Don't let this happen to your iPhone

It was a perfect brand-new 3G iPhone -- for 21 days, 10 hours and 22 minutes. I loved it, read books on it, praised it on Jacket Copy.

Then I dropped my iPhone -- it slipped! -- from about three feet, and it hit the sidewalk. Apple's design gurus had miscalculated -- one fall and the screen shattered across the top corner. Little bits of glass began to chip away.

The Apple store had bad news. The only way to replace a cracked iPhone screen is to buy a whole new iPhone.

You might think a component like a broken screen could be replaced -- nope. And AppleCare, the company's extended warranty plan, doesn't cover accidental damage. Alex in customer service said it was sad, but that nothing could be done. It was like the time he bought a brand-new car only to have someone immediately ding it in a parking lot. Um, no -- not the same thing, really, unless he had to replace the whole car.

How many other iPhone customers have shattered the screens of the month-old 3G? Hard to say. Apple's press office wouldn't: "I don't have that information for you," was the representative's response.

With 23 months left on the AT&T contract and a cracked iPhone, what's a Mac lover to do? Pony up another $299 for a new iPhone 3G, of course, and hope that the American Express buyer-protection plan comes through. Also, buy a bouncy protective case. And maybe adapt some mitten clips so it never falls again.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Kellogg writes about books at the LA Times' Jacket Copy blog

Photo by Carolyn Kellogg

Comments

Looks like someone is looking for a free iPhone.

I'm sure it cost more to fix that ding in the car.

Personal responsibility anyone?

[Michael]

There is Iphone insurance that you can get with your network provider i have mine with o2 and if that happened to mine i would pay £30 for a new iphone instead of £99 or how ever much.

[busby seo]

great post.....

[Wheatstraw]

You broke your phone, it's your problem. Why are you writing an article about your carelessness?

[J. B. Baker]

Check a site called iResQ; they'll replace your screen for less than the cost of a new phone, and it's pretty painless.

I dropped my iPod Touch a few months ago about 2 feet onto a sidewalk and it landed screen-down onto a small pebble, shattering the screen. It took about 3 business days from order to fixed iPod, and they're pretty good with CS.

[Chris Knight]

I dropped my phone too, from about a foot and a half, and shattered my screen.

No, I do not want a free phone to replace mine, either. I just want to be able to replace a small piece of glass for less than the $299 Apple wants.

The last time I had to replace the windshield on a car it cost less than $299!!!

-Chris

[Mike]

LMFAO... really funny "Um, no -- not the same thing, really, unless he had to replace the whole car." I agree companies think the products are still theirs after we buy them. news flash they're ours and we can do want we want with them

[chris]

If YOU drop YOUR phone and break it how can you be upset? Your like a child who dropped his icecream cone and starts crying MOM its not fair. Life isn't fair. Grow a sack and pay for your mistakes like everyone else.

[JIm McDish]

This is why its wise NOT to drop your phone. If you are prone to dropping your phone make sure you have replacement insurance. If your service does not offer such insurance, then switch providers!

JT
www.FireMe.to/udi

[Vanessa Connolly]

About 3 months ago I dropped my phone from about 3ft - it was in the special rubber (?) iSkin so it bounced, BUT, it fell directly on the power button, pushing it in and causing half of it to get stuck. The phone would turn itself on and off constantly, only staying on when it was charging. I brought it t Apple that day thinking it was a simple fix, just pop the button back out.. Well, not so much! The rep at the genius bar told me that they do NOT open phones to fix them and that I could replace it for $150 (if i remember correctly) BUT they would take back the broken one. He then told me that they could give me the numbers of places that "fix" iPhones, but that if I took it to one of those and then brought it back to Apple and they saw evidence that it was brought elsewhere I would have to pay full price for the replacement.. I wasn't too pleased with the fact that they don't open the phones and that I had to turn in the broken one for the "replacement".

