Looking for confirmation about replacement screen

[toastyhoodie]

Oh boy, where do I begin.

Wife has a Gold 8 Plus. We had her in a Symmetry case, and a glass screen protector. Of course she manages to smash the top left of the screen, necessitating a replacement. Phone was purchased July 21, drop was Aug 20....

Hadn’t gotten AppleCare + at the time.

Decided to do a local repair after Apple stating I was no longer eligible for AC+ and had to pay $169 to do an out of warranty replacement. Local guy stated he uses Apple refurb screens, replaces gasket, easy peasy, right? Nope.

I noticed about two nights later that her ambient light sensor wasn’t working. Contacted local guy next day. Told that it’s an iOS issue, and to wait for iOS 12 to release before taking further action. For giggles, I throw Public Beta 8 on it...kinda sorta works, but no True Tone...then I found out the issue was widespread.

Contacted Apple, set up with Genius Bar to diagnose. They also ran a diagnostic over the phone and came up with an error 4003, the ALS unit was non functioning. Call local guy again, he’s getting mad, saying I’m the only one making a stink, and everyone else is fine to wait till iOS 12 drops and that Apple will tell me to replace the screen there. He said if iOS 12 doesn’t fix it, he’d put my old screen back on, but not before.

Cut to tonight. They refuse to even try calibrating as it’s 3rd party. He advises to replace tonight and handle the charge with my CC company from the 3rd party repair as he couldn’t guarantee the phone would be even functional if the broken screen was put back on. I agree and he took it back, and also took some photos after the initial opening to document.

They advised this was not an Apple refurb screen as I was told, that the touchID module wasn’t replaced, and there was no gasket in the phone. Here’s the pics, I just want to reaffirm as my trust right now is broken. The phone is now functioning properly, and I was assured it has a gasket, and is ip67 again as well

Thanks for reading, sorry I’m long winded

 

[Minho]

Wow, where to start...

First - No third party repair shop can solve the Ambient Light Sensor & True Tone issue. These are Apple shenanigans that may or may not be resolved in iOS 12. If you are having your screen repaired by third party, that comes part and parcel. You either pay the Apple cost to retain those features or pay less and lose them.

Second - I would NEVER trust a repaired phone to be IP67 again. Not even one repaired by Apple unless it was done under factory conditions. Heck, a lot of factory fresh phones fail basic water resistance. Doing it in the back of an Apple store or a third party shop, regardless of the quality of the work overall, just doesn't cut it.

Third - Calibration...Only Apple or an authorized third party that has access to the Horizon machine can "calibrate" the screen. Apple will not touch an iPhone screen that doesn't come from their supply chain. Any independent shop that claims to have original Apple parts is either lying or streeeeeetching the truth. While it's true that OEM quality screens are available, something on them is either re-used or aftermarket. The quality can be almost as good but no one has access to true, new Apple original screens.

Last - It's disappointing to find out that the shop claimed it had sealed the phone when it's clear from the pictures that it was not. Was this an error or oversight from the tech or just poor business practice, I can't say. Every shop knows that the Home button must be transferred on the iPhone 8, only the original HB will work. A replacement button won't do anything at all. So if the button at least did the "click" or return function, then you know it is not a replacement button. However the flex may have been damaged during the transfer and this would affect the TouchID.

I think this is a classic case of missed perceptions. Some customers chase the lowest price (not saying that's you) and don't understand that there is a reason, beyond greed, why some shops charge more than others. Some shop owners play the quality ambiguity and prey on customer ignorance (not saying that's what this shop did). It's very easy to have an unpleasant experience between all of that.

Get your money back from the shop owner (and everything original re-installed) and have your screen replaced by Apple and this will be the best possible outcome and a lesson learned for all involved.

 

[toastyhoodie]

Thank you for your advice. I decided to dispute the charge due to the aggressive nature of the original shop.

Also, what are your opinions on the photos?

 

[JPack]

The Ambient Light Sensor and True Tone issue can be resolved. Your repair guy simply doesn't have the tool to reprogram the new display. You can ask him to buy the programmer here from Rewa for future customers.

Without looking closely at the flex cables and the expected logos and texture/thickness on them, it's difficult to tell if the display is refurbished or completely third-party.

In many cases, the OEM display can be refurbished by replacing the cracked cover glass lens. This preserves the OEM LCD and all OEM other components. Apple doesn't refurbish displays at the Apple Store.

Basically, if you want the ALS and water resistance working, find a better shop. The programmer box and gasket can be purchased by anyone. Your repair guy just isn't good enough.

 

[Minho]

The Ambient Light Sensor and True Tone issue can be resolved. Your repair guy simply doesn't have the tool to reprogram the new display. You can ask him to buy the programmer here from Rewa for future customers.

I had forgotten about this programmer, that's a good add to this thread. I do mostly micro-soldering and don't do a lot of screen replacements, especially the 8 and X. However, this programmer doesn't address True Tone, only the Ambient Light Sensor. Also, there's no guarantee for now that whatever fix this box applies will withstand the next upgrade to iOS. It could just be a short term band-aid and Apple may still yet find a way to make things difficult for independent repair .

 

[JPack]

I had forgotten about this programmer, that's a good add to this thread. I do mostly micro-soldering and don't do a lot of screen replacements, especially the 8 and X. However, this programmer doesn't address True Tone, only the Ambient Light Sensor. Also, there's no guarantee for now that whatever fix this box applies will withstand the next upgrade to iOS. It could just be a short term band-aid and Apple may still yet find a way to make things difficult for independent repair .

As I understand it, True Tone relies on the ALS. If the sensor works, TT should as well.

But I agree, Apple has been quite persistent in discouraging third-party repairs.

 

[Minho]

As I understand it, True Tone relies on the ALS. If the sensor works, TT should as well.

But I agree, Apple has been quite persistent in discouraging third-party repairs.

The other thing is that this programmer only works on OEM quality screens. This probably wouldn't help the OP in this case as he/she appears to have an aftermarket screen. I haven't used this programmer myself but my understanding is that it doesn't solve True Tone. Hopefully someone who has experience with this machine can chime in and confirm.

I think this goes back to what I originally said. Customer have to choose, as of today, to either pay the piper with Apple and get a fully functional replacement screen or work with a good quality third party shop and save some money in exchange for losing some functionality (OEM replacement screen) or save a lot of money and lose more functions (aftermarket screen). Hopefully this will improve in the future (iOS 12!)