All About the iPhone 4 Screen Repair

So you just broke your iPhone 4 Screen... and had a heart attack. I know the feeling... hearing that slap of the iPhone on that hard surface, and just dreading to look at it, until you pick it up and *BAM*... there it is. Cracks galore (unless your super lucky and barely crack your screen). And the worst part is? It's probably not the worst drop you've done to you iPhone... it just landed just right and smashed the screen.

So what do you do now? Well, you could send it to apple, and for just shy of $300 you can mail your iPhone off to them, they'll fix it and send it back. But who can live without their phones these days? Esp us with iPhones... I mean, c'mon... I know you use it like I do... 24/7/365, huh? So if you do your research, you will find that the iPhone 4 is expensive to fix. Yes, it's new, and that' plays a factor, but to be completely honest, it's more than that. The iPhone 4 has the 'retina' screen, which is an LCD that puts out over 3x the resolution you had before in your iPhone 3G or 3GS. Not only that, but the LCD is permanantly fused to the Digitizer/Glass. How do we know? In the first two months, we have fixed over 40 iPhone 4 Screens. And tried to separate them... never once being successful. And now the kicker: With the iPhone 3G and 3GS I can have any part replaced in a screen typically fixed in under 10 minutes. With an iPhone 4, it takes anywhere from 30-1:30 to replace the screen properly and have all parts functioning in sync.

So, what's the damage? Check out our current price for a Complete iPhone 4 Screen Replacement.

Where an I get my iPhone repaired in Sprigfield, MO?

Springfield iPhone Repair is located in Downtown Springfield, MO. We service Apple 2G, 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 devices with issues ranging from broken screens to cracked backs, battery replacements to software issues. Call for proper estimates, combo discounts and price matching.

Springfield iPhone Repair
412 S Campbell Ave
Springfield, MO 65806
417-268-5211

Open 10A-6P M-F CST, evenings and weekends by advanced appointment only.

sqlite databases (.db files) delete after iPhone restarts

For those experiencing issues with databases such as addressbook or sms database being reset, deleted or otherwise modified after making a change to it, is due to the rejection of the database. This is usually caused after a user replaces the database from a back or other Chaim file, usually during a 'rollback' of an operating system on the iPhone. The system actively rejects te database as corrupt or unrecognizable due to changes made to the structure of the database by Apple, and thus the additional fields or metadata is incompatible with the current .app that controls such database. In turn, te system usually deletes and creates a new database during startup. You will usually see an apple logo and loader bar and circle appear flickering over the existing screen.

Solution:

You need to use a database program to access the intended sqlite file and compare the structure with the structure of a functional database, and make modifications to make the database structure match. Additionally, look for the metadata for the database itself, so that you can change the version number to that which is to work by default.

My iphones sleep/wake button is broken and i cant turn my iPhone back on. Please HELP?!?!?

Another question Answered.

My iphones sleep/wake button is broken and i cant turn my iphone back on. please help!?
Okay so the sleep/wake button on my 3G is completely broken off, i mean there's a big hole in the top of my iphone where the button has come out.

So i can't use that for anything, cant turn the phone on/off, put it in sleep mode, put it into DFU mode with it - nothing.

My solution to this lack of sleep button was to jailbreak my device and install SBS Settings so i could turn the phone on and off put it in sleep mode etc using that...

But, using the SBS Settings i powered off the iphone... and now i can't get it back on :S

The home button won't turn it on (which i think is ridiculous) and i've tried everything from plugging it into the mains, into the computer, trying to get it into DFU mode manually (which was pretty stupid cos the phone doesn't even register on the computer)...

Now i'm really stuck cos apple won't sort it because it's jailbroken...but it was only jailbroken in order to install SBS Settings so i could compensate for the broken sleep button which i couldn't afford to get replaced..

If anyone has a solution to my problem, either with working around apple to get it fixed or a solution to getting the iphone back on, i will be SO gratefull... :)

If you plug it into a wall jack it should power on. If it does not, you either have a faulty charger/cable, or the iPhone is actually in DFU mode. Seeing how the computer does not recognize the iPhone, your phone likely thinks the power button is depressed. Unfortunately, the only good way to resolve that is to replace the ribbon cable controlling the power button, which is the headphone flex. Read some of the hints on this page, it might help you understand what that cable is and why it would need replacing.

