(Please Help) iPhone 5 (Screen?) Repair

[GlockSpock]

So, I found an iPhone 5 on Craigslist today. I went for it and paid $300 for it. I took all the precautions I could think of and checked the ESN. The phone looks 95% to 100% new, somewhere in between. Took it back to work and was happy. Loaded my iCloud account was happy for the find.
 
Long story short, I've spent quite a few hours since then battling with it because it seems there is some short/fault internally that messes with the screen. On rebooting the phone, it doesn't really wish to turn back on correctly. The screen can be manipulated at times, but not all the time, but torquing the case a little. I've included a few different photos below. When it "works", it works. I spent 30 minutes "testing" it by playing a movie. It worked the whole time. On reboot, it screwed up again and took a while of messing with it to get it back on.
 
Disclaimer: I have successfully restored and updated to the latest iOS.
 
Now, I am thinking this is 100% hardware related. I'm also thinking I got screwed via Craigslist by a seller knowing but covering the issues. My first thought was that it was water damage, however I checked the indicator in the Nano SIM slot and I don't think water was a factor. It could be severe drop damage, but it must have been in a case because the body is practically flawless.
 
I am thinking that it was a Frankenstein phone flipped by one of these phone DIY'ers that was broken and then had a home fix job.
 
I've tried getting back to the guy but his phone was off. This makes since because in the store he transferred his number to a dumb dead phone and was planning on purchasing a new smartphone soon. I will continue to try and call this guy but I feel that without an act by Congress nothing will ever happen with calling this guy for a refund. 
 
I understand that most things are sold as/is, but this is fraud type stuff right here if he knew it had issues. Based upon what I've seen from the phone tonight, he could not have used it without knowing it had issues because I had issues within an hour.
 
So, any ideas/advice on what specifically could be the issue? FIxes? Any other ideas?
 
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't:


 












 
 
 

[dralarms]

Looks like a bad connection on the screen. They are not hard to change but you will break this one most likely trying to get it off. I think either get your money back or buy a screen and do a proper repair and makesurethe connections are made correctly.

[GlockSpock]

[quote name="dralarms" post="1134180" timestamp="1396667676"]Looks like a bad connection on the screen. They are not hard to change but you will break this one most likely trying to get it off. I think either get your money back or buy a screen and do a proper repair and makesurethe connections are made correctly.[/quote] Well...this was my first thought as well. however, I am wondering about the seemingly coincidence that most/all of the times that it happens is when I plug it up. I am wondering if either a bad cable or bad charging port could be shorting the phone out internally. I have been messing around with it for a while now...even torquing the body this way and that way...nothing yet. I am going to run it down to about 10% battery and see if it happens again. At that point I will charge it and see how quickly it happens. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LowBb]

Have you looked for clues or others with the same/similar problems on the apple help forums web site? If not start a thread and post the pics. I've had a number of both software and hardware problems resolved there.

[GlockSpock]

No I have not but I definitely will tomorrow. I have done a lot of googling but it is honestly a difficult thing to search for. Strange that the last hour or so has been 100%. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TNMTBik3r]

Well...this was my first thought as well. however, I am wondering about the seemingly coincidence that most/all of the times that it happens is when I plug it up. I am wondering if either a bad cable or bad charging port could be shorting the phone out internally. I have been messing around with it for a while now...even torquing the body this way and that way...nothing yet. I am going to run it down to about 10% battery and see if it happens again. At that point I will charge it and see how quickly it happens.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quick Google search seems to show this could be an issue with the cable.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4326234?start=180&tstart=0

[Wiljo05]

There is always the chance of a free replacement at one of the Apple stores...I took a shattered iPad in one time and they walked to the back and brought out a new one, handed it to me, said have a great day. Worth a call to them to set up an apt to get it looked at. But like others said, looks like a home repair job on the digitizer.

[Daniel]

Look for an iPhone repair place locally. See if they can give you a diagnosis.

