What should I do about this broken iPhone?
October 24, 2018 5:55 PM Subscribe
What should I do (if anything) about this broken iPhone? Please help me figure out the best option.
I have an iPhone 7. It appears the antenna is broken and I am unable to make calls or use cellular data. I got a replacement SIM card to rule that out and it went bad again within a day.
I took it to a Verizon store and was told the phone was mostly paid off, but I still owe ~$200. It doesn't seem to be still under warranty.
So it seems I have a couple options. Can people suggest a course of action or let me know of anything that I might have not considered?
A) Give back the phone and upgrade to an 8. The guy at the store said that our monthly bill would go up like $1 but that instead of only 8-9 monthly payments of $27 left, I'd be taking on 2 years of payments. He said he was willing to look the other way about that my phone doesn't technically work because most likely nobody would want to buy it anyway.
B) Have Apple repair the phone. Probably not worth it if it costs like $150 (so he said at the store) being not under warranty.
C) Repair the phone myself?? I googled and found instructions for replacing the antenna with an hour's work and $20 worth of antenna and tool kit. Was concerned about doing more damage but maybe worth trying because it's only $20 and it's a paperweight now anyway?
D) I have an old iPhone 5 that I put the SIM card in to be able to make calls in the meantime. I could just keep using it. Sucks to pay another $200 on the busted 7 though. Also the 5 is obviously not as good; smaller, slower, etc.
E) Any other options?
The guy at the store was very helpful and I'm not trying to disparage him in any way, but he obviously has an interest in selling me a phone. So just hoping to get some neutral advice here. I'm happy to provide any additional information if needed.
Thanks in advance
I have an iPhone 7. It appears the antenna is broken and I am unable to make calls or use cellular data. I got a replacement SIM card to rule that out and it went bad again within a day.
I took it to a Verizon store and was told the phone was mostly paid off, but I still owe ~$200. It doesn't seem to be still under warranty.
So it seems I have a couple options. Can people suggest a course of action or let me know of anything that I might have not considered?
A) Give back the phone and upgrade to an 8. The guy at the store said that our monthly bill would go up like $1 but that instead of only 8-9 monthly payments of $27 left, I'd be taking on 2 years of payments. He said he was willing to look the other way about that my phone doesn't technically work because most likely nobody would want to buy it anyway.
B) Have Apple repair the phone. Probably not worth it if it costs like $150 (so he said at the store) being not under warranty.
C) Repair the phone myself?? I googled and found instructions for replacing the antenna with an hour's work and $20 worth of antenna and tool kit. Was concerned about doing more damage but maybe worth trying because it's only $20 and it's a paperweight now anyway?
D) I have an old iPhone 5 that I put the SIM card in to be able to make calls in the meantime. I could just keep using it. Sucks to pay another $200 on the busted 7 though. Also the 5 is obviously not as good; smaller, slower, etc.
E) Any other options?
The guy at the store was very helpful and I'm not trying to disparage him in any way, but he obviously has an interest in selling me a phone. So just hoping to get some neutral advice here. I'm happy to provide any additional information if needed.
Thanks in advance
Repairing iPhones is not that difficult. The key is to be sure you know what the problem is. You say you got a replacement SIM and the phone worked for “about a day.” This is not the behavior expected from a broken or disconnected antenna; replacing the SIM would do nothing. It’s likely something else. Did you go through Apple’s troubleshooting sequence?
If you have a decent repair shop who can troubleshoot it and guarantee the repair (or use Apple), that’s likely the cheapest route. Apple also will allow you to trade in an old phone for an upgrade. If Verizon will allow you to trade up and give you a decent comparable value, I would consider this.
posted by sudogeek at 6:28 PM on October 24, 2018
If you have a decent repair shop who can troubleshoot it and guarantee the repair (or use Apple), that’s likely the cheapest route. Apple also will allow you to trade in an old phone for an upgrade. If Verizon will allow you to trade up and give you a decent comparable value, I would consider this.
posted by sudogeek at 6:28 PM on October 24, 2018
Response by poster: sudogeek: that's a good point about not knowing exactly what the problem is.
A longer timeline of events was that I was getting messages about No Service or not being able to use cellular data. Turning it off and on again or toggling airplane mode sometimes helped.
Some googling suggested that reseating the SIM card might help. I did that and then also started getting messages about no SIM card installed. So I figured I either damaged it while taking it out or put it back in wrong. So I took it to one Verizon store and the guy reseated the card and it worked for a few hours before failing again.
Then I took it to a different Verizon store and asked about swapping out the SIM card, that it might have been going bad. That guy suggested that the antenna is a common problem on the 7. He swapped out the SIM card just to rule that out as a problem and told me that if it failed again it would prove it was the antenna.
