Mac Forum / General / Portable Macs / June 2005

Best bet is to call Apple or email them.  My guess is that you will have
to have a very good story re "somehow cracked" to avoid having to pay
for it, since LCD breakage (vs. ceasing to function) on most devices is
not covered unless you purchase an added warranty.

I can save you the phone call and tell you that they will not fix your
ipod under warranty. Look at your warranty terms of service. It is very
clear that they repair or replace things that are their fault, not
yours.

Our 6 month old iPod LCD screen also cracked for no reason.

Guest #2, do not assume a cracked iPod LCD is the user's fault. There
are reports of iPod LCDs spontaneously cracking. From the number of
reports, there is good reason to believe that there is  a part or
design defect. Unfortunately, Apple does not yet recognize this.

So here is my recommendation for Guest #1, or anyone with a cracked
iPod LCD:

1) Get it fixed. It will likely get worse, and I am told the liquid
from the LCD can even leak into the hard drive and make it
inoperable.

2) Contact Apple and let them know the LCD cracked for no reason.
Call tech support (1-800-275-2273) and tell them you want to provide
feedback that you believe you had an LCD with a material defect.
And/Or record it at the website. (
http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html═ . Use the "enhancement
request" category.) Don't get angry. Get them on your side. Maybe it
won't help you, or me, but it may help the iPod user down the road
get his/hers replaced. Apple's current policy is that cracked LCDs
are due only to abuse and are therefore not under warranty.
Hopefully they will change their policy when they realize these
units are self-destructing.

3) Apple will replace the unit 'out of warranty' for $250. You may
get a refurbish and you will only have the remainder of your
original warranty. Perhaps $300 for a new one with a full year
warranty (as useless as it seems right now) is better. OR iPodResQ
will repair the unit for ~$150. I think this is the route I will go.
The only advantage I can think of with working through Apple is that
IF they change their policy, they could retroactively cover your
cracked LCD. Currently, though, their attitude is not promising.

4) Take pictures and keep records in case Apple changes policy or
someone files a class-action lawsuit on this issue.

Good luck.

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Richard, thanks for the input, but this is an iPod, not a laptop.
There is no 'opening or closing'.

There is normally no stress on the pod and it is in a metal case.
From the experience and observations of others, it seems some pods
LCDs have shown 'stress spectrums' when viewed at an angle in
sunlight or with polarized sunglasses. This smacks of stress induced
on the part during assembly. Under such conditions, the LCD could
crack from a minor bump or even for no reason. Other Podders have
described how their pods have endured multiple drops and abuse, and
there is no LCD damage. This variance in durability also implies a
defect in parts or manufacturing process, probably affecting a small
number of the 10 million pods sold. But it is devastating to those
unfortunate few when they are blamed for Apple's defect.

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Actually, the stress patterns ARE an interaction between polarizing
media: the polarizing effect of light reflecting off the glass and
the polarization of either the screen or the dark glasses. A rainbow
effect alone doesn't indicate stress however; it depends on the shape
and pattern. A few parallel stripes means nothing. Tighter striped
bands circled like contours around a point or corner would indicate
stress. This is what i took the writers to mean.

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