Has Your iPad Air Screen Suddenly Gone Blank? Apple Will Fix It For Free

If you purchased a third-generation iPad Air last year and your screen has been flickering or has gone irreversibly blank, it turns out you’re not alone. Apple has identified this as a known issue with some iPad Air units, and is now offering up a free service program.

According to Apple’s announcement, the problem affects a “limited number” of third-generation iPad Air models that were manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019.

Apple has determined that, under certain circumstances, the screen on a limited number of iPad Air (3rd generation) devices may go blank permanently. A brief flicker or flash may appear before the screen goes blank.

Note that there really isn’t any reliable way to determine the date of manufacture of your iPad Air, and even an iPad Air bought recently could have easily been manufactured during the affected time period. However, it’s safe to say that if your iPad Air is exhibiting this specific problem, Apple shouldn’t have any issue with fixing it.

In fact, unlike last year’s 15-inch MacBook Pro recall, Apple has not published any kind of serial number check, so you won’t be able to determine if your device is impacted until the problem actually begins to occur, although if your iPad Air screen has begun flickering, you may be able to take it into an Apple Store and get it dealt with more proactively before the screen dies off entirely.

Apple notes that users can bring their affected iPad Air models in to any Apple Authorized Service Provider, Apple Retail Store, or contact Apple Support to arrange to send it in. Apple Independent Repair Providers won’t be able to help, however, as they only get access to genuine Apple parts and repair manuals for some devices such as iPhones, and aren’t authorized to provide in-warranty repairs, meaning that Apple wouldn’t cover their expenses to fix your iPad Air.

Apple also adds that if customers have any other damage that impedes the repair, such as a cracked screen, they will need to pay whatever costs are necessary to have that repaired first. While this seems a bit odd considering the fact that Apple may simply need to replace the screen anyway, it’s actually unclear right now exactly what causes this particular problem and therefore what’s actually involved in fixing it.

The program is also only open to the third-generation iPad Air, as Apple claims it’s the only model affected by this specific problem, and Apple emphasizes that “no other iPad models are part of this program.” Of course since the iPad Air was released less than a year ago, this means that anybody who is experiencing this problem should be able to get it repaired for free under the normal one-year warranty anyway. Under the new repair program, however, Apple is extending coverage for this specific issue for up to two years from the original date of purchase, although it doesn’t extend the standard warranty in any way — it’s only to cover this specific issue.