Fortunately the cost is not extreme, and should run you around $50 to get repaired, locally, or on the internet. You might also look into replacing the entire back of the iPhone which includes that cable, a new battery, and a whole slew (sp?) of components, check that out here:

Those should run about $75-100, and will practically make the iPhone look and work brand new!

Dead/Gone iPhone, Getting new iPhone, but not till next week... how do I get contacts/texts?

Another recent question:

HELP with a broken iphone PLEASE:(?
ok so my iphone 3g is broken dead completly gone and i have to wait 2 to 3 weeks to get the the iphone 4
my phone has been broken for a week now and they told me in the meantime to buy a gophone and use the sim card now if i do this will it let me see my missed texts and calls?
will it import my contacts?
but most imprtantly will i be able to see my texts msgs from this week when my phone was broken?

When you plug your SIM into your go-phone, you will get all your missed texts, but you will not see missed phone calls during the time of not having a connected phone. Texts that arrive to your temporary phone will not show up on your new iPhone. I recommend actually disabling the text function of the temp phone so when you plug in your new iPhone, you get all your messages on your iPhone (make sure you do this AFTER restoring from backup otherwise you'll loose them)

Note: the iPhone does not write it's contacts to the sim card, so likely you'll only have the contacts that we on the phone you had previously to your broken iPhone

Feel free to contact us with more questions at griffinconcepts.com or springfieldiphonerepair.com

---- HOW TO GET YOUR CONTACTS FROM YOUR BACKUP -----

Sometimes even severely damaged iPhones that won't display anything will still boot enough to sync to a computer, I'd try that first. If you do have a backup synced to a computer, you can sometimes extract the iPhone contacts.

Required items:

• iTunes
• iTunes backup of the device
• Firefox
• SQLite Manager Addon (Add this by going to the "Tools" menu, selecting "Add-ons" and searching for "sqlite manager".
  

To extract the address book from the backup file, used a tool called Backup Extractor for iPhone. You can download the free version, which will turn out to satisfy your temporary 1-time need.

1. Run the program: You will get a list of backup files to restore (You should see all the available device backups you have done on your computer). Typically, you should choose the latest backup.
2. The restore wizard brought up two options. I had to choose the second option (manual) as the first option is not available in the free version of the software.
3. Navigate to "Library" -> "AddressBook" and checked "AddressBook.sqlitedb".
4. Put the restored file in C:\restored. When the process finished, you should have the file "C:\restored\AddressBook.sqlitedb". You will then have to rename the extension of this file from ".sqlitedb" to ".sqlite".
5. In Firefox, open the SQLite Manager in the 'Tools' drop-down menu, and 'connect to database' by opening the database you just saved.
   
6. Go to the “Execute SQL” tab in SQLite Manager window in Firefox, and paste the query below and run it. It should give you your contacts in a table

   select ABPerson.prefix, ABPerson.first,ABPerson.last, ABMultiValue.value from ABPerson,ABMultiValue where ABMultiValue.record_id=ABPerson.ROWID

7. From there you can manually add them to your temporary Phone, or export to excel database. (Select all and then right-click to get advanced copy options to paste into a new excel spreadsheet).
   

Source(s):
http://www.griffinconcepts.com/?cat=repair&device=iPhone_3G
http://www.springfieldiPhoneRepair.com
http://mela.ertale.com/blog/?p=47

Something Loose in my iPhone

Here's a recent question I recieved:

Is my Iphone broken? How can I fix it?
recently it was in my pocket and I was about to catch a heavy falling cardboard and landed on my pocket, where my Iphone was.

It still works perfectly, but when I shake it, something from inside moves and makes sounds?
I bought it from a Rogers store, can I ask for to check it out or can I switch it for another one?

There is likely a piece broken off from your 'bottom dock' where the supports for your charging port can be easily broken off and slide inside your iPhone.

Alternatively, it could be part of your iPhone Speakerphone, which is also part of your 'bottom dock'. Think of it as a plastic box with a speaker inside... the box helps amplify the sound before it comes out the port in the bottom of your iPhone.

