Dropped phone, screen now unresponsive and white w/ colorful lines

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Level 1

1 points

Dropped phone, screen now unresponsive and white w/ colorful lines

Hi everyone --

In the year or so that I've had my 8G iPhone 3G, I've accidentally dropped it numerous times. I'm terribly clumsy -- this is actually my third iPhone. Anyway, about two months ago, my phone got a series of large cracks across the top piece of glass after being dropped. Then, a days later, I had the phone in my back pocket, sat down on a curb, and cracked the screen even more. Everything on the phone continued to work fine, other than the fact that it was hard to see certain things due to the cracks. This was up until two days ago, when I dropped the phone yet AGAIN, this time 2-3 feet onto a linoleum floor. Immediately, the screen turned white and a series of weird, colorful lines appeared. The only way to stop this problem was to hold both buttons until it finally cut off. When I cut the phone back on, the same things happen.

I've heard that both screens are now damaged: the top, glass screen and the LCD (?) screen underneath. Basically I'm just curious if anyone else has had this experience. What are my options for fixing this? I really don't want to shell out several hundred bucks for a brand new phone, nor do I want to pay Apple $249 or however much it is to have them repair it. I'm sure it's frowned upon, but a friend of mine ordered a replacement screen and repaired her phone on her own. Feedback? Thanks!

Posted on Dec 7, 2009 7:37 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 8, 2009 4:42 AM in response to adubose8

adubose8 wrote:
Feedback?

Get a tough protective case (e.g. Otterbox Defender) and *_stop dropping your phone!_*

What are my options for fixing this? I really don't want to shell out several hundred bucks for a brand new phone, nor do I want to pay Apple $249 or however much it is to have them repair it. I'm sure it's frowned upon, but a friend of mine ordered a replacement screen and repaired her phone on her own.

If you have the technical skills, you can order the part and DIY. That assumes that the display is the only thing broken. You can also pay Apple $199 for an out-of-warranty replacement (or maybe not, as you can only do that so many times). If you try the DIY fix and fail, you may be ineligible for the replacement, and need to pay full price for the replacement.

Your other option is to see about upgrading to the 3GS (depending on your eligibility via AT&T for subsidized pricing).

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Answer 2

Tamara

Level 6

13,744 points

Dec 8, 2009 4:53 AM in response to adubose8

Besides the options neuroanatomist gave, you can also google third party repair shops.

I second the get a good sturdy case to protect it once it is fixed.

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Answer 3

Dec 8, 2009 10:20 AM in response to adubose8

Your LCD is broken. I recently had to replace my wifes 8GB 3G touch screen, and that means taking the LCD out too. Overall, not too difficult. I have seen the LCD + screen onlnine for <$100. I bet on ebay you can find them for <$50. I got the touchscreen (digitizer), replacement tools, and adhesive shipped to my door for $16.

As far as doing it yourself, if you have any mechanical abilities, then you can do it. Just google Iphone screen replacement and there are a lot of walkthroughs. youtube also has some good tutorials. The only hard part is separating the touch screen from the case. I used a heat gun and it took about 10 minutes. Whole process took about 30 because I was doing my first one and going very slow.

Then buy yourself an otterbox.

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Answer 4

adubose8 Author

Level 1

1 points

Dec 8, 2009 10:41 AM in response to adubose8

Thanks for the responses.

As far as upgrading goes, I'm not eligible and won't be for a year or so. With my first iPhone, the screen got cracked and stopped responding. At the time, I wasn't aware that it could be replaced with an out of warranty model for $199, so I paid full price for a new one. My second iPhone was stolen, and I used an upgrade for the third iPhone.

Fordman84, the LCD and the digitizer are separate parts, correct? Like the LCD is the inner screen, and the digitizer is the thin glass screen (the touch screen)? One would think that if Apple was going to put a flimsy piece of breakable glass on the phone that they'd be willing to stand behind their product, but evidently not. Ah well.

I may end up ordering the parts and either attempting the repair myself or letting my friend (who has done the same repair before) do it for me. Either way, thanks for everyone's help! And I'll definitely invest in a good protector this time...

Message was edited by: adubose8

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