Can Apple tell if a screen has been replaced on an iPhone?

mumfoau

Ambassador
Nov 6, 2011
5,651
9
38
Visit site
A friend of mine just called me to inquire about whether Apple would be able to tell he had his screen replaced on his 6 Plus in the event he wanted to trade it and upgrade next year. He broke his screen, ordered one online, will have the guys at his school replace it.

I have NO clue as to what they do and can/can't determine about your device so I'm asking here because I'm sure someone has an inkling and can share some knowledge with me.
 

HankAZ

Banned
Jul 26, 2012
6,092
0
0
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

A friend of mine just called me to inquire about whether Apple would be able to tell he had his screen replaced on his 6 Plus in the event he wanted to trade it and upgrade next year. He broke his screen, ordered one online, will have the guys at his school replace it.

I have NO clue as to what they do and can/can't determine about your device so I'm asking here because I'm sure someone has an inkling and can share some knowledge with me.

They certainly CAN tell, especially if the replacement is not an Apple part. But if it's fully functional, I don't know IF they would bother to check.

Of course, I will defer to those with more insight and knowledge.
 

mumfoau

Ambassador
Nov 6, 2011
5,651
9
38
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

They certainly CAN tell, especially if the replacement is not an Apple part. But if it's fully functional, I don't know IF they would bother to check.

Of course, I will defer to those with more insight and knowledge.
That latter part is what I was thinking...that if it was functional and not damaged that they might not even check. BUT, I did tell him that I'd ask for opinions from knowledgeable people as opposed to the kind of stuff you see on Yahoo answers etc.
 

kch50428

Well-known member
Oct 22, 2010
21,025
305
0
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

Apple does screen replacements... if they do it, there won't be any issues later...
 

mumfoau

Ambassador
Nov 6, 2011
5,651
9
38
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

Just got off the phone with him. That's what he's going to do-head to the nearest Apple Store this weekend!


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk
 

Nathan Bael

Well-known member
Jun 3, 2013
144
0
0
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

As long as cost is even close it is always better to go with official service. I recently had to have the screen on my surface pro 3 replaced. I could have ordered the part and done it for $225. Microsoft charged $300. I gladly ponied up the extra $75 to save headache and to be covered by warranty.
 

mumfoau

Ambassador
Nov 6, 2011
5,651
9
38
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

As long as cost is even close it is always better to go with official service. I recently had to have the screen on my surface pro 3 replaced. I could have ordered the part and done it for $225. Microsoft charged $300. I gladly ponied up the extra $75 to save headache and to be covered by warranty.

Yeah that's what I did with my 6. Bought it with a broken screen, got Apple to replace it for 109, then traded it for a 6 Plus! Haven't heard back about his experience but I hope to NEVER have to go to an Apple Store again. Lol The day I went it was a mad house...


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk
 

Calyan Cook

Member
Jul 7, 2014
13
0
0
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

There are several ways to tell if the phone has 3rd party parts in it. Glad he went to the store to have it fixed. For $109 it's not that bad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

mumfoau

Ambassador
Nov 6, 2011
5,651
9
38
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

There are several ways to tell if the phone has 3rd party parts in it. Glad he went to the store to have it fixed. For $109 it's not that bad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I believe it's 129 for a 6 Plus but either way I'm glad he went to the Apple Store!!


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk
 

shdia101

New member
Jun 25, 2017
1
0
0
Visit site
Re: Screen Replacement...

Yeah that's what I did with my 6. Bought it with a broken screen, got Apple to replace it for 109, then traded it for a 6 Plus! Haven't heard back about his experience but I hope to NEVER have to go to an Apple Store again. Lol The day I went it was a mad house...


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

Where did you trade your phone in?
 

metllicamilitia

Ambassador
Dec 25, 2011
5,294
4
38
Visit site
A friend of mine just called me to inquire about whether Apple would be able to tell he had his screen replaced on his 6 Plus in the event he wanted to trade it and upgrade next year. He broke his screen, ordered one online, will have the guys at his school replace it.

I have NO clue as to what they do and can/can't determine about your device so I'm asking here because I'm sure someone has an inkling and can share some knowledge with me.

