Broke LCD :(

**faderrific** · 01-18-2011, 04:30 PM

So while helping a relative move this weekend my phone came between my legs of steel and the appliance dolly holding a fully loaded fridge. Let me preface by saying my relative is a hoarder to say the least and it saved about 3 hours by moving the fridge loaded. It wasn't until we went down the curb that the fridge fell back pinning me between the dolly and ground. As soon as it went back I felt and heard the crack. I immediately threw the fridge up like a mother saving their only child. At first it didn't look like anything happened. The screen lit up just fine and I noticed the glass wasn't cracked at all. It wasn't until I started using the touchscreen that I realized the damage. The LCD was cracked right in the middle horizontally. The touch on the bottom of the crack worked fine but the top not at all. I was bummed to say the least. But I figured at least I can use the bottom and still navigate with the physical keyboard until I found a way to get it fixed. But from that point it just got worse and worse. The screen started "bleeding" all thoughout randomly and it seemed to get worse hour by hour. It went from pink to magenta to blue to black. I've repaired LCDs in Iphones, Zunes and Ipods before and never have I seen it like this before. It was sporatic all throughout the screen. It was literally a hairline fracture right through the middle yet every portion of the screen grew dots. The best way I can describe it was my screen was a petri dish and the bacteria just kept growing rapidly.

I searched online for the part but being a new phone, I decided to ship it out and get it fixed as opposed to doing it myself. I've never worked on this type of phone and it's only 3 months old. I found a place called "Clean Plant Repair" in Wisconsin that charges about 120 after shipping. I talked to the guy on the phone and he sounds legit and the reviews seem ok. He said the replacement equipment was the same as original, I asked specifically about the Gorilla glass, even though my glass was still fine. I'm wondering if any of you have used this place before? I shipped it out today, they should get it Thursday and I should be getting it back next Tuesday, if all goes according to plan.

For the meantime I've switched to my reliable POS Sanyo Katana II, which depresses me everytime I have to text, old school (you know tapping 2 three time to get to C, damn youngstas!)

Before you go to bed tonight, make sure you give your Epic some love, and maybe some more for me....

**Skunkape60** · 01-18-2011, 04:51 PM

I take it you didn't get the insurance...

**gitit20** · 01-18-2011, 05:10 PM

I have Sprint TEP most the the time they make you use insurance for a broken screen unless they have the parts to fix it. They had a phone a customer had returned because of a broken slider the tech was kind enough to take his screen top diga and all and put it on my phone mine was broken in the same way but it was the top 3rd of the screen that was cracked the diga was just fine it was just the screen... Me and a friend were rough housing and i was body slammed down on to my phone and that's how it happened... When mine was broken just the top 3rd was dead nothing no lite or anything off the top 3rd rest of the screen was just fine...

**RBrown9180** · 01-18-2011, 05:22 PM

My wife broke her evo screen and she had ins on it. Took it to an authorized sprint repair place and they replaced the screen in a couple of hours, $0. Check into it

**faderrific** · 01-18-2011, 05:24 PM

No TEP for me. I've had Sprint for 10 years and have never had a reason to get it. Not only that, but when you factor the $100 deductible and $7 monthly charge, I would have paid more in the long run. The only reason I think it would be beneficial is if I had water damage. Most of the time though for damage such as the power button on my previous Palm Pre, it's covered under manufacturer's warranty and I got a new phone from Sprint for it.

**Skunkape60** · 01-18-2011, 05:30 PM

LOL. I have a 14 year old who as of this date: Dropped her phone in the toilet, dropped one off the bleachers at a football game, lost one at a football game and got one stolen.

Do you think I would buy her an epic without TEP???

**faderrific** · 01-18-2011, 05:33 PM

Here's a picture after 36 hours.

**faderrific** · 01-18-2011, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by keithvetter

LOL. I have a 14 year old who as of this date: Dropped her phone in the toilet, dropped one off the bleachers at a football game, lost one at a football game and got one stolen.

Do you think I would buy her an epic without TEP???

I find it more amazing you would buy a 14 year old who has damaged so many phones an Epic. That's like asking to pay the increased price on TEP for smartphones.

**faderrific** · 01-18-2011, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by gitit20

I have Sprint TEP most the the time they make you use insurance for a broken screen unless they have the parts to fix it. They had a phone a customer had returned because of a broken slider the tech was kind enough to take his screen top diga and all and put it on my phone mine was broken in the same way but it was the top 3rd of the screen that was cracked the diga was just fine it was just the screen...

I would have bought a lotto ticket that day.

**jk175d** · 01-18-2011, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by keithvetter

LOL. I have a 14 year old who as of this date: Dropped her phone in the toilet, dropped one off the bleachers at a football game, lost one at a football game and got one stolen.

Do you think I would buy her an epic without TEP???

I wouldn't buy her another phone period! But I don't have kids, what do I know?

**wynand32** · 01-18-2011, 06:15 PM

My understanding is that Sprint's new policy is to fix under insurance (without deductible) anything that's not damage from wetness or damage to the logic boards. That now includes broken/scratched screens. Makes the insurance make more sense.

