Hi,
Im excited to own the new iPhone 11 Pro but after a few weeks of ownership, one of the 3 camera lenses has shattered out. The phone has never dropped or mishandled, just simply normal use in my pocket. I just wanted to make the Apple community aware that the Camera glass is very weak! Buy a case that covers and will well protect the cameras. Ive attached a picture of my phones broken camera lens.
iPhone 11 Pro Max
This happened to me this summer... the top camera lens cracked. I called Apple and they were useless, they told me they can’t replace such a small part and the only solution was to replace the whole handset in exchange of £700 (i don’t have apple care).
Of course I said no because this is ridiculous, I didn’t want a new phone I just wanted a new glass camera lens cap which is tiny and shouldn’t be that hard to replace.
In the meantime I stick tape to my camera to prevent dust and damage to the inner lens. I finally found a repair shop that had this tiny part in stock and was willing to replace it for me. Can you guess how much it cost me?
£50 😂
Not ideal but better than not being to use my camera at all. Also my phone was already out of warranty and because it was bought in the US no insurance company other than apple care wanted to insure my phone to begin with. This is just my bad luck...
Now I have a Spigen tempered glass camera protection, it doesn’t look as nice as when it’s without but at least it protects from this stupid thing happening again.
This happened to me this summer... the top camera lens cracked. I called Apple and they were useless, they told me they can’t replace such a small part and the only solution was to replace the whole handset in exchange of £700 (i don’t have apple care).
Of course I said no because this is ridiculous, I didn’t want a new phone I just wanted a new glass camera lens cap which is tiny and shouldn’t be that hard to replace.
In the meantime I stick tape to my camera to prevent dust and damage to the inner lens. I finally found a repair shop that had this tiny part in stock and was willing to replace it for me. Can you guess how much it cost me?
£50 😂
Not ideal but better than not being to use my camera at all. Also my phone was already out of warranty and because it was bought in the US no insurance company other than apple care wanted to insure my phone to begin with. This is just my bad luck...
Now I have a Spigen tempered glass camera protection, it doesn’t look as nice as when it’s without but at least it protects from this stupid thing happening again.
Yes, please! everyone needs to go to apple/feedback and report detailed info about what happened to their phone to make sure every issue gets logged. They are not telling the truth to you though, this happened to me weeks ago and as I mentioned here in an earlier post, I did go to the apple store and also called the 800# and spoke to a senior advisor who gave me a case # and I made a big stink about it to them. I also made sure to log it in feedback page which is the what the advisor recommended and that is the only way Apple will possibly do a repair extension (recall) but people DO need to go to feedback and fill that out, not just report it here. This community page is really just for emotional support for all of those that are going through it since Apple is not responding very favorably to us. ;)
If you have Applecare, they will repair it for the $99 replacement fee. I was told that by the Apple store when I went in as well as from a senior advisor when I called the 800#. Unless they are now changing the story, that was what I was told and I said I would wait to see if it got worse. They are the ones that called it an accidental damage and told me my option was to pay $99 using my Applecare. if you do not have Applecare, not sure what the option was. Good luck to you guys and yes for sure hopefully people are writing into feedback because it definitely has to go in there.
I would certainly not do that because dust would definitely get in and jam the zooming & auto focus as well as possibly lead to damaging the lens coating... Best would be to either:
1) Pay and get Apple to repair / replace,
2) Blank it off with cello tape after shaking it upside down to get rid of any debris. The idea is to keep it clean until repaired,
3) Buy an aftermarket replacement lens cover (with 3M adhesive ring) and replace by yourself. There are tutorials videos on Youtube,
4) Give the unit to a repairer to do the job.
Good Luck !
There is also the Moment Filmmaker Case which has some good level of protection and also allows you to attach a range of interesting cinematic lenses.
The slider was designed with some clearance thus it will not rub on the lenses covers.
I suggest that you buy replacement lenses covers on the internet. Preferably but the kit with the ones with the 3M adhesive at the back so you don’t have to fuss with any glue, silicon, etc... and the small special tools. You will need a hair dryer or heat gun and thin tweezers to unstick and remove the old shattered lens cover. Ensure all glass fragments are removed by gently tapping the phone upside down on a soft surface as glass leftovers could jam the autofocus. You may also blow dry compressed air too, photographers often use it to remove dust particles.
There are videos which show you how to do the lens cover replacement.
If you intend to get a replacement phone then meantime you may buy one of the sticky lens covers to put on top so that dust does not get into the camera focusing system.
This is up to you but cracked lenses covers can be replaced without replacing the camera or the whole phone. You just have to use some small tools including tweezers and a heat gun or hair dryer similarly to what people use to unstick phones screens. Remove the cracked lens cover, clean off all tape / glue material. Ensure all dust and glass fragments are removed. Then stick the appropriate lens cover.
You can search the internet for the sapphire crystal lenses covers. Some are sold as a kit including tools.
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32908451777.html
This may invalidate the warranty though...
These lenses covers break so easily because these are so incredibly thin and wide relative to the material thickness...?Rather than replacing these outright, Apple replaces the whole phone for a high premium whilst the 3 lenses cover OEM kit can be found over the internet for about $5... Their replacement is extremely easy for people who can care for details, cleanliness and buy the tool kit _ about $10 _ over the internet together with the lenses covers spares. Videos can be found regarding these lenses covers replacements.
Whilst charging so much $ for such a cheap material & job, it is much cheaper than the screen replacement, Apple is milking it like never before... A pity but that is very much in line with Tim Cook‘s Apple... Unfortunately Steve Jobs is not around anymore...
Best of Luck !!!
Or you could repair yourself but warranty would become void...
This video is in French, these people sell the parts kit & tools but you can see the repair process as well as the thickness of the glass which can explain why it shatters so easily...
This happened with iPhone X and Xs too. Apple didn't provide free replacements for them either. Glass is glass and glass can break. Whether you remember an impact or not, it didn't break all by itself. I'm sorry it happened to you, but you'll likely have to pay for a repair. Of if you choose, live with a broken lens cover.
So the best to do is to bring it back rapidly to your home country Apple Store / Service Center. People often hang themselves by speaking too much, therefore I suggest that you dont say were you bought it unless they specifically ask you.
Do you have AppleCare+ ? If not then you may as well try to blow as much glass out of the camera then tape it up to avoid dust cacking it. There is an autofocus in there so better to keep it clean.
Some people are selling replacement lenses covers kit for the iPhone 11 Pro. Just check on Google. There are videos showing how to remove shattered glass, clean and replace. Now, self repair, if detectable, may affect the guarantee.
Kept following this discussion for over two weeks now , to see if apple does anything or not and guess what , not surprised at all , as apple takes forever to admit their mistakes and correct them , so finally got my phone replaced two days ago cuz i had apple care on my 11 pro max , asked them if they could change color they said you can only just get the same phone as you had already , no color changes no upgrades no downgrades , cost comes to CAD $129 plus i paid the tax so the total was CAD $135 here in British Columbia . Atleast now i have a proper camera to capture pictures on my vacation.
I tried to give a response but it got deleted for some reason. Anyways, it seems like you aren't the only one with this problem. Here are your options:
Just as an update, 800# were much nicer but still left with unhelpful options. They did say I could use Apple Care for this and I would have to pay $99 but I am going to wait to see if they will do repair extension on this issue. Please go to the feedback page and log this as a problem if you have experienced it. Be fair and if you dropped the phone, don't report that only if this really happened from normal use. As Cole922-Apple said, the more that report it, the more chances Apple will hopefully realize this is a problem and issue a repair extension.
iPhone 11 Pro Camera Lens Cracking