[zippzapp]

Even worse (as was explained to me last night at the Apple Store) with a broken phone you no longer qualify for the $200 AT&T subsidy. So for my $299 iPhone, it all of a sudden costs $499.

[Vanessa Connolly]

JT - the iPhone is not insurable by any service provider.

[Steven Long]

I know that this story probably stung, but I'm also of the opinion that the Alex story is more unfortunate than yours. He had nothing to do with the damage to his car.

I had a similar situation to you (very much like yours, even moreso than Alex). I had a Creative Nomad Zen long ago and it was in a holster (provided by Creative) that was held closed by velcro. Through use the velcro stopped working and I was in the parking lot at my home, I hopped down from the curb, the mp3 player ejected into a puddle (the only one in the parking lot) and the mp3 player was bricked.

I took it to Best Buy to get them to honor the service plan and they said that it didn't cover accidents or water damage. I said it was the result of the holster. The guy told me to go to another Best Buy, but leave out the part of why it stopped working. Just say 'it stopped working.'

Bah.

[Jonathan]

the artical isnt about him breaking his phone. Ive dropped my phone plenty of times... hell one time it slid off the top of my car and was ran over by the car following me - phone has some scuffs but still works (not an i phone). This artical is about how the iphone design sucks. Why would they use glass instead of plastic in the first place? or just have a thick plastic coating?

[Mike]

EXACT same thing happened to me - sidewalk, 3 feet, devastated. 7 days into owning the original Iphone. Same policy. They said 250 to replace the screen. I spent roughly six hours arguing (i lied and said it slipped off the coffee table onto a hardwood floor) and eventually, they just gave me a new one....dont take any nonsense from those geniuses. I am a "relatively" attractive man, and i basically came on to one of the female managers. Eventually she just looked the other way and replaced it...

[Scott]

"Oh we're sorry you dropped your computer from a yard in the air onto concrete sir. Of course you can have a new one free of charge. We're sorry we didn't account for people dropping their electronics onto concrete in our designs."

Seriously... wtf

[Jim]

ApPlE bLoWs!

GO PC!!

[Mark]

I actually dropped my iPhone and the screen when totally white. I brought it back to the Apple store and they replaced it with another iPhone no questions asked.

[Dan]

What's up with all these people talking about "personal responsibility"?? As an engineer, I can appreciate what's being said. A cell phone gets dropped. It should not shatter. The end. If it does, consistently, which seems to be true with the iPhone, then it's a design problem.

Apple seems to have ignored the ruggedness factor on the iPhone.

I have dropped every phone I ever owned multiple times, and the screen has never shattered. It's an engineering design problem on the iPhone. And it's worthy of mentioning or complaining about.

Don't tell me you've never dropped your cell phone.

[trev]

yeah, i dropped my original after 5 months, it cost the same to upgrade to a 3G as to get it an old iphone, easy decision but i wish it wouldn't have happened

[Josh]

My friend broke his new 3g screen and they replaced it. I'm sure it helped that he went in to the Apple store and stern-talked the worker, but hey it worked.

[km]

Personal responsibility surrenders.

[Eric Gruber]

"Apple's design gurus had miscalculated ..."

No, it sounds like you dropped your phone. On the sidewalk. It broke. Your innuendo that somehow this is Apple's fault is hideous.

I've dropped my iPhone as well, but it didn't break. But, I have a case for mine.

This is the dumbest article I've read in a long time.

[Anon]

$99 iphone glass replace...
http://labay.blogspot.com/2007/07/firm-offers-99-apple-iphone-glass.html

$49
http://www.welovemacs.com/ipfgp.html

list goes on and on

[jason]

Same thing happened to me-- luckily I live in NY not far from a shop hyratech.com that replaces 3g screens for $99 parts + $40 labor, you could save yourself the $40 and do it yourself if you have a baby phillips and an opener...
Don't get annoyed by remarks from posters that "it's your problem" They too will one day drop their phones and you can kick sand in their face too, or laugh Nelson-style.