Broken back glass on XS

Hardware
1

So, I messed up a bit with the result being the back glass of my XS has a forked crack across the bottom of the back.

Apparently this isn’t fixable and requires a replacement phone. …not the cheapest thing in the world.

I was wondering about a couple of things:

  1. How does this really impact the phone? Are these cracks a huge issue for potential other damage - like moisture getting into the phone - or is it just cosmetic until the whole backside breaks apart?

  2. If I don’t fix this now, and it worsens or something else happens - is the “get a replacement phone” always a valid way regardless of what happens to a phone?

I don’t have any form of Apple Care.

2

My daughter did the same and she has Applecare+ - for her XS Max. For now she’s going to put a case on the phone. Before we hand it back after 1 year I reckon we’d have to get Apple to fix it.

But a case might do you perfectly well - which is why I’m replying.

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3

According to the US Apple repair website, this would be “other damages”, so less than a new phone cost.

As far as the cracks go, moisture helps glass break by weakening the chemical bond at the end of the crack. If this were a car windshield, I would suggest a drop of superglue at the ends of the cracks.

A back glass protector might help, rather than superglue. It would help occlude moisture, and perhaps keep the pieces intact if the cracks become worse.

Is it too late to buy AppleCare?

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4

This happened to my iPhone 8 last year. The kind folks at my local Apple store said simple swapping of the back glass wasn’t possible because the internal components are glued to and literally “built upward” from that panel.

I put a screen protector on the back glass to keep it from further fractures and put the iPhone in a better case. It continued to work correctly with no loss of functionality. Unfortunately, this didn’t prevent further stress cracks from accumulating and I ended up replacing the unit a couple months after.

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5

That’s what I figured too, that the likely hood of this worsening over time is quite high.

But I would prefer not to go ahead and immediately get an official replacement phone, which is like half the cost of a new phone.

…but I guess that’s the way to go.

Can’t complain too much, I’ve only cracked a screen once some years ago and now this. Stil annoying to break my wonderful Apple stuff. :man_facepalming:t2:

1 Like
6

Yes, I take “other damages” to mean, “we will sell you a new phone for less profit than we originally made, and trash your old phone for you.”

2 Likes
7

You could put a dbrand skin on the back. They ship two types, one that covers only the glass and one that wraps all the way around to the front glass.

https://dbrand.com/