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3 year old Apple iPad mini screen goes black

scrabble

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hi,

I purchased my Apple iPad mini in May 2013 and within one year, a key stopped working so Apple gave me a refurbished iPad mini. Within the past two months, my screen goes black when I am on Facebook or this morning it happened when I tried to open my yahoo email.

How long does the iPad mini last? Do I need a new one?

Help - comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you
 

scifan57

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Do you mean that the screen goes black at intervals but works normally at other times?
 
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scrabble

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hi,

I purchased my Apple iPad mini in May 2013 and within one year, a key stopped working so Apple gave me a refurbished iPad mini. Within the past two months, my screen goes black when I am on Facebook or this morning it happened when I tried to open my yahoo email.

How long does the iPad mini last? Do I need a new one?

Help - comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you
This is correct. It started doing this about one month ago and is happening more and more frequently.
 

scifan57

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If you look at the screen in bright light when the screen has gone black, do you see any faint hint of what's on the screen? It's possible that your problem may be a failing backlight.
 
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scrabble

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If you look at the screen in bright light when the screen has gone black, do you see any faint hint of what's on the screen? It's possible that your problem may be a failing backlight.
Screen goes totally black and there isn't anything else.
 

scifan57

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Gave you tried restarting your iPad? Press and hold the power and home buttons until the Apple logo appears, then release both buttons and wait for the iPad to restart.

Do you have an Apple Store close enough to visit? The Genius Bar can run a full diagnostic on your iPad to see what the problem is. Genius Bar appointments are free but making an appointment is advisable to avoid delays. If you can, back up your iPad before going to the Apple Store as some potential solutions may involve erasing and restoring York iPad.
 
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scrabble

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I am not sure that Apple will help with a 3 year refurbished iPad. Yesterday, I went to the Apple website in an attempt to initiate a chat with Apple and when I repeatedly entered the Serial number of my refurbished iPad, a message appeared saying the Serial # was invalid. I know the Serial number was correct as I obtained it from the iPad 'about' settings.
 

scifan57

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I am not sure that Apple will help with a 3 year refurbished iPad. Yesterday, I went to the Apple website in an attempt to initiate a chat with Apple and when I repeatedly entered the Serial number of my refurbished iPad, a message appeared saying the Serial # was invalid. I know the Serial number was correct as I obtained it from the iPad 'about' settings.
The Genius Bar will still test the iPad even though it's long out of warranty. What they won't do is fix a hardware problem for free.
 
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scrabble

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The Genius Bar will still test the iPad even though it's long out of warranty. What they won't do is fix a hardware problem for free.
Thank you. I will call Apple and see if I can set up an appointment to have my iPad mini tested.
 
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scrabble

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Apple ran a diagnostics over the telephone with my iPad and said they found nothing wrong with my iPad and that the problem was with the Facebook app and the email app. They had me delete and reinstall Facebook bug the problem still occurs. So, I don't know....
 

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scrabble, there is a certain level of reasonable expectation that a device, looked after appropriately and not dropped or trashed in any way (normal wear and tear discounted) should last for a number of years

Yes, there are built in redundancies that can cause devices to operate at a slower rate, as new software updates are designed for more recent models. However, in your case, you don't have a 3 year, refurbished iPad, you have a two year old refurbished iPad.

So, there is a certain level of "Good Faith" expectation that Apple is very aware of worldwide. I live in Australia and our consumer laws, nationally, reinforce this relationship between consumers and producers. I'm sure that there must be similar guidelines, at least, in your state that will cover "reasonable expectations" when a person makes a purchase of this kind. Particularly as this device is exhibiting a similar problem to the original iPad that you had.

One other question that I have is are you connecting your IOS device to Mac, or WIN?

There is actually one other option worth pursuing. It isa drastic one; but often worthwhile. It is always possible to take your iPad back to factory settings and rebuild the system on your iPad from scratch, rather than simply from its previous profile. By doing it that way you could install only those Apps that appear to be causing the problem (apart from the default apps that come with the IOS) and running them in a clean environment to see if, in fact it actually is the apps causing the problem. Going back to ABC is often a healthy practice.

I know that there is a lot there. But, it is "A" way of rethinking the problem, to find "A" solution.

I hope that this has helped.
Graham
 

scifan57

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Apple ran a diagnostics over the telephone with my iPad and said they found nothing wrong with my iPad and that the problem was with the Facebook app and the email app. They had me delete and reinstall Facebook bug the problem still occurs. So, I don't know....
A diagnostic done over the telephone cannot be done in the same level of detail as one done in person at an Apple Store Genius Bar. They may be able to find a problem that the telephone diagnosis couldn't find.
 

Brian 244

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Apple ran a diagnostics over the telephone with my iPad and said they found nothing wrong with my iPad and that the problem was with the Facebook app and the email app. They had me delete and reinstall Facebook bug the problem still occurs. So, I don't know....
Diagnostic by telephone ?!?! Wow... Not even sure how that would work or what it would achieve. I read through your thread here and there's really not enough info to figure it what's going on. How long does it go back for? Does it go back to the home screen or does the apple logo show up? Does it seem like this only happens when you are using certain apps? Any little bit of info is helpful.
 

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