Alas, my beloved iPad is wounded!

July 23, 2011 1:36 PM

iPad 2 Repair Filter: My beloved ipad has a broken screen. What now?

My iPad's (under warranty and has extended Apple Care) screen suddenly broke low down, right around the Home button. I had it charging and when I went to pick it up, it was cracked. The Zagg protector I have on it, has kept the glass pieces intact and it's still usable but obviously needs repair. I didn't drop anything on it, but perhaps I gripped it too hard when picking it up. I don't know.

I'm out of country and will go to the apple store when I return but my question is what will happen? Will I have to pay for a screen repair? If so, I'm happy to do so, but really the main question is if they will simply swap it or repair it. I've jailbroken my iPad for some of the extensions out of Cydia and don't want to lose those. I can restore to a stock 4.3.3 firmware before bringing it in and redo the jailbreak afterwards but if they simply replace it, I'm sure I'll be handed a 4.3.4 firmware with the jailbreak blocked.

So if I have to pay anyway (or does Applecare cover this) would be easier to have a third party replace the glass or is that too iffy on the iPad 2?

posted by damiano99 to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

The glass on those things is insanely strong. I asked an apple store employee if a soft case was enough to protect an ipad and he told me that they have tested ipad glass by bending then - and it can bend a LOT and not break. So I'd say this was a defect and should be covered,
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 1:57 PM on July 23, 2011

I'd absolutely expect this to be covered with apple care. I've bad phones swapped with broken screens that were MY fault WITHOUT apple care.

But yes, I'd expect they'll just give you a new one on the spot. Maybe remove the jailbreak before you go in, get it replaced, and if it is 4.3.4 wait the 2 days it'll take (or whatever) until that's jailbreakable
posted by Patbon at 2:45 PM on July 23, 2011

Best answer: AppleCare will cover it. My experience with AppleCare was smooth and hassle free (broken iPod). They didn't replace it on the spot, but after sending it away for evaluation and determining it wasn't my fault, they gave me a refurbished iPod (same gen and specs). Evaluation took two days. YMMV.
posted by Effigy2000 at 4:41 AM on July 24, 2011