about an hour to fix and it looks like brand new.. My boyfriend will never know the difference and relationship saved.. yay!
SO EASY!! You can easily fix it on your own for $30 bucks!
I used ukipodrepairs.co.uk in the UK £58 was the total cost and done the same day check them out if your over this site of the pond!
Hi
I have just read your comment and I was wondering if i could get details of where you got ur phone fixed from as I have smashed the screen on my iphone.
Many thanks
i completely shattered the glass on mine yesterday. there are even tiny shards of glass starting to fall off the screen now. however the touch pad still works. which is slightly useless though because its that bad that i cant really see all that much on the screen. unsure as to whether its worth getting the screen replaced or not.
I dropped my iPhone in the pool. It was under water for a solid minute. I thought for sure I broke it. I sent it to http://www.iFixYouri.com. They were able to fix it! I was truly amazed. I thought my phone was done for!
I have had 3 phone repaired by http://www.iPhoneFix.com for $89.00
All work great and the tech was extremely helpful.
DO NOT use the $5 piece of plastic. Buy a Digitizer or $35 bucks off eBay.
Ohmygod. the exact same happened to me. 2 weeks after i’d got it back from being repaired for water damage. i protect that phone with my life, so why is it so carelessly breaking :s and how much would it cost in britain ? :S
xxxx
I have an 8gb iPhone, it works perfectly fine but the screen shattered near the top, with several other cracks spreading out over more then half the screen. There were actually little pieces of glass falling off of it so I slapped a piece of clear packing tape over the entire screen to keep the glass in place and cut a slit so I could still for the speaker. That was over a year ago, and after reading some of the comments I guess I am lucky the touch screen still works. Another family member also broke their iPhone screen, not as bad as mine, but they found out it would cost more to have the screen replaced/repaired then it would to buy a new iPhone, so I got their hand me down. Now I have 2 working iPhones, both with broken screens, I love my phone, but I will swap to the less cracked version if I can ever figure out how to get my contacts and such to transfer with my SIM to the new phone. Seriously I would think Apple would have developed a better product by now that didn’t break so easily and that the price to repair this very common problem would have dropped to at least 1/2 of the cost of a new phone, isn’t that how most electronics work, the first models are expensive to purchase and repair but after they have been around a while the price drops way down and the repairs become simpler and cheaper?
You can transfer your contacts into your iPhone from your sim by going to ’settings’ then scroll down to ‘Mail,Contacts,Calendars’ then scroll to the very bottom and click ‘import Sim Contacts’ then all the numbers from your sim will automatically be transferred to your contact list
Send the iPhones into http://www.ifixyouri.com
They fixed mine. Super quick and reliable. Had zero problems…all their reviews are top notch on all the major forums.
It’s pretty frustrating that there’s not a consistent policy in dealing with such a widespread problem. I’ve now warned everyone I know…
sweet…but how du i get a fucking new glasss…In Mozambique? quick…?