- Starting now, you might not be able to claim your iPhone or Watch warranty for hairline cracks on the displays.
- Until now, Apple used to consider these as 'screen defects', however, change of repair policies dictate it will now be treated as 'accidental damage'.
- iPads and Mac devices are excluded at least at the time of writing this.
Remember how Apple Stores would cover single hairline cracks on iPhone’s display under ‘standard warranty’? Well, that’s not the case anymore as the Cupertino-based giant has asked Apple Stores and service providers to treat these hairline cracks as ‘accidental damage’.
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Hairline Cracks on Display Won’t be Repaired under Warranty, Get Ready to Pay for it
The one-year warranty you get with your iPhone doesn’t cover cosmetic damage, I got that. However, it has always considered ‘single hairline cracks’ as ‘screen defects’ if there are no signs of a point of impact such as a fall or a drop. With the change in repair policies in action as we speak, Apple will no longer cover these claims and would rather charge you for a screen replacement instead.
Citing estimates from Apple, you need an estimated $129 to get a screen replacement on the iPhone SE jacks up to $379 for the top-notch iPhone 15 Pro Max and that’s without any warranty coverage. But these costs can go as high as $800, almost 4/5th of the price of the latest iPhone put there. Apple Care Plus brings down the cost of screen repairs across all iPhones to just $29 making it ideal for iPhone users to leverage it.
As of now, Apple has internally instructed all its Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers to treat hairline cracks as accidental damage. Thus claiming that warranty you might have purchased and that’s irrespective of whether there’s any point of impact unlike what was assumed previously.
Over the years, Apple has come a long way from repelling ‘affordable’ repairs to putting forward a Self-Service Repair program (2022) that allows users to fix their iPhone’s screen, cameras, battery, etc., with some caveats in the mix. Soon, we will get to see Apple allowing people to repair their iPhones with used genuine parts which is not possible at the moment unless you are ready to compromise over certain features when integrating a hardware component.
iPad and Mac users can take a breath of relief
For now, Apple has updated policies regarding warranty coverage for hairline cracks across iPhones and Apple Watch (all models). If you use any iPad or a Mac, you need not worry as your device will still support warranty for hairline cracks. It remains to be seen just how long either iPad or Mac stays chill-free while iPhones and Apple Watch undergo updated repair polices.
