Short Version: Inner screen fluid leak + minor frame damage. Sent back to the factory, and after 10 days, they replaced the screen, battery, and titanium metal frame for free.
Detailed Version: I bought my 16PM last October without purchasing AppleCare+. After less than a week of use, the top-left corner of the frame got a small dent during a fall, but the screen still worked fine. A few days ago, the area near the dent suddenly developed a large fluid leak on the screen.
My heart sank—so much so that I even considered selling it on second-hand platforms and buying a Vivo instead. However, browsing through posts on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), I found many cases where people had their screens replaced for free. Hoping against hope, I booked an appointment at the Jing’an Apple Store and, just in case, also scheduled one at the Hong Kong Plaza store where I originally purchased the phone.
At the Jing’an store, the technical advisor immediately said there was no chance of a free repair since the damage was near the existing dent. Even though I explained that the dent predated the leak, they insisted it wouldn’t qualify. Later, a senior staff member—possibly the manager—told me outright not to waste time, saying the factory wouldn’t cover it either and suggested I pay for repairs in-store. Unwilling to accept this, I headed straight to the nearby Hong Kong Plaza store.
There, a male staff member greeted me with exceptional service. He empathized with my situation, apologized sincerely, and explained that while the system indicated no free in-store repair, he recommended sending it back to the factory. He kindly advised me not to confirm any paid repair quotes once it reached the factory, as we could explore other options upon its return to the store if needed.
His words reassured me immensely, and I decided to go ahead with the return-to-factory option. Let me just say—Hong Kong Plaza’s team deserves all the praise! Whether or not they could ultimately help, their advice was genuinely customer-focused!
Since I hadn’t finished backing up my data yet, I returned home to complete it. On a side note, iCloud backup is *painfully* slow! The next day, after finally finishing the backup, I went back to the Hong Kong Plaza store, erased the data, and handed over the device.
Repair Timeline:
– **February 24th**: Handed over to after-sales support. Status updated to “Requesting Repair.”
– **February 28th morning**: Status showed “Manufacturer received – Diagnosing product” (5 days passed, refreshing the website daily!)
– **February 28th evening**: Status changed to “Diagnosing + In Service” (less than a day later, already in repair mode—finally feeling relieved!
)
– **March 1st evening**: Status updated to “Repair completed, awaiting shipment” (just 1 day for repairs—woohoo!)
– **March 3rd morning**: Shipment status showed “Product en route” (2 days for delivery—why does it take so long?)
– **March 5th noon**: Received notification from Hong Kong Plaza that my phone was ready for pickup (total turnaround time: 10 days).
When I picked it up, I discovered that Apple’s after-sales service didn’t just fix the screen—they also replaced the battery and gave me a brand-new titanium frame, eliminating the old dent entirely! It feels like I’ve got a completely new phone again! Apple after-sales: forever legendary!
In conclusion, Apple factories have their own judgment criteria. If you encounter similar issues, always send your device back to the factory! Always send it back! Always send it back! There’s still a chance, and I feel incredibly lucky this time—it feels like saving a fortune! Lastly, may everyone get such good luck!
And Shanghai friends, head straight to the Hong Kong Plaza store! Fewer crowds, excellent service—you deserve nothing less! [Blow kiss][Blow kiss]
Eli Cruz 
Audrey Ramos 
Sophie Wilson