cracked cell phone screen 48 hours after purchase

[LuvGoofy6]

We've had 2 phones end up with cracked glass while in Otterboxes. My daughters iPhone 6 fell out of her back pocket and into the toilet 6 months after she got it and she had to pay $150 through the insurance (that costs me $10 a month to have). They didn't repair it, they sent her a new iPhone 6 and told her to ship her damaged phone to them. So her replacement phone was brand new. My daughter now uses a Lifeproof case.

 

[mom2my3kids]

I was silly to think they would replace the phone when it happend.. they sent us a new otterbox but we did not have a new phone to put it on at the time..took me a few weeks to purchase a new iphone for him..it was crushed at baseball game by a batbag so no matter what kind of case it had on it, would of been destroyed..

 

[ibob52]

FWIW, for those reading and for OP, if you wind up buying a new phone, AMEX covers accidents for 90 days

Wow ... thanks for mentioning this AMEX credit card benefit feature.

I checked and even my *no fee* AMEX HH card has the purchase protection.

 

[Callie]

Otterbox all the way or a Griffin Case that is similar!
I shattered by iPod touch, and had to pay $100 at the apple store for a new one. That sucked.
But they have protected both of my iPhones! My work one is in a Griffin Survivor case, and my personal is an otterbox.

 

[maggiew]

I feel so bad for you. I have a daughter who is tough on her phones (one in the ocean, one in the toilet, etc.), so I know exactly how you feel.

My older DD got an iPod several years ago for Christmas and scratched the screen taking it out of the box. :-(


I got new phones for my girls for Christmas and Santa also put Otterboxes in their stockings. I learned the hard way to not even wait one day to buy the cases.

Maggie

 

[sk8jdgca]

My Visa card has 90 day purchase protection also. It is getting to be pretty standard on credit cards lately. I hope you paid for it with a credit card and if so check your card

 

[robinb]

FWIW, for those reading and for OP, if you wind up buying a new phone, AMEX covers accidents for 90 days. I used Amex b/c they double the warranty. DD got an Iphone and dropped it one week later. She had a case, but it still cracked the screen. Amex originally credited our account for the whole phone purchase price. I called them back and said the Apple store fixed it for $109. I am using Amex for all big purchases from now on!

This.

I always put my electronics on my AMEX card. My last laptop died 1 1/2 years after I bought it and I called AMEX to get it repaired and they refunded my purchase price instead! I bought a new laptop.

 

[sillysmom]

This information will not help this time, but I do not purchase insurance from apple or ATT. I have a electronics rider on my homeowners that costs me $35 per year, it covers ALL electronic devices (including cell phones) for a $50 deductible. Even if they are lost or stolen. Thank goodness I haven't had to use it yet!

 

[seashoreCM]

If the screen is cracked, usually there is nothing wrong with the rest of the phone but only a specialist can tell for sure.

Smart phones are so fragile and vulnerable to damage that you really need to call the repair or replacement benefit an insurance policy as opposed to a warranty.

Phones will never become more rugged until they find some transparent plastic that can be used so that there is no glass at all in the phone.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

OP here - I thought I would reply with an update. According to my husband, his "peeps" are getting me a new phone. I imagine his peeps consist of our 3 children, especially since it is so close to Mother's Day and my birthday is soon as well.

At some point I'm going to take the broken phone to a mall kiosk and see what they can do. If it can be fixed, we'll have a spare; I just can't risk spending money to have the screen replaced and then it being more than just a screen. Actually, I will probably order the screen replacement kit and go from there.

Thank you to everyone who replied with suggestions and their experiences - it did help!

And I've got a tempered glass screen protector AND a case ordered! I may keep it in bubble wrap, too.

 

[kymom99]

OP here - I thought I would reply with an update. According to my husband, his "peeps" are getting me a new phone. I imagine his peeps consist of our 3 children, especially since it is so close to Mother's Day and my birthday is soon as well.

At some point I'm going to take the broken phone to a mall kiosk and see what they can do. If it can be fixed, we'll have a spare; I just can't risk spending money to have the screen replaced and then it being more than just a screen. Actually, I will probably order the screen replacement kit and go from there.

Thank you to everyone who replied with suggestions and their experiences - it did help!

And I've got a tempered glass screen protector AND a case ordered! I may keep it in bubble wrap, too.

So funny you said that! I have a friend who is a quirky gal. The first time she bought an iphone, she actually kept it in a bubble envelope! We gave her a hard time about that. Still do!

 

[drinkme]

Also, do not assume that your phone is unbreakable in an Otterbox. It isn't.

Yep. My screen just broke in my otterbox last weekend. I've dropped it a bunch of times before, but this time it must have fallen at just the right spot. I had to pay $175 for my deductible. ugh.

 

[whatname]

I just went through this with att. I have the insurance. My screen cracked. At first, half the screen was working. After a while, it was all black. I had a $93 deductible with the insurance. The amount goes down the longer you have the phone. I had mine about 6 months, I think. I used the insurance. Called the insurance co. about 8:30pm, sent the required information, and had my new phone in less than 48 hours. It is a refurb, but you would never know. The process worked more easily than I expected. I was supposed to send the old phone back to them, but since I could not reset it to delete my personal info because the screen did not work, they told me to keep it. Your next problem will be getting the info off of the phone. I never synced my calendar and lost it all (even with help from dissers.) Fortunately, you haven't had yours long. Good luck! I feel for you!

 

[lakelandgal70]

Yes the glass covers work! I dropped my iPhone 5 several times and cracked what I thought was the phone screen. i had forgotten it had a glass cover over it lol. Took it to a kiosk in the mall to see how much they would charge for fixing my screen and the lady said it isn't your screen it is the glass cover that protects your screen.I felt soooo dumb but glad that was all it was. She replaced the glass cover and I got a new phone case, similar to Otterbox case and it was all under 100 bucks. I have since dropped it and scratched the glass cover lol. I will never have a phone without one now.

 

[tink2dw]

My daughter got a New Phone. And immediately bought the rubber case that has lip that covers all edges of the phone. It is thick so when it falls it protects the screen. But really works well!! She is happy!!

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I just wanted to chime in on the otterbox's. If you get one, make sure it has all the protection you need. Some of the otterbox's don't actually have any screen protection (at least the ones for iPhone 5).

Hubby drove over his iPhone 5 in the otterbox Defender series case with some big military truck (not sure what type). His phone and case are working fine after a year still. If you take his phone out of the case there is a very slight bend to it that you really only could tell when setting down and seeing it doesn't lay flat. As much as I hate the bulk of the otterbox I trust the case.