It will not likely cause further damage unless your iPhone gets crushed again and it creates a point of pressure against something inside the iPhone. Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it.

Read more about the bottom dock for the iPhone 3G here:
http://www.griffinconcepts.com/?cat=repair&device=iPhone_3G&part=Complete_Dock

Read more about the bottom dock for the iPhone 3GS here:
http://www.griffinconcepts.com/?cat=repair&device=iPhone_3GS&part=Complete_Dock

Can you fix a bent pin in an iPhone dock?

Typically, No. Once a pin has been bent, it will never hold down to the dock. In an emergency, you can attempt to flatten it back out to the slot it belongs inside the plastic, but it will likely break. To do so, use a needle or pin, anything larger will likely cause more damage.

For a 2G iPhone, it's a much more complicated repair, and usually incurs more of a cost to fix than the iPhone is worth. However, you can ask for a custom repair.

For a more complete fix for a 3G or 3GS, you should get your bottom dock replaced.
iPhone 3G Bottom Dock
iPhone 3GS Bottom Dock

For an iPhone 4, you will need a dock replacement, ask for a custom repair.

iPhone thinks headphones are plugged in

See our post about Headphone Jack Cleaning....

If you have a 2G iPhone, this is a common issues that was resolved in later model iPhone 2Gs with a redesigned cable for the headphone flex. To remedy this on a 2G iPhone is to plug/unplug headphones into the jack until it works. Sometimes resetting the iPhone with headphones it will resolved this (after removing them when the phone completely boots).

If you have a 3G or 3GS iPhone, this is likely due to liquid damage. Peer inside the jack and see if you find a half-circle of a red marker inside (if red, you have liquid/water damage to the headphone jack). iPhone 3G Headphone Flex Replacement and iPhone 3GS Headphone Flex Replacement

iPhone 4 Signal Issues after activating Airplane Mode or SIM Chip Removal

A new bug found this week my Griffin Concepts/ Springfield iPhone repair, was when activating 'Airplane Mode'. It appears that when this is activated, or when the SIM Chip has been removed, the iPhone can not only not pick up valid signal, but even crash and reboot!

Symptoms:
iPhone 4 - activated Airplane Mode. iPhone appeared to have frozen for a few minutes, and then rebooted on it's own. After later tests I found that music that was playing while activating the switch would continue playing, until the iPhone 4 reset itself. Even after reboot, the iPhone would not seem to pick up signal. On the occasion that it would (after disabling Airplane Mode of course) no phone calls could be made, texts be sent, or received. Troubleshooting steps: Reset Network Settings (Did not work). Reset All Settings (DID WORK).

iPhone 4 - Removal of SIM Chip, and putting it back in: No service, or iPhone shows service without the ability to place or receive calls or texts. Again, the only successful method was to reset all settings (resetting network settings did not work)

SETTINGS > GENERAL > RESET > RESET ALL SETTINGS

How to clean your Headphone Jack

2G, 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 headphone jacks can get dirty, grimy, corroded and/or filled with lint, which can hamper you getting the full use of your iPhone. Symptoms that may be resolved by cleaning your iPhone headphone jack is...

• the headphone jack won't fit down all the way*
  
• Sound only coming out one side or speaker
  
• Moving the headphone jack makes audio go in/out
• Earpiece doesn't work during Phone Calls (test by hitting the volume keys while the iPhone is unlocked: if the iPhone indicates that you are changing the heaphone volume and not the ringer volume, it thinks something is plugged in when there is not! )
• You can see dust/lint inside the headphone jack.
  

How can you resolved that?

Our recommendation is two-part:

• Take a needle and pic out what dust, dirt and lint you can out of the headphone jack
  
• Take a Q-tip and pull off some of the cotton (about half from a name-brand Q-tip) and twist the remaining cotton around the stick. Make sure it's small enough that you do not have to jam it in the jack, but large enough that when you spin it, it can clean the contacts inside the headphone jack.

DO NOT GET THE Q-TIP WET WITH WATER OR ANY CLEANER AS THIS CAN SHORT OUT DIODES NEAR THE JACK AND PERMANENTLY HAMPER OPERATION, TURN THE LIQUID INDICATOR INSIDE THE HEADPHONE JACK RED AND INVALIDATE THE WARRANTY!!!