Yes, Apple will know. There is a seal under one of the screws that holds the casing together. Or somewhere under there. If you take the phone apart the seal is broken and Apple will know someone has been inside the phone. I’m sure if Apple replaces something they put a new seal inside. I believe this is something all phone manufacturers do.
 

thedonp

Banned
May 19, 2017
228
0
0
Visit site
Yes, Apple will know. There is a seal under one of the screws that holds the casing together. Or somewhere under there. If you take the phone apart the seal is broken and Apple will know someone has been inside the phone. I’m sure if Apple replaces something they put a new seal inside. I believe this is something all phone manufacturers do.

I had heard they dock them and they have software that runs a full diagnostic telling them such things as whether the screen was OEM or not.
 

metllicamilitia

Ambassador
Dec 25, 2011
5,294
4
38
Visit site
I had heard they dock them and they have software that runs a full diagnostic telling them such things as whether the screen was OEM or not.

I wouldn’t be surprised, but I’m sure there’s still something more physical as well. I could be wrong though. The one thing I know for sure is that Apple will know if you’ve been inside.
 

devonair

Well-known member
Nov 30, 2008
81
6
8
Visit site
Having spent day after day behind the Genius Bar doing little more than fixing broken iPhone screens (and/or swapping out dangerously frayed lightning cables for iOS devices still under warranty), I can emphatically answer "YES". Most of the time we could tell because the screen actually felt different to the touch or looked thinner. Sometimes we would check the device in only to notice certain tell-tale signs once we got it back to the Genius Room (yes, we actually called it that) where repairs actually performed. If we caught it at the bar, we'd hand the phone back and say that we couldn't actually work on the device. If we noticed it when it was in the back, we'd have to make a note of it in the work order, and the not-so-lucky Genius who was scheduled to return repaired devices to customers that shift would have to have that talk with the customer (oftentimes with a manager nearby in case the customer started getting mad).
At this point, there is so much glue on the inside of most electronics that almost anyone can pretty much tell when they open it up, because it's no longer fully sealed. It's been a while since I worked for Apple, but $130-ish (or whatever the screen replacement cost is now) isn't so much more than a "sketchy repair shop/kiosk" to deal with voiding your warranty. Plus, a lot of those places won't be able to calibrate the screen correctly -- resulting in other issues like your TouchID sensor no long working.
 

anon(9083034)

New member
Sep 13, 2014
1
0
0
Visit site
I took my iPhone 6 ( my daughter's old phone) into Apple to have the screen replaced, even made the appointment online. When I handed the phone to the associate he knew right away that the screen had been replaced before. He basically told me that they wouldn't fix it because the screen was replaced by someone who wasn't an authorized Apple repair. I had to take it to one of the kiosk at the mall to get the screen fixed
 

stayre

New member
Jan 7, 2017
1
0
0
Visit site
10 years as a Genius. We always knew. Glass is different, finish on the metal parts is different, screws are different, ribbon cables... The 6s and 7 series have waterproofing seals that are instant giveaways...
 

IanBauters

New member
Jul 7, 2017
1
0
0
Visit site
They can! Most 3rd party displays look different, they have stickers or stamps on them that Apple displays don’t. Other than that, every Apple display has a QR code with a serial number and they know which part is in every iPhone and it’s very easy for an Apple Engineer to look this up and see if this is the serial number expected for the display.
 

ThePinkChameleon

Trusted Member
Jul 8, 2011
10,843
461
83
Visit site
Apple can definitely tell ! My daughter had her 6 screen replaced in a pinch off hours at a tech shop in town. A few months later, her phone screen cracked again by an accidental drop. We Went to Apple and just by them looking at the phone they said they couldn't do it because they could see a third party had replaced the screen months prior. I don't know how they knew just by looking at it but I certainly didn't lie about it either when they asked about.

So we had to go to the tech shop again because Apple refused to touch it after that.
 

nonoydj07

Member
Apr 15, 2015
5
0
0
Visit site
I was an Apple engineer back in 2014. We can tell exactly, the screen glass on your iPhone was tampered with just by looking at it or touching the device.
 

Trending Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
260,002
Messages
1,765,290
Members
441,220
Latest member
waeriyadh