Cracked iPod screen - NEW UPDATE #17

[sweet angel]

DS' iPod screen has mysteriously cracked . Translation to that is he took his nano to school and it got dropped or something. Anyone have any idea at what we're looking at to have it fixed -- and no, we don't have an extended warranty.

I'm hoping against hope that since Apple knows the screens are fragile, the cost won't be tooooooo much.

 

[icebrat001]

I was not aware that they can repair/replace cracked screens. Go to apple.com/support/ipod

 

[Snow Brite]

Do you have an Apple Store near you? I took my daughter's in to the Genius Desk (yep! Thats what its called!). She had done someTHING to it, as it just had a little sad face on the screen, but it wasn't a year old yet. They checked it over and said that since it appeared to have been dropped it probably wasn't covered by the one year warranty. News to me! It was a gift and I didn't even know there was a one year warranty. They were able to check everything with the serial number on the back . Fascinating! When they found out that the owner of the ipod was an 11 year old they decided to replace it anyways. We walked out of there having traded in a 10 month old non-working ipod for a brand new one in the exact same pink color. I stopped and got her a clear hard plastic case that never comes off and all has been well since. It was shockingly good customer service. I was quite frankly stunned.

Anyhoo...since it sounds like he dropped it, it might be something they can work with and it might not be. But if you have one nearby, it might be worth checking.

 

[OK!]

I cracked the screen on my mini a little over a year ago and IIRC it wasn't going to end up being much cheaper to have the screen fixed than it would be to buy a new one, but things may have changed since then (and you're dealing with a nano, not a mini). I'd google something like [+"cracked screen" +nano] (w/o the brackets) and see if you can find a deal online. Last year, there were several places who offered repair service for busted screens. Good luck!

 

[sweet angel]

Thanks. It's not the glass/plastic that's cracked -- it's the LCD or whatever inside. And it's been in a case since he got it for Christmas

I did google it and saw rates of $115 to repair -- that's insane -- almost 1/2 the cost to buy a new one! Then I saw that Apple is aware that it's a product flaw and is fixing them free of charge. I'm going to call AppleCare today because the closest Apple store is well over an hour away.

 

[cepmom]

be sure to post back after you talk to the Apple people....DD has an ipod that she dropped and the screen cracked (the LCD like your's). We figured since it was dropped that it would not be covered so we didn't bother. Some time later, it stopped working properly and would not hold a charge so we sent it back to be checked out for that, not the screen. They sent it back a couple of days later with a letter stating that it appeared to be dropped and that they would not cover the broken screen. We didn't even send it back for the screen!!! They never even checked out why it wouldn't hold a charge or work properly!! We will not be buying another Apple product...these things are such poor quality!!

 

[sweet angel]

I'm not going to say that it was dropped because he swears it wasn't -- and now admits to taking it to school. From what I've seen, it's not an uncommon thing to just go to turn it on and have it appear cracked. It almost looks like a broken Etch-A-Sketch.

I'll post again after I speak to them.

 

[sweet angel]

Well, I just got off the phone for the 2nd time with AppleCare (may shortly be renamed to AppleDoesn'tCare).

First girl gave me a website to go to in order to access the service request page. She neglected to tell me that I would need my exact date of purchase. I flubbed it. She further neglected to tell me that just to get a box to ship it back in, they charge you almost $40 (this covers shipping & handling to and from their facility -- woohoo).

Second call -- young man tells me the date of my purchase -- 10/18/05 -- of course it stayed in the box until Christmas, but I'm sure that won't matter since it's past it's 90 day warranty. He explains the return process to me.

If Apple determines that the crack is NOT due to misuse or abuse, they will repair it free of charge up to one year after date of purchase. If they determine it IS due to misuse or abuse, they contact me and give me the option of having it fixed.

So either way, I'm out $40, and potentially another $115 on top of that -- based on what I've seen from repair sites (can't imagine Apple itself would be cheaper). They both kind of skirted around my question of whether or not this was an extremely common occurence. I see a nasty letter to Apple in my future....

 

[floridafam]

Why do you have to pay for a box?

They sent a pre-paid DHL box when my DH's ipod broke?

 

[cepmom]

when we sent DD's ipod back they sent a prepaid DHL box to us too...no charge at all

 

[chyam]

when we sent DD's ipod back they sent a prepaid DHL box to us too...no charge at all

Same for me too.......and I found Apple to be very prompt and I thought their Customer Service was great, although mine was not a cracked screen it was a Nano that didn't work properly, never hesitated in sending me a new one and engraved it like the first one.

 

[sweet angel]

I don't know. Were your ipods within warranty time?

It gets worse. When I filled out the online form, I had to fill in every field, whether it applied or not. I had to pick a defective item, but screen was not an option, so I picked "leather case".

I just got an email saying they're sending me a leather case for $37.69.

I may have to take a ride to the Apple Store an hour and a half away. Yay.

 

[cepmom]

DD's was out of warranty
hopefully you will have better luck at the Apple store

 

[sweet angel]

Whatever they're shipping to me will be here today. I'm giddy with anticipation. I already fired off a nasty email to Apple regarding their website and customer service. I'm ready for a fight.

I simply don't understand how they can sell a product for $250 and have it be so fragile that the slightest thing (or nothing) can damage it, and then charge astronomical fees to repair it.

 

[pjpoohbear]

I work in a campus computer shop, so....

With the in box one year warrenty, you get 90 days of phone tech support, calls after this can be charged at 49.95 per call, you get six months of free ship to repair centre, after that it is 29.95(in Canada) and it looks like 40.00(in US). The One year date is for manufacture defects (parts and labour.) If you purchase the Apple Care (55.00 CAD) then all those call and shipping costs are covered for the first two years along with the manufacture defects. You have until the the day before the first year is up before you must register the purchase of the extended Apple Care.

Penny

 

[sweet angel]

I work in a campus computer shop, so....

With the in box one year warrenty, you get 90 days of phone tech support, calls after this can be charged at 49.95 per call, you get six months of free ship to repair centre, after that it is 29.95(in Canada) and it looks like 40.00(in US). The One year date is for manufacture defects (parts and labour.) If you purchase the Apple Care (55.00 CAD) then all those call and shipping costs are covered for the first two years along with the manufacture defects. You have until the the day before the first year is up before you must register the purchase of the extended Apple Care.

Penny

You lost me...are you saying I should register for the extended care? Or that it should be covered? Or that I'm out of luck?

 

[sweet angel]

Guess what was delivered today via DHL? Yup -- a brand, spanking new leather case.

I'll be shipping that back to Apple tomorrow on their dime, they will be crediting my account for all charges and are sending me a pre-paid box to send the Nano back in.

The girl explained to me that I should have chosen "replace entire unit" on the drop down menu. I explained to her that I didn't see that option, but wasn't looking for it because I was looking for "repair cracked screen". I further explained that had the person who looked at the request read the ENTIRE request, he/she would have known that I was not looking for a case, but instead, to have the screen repaired.

I just want to get this taken care of and move on.