* except for 2G iPhones that have a recessed headphone jack, you might need an adapter for non-standard iPhone headphones.

If cleaning your iPhone headphone jack did not help, check out these replacement services:
iPhone 3GS Headphone Flex
iPhone 3G Headphone Flex

iPhone 4 signal issues after 3 days...

If your iPhone 4 begins to have signal issues and begin to act funny approximately three (3) days after you restore your data to it, you need to RESET ALL SETTINGS.

Why? It appears that the settings restored from a backup from your last iPhone, esp if it was a jailbroken iPhone, can really mess up acquisition of signal and bog down the device. Reset Network Settings doesn't necessarily work, however, you can try that first if you'd like. Rumors blame AT&T, which seems to have found a way to create reception issues for iPhones (of all kinds) that are Jailbroken.

SETTINGS > GENERAL > RESET > RESET ALL SETTINGS

Note: You will loose any of the jailbroken tricks such as a custom carrier and battery percentage, as well as any other settings such as contact sorting, email passwords (incoming and SMTP), lock settings, and more.

---

For those with iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GSs, you might find the issues where every 30 seconds or so your service drops out and comes right back. To fix that, you can try this trick too to see if your service is restored.

How to prevent iPhone back covers from cracking

If you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS, you might find that the back cover plastic cracks over time or with little or not effort. It seems reverse to logic, and I won't get into the physics of it, but basically the fact that it is week there actually helps prevent internal damage, as the crack absorbs the energy of a fall. However, these can crack with moderate pressure over time. Common cracks occur around the SIM tray area, Charging Dock port, Headphone Jack, and between the Power Button and Metal Bezel. If it hasn't cracked yet, you can try to use Superglue Re-enforcement: If you can disassemble your iPhone without damaging it, you can apply an extra layer of protection by creating a puddle of superglue along the bottom dock area on the inside. Let it dry completely before reattaching the bottom dock.

We can do this as a custom service, charging $25 for Superglue Re-Enforcement, which comes with no warranty. Call 417-268-5211 to schedule a same-day appointment!

If your iPhone back has already cracked, you can get a new iPhone 3G Complete Back or iPhone 3GS Complete Back which includes a new battery, buttons, bezel, and 18 other items new for $75-100.

"Charging is not supported with this Accessory"

"Charging is not supported with this Accessory" or "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone"

This could mean one of two things:

1. You plugged your iPhone into an accessory that Apple has decided to no longer support with your current device. If the accessory doesn't send appropriate authentication code to the iPhone, or the code is not on the 'approved' list, it will display "Charging is not supported with this accessory". How to resolve this? You can't, yet, but there are some options for getting video out to other devices that are no longer supported using a program called ReSupported by Phoenix-Dev.
2. Your device (iPhone/iPod/iTouch) has damage to it and flashes the "Charging is not supported with this accessory" over and over. This is usually caused by impact damage or fluid/ water damage to the bottom dock and can be fixed. This is caused by corrosion that builds due to moisture and spreads like a mold along copper circuitry, which when contact is made between two points that aren't intended to, the device thinks that there is an accessory is plugged into the bottom dock. If the 'accessory' doesn't send an authentication code (obviously it won't because it's just corrosion), the device rejects it as an approved device, but still thinks something is plugged in, thus the persistent "Charging is not supported with this accessory" or "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone"
   

New 4G iPhone

So, if you haven't seen them already, check out the new pics released by Gizmodo this last week, and the stories about how they got the iPhone 4G and what it has... pretty cool.



However, about a year ago I saw parts for a phone similar to what we are seeing here, from my supplier (to whom I won't release my source), for the alleged 4G that was to be released last summer. In my professional opinion, I believe we will see something like the beta version we see here. I have another source, however, who builds SIM cards, and there hasn't been any buz at his plant over the slim-sims or whatever they are calling them. (It's like half the size of the SIM cards we use now).

New Jailbreak for 3.1.3 and 3.2 Devices

Hello all! I am pleased to announce a new Jailbreak tool available for free called 'Spirit', available at spiritjb.com. This tool, available for Windows or Mac, is an untethered* jailbreak for the iPad, iPhone and iTouch on the latest firmwares for each device. This is NOT a carrier unlock, just a jailbreak method so that you can have the latest software on your device and install application and modifications that Apple doesn't necessarily approve of (such as Music Controls or Shrink).



