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I have an iPhone 3G which had a cracked screen. I replaced the digitizer last November and this morning the left third of it stopped responding to touch. What can I do to fix it?

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How much longer do you have to wait until you get contract pricing on an iPhone 4? – y3sh Jan 15 '11 at 16:21
I upgraded to the iPhone 4. – Moshe Jan 25 '11 at 21:43

3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

This seems like a definite hardware problem.

You can take it to a retailer, send/take it to Apple, or do it yourself.
Here are DIY instructions and parts ($99)

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up vote 1 down vote accepted

The digitizer seemed to have been broken beyond repair so I did three things:

  1. I made a dial pad app that moved the buttons out of the damaged area. (Note that I am a registered developer at the time of this writing and was able to install this on my device sans jailbreak.)

  2. Went to the Apple store. They said that it would be $199 to repair, but they don't do repairs anymore. The only option was to replace the phone. They refused that too because I had put in a non-Apple digitizer.

  3. I got an upgrade to the iPhone 4.

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Hi Moshe, Sorry to hear that. Procedurally, that was wrong of the Apple employee. They cannot stop you from paying for a replacement screen, even if you've previously had an unauthorized replacement performed. The only time Apple Stores can legitimately refuse to repair a device, even with a cost, is when the device itself has been damaged beyond any possibility to recover parts for possible refurbishment (ie. in pieces). – David Metcalfe Jun 3 '11 at 3:44
up vote 0 down vote

Aside from a hard reset or restore coming into the picture, reseating the display cabling (if you are still able to get inside) would be a good call...though if it was DIY and you weren't grounded while handling the components, then it's likely ESD damage catching up to you.

An unauthorized repair would put the unit out of warranty, regardless of its status, so an Apple Store is always available for service at a cost.

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I went to Apple and they wouldn't let me pay for a fix/replacement because I had replaced the screen already. I ended up upgrading. – Moshe Jan 25 '11 at 21:42

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