Genius Bar won't replace iPhone 6 Plus screen because the new one "won't activate"

[Stetrain]

My mom dropped her iPhone 6 Plus and cracked the screen, but other than the broken glass the phone is working just fine.

She made an appointment at the Genius Bar prepared to pay the $129 screen replacement cost. They took the phone to the back, then brought it out a while later and said that they had put a new screen on but it "wouldn't activate". They put the cracked screen back on and it's still functional, but cracked as before. They said that the only option was to do a full out-of-warranty phone replacement for $329.

Has anyone else heard of this happening? It seems strange to me and I couldn't find anyone reporting a similar experience when searching around online.

Thanks!

 

[fat jez]

Yes, with a 5S. However, mine was a warranty fault with the screen (I forget what exactly, dust in the front camera lens I think), so they did a replacement phone for me.

 

[Bomb Bloke]

I'd be quite interested just to know what they're talking about. The displays are pretty much an unplug-and-switch deal; you then turn the phone back on and off you go. Depending on model, you can even do the change without bothering to power down the phone (though that isn't the best of ideas, and often leads to having to perform a hard reboot before it'll work correctly).

If a new display doesn't work at all, and the old one does, then all that means is that the new part was DOA - it's nothing to do with the phone.

Though admittedly I've not worked on a 6 or 6+ as of yet. Certainly with a 5S and most anything older, "screen activation" nonsense is just that - nonsense.

 

[fat jez]

probably the finger print sensor, which I think needs to link to the secure area of storage.

 

[Bomb Bloke]

If the store guy couldn't get the phone to unlock using his fingerprint, I wouldn't exactly be concerned about that...

Seriously though, there's no need to replace that when replacing the display - not unless it's also damaged, I suppose... They're separate components, see.

 

[TheHorrorNerd]

The proper terminology here, is that the new display did not pass calibration. That means that there was damage to the bezel or other internal damage due to the drop causing the display replacement to be unsuccessful. That is why you are on the hook for a full phone replacement.