Reader Patricia Whitney has done the Bad Thing to her iPad and wonders if there’s a way to make it Good. She writes:
I dropped my first-generation iPad and now the screen’s colors are all wrong. Blacks are green and there’s a lot of “static” in all the images the iPad displays. Is there anything I can do to fix it?
In the days of classic sitcoms there was an old wheeze where Main Character A would suffer a bump on the head, causing said A to lose his or her memory. After the ensuing hijinx, the arrived-at solution was invariably to bean them again, thus restoring their memory. Those penning today’s sitcoms avoid such advice, understanding the litigious society we now live in.
I offer this stroll down the hoary path of television history to suggest that while our ancestors may have lived in a black-and-white world, they knew a thing or two about fixing misfiring systems. Take your iPad, for instance.
It is well out of warranty. Take it to an Apple Store and you’ll be offered a replacement first-generation iPad for $249. For that kind of money I’d instead consider purchasing a new iPad mini for $329 or a second-generation iPad for $399.
But before doing any of that, I’d follow the example of Ralph, Alice, Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Barney; flip the iPad over so its display is facing away from you; and give it a goodly biff just above the Apple logo. Use the meaty portion of your fist rather than knuckles (and certainly not an implement that’s going to dent the iPad). If that doesn’t set things on the path of righteousness, bap it a few more times. With luck, its correct coloring will be restored.
(Of course you should back up your iPad before doing this. You could wind up making the problem worse.)
“Chris,” you gasp, “you can’t really be suggesting an act of violence against my beloved iPad!”
I can, and I am. When you dropped the thing, you jarred a connection within the iPad, which is what’s causing the problem. By smiting your iPad you may reestablish cordial relations among the device’s components. I’ve read of others having success using this technique and I have, my very own self, “repaired” an iPad that suffered in this way.
Because really, what have you got to lose?