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Today, 40Tech is pleased to present a guest post from Donal James.
An iPad without a functioning digitizer screen is pretty much worthless. Unfortunately the screen is a fragile component that is easily damaged. Even a fall of a few feet is usually enough to shatter the delicate glass.
Damaged or broken digitizer screens are one of the most common problems encountered by iPad users. According to warranty company SquareTrade, ten percent of iPad 2 owners reported damaging their iPads within the first 12 months of ownership, with the number increasing to 20% within the first two years of ownership. Many times when the touch screen becomes cracked or broken, the LCD screen beneath is unharmed. If that’s the case, you don’t need a new iPad – you just need to replace the digitizer screen.
There are several options when it comes to dealing with a broken digitizer screen:
Buy a new iPad
iPads aren’t cheap. And there really isn’t anything wrong with the one you’ve got, except that the screen is damaged. If you can afford this option fine, if not – read on!
Take your damaged iPad back to Apple
This is probably the easiest way to handle the problem – return the iPad to the Apple Store for a replacement. However, there seems to be no consistent policy from Apple in the case of a broken digitizer screen. According to Apple warranty information posted on their site, the following types of damage are not covered by their warranty: Damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, liquid contact, fire, earthquake or other external cause; and defects caused by normal wear and tear or otherwise due to the normal aging of the Apple Product.
However, if you drop in on a few of the iPad forums you’ll see several different stories from posters about how Apple actually handles this issue, ranging from replacing the broken iPad with a new one for free, no questions asked, to charging several hundred dollars for a new screen. One poster even said they were told they had to buy a new iPad! The most common recommendation seemed to be: if you don’t like what they tell you at one Apple store, take it to another Apple store! (Editor’s note: when I had a non-screen related issue with my iPad, and took it to the Apple store, they did make a record of what was done, so I’m not sure whether shopping around would work or not).
Take your iPad to a third party repair shop
If you don’t want to deal with Apple, you can take your iPad to a third party repair shop. Since broken digitizer screens are a fairly common problem, you shouldn’t have any difficulty in locating a repair shop that can provide the service you need. There are local brick and mortar shops as well as online repair sites that can fix you screen good as new. A short online search will turn up the names of several repair shops that specialize in repairing broken digitizer screens.
Before you turn over your precious iPad to a complete stranger, do a little research. For instance, is the shop an Apple Authorized Service Provider? Even if your iPad isn’t under warranty, this is a good sign that the people working on your iPad know what they’re doing. Get an estimate before work begins. Also, prices for this service can vary greatly, especially when it comes to shipping costs. If you’re looking to save a little money on the bill, a local drop off shop may be your best choice.
Do it yourself
Many people don’t know it, but you can replace a digitizer screen yourself. There are many companies sell OEM replacement digitizer screens; you can usually get one for under a hundred dollars.
If you’re looking to save money this is the way to go. Replacing a damaged digitizer screen is a fairly straight forward DIY project requiring only a few simple tools and about forty five minutes to complete. Disconnecting the old screen and connecting the new one takes about ten seconds; most of the forty five minutes will be spent opening and resealing the iPad, which is the most difficult part of the procedure. Of course, if you screw up, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter how the digitizer screen became damaged; the important thing is getting it fixed, right? Whether you have a damaged screen or just lie awake nights trembling at the thought, isn’t it good to know you have several options available when it comes to dealing with this tragedy? Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages. You’ll have to decide which one is right for you. But the result will be the same: your iPad will be good as new!
Guest author Donal James is an internet content specialist working for ScreenTek Inc, a Houston based company that specializes in providing OEM replacement iPad, iPad 2 and iPad 3 digitizer touch screens.
Chris Butterworth says:
I vote for the Apple Store or a 3rd Party Repair person (I’ve even seen kiosks in the mall who do this.)
Just last month I tried the “inexpensive” option of repairing my wife’s cracked screen myself. I bought a new digitizer thingy on ebay for about $15, watched a few videos on youtube showing me how to do it, and went to work. What they don’t mention is just how delicate some of the inside pieces are, and how sticky the glue holding it all together is. I ended up breaking a different, much more important piece in the process of fixing the cheap piece.
Today, several hundred dollars later, my wife loves her new iphone 4s. Doh!
May 9, 2012 — 10:04 am
Julio says:
“For instance, is the shop an Apple Authorized Service Provider? Even if your iPad isn’t under warranty, this is a good sign that the people working on your iPad know what they’re doing. ”
AHEM, There are NO authorized service providers for iPads or iPhones.
May 11, 2012 — 1:42 pm
Samantha says:
Truly speaking I had once faced this problem but I had done the insurance for it earlier and thankfully I could change it…
Thanks for sharing the problem though….
May 16, 2012 — 11:26 am
Jon R says:
Only one thing id like to note, that if your dealing with apple after already buying the applecare protection plan, its only $50.00 to replace it with another. It is $50.00 everytime you break it, but thats another pheasable option that tends to be slightly economical in the long run.
July 27, 2012 — 7:07 pm
Jesse Becerra says:
My question is if I take my Ipad to a third party to repair, will I loose all my apps? Just asking because I took my broken ipod a while back and they rebooted the ipod and I was wondering if they will do it to my ipad as well?
August 2, 2012 — 2:50 am
Terry says:
Then Back it up!!!!!
October 10, 2017 — 6:13 pm
Jungle Japes says:
Why can’t Apple just puck fricken’ Gorilla Glass on this thing? Why is it so delicate, that it breaks, even when it’s protected by a cover? You would think that such an expensive piece of hardware would be more durable, but no, it’s just Apple ripping you off with a piece of crap hardware.
November 14, 2012 — 12:56 am
B@&$* says:
Honestly that is so mature if you looked at different cases you would see there are pretty good ones out there and I know this sounds childish, but I would like to see you make something better.
May 27, 2013 — 5:32 pm
Michael edwards says:
They can make stronger glass this is just a comparison but look at stuff like a psp or a dsi they can be dropped for higher up and not break
May 31, 2013 — 12:23 am
Michael edwards says:
They make the screen not ass strong because they want to make money. It’s built to be broken in a way because they know the can make money off it breaking.
May 31, 2013 — 12:19 am
Deedra aldag says:
They do have gorilla glass in it lol
June 4, 2014 — 8:36 pm
ipad mini screen repair says:
I think you make it sound too easy when it comes to DIY projects. The iPad is a very delicate device. Just a few searches on the internet reveals many problems independent repair shops are having where the digitizer replacement goes fine but something else goes wrong (most notably the backlight!).
I would urge people to choose the right independent computer repair shop. Choosing someone with a good reputation and ideally someone local to you, so if you do have any issues, you can go back to them with no hassle.
Oh, the iPad mini is definitely not a DIY project!
April 27, 2013 — 5:04 pm
Robin says:
How expensive will it prove if I take my iPad back to apple or a third party repair shop?
May 2, 2013 — 5:42 am
Mark says:
My daughter took her iPad 3rd generation back to the apple store, and they said they would not fix it, and they would charge her $300 for a new one. I have seen the glass for $50 and I have seen repairs for about $90-$120 depending on who does it.
May 12, 2013 — 12:07 am
Jacob P says:
i broke my iPad and went to the store and they gave me a brand new one for half the cost of a new one.
May 20, 2013 — 7:50 pm
Damian Boon says:
I know apple charge £220 for a replacement iPad but i know of a place where you can get it done cheaper. Repairs UK offer iPad repairs at competitive prices.
http://www.repairsuk.co.uk/tablet-repairs/ipad-repairs-uk
May 21, 2013 — 10:12 am
Acma Tech says:
contact local repair service provider within your own area. this will be cheaper option for repairing service.