Which brought me to the third store today. I don't know if it is the antenna. But I do think whatever it is can sometimes make a connection which then seems to fail arbitrarily.
posted by cali59 at 7:37 PM on October 24, 2018
A longer timeline of events was that I was getting messages about No Service or not being able to use cellular data. Turning it off and on again or toggling airplane mode sometimes helped.
Some googling suggested that reseating the SIM card might help. I did that and then also started getting messages about no SIM card installed. So I figured I either damaged it while taking it out or put it back in wrong. So I took it to one Verizon store and the guy reseated the card and it worked for a few hours before failing again.
Then I took it to a different Verizon store and asked about swapping out the SIM card, that it might have been going bad. That guy suggested that the antenna is a common problem on the 7. He swapped out the SIM card just to rule that out as a problem and told me that if it failed again it would prove it was the antenna.
Which brought me to the third store today. I don't know if it is the antenna. But I do think whatever it is can sometimes make a connection which then seems to fail arbitrarily.
posted by cali59 at 7:37 PM on October 24, 2018
Best answer: You really should make an appointment at a Genius Bar and have someone who knows what they are doing take a look at it.
posted by sideshow at 8:50 PM on October 24, 2018
posted by sideshow at 8:50 PM on October 24, 2018
Best answer: At the least, I would take it to an Apple store (and stop going to Verizon stores). They'll do diagnostics and give you a quote on repair. Worst possibility, you'll get a quote for $319 (the cost for an out of warranty replacement). Best case is that they somehow fix or replace your phone.
Verizon can't do anything for you other than replace your SIM, which they've done. They can't do any repairs, officially or not, plus you'll be given the hard sell at every step.
posted by meowzilla at 8:55 PM on October 24, 2018
Verizon can't do anything for you other than replace your SIM, which they've done. They can't do any repairs, officially or not, plus you'll be given the hard sell at every step.
posted by meowzilla at 8:55 PM on October 24, 2018
Best answer: I just had this happen to me and Apple said it is a known issue. Take the phone to your nearest Apple store. They will lend you a loaner iphone6 and send your phone in to be repaired. Good luck!
posted by snez at 9:04 PM on October 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by snez at 9:04 PM on October 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, I'll try to take it to the Apple store today or tomorrow and see what they say. Glad I asked.
posted by cali59 at 8:34 AM on October 25, 2018
posted by cali59 at 8:34 AM on October 25, 2018
Best answer: Go online and make an appointment with the Genius Bar — the wait can be quite long when you simply drop in.
posted by wyzewoman at 9:03 AM on October 25, 2018
posted by wyzewoman at 9:03 AM on October 25, 2018
Response by poster: I just tried to make an appointment. The earliest is Monday evening. Thanks for the tip. Marking resolved. Thank you.
posted by cali59 at 10:18 AM on October 25, 2018
posted by cali59 at 10:18 AM on October 25, 2018
If the phone does have a broken antenna, but otherwise is functional, you could sell it on eBay or to someone to use as a non-cellular device. This often happens with kids who want to play games on a phone and don't need cell service.
Also - consider donating it to a theatre company or college theatre department. Many plays require cell phone props with a functional screen - but the phone does not need to make or take calls. It's very expensive to try and get that to work on a small budget.
posted by sol at 2:26 PM on October 25, 2018
Also - consider donating it to a theatre company or college theatre department. Many plays require cell phone props with a functional screen - but the phone does not need to make or take calls. It's very expensive to try and get that to work on a small budget.
posted by sol at 2:26 PM on October 25, 2018
Response by poster: Just for the record:
I ended up taking it to the Apple store and they said they couldn't fix it unless an icon appeared in the upper left corner (a triangle with an exclamation point in it).
The triangle wasn't there so they updated the software in order to try to get it to appear. It didn't appear, but the phone started working again.
It worked again for over a week and then I started getting the error again and this time the triangle did appear. I just took it back to the Apple store and this time they agreed to ship it off for repair, which should take 7-10 business days. Free of charge.
Thank you all for your help. Hopefully everything will be fine from here out.
posted by cali59 at 5:59 AM on November 16, 2018
I ended up taking it to the Apple store and they said they couldn't fix it unless an icon appeared in the upper left corner (a triangle with an exclamation point in it).
The triangle wasn't there so they updated the software in order to try to get it to appear. It didn't appear, but the phone started working again.
It worked again for over a week and then I started getting the error again and this time the triangle did appear. I just took it back to the Apple store and this time they agreed to ship it off for repair, which should take 7-10 business days. Free of charge.
Thank you all for your help. Hopefully everything will be fine from here out.
posted by cali59 at 5:59 AM on November 16, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rodlymight at 6:01 PM on October 24, 2018