Mikey Campbell
Apple on Friday launched a repair service program for third-generation iPad Air models suffering from a so-called "blank screen issue" that can in some cases leave the tablet's display permanently disabled.
The "iPad Air (3rd generation) Service Program for Blank Screen Issue" covers current-generation iPad Air models manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019, Apple said in an announcement posted to its website.
Under certain undefined circumstances, the screens of impacted units may go blank permanently. Users might see a brief flicker or flash appear before the screen goes blank, the company said.
Apple failed to provide additional detail on the issue, but noted the problem should impact only a "limited number" of iPad Air units.
Owners of eligible iPad Air models can take their device to an Apple Authorized Service Provider or brick-and-mortar Apple Store for assessment and free repairs. Alternatively, customers can arrange to mail in their device by contacting Apple Support.
Typical of other Apple service programs, the iPad Air initiative does not extend standard warranty coverage and covers affected devices for two years after first retail purchase.
The third-generation iPad Air debuted in early 2019 as a middle-of-the-road option that sits between Apple's iPad and iPad Pro series.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
6 Comments
“Under certain undefined circumstances, the screens of impacted units may go blank permanently”
Got to love Apple and how they pass on detailed information about issues.
WTF does undefined mean? Obviously they’ve encountered this issue many times... perhaps thousands. Are you telling me they haven’t identified the problem with that many bricked devices laying around to analyze?
Are these machines experiencing “blank screens” while in use? When under heavy use? Is this just a defective component? When plugged in for extended periods? Like this issue: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208710
If Apple can fix the problem, they know what the problem is, and it’s serious enough to warrant a special repair program.
When users take in their iPad’s for repair, are they given replacement rather than their own machine back? What is the turnaround time for the repair? Are they told to come back in 2 hours (like when I got my screen replaced)?
This could be something as simple as replacing a capacitor. Which would mean it’s a simple repair that doesn’t effect the life of the device after the repair is completed... and this issue is a minor annoyance.
All these things determine if people should bring in their iPad for repair, or if they should just wait to see if their iPad is effected by this issue.
The least they could do is give a percentage of machines that experiencing the issue. Is this an issue where the numbers effected are expected to increase as they age? I.e. wear and tear
I actually bought an iPad Air 3 in December which I gave to somebody and I have identified it as being manufactured in October, so it's covered under this Apple replacement program.
So far, the iPad Air has been working great, but if there ever is any issue in the future with the display, then I know what to do, and I'll just go to Apple and get a new one.
There is also a problem with the 10.5 inch iPad Pro screen from 2017.
Have not seen or heard of the issue but hope they fix my Mac mini (current model).
I have been seeing random shutdowns and the crash reports show that certain files are being written in unexpected memory locations, which cause the freeze and crash. They did a complete wipe and restore of the OS and it is still doing this. They have had it about a week now and not a peep on progress.
Anyone else seeing this?