[GlockSpock]

I am considering a drive to the Genius Bar. However, that's an hour+ one way trip. I've already spent $300 on a Nexus 5, $300 on an iPhone 5, and now driving an hour away to be (potentially) told that I can spend $280 to replace the phone...sucks.

 

I know I've read stories of people walking in and walking out with an exchange for free. My phone has been out of warranty for a while now apparently (according to Apple on the phone). Liar told me it was a month old. The phone was purchased in April 2013. I'd bet $20 that it is a parts phone. Apple probably cannot even do anything since it is likely that it has been opened.

 

Thinking on a local repair shop.

[southernasylum]

Call and make an appointment before you make the drive or you will be turned away. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GlockSpock]

Right, I thought that was the case but didn't know. Honestly right now I am trying to at least get in touch with the guy. I have a feeling that if I try hard enough, I can at least find they guy long enough to let him know what I think. I'm not going to try and escalate anything, but simply call him out on it and give him the chance of undoing the sale. I doubt he would take me up on that offer but you never know. Sometimes good people make mistakes by selling things they think work right but don't. If he has no interest in hearing what I have to say, then I will just drop it. $300 is not worth any trouble over, I just want to give him the chance if he'll take it.

 

Without proof of fraud/scam there probably isn't much at all that the police would be interested in, is there?

 

If I end up being stuck with it, my wife and I will plan a day to Knoxville and stop at the Apple Store while we are there. If they won't fix it, I will just Ebay it I suppose. Of course I will be fully upfront about the issues.

[LagerHead]

Right, I thought that was the case but didn't know. Honestly right now I am trying to at least get in touch with the guy. I have a feeling that if I try hard enough, I can at least find they guy long enough to let him know what I think. I'm not going to try and escalate anything, but simply call him out on it and give him the chance of undoing the sale. I doubt he would take me up on that offer but you never know. Sometimes good people make mistakes by selling things they think work right but don't. If he has no interest in hearing what I have to say, then I will just drop it. $300 is not worth any trouble over, I just want to give him the chance if he'll take it.

 

Without proof of fraud/scam there probably isn't much at all that the police would be interested in, is there?

 

If I end up being stuck with it, my wife and I will plan a day to Knoxville and stop at the Apple Store while we are there. If they won't fix it, I will just Ebay it I suppose. Of course I will be fully upfront about the issues.

 

I am confident this can be repaired. My daughter's iPhone had a similar issue after I tried to replace her screen when she dropped it. I never could figure out what was wrong, but the guy at the phone repair kiosk in the mall fixed it in about 20 minutes. 

[GlockSpock]

I am confident this can be repaired. My daughter's iPhone had a similar issue after I tried to replace her screen when she dropped it. I never could figure out what was wrong, but the guy at the phone repair kiosk in the mall fixed it in about 20 minutes. 

 

Oh I agree. But at what cost is my concern? I was quoted $120 by that guy over the phone, but that was sight unseen and just going by what I told him. Right now my priority is to contact the seller and at least call him out on it. If he basically says "screw you" then I will either fix it or sale it.

[GlockSpock]

So I worked up the plan to go and have the phone looked at via a local repair shop. He took a look at it (and a video of it malfunctioning). He asked if he could pop it open and I gave him permission. He says that everything for the most part looked good inside, claimed no water damage, claimed OEM screen, said that he *thought it probably hadn't been opened up and messed with before. I suggested that perhaps the ribbon cable for the screen was loose. He unseated it and seated it again. Didn't charge anything for this.

 

I had such a good feeling about this but unfortunately upon bringing it home I'm seeing that it is doing the exact same thing that it was before I took it too him; No worse, no better. I'm beginning to think that something on the logic board may just be shot. I may run it up to Apple just for kicks and giggles with no real expectation. 

 

Sucks too because I had such a great feeling about this.

[GlockSpock]

So, to just about conclude things, I leave you all with this. I think I can honestly say that this is probably the first time I feel that I have let myself be "scammed". I usually do my homework a lot, and have never before this had the first issue on Craigslist or Ebay. I got anxious last Friday wanting an iPhone 5 I could activate on Ting and jumped the gun on what I thought was a "like new" phone for $300 (he was asking $350 but took $300).