According to the official site, if you currently are using a tethered* jailbreak, you have to restore to use Spirit. Do not upgrade if you use an unlock on an iPhone 3G or 3GS. (You can, however, restore to 3.1.2 if you have SHSH blobs for that version on file through Saurik or on your computer.)



Please note that this will not bypass activation, and in fact won't work unless you have already activated your device with a valid SIM chip.



The MAC version

The PC version





* Tethered devices are those that have the latest bootrom which means if your battery dies and/or you power off your device, you have to use a jailbreak tool to boot the device, tethered to a computer.

A Clean Restore...

Lets say you had problems with your device, and so you restored your iPhone... Once you reinstall the Operating System (use the Shift key when pressing restore to restore older firmware, or Option+Click for MAC), you can either setup the phone as a new phone and sync your contacts, or restore from backup. I recommend that you don't restore from backup if you had problems with your device. Why? If your restore from backup (for the differences in sync/backup see the previous post) you *might* restore your problems too... esp if those were caused by a rogue program or bad settings. Our recommendation is to not restore from backup for that very reason.

You will still have to resync media (such as movies and music) no matter which option you choose.

Advantages
- Much cleaner install, much like a computer after it has a fresh installation.
- While you might have to start from scratch downloading apps, you can select just the ones you want. The more apps you have, the slower it will run! (You can also sync apps to the phone from iTunes... see the applications tab for sync details).
- re-sync for your ringtones, movies, podcasts, more!
- Once you accumulate enough text messages in the database, it can slow down the phone.
Disadvantages
- You loose your text messages (vs restoring from backup)
- You loose any custom settings (such as email settings) (vs restoring from backup)

What's the difference between backups and syncs?

Backup
_________________________________________________________
A Backup performs (in the simplest terms) a file backup of your device. It should contain all your settings, contacts, MMSs and just about everything else... EXCEPT for jailbreak info and programs from Cydia. However, it will keep the settings for those programs (such as high scores, settings, etc if the program was built correctly in the first place). One thing it does not restore is media files such as video and audio. (It will restore pictures)

To Backup the device (if you phone does not do it automatically), connect to iTunes and right-click (Option+Click) on the iPhone, and select "Backup".

To restore the device's info (makes no changes to current jailbreaks, unlocks) to an iPhone, it should give you an option after a OS restore which asks you if you want to setup the phone as a new iPhone, or if you wish to restore from a backup. If you have a different phone you want to restore the backup to that has already been setup before, you won't get this option when you connect to iTunes. Instead, Connect the iPhone to iTunes and right-click (Option+Click) the iPhone name and get the option to "restore from backup..." Likely it will not give you the update times of the backups, but the top option will be the most recent. It helps if you BACKUP your old phone before doing this.




Sync
_________________________________________________________

The 'Sync' Option will do just that... Synchronize chosen info between the device and your computer (or otherwise set settings). Loosely, a sync will copy your contacts from your computer (usually from Outlook or your other favorite contact program) to the device. It will not restore photos, text messages, settings, or any other data than the info you select for that phone within iTunes. To change those settings, select the iPhone in the devices list in iTunes, and select the appropriate tabs.

To sync (if not setup automatically), press the sync button in the lower right of the iTunes window, or right-click (Option-click) the iPhone in 'devices' and select sync, or press the sync icon next to the iPhone in 'devices'.

Restore from update...

Lets say you have been using an iPhone for a while now, but you upgraded your phone to another used phone and want to put you data on the phone without 'restoring' the software... (many people do not want to update as they will loose the jailbreak... esp if you have a 3GS, you could really mess up and be stuck with a locked phone for a while).

Well it's easy... Connect the iPhone to iTunes and right-click (Option+Click) the iPhone name and get the option to "restore from backup..."

Likely it will not give you the update times of the backups, but the top option will be the most recent. It helps if you BACKUP your old phone before doing this.

There is hope... but maybe not for this guy...

CINCINNATI -- A frustrated customer at the Kenwood Towne Centre Apple store Thursday afternoon ended up going to jail after police say he showed an employee a gun.

According court records, Donald Goodrich, 38, of Westwood, was frustrated his iPhone was not working properly.

He told the employee he was, "So mad, I could pop a 9mm at it."

The employee allegedly told Goodrich there was no need for that, then Goodrich allegedly told the employee, "I'll do it right now. Look!"

Goodrich then allegedly opened the right side of his shirt, displaying a black, 9mm handgun.

Goodrich had a concealed weapon permit.

The employee told Goodrich she'd get his phone fixed and walked him over to a technician in the store, then told her manager, who called police.

Goodrich is charged with aggravated menacing, causing fear of harm to an Apple employee.

He also faces a carrying concealed weapons charge for not telling the deputy he had a gun.

Goodrich is scheduled for arraignment Friday morning.

Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Reported by: Larry Shields
Email: larry.shields@wcpo.com
Web Produced By: Lance Barry
Last Update: 10/02/2009 7:39 am

Got Battery/Charging Problems?

Sometimes battery life issues are actually due to settings. Here are a few tips and tricks to dramatically increase the battery life of your iPhone. If you have jailbroken your phone, research an application installed through Cydia called 'SBSETTINGS'. This program will allow you to easily enable/disable any of this settings with a simple swipe across the title bar, no matter what you are doing or using your phone for. Some of these options might require an additional plugin for SBSETTINGS, but they are all extremely useful, especially if you wish to enable/disable these features with tremendous ease!

* Turn Off PUSH Turning off PUSH will dramatically increase the battery life of your phone. While it is a great feature for some, most people don't need the features of PUSH necessarily. If you only use PUSH for email, we recommend that you disable push but enable fetching to checking your email every 15-30-60 minutes. SETTINGS > MAIL, CONTACTS, CALENDAR > FETCH. While 'fetch' uses less power to update, the more times your phone refreshes in a day, the quicker your power can be used up, but it is significantly less than utilizing FETCH.

* Turn Off BlueTooth Turning off BLUETOOTH will also help increase the battery life of your phone. If you don't use bluetooth frequently, turn it off when not in use. If you don't consistently use a bluetooth headset, we recommend that you disable this in your iPhone settings. SETTINGS > GENERAL > BLUETOOTH > OFF.

* Turn Off Wifi Turning off WI-FI will help increase the battery life of your phone because your phone will #1 Stop looking for new WI-FI connections if not connected, and #2 have your phone utilize 3G instead. While it might be slower to use 3G/EDGE, your phone uses less power to use these than wifi.

* Turn Off 3G 3G is a wonderful feature and increases your speed exponentially at times when perusing the internet. However, to utilize this faster network, your phone requires more power usage for such usage. If you disable 3G you can dramatically increase the life of your battery, which is great for times when you battery life is low and you need to preserve as much charge as possible. SETTINGS > GENERAL > NETWORK > ENABLE 3G > OFF. Note: Some T-Mobile users do not have 3G access in your home location. If you do not, you should disable this feature.

* If your battery life still is less than acceptable, we can replace your battery with an original battery. As of yet, there are no 'better' batteries out there than what was designed for the phone, i.e. I can't 'upgrade' your battery until someone designs a better one. If you happen to find one let me know!

2G Speaker Fix

You got the original iPhone? Is that speaker just not as loud as it used to be?

Take a needle and pick out the residue out of the tiny holes in the bottom of the phone! honestly you can't cause much damage on the speaker-side of the phone with the needle, and only the middle 10 holes or so will actually effect what you can/cannot hear!

What's the difference between the different iPhones?

So, you don't have an iPhone, or do, but don't know exactly what that entails...

---

In basic form, a 2G iPhone is the "1st Gen" iPhone, released almost three years ago, that accesses the EDGE network, available to AT&T and T-Mobile (if unlocked). It can be easily identified by looking at the back, where it will be a soft silver color with a black plastic piece at the bottom. There are 4, 8, and 16Gb versions, however, 90% of the phones out there are 8Gb versions. Key function differences are no MMS (unless jailbroken and enabled), and no GPS.

---

The iPhone 3G is the common iPhone, and is still sold by AT&T and apple for $100 with a 2Yr Contract. Basically mechanically they are comepltely different, but hold the same components. What does that mean? There is no hardware difference as in faster processor, or more memory, etc, but it was completely redesigned so that a few key things such as repair-ability and antenna usage could be improved, except that the phone can now utilize GPS. There are 8 & 16Gb versions, but you can't get the 16Gb anymore (so that the 3GS sells). Most iPhoen 3Gs will be balck in color, but occasionally you will find a white one available, only in the 16Gb model. While by default you cannot do some of the controls that the iPhone 3GS does, if you jailbreak there are ways to make it happen (such as video, and voice controls). Disadvantages of the 3G (and 3GS) is due to the 3G requirements for the network, your battery life will suck in comparison to the 2G, if you upgraded. However, if you are running low on battery life, you can disable 3G and just use edge... will increase the battery time left exponentially!

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The 3GS is a little re uncommon, and comes in 16 and 32Gb models. The biggest features people want/use on the iphone 3GS is the video mode, the enhanced GPS (connects to more satellites for better triangulation), and Voice Controls. Some find the headset controls handy too that work with the iPod and some streaming music players. The hardware on the 3GS is enhanced, basically, a faster processor and more available memory to the device to use for running processes (less crashes). Also, Apple improved some minor details for obtaining back some of the wifi losses between the 2G and 3G.

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Sure, there are more differences than that, but I just wanted to write an overview so that you can identify differences and maybe choose better which iPhone you get. Feel free to ask questions!

What happens if your iPhone gets wet?

Sure, we fix iPhones, but if your phone gets wet, there is only so much we can do! But all is not lost... I have revived phones that have been completely submerged in water! How?

There are three critical things you need to do to ensure your phone survives a drowning....

#1) TURN IT OFF!!!! Yes, it might actually turn back on, but DO NOT DO IT! The more it is on while there is ANY moisture in the phone, the more damage it will cause!

#2) Get a Bag of Rice. Any bag will do, just a bag of rice. Open it, and place your phone inside. The rice will absorb the majority of the moisture out of the phone while you do step #3

#3) Contact US ASAP through facebook, email, my website, or phone (if you have another phone).

Since Apple doesn't cover water damage, you will loose your warranty anyway, but we will open up your phone and clean the components, extract any residual fluids, and run some tests on the phone before we turn it back on to see if there are indeed shorts in the phone. If your phone recovers, it could take as much as a week to regain consciousness.

So remember, OFF, RICE, and CONTACT US when you get your phone wet.

I dropped my iPhone... what next?

o lets say you dropped your phone... how do you know what all is broken and needs repair?

Most screen damage is limited to the external glass, called the lens. Symptoms include damaged/shattered/cracked glass that does not seem to effect the touchscreen or the screen content (you can see everything on the screen, it's just cracked). This kind of damage would be lens/digitizer repair.

What's a digitizer? That's what reads the touch on your iphone. 85% of the time, it will continue to work after a break. However, functionality will diminish as time goes on. Why? The digitizer is like a waferboard of glass and wires, attached to the bottom of the lens (the front glass that you actually touch). Even when you only crack your lens and not the digitizer, the wiring inside the digitizer can get dislodged, like a light bulb. It will probably work for some time, but eventually the pressures on different parts of the screen will create larger gaps in the wires, make the phone do quirky things, such as make things drag around or not release after tapping them.

What can you do in the meantime? Get some clear packing tape and place it over the glass of the phone. This will prevent the glass edges from tearing into you skin (fingers, ear, etc). Make sure you cut out the hole for the speaker inside the glass otherwise it will be muffled.

How long do repairs take for this kind of repair, and how much does it cost?

10 minutes, and $75 for 3G & 3GS. We do most of the repairs between clients, where we peel all the broken glass off the midframe, replace any damaged sensors/buttons, and apply our super-seal method to a fresh lens/digitizer to the frame. Once the sealant has cured, we can install it in your phone my transferring your LCD to the new frame/lens/digitizer.


What if your external glass (Lens) is fine, but the screen is splotchy or looks like there is cracks internally and ink blots? Well that would be a LCD repair. Those repairs take about 10 minutes to do and also cost anywhere from $75 to $125 depending on the phone.