May 29, 2013 — 7:58 am
Danny Renteria says:
Great info! BUT i found a local repair shop (www.elitetechrepairs.com) and they did an amazing job. I dont like the fact that apple gives me a refurbish unit once I paid for the replacement. Who knows what happened with those refurbished units. For those who are in Miami, FL you should check them out!
June 28, 2013 — 5:36 pm
ipad 4 cracked screen replacement says:
Nice post . thanks for sharing with us . We are known as for iPad repair and replacement. If you want to repair your iPad so you can directly contact with us.
February 13, 2014 — 12:25 am
joey blowy says:
AppStore remembers all your app purchases and will let you download everything again. Or you can back up your ipad on icloud or on your computer.
July 27, 2014 — 8:18 am
heidi says:
Th his a other problem wit my iPad air 3 it’s training to update and fix it because I forget my screen locker and now I connect tho iTunes there I sent space imouf for doling the backup on my device can you help me wiry that may by I am a rookie whit iPad jou now
December 11, 2015 — 4:05 am
Sadone says:
Thank you very much!! Im so grateful for the answer. I acidentally step on my brothers ipad and it broke and i dunt know what to do. Actually it gave me hope that the ipad can be fixed. Thanks
June 12, 2015 — 8:24 am
Sarsha Crone says:
I have a broken I-Pad. It goes into apps that a don’t like it. I go into a app and it writes down things it gets out of apps when I just got into them. I have tried to get someone to fix it. I went to the Apple Store in Adelaide and they said they couldn’t fix it.
December 11, 2015 — 1:05 am
Nathan says:
Aw poor you
September 6, 2016 — 6:55 pm
Jon R says:
How about just go to the store and get a new one? Take the screen of that one and replace it with yours and take it back and get your cash back…?
May 11, 2016 — 6:47 am
Nathan says:
Waaaaaa just because of me and my bad behaviour, mom threw the iPad on the carpet now it has a big big screen btw I’m 11 waaaa
September 6, 2016 — 6:54 pm
Edward Burns says:
Nice Site and Have Really Awesome Piece of Info about iPads, thanks for guide!
September 24, 2016 — 8:49 am
anji says:
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October 11, 2016 — 11:58 pm
Jill says:
I just brought my broken iPad to a third party person and the LCD was working fine. Once the outside screen was replaced could not get it to turn on at all. He commented it worked fine after he replaced it. Brought it back and now is charging me more as he says he had to replace the LCD screen. Doesn’t really make sense to me since it was fine until I brought it to him but unfortunately in order to get my iPad back will have to pay for that now also. Strongly recommend to take to apple. Lesson learned.
March 29, 2017 — 5:13 pm
kyliedotts13 says:
I like how you said that if you don’t want to deal with a large name corporation you could take it to a local cracked screen repair service. My daughter dropped her phone flat on its face a few days ago because she and her brother were horsing around when they shouldn’t have been. He has agreed to pay for the repairs so now we’ll just have to find somewhere to take it so it can get fixed.
https://www.thephonesurgeoncary.com/iphone-repair-services-in-cary-nc
July 26, 2017 — 10:40 am
xumay says:
This article is very good. We supply OED iPad LCD screen replacement parts at EtradeSupply, we have a warehouse in Dallas,US. To know more please visit here:https://www.etradesupply.com/apple/ipad.html
September 8, 2017 — 3:24 am
Abdull M says:
You can get your iPad fixed at a number of reputable 3rd party repair shops. Always check out the reviews before doing so as it will give you a big indication if they are a good company or not. Whichever iPad you have, RxTech can help. Check us out and you won’t be disappointed: https://www.rxtechrepair.com/ipad-repair.html
November 21, 2017 — 8:02 pm
puja sharma says:
Great nice posting is a very awesome fantastic
March 22, 2018 — 1:48 am
zikin zikin says:
When faced with problems such as being confused about what to do. The only thing is to repair or buy a new one. Interesting article. Thanks for sharing! notfallknopfsenioren.de
September 25, 2018 — 2:20 am