 

Now, first let me state this. For those that did not know (I didn't but I do now), you can lookup an IMEI on Apple's website yourself, or you can call them and they will tell you much about the phone. For example, I called last night to checkup on a phone and verified that it still had 8 months factory warranty and was sold about 3 months ago. I also verified that it shipped from the factory as a 64GB iPhone 5 for Sprint. Had I done this with the $300 phone I purchased I would have realized that it was not "brand new only a month old" like I was told. It was purchased well over a year ago. The website for the lookup is:

 

https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

 

Now, I also realized that although you can luck out on Craigslist, I will likely never again purchase a phone on Craigslist again. The reason being is that you are essentially covered 100% on Ebay if the purchase is not what you expected. That's not to say that something couldn't go wrong, but stick to sellers with good feedback and communicate with them and all should go well. Last night I exchanged probably 20 messages with the seller (out of Columbus, Georgia) within an hour. He is extremely friendly and ran out to the post office this morning to overnight the phone to me. It's guaranteed here tomorrow by 3:00 or he gets his shipping money back.

 

Lastly, the third point I am pointing out is to always do your research. My buddies know me as the "deal finder" for good reason. I scour the web, do my research, and will wait months or years to purchase some things until they pop up in a good deal. An example of this is the Nikon P-22 scope I purchased in another thread, paid $110 shipped from Midway and it is a $150-$200 scope depending upon where you typically would purchase it. I had been wanting that scope for roughly a year and finally found a price I was willing to pay. However, on the $300 phone I really didn't do my research on market value because I feel pressured for multiple reasons (was wanting an iPhone 5, felt a necessity that I purchase what I thought was a good deal before it got "gone").

 

I said all that to say this. For $300 earlier this week I got a 16GB iPhone 5 that does not ever work and I might can sell for $100-$150 for salvageable parts. Last night I paid $380.70 shipped for a NIB 64GB iPhone 5 that still has 8 months Applecare. That's a big difference for $80.70.

 

Now, I'm still thinking about taking the "broken" phone to Apple to see if they will go above and beyond and take care of me, but I will be doing it without expectations and also because I have honestly never been in an Apple Store before. Might find something to buy!

[GlockSpock]

Not attempting to sale these items on here necessarily or I would put something in the classifieds section, but just in case someone wants to fool with these phones and try to fix them, I have them up on Ebay here:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=221413828220

 

Don't know what the going rate for "parts" phones are, but I put them up high hoping someone will offer midrange. If they don't sell soon I will put them up for auction and let them go for whatever the go for.

Edited April 10, 2014 by CZ9MM

[TripleDigitRide]

If I'm scared to buy anything used, it would be a cell phone. That's especially true when spending that kind of money. I've had to take advantage of the insurance on my phones countless times, so I couldn't bring myself to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone that I'm fairly certain will need repairs before too long. Have you gotten any estimates on having it repaired? There are several places in the Nashville area, but I wouldn't have a clue what they charge. I don't think Apple would be the only option.

[GlockSpock]

Going out on a limb here and saying over $100 if it is the screen or something. My issue is that it seems to be so quirky and random that I'm afraid it would be the logic board or something and would require multiple things repaired.

[LowBb]

Hey CZ, did you figure out what was happening with your phone? I'm curious. Edited April 13, 2014 by LowBb

[GlockSpock]

I took it to the Apple Store yesterday. Took a close look at it and determined that it was all Apple Original parts. Pulled the screen and supposedly reseated the screen cable amongst possibly others. So far it hasn't messed up since. Was also able to obtain a needed Sprint SIM for Ting as well as replace a partially broken Lightning cable for free. So even if the phone actually isn't free the time and trip was not a total loss. We also had fun in the area so it's all good. Wow...that tiny 1000 square feet area in that store was packed! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk