Video iPod LCD Repair - iPod Sickbay

Video iPod LCD Repair

Video iPods are a great device but they are thin and sometimes as difficult to hold onto as a wet bar of soap.

When you buy them, they are $250 to $350 and you imagine they should last for a while and are ruggedly built.

They are built to take any normal use. The most delicate part in them *for normal use* is the hard drive which is a laptop drive and you wouldn't do with your laptop the types things you do with your video iPod (think the iPod dancing ads).

But another point of weakness in the Video iPod is the LCD screen. The LCD in the Video iPod is made by Sharp Electronics (Sharp LS025Q screen). They are thin film displays with a thin layer of glass over the top.

They cannot be twisted or subject to stress. If the thin film of glass is cracked or smashed it destroys the display. What you will see is dark cracks running through the display or big Black splotches ('bleeding') on the display. The areas that are not black will usually still light up but will be white only.

When your display is this way, your Video iPod is actually fine still. You'll notice you can still cable your iPod to your computer and sync files. You can play songs from the iPod with the earbuds, but without the display working you can't see and really the control the iPod.

You just need the LCD replaced!
Breaking the LCD in a Video iPod voids Apple's warranty, and their extended warranty. Anything that would crack or smash the LCD is constituted as "abuse". From their point of view, they really can't tell what happened... so they can't be blamed. And at your end you merely dropped it and the case wasn't strong enough to keep the LCD from flexing breaking.

Apple will charge $210 to replace a broken LCD Video iPod. They will also offer you the opportunity to 'trade it in' for 10% off any new iPod.

So these are your options:

If you choose to trade it in for a new 80GB 6th Generation "Classic" Video iPod you will get $25 off the $250 so you can trade in the cracked LCD model you have and add a $225 plus tax to get a new one.
For $210 you can also have them "fix" yours, which I understand means replacing it with a refurbished Video iPod that has been fixed already. Your music and Videos and Movies will be gone. It comes with an empty drive and they don't take your out and put it in the refurbished model. You will be handed one that has a blank drive that you will have to "re-sync" before you can use it.
Bring it to me. I will repair your Video iPod in under an hour and all your songs, movies, videos and photos will stay intact. The new LCD screen will cost $33 and the labor replacing the part will be $40. So that's one hour plus $73... and you get *your very own* Video iPod back as good as new.

I know it all sounds quite surreal... here's the story of a recent happy customer. Drew P lives in Tiburon, is a Record Industry Producer and needs his iPod continually. He dropped his Video iPod on a Saturday night and cracked the LCD. Sunday morning he went to the Apple store (in Corte Madera). Even though he got there shortly after 10 AM, they couldn't make time to see him until 3:30PM... make that 3:30PM -> THE NEXT DAY. On Monday afternoon, he went in and was told the LCD wasn't under warranty. The broken LCD constituted "abuse" and was told he had a choice of either option 1 or 2 above. He was frustrated at having waited 36 hours to be told this and more than a bit irritated at the $210 price tag *plus* the loss of his music files. He had quite a number of un-released or pre-realse songs from musicians he is working with and didn't want his iPod replaced. (Or frankly want to take a chance his clients work would be turned loose without permission.)

He got home, started using the internet and found me. He gave me a call and drove an hour to get here so I could replace his broken LCD.

Here's a photo of him holding the repaired iPod.

And he's not the only happy guy that got his Video iPod screen replaced in under an hour.

I'm in Sonoma County... Northern California wine country.

If you live nearby, are traveling through or live in the San Francisco Bay Area bring your iPod to me and I can do the work while you wait or go wine tasting for a while. Send me an email just to make sure I have on hand whatever parts your repair will require.

Call or email me with questions or to set up a repair. You can also call, I am here most days from 8am to 8pm
Toll Free 1-877-iPod-Pro (1 - 877 - 476-3776)

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