How-to: Find repair for a broken iPhone

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla 

My wife’s iPhone 6 recently took one too many spills and despite having a thin case and a screen protector, it still fell around four feet into bathroom tile screen first. The result, a long crack across the display. While the device could still be used, there was no other choice but to get that display and digitizer replaced.

The iPhone was no longer under warranty and I did not purchase AppleCare for this device, which worried me. I checked out local repair services like iRepair and the cost of materials and labour were around $180 plus tax, so I decided to check what the Apple Store would charge. 

Getting an appointment in the Apple Store was straightforward. I simply chose my closest store and found a suitable time to visit. Once you arrive in the store, you’re quickly triaged by a specialist and sent to another line to ‘check-in’ for service. Once they make sure you’re in the books, you’re quickly sent to a specific area of the store and a service specialist comes over within 10 minutes. 

From there, they do an inspection and check if they can fix it under warranty. Since my wife’s iPhone was out of warranty they determined I had to pay for repair and the price was $139 plus tax. The repair, they said would take three hours and they could call me if it was ready before that time. Once I agreed, they took the iPhone, gave me sticker with a number on it, ensured that I had disabled find my iPhone and they were off.

Three hours later, I received an email saying my iPhone was fixed and ready for pick up. I took the sticker they provided earlier and presented to a lady who put me in a queue, 20 minutes later, she came out with my wife’s iPhone encased in a thin plastic and it looked like new. Thankfully the impact only shattered the glass portion and did not dent the case or corners, so her iPhone 6 looks new. I sprang for a more protective Speck CandyShell Grip case to improve protection in case it gets dropped again. 

This experienced taught me that considering AppleCare + for any new iPhone makes smart sense. AppleCare costs $129 but it is good for 2 incidents plus extra depending on the extent of the repair and is good for two years. The way we use and rely on our iPhones each day makes them critical devices, and the more we handle and use them for things other than calling and texting, means the higher the likelihood of accidents. 

Apple’s service was impressive; a three hour turn around on a screen replacement is acceptable specially seeing first hand how busy the service department is. While some other repair shops could have done it ‘while you wait’, they would have cost more and if the repair wasn’t done correctly, good luck in getting them to fix it.

It’s hard for me to consider buying any new consumer technology without knowing what my repair or service path will be for that device. With Apple it is easy, just go to the Apple Store and sort it out or get AppleCare for the best possible coverage, this makes sense for smartphones and tablets as they are more likely to get abused.