Watch how the most expensive iPhone 12 Pro Max repair gets done thrice cheaper
With the recent unequivocal Right to Repair Act support from the Federal Trade Commission in full swing, third-party repair shops are getting a shot in the arm, knowing that they can repair not only cracked screens and swap parts, but have full access to repair manuals and original parts, or engage in more creative fixes, too.
Otherwise they could file a complaint to the FTC which is only searching for reasons to make an example of someone. One such creative fix is swapping just the cracked back of iPhones which are now huge slabs of glass.
This is actually the most expensive repair that Apple offers, as it swaps the whole housing for a cracked back glass, and for the iPhone 12 Pro Max a broken rear glass replacement will run you a cool six Benjamins, whereas the screen replacement is "just" $329.
| Display repair or replacement price | Back panel | Turnaround time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone 12/12 Pro | $279 | $449/$549 | 3-5 days without shipping times, same business day when taken to an Apple Store after an online appointment |
| Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max | $329 | $599 | |
| Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 | $549 (*149 if you buy before December 31) $139 (front screen) | - | up to 10 business days (up to 2 days for shipping, 5-7 working days for repair, 2 days for shipping out), same day for walk-ins in authorized repair centers |
| Galaxy Note 20 Ultra | $279 | - | up to 10 business days (up to 2 days for shipping, 5-7 working days for repair, 2 days for shipping out), same day for walk-ins in authorized repair centers |
| Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max and XS Max | $329 | $599 | 3-5 days without shipping times, same business day when taken to an Apple Store after an online appointment |
| Apple iPhone XS and iPhone X | $279 | $549 | 3-5 days without shipping times, same business day when taken to an Apple Store after an online appointment |
| Apple iPhone 11 and iPhone XR | $199 | $399 | 3-5 days without shipping times, same business day when taken to an Apple Store after an online appointment |
| Apple iPhone 8 Plus and 7 Plus | $169 | $399 (8 Plus), $349 (7 Plus) | 3-5 days without shipping times, same business day when taken to an Apple Store after an online appointment |
| Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 | $149 | $349 (8), $319 (7) | 3-5 days without shipping times, same business day when taken to an Apple Store after an online appointment |
As you can see, instead of swapping the whole housing with the frame, reattaching all the components back and then restoring the water-resistance rating with an abundance of glue, the repair tries to only swap what's broken, the actual glass.
It is not an easy task, as it involves laser cutting, a lot of precision cleaning and reattaching but then the iPhone is back as new without actually having to pry it open for a simple back crack:
Now that I've removed all the glass, I can finally start putting the phone all the way back together. When I'm re-adhering the back glass to the frame, I use industrial-strength glue. It's called B-7000. Straight from the Apple factory, they use cold press glue. We try not to get too close to the edges. That way we don't have a lot of seepage. After the repair is done, if there's any extra glue, we'll go ahead and clean it up with some glue remover.
That's a lot of steps but even then the final price comes down to $200, or three times less what Apple is charging to swap the shattered back of your iPhone 12 Pro Max by changing the whole housing instead of scraping off the back only, and slapping on a shiny new piece of glass.
Moral of the story - don't drop your iPhone without a case as it will cost you either way, but if you do, go the independent repair shop route unless it's a simple screen replacement - those are cheaper at Apple.
Looking for great iPhone 12 pro max deals? Well, Black Friday is the biggest shopping event of the year outside of Christmas, so go ahead and save our Best iPhone 12 pro max Black Friday deals page ahead of time.
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