My understanding is also that they'll fix broken screens without insurance for $35. Lesson here, if true, would be always to check with the Sprint store before shipping a phone elsewhere for repair.

**nmoreman** · 01-18-2011, 07:24 PM

The $35 would cover an instore service repair.

Mine screen cracked, don't know how, took it to Service Center. I had no insurance because it had been mistakenly dropped when I dropped my 2 kids insurance the month before - they removed mine unbeknown to me.

So the Service Tech (we have helped each other with Epic and Evo battery issues),
had mine repaired in 20 minutes in store, charged me, credited my account, then put the insurance back on.

All phone repairs are $35 - this is why I had dropped the kid's older phones' coverages.

Should've researched or posted the question before you shipped, you probably
won't like the cost of this answer.

**eerongal** · 01-18-2011, 08:32 PM

Yeah, non-insured non-logic board/water damage repairs at a sprint service center are 35 bucks. The only reason i know this is because i brought my phone in for a cracked screen, and while i waited i chatted with a rep about their changes to their insurance and service plan, and the uninsured prices were brought up for repairs.

**faderrific** · 01-19-2011, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by nmoreman

Should've researched or posted the question before you shipped, you probably
won't like the cost of this answer.

You are right, I should have researched it further first. I did search the forums previously and didn't see too many threads relating to cracked LCDs. During my research on Google, I found a link for the breakdown of the Epic someone was looking for in another thread(It's at the bottom of this post). Either way, what is done is done and hopefully it's as good as new when I get it back.

Thank you all for the information, it's good to know for the future and to pass along to my friends.

**gitit20** · 01-20-2011, 01:48 AM

Originally Posted by faderrific

I would have bought a lotto ticket that day.

hehe maybe i should start doing that

**mouseglider** · 01-20-2011, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by keithvetter

LOL. I have a 14 year old who as of this date: Dropped her phone in the toilet, dropped one off the bleachers at a football game, lost one at a football game and got one stolen.

Do you think I would buy her an epic without TEP???

I hope your daughter knows how lucky she is in this poor economy with such a loving father with money to burn :-)

Had to put that last part in, as it is an expensive phone and premium plan :-)

**Skunkape60** · 01-20-2011, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by mouseglider

I hope your daughter knows how lucky she is in this poor economy with such a loving father with money to burn :-)

Had to put that last part in, as it is an expensive phone and premium plan :-)

Christmas comes only once a year.

**pacha248** · 01-20-2011, 10:23 PM

Without TEP it would cost you $35 to either have the phone repaired or replaced if the repair center didn't have the parts. The only thing that is not covered would be if your phone had liquid damage.

**simple503** · 01-22-2011, 01:50 AM

I'm looking to confirm, a Broken screen was fixed for $35 at a sprint store?
unless water damage etc?

**pacha248** · 01-22-2011, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by simple503

I'm looking to confirm, a Broken screen was fixed for $35 at a sprint store?
unless water damage etc?

Correct, either it will be repaired if they have the part or swapped with a refurbished phone if they don't have the part.

**nmoreman** · 01-22-2011, 09:09 AM

Yes, my screen cracked, it was repaired at Sprint Service Center. There had been a mess up in my insurance coverage (I had it forever and it was erroneously removed).

So I panicked (seeing large dollars in immediate future). Rep stated the cost is $35 without insurance due to policy changes in TEP, blah, blah. Anyway, they fixed mine in 15 minutes, charged me $35, credited me $35, then reinstated my insurance.

And now thinking, at $35 and the possibility of things not going wrong (meaning I can now unbrick my software which is my biggest concern), I might drop insurance at $168 for 2 years and gamble with this cost.

Hope this helps.

**FenixOK** · 01-23-2011, 12:19 PM

Sprint Repair Tech here: Yes, all repairs as long as it's not liquid damage, or circuit board damage, we'll do for free with insurance, or $35 without.

Thought definite thumbs up for managing to break an Epic LCD. I see one of those broken every other week or so. Unlike the EVO which I get 3-5 broken screens a day.

**wynand32** · 01-23-2011, 05:11 PM

@FenixOK, thanks for the info. How hard is it to replace an Epic screen? Is it possible to swap it out without harming the integrity of the device? I know with some devices things are assembled at the factory in ways that are difficult to duplicate in the field...

**FenixOK** · 01-24-2011, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by wynand32

@FenixOK, thanks for the info. How hard is it to replace an Epic screen? Is it possible to swap it out without harming the integrity of the device? I know with some devices things are assembled at the factory in ways that are difficult to duplicate in the field...

You know I've never replaced just the outer glass touchpanel. It's always been easiest to replace the Glass/LCD/front housing parts. I've only had to do this maybe 3 times total though. I tried hunting around online, and saw some pricey repair costs for an Epic screen. Even our regular distributors aren't shipping out screens for them.

The places I found online doing the repair looked to be charging about $99+ so it might just be cheapest to go through Sprint forthe $35.

**woollybully** · 03-27-2011, 02:04 PM

Where are these magical Sprint stores that charge $35 for repair? I just brought my Epic with a broken screen and they took one glance at it and said it couldn't be repaired.