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The Phantom Digitizer Input iPad Repair Test – Only at Milliamp

by Anthony Magnabosco on August 31, 2010

We have fixed a LOT of iPads since they hit the consumer landscape, probably more than any other iPad repair company out there. From all over the world, in fact: United States, Canada, Abu Dhabi, England, and Mexico, to name but a few.

And with that exposure comes experience. Something YOU will want to have on your side when deciding who to send YOUR iPad to when you accidentally damage it (and believe me, one day, you will!).

A great example of quantity driving quality is the “phantom input” test we now perform on every iPad screen that we change out. What the hell is that?, you must be asking. Well, on just a handful of iPads that had a smashed display, they had also sustained damage to their logic board (motherboard) from the initial trauma that broke the screen.

But the interesting thing about these iPads was that the damage was not entirely evident right from the start. It wasn’t until we learned that the digitizers were acting as if the screen was being touched when they were sitting all by themselves did we realize that we had to improve our quality control testing after each iPad repair.

At first we believed the new digitizer must have failed, a bad part, and that’s why the screen was acting like a ghost was using it. But when that same screen was placed in another (never dropped or damaged) iPad, the same new digitizer worked flawlessly – no phantom inputs.

So in typical milliamp fashion, we quickly devised a simple test that every iPad that we repair must go through (and dutifully added it to our in-house device management system called millihub), wether the digitizer was repaired or not: The Phantom Digitizer Input Test.

What we do during this test is pull up this page on our website directly from the repaired iPad, and zoom in so that we can see the following image:

ipad-phantom-input-test

ipad-phantom-input-test

And then you leave the iPad alone. If the image moves off the inverted triangle (or zooms in or out), you will notice this, and if the screen detects a tap/click, you get an image that tells you that the test failed. We let currently let this test run for 30 minutes.

Note: You must change the settings temporarily on the iPad so that it does not turn off and stays on for the duration of the test.

So long, ghosts!

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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iPad Repair Again and Again and Again

by Anthony Magnabosco on August 30, 2010

iPad Repair Box Again and Again

iPad Repair Box Again and Again

Thought I would share a cool little way that we encourage our customers to help us recycle.

In this example, we ask our iPad repair customers to help us re-use the super-awesome box we send their iPad to them after we are done fixing it so that it can be used for someone else. Not everyone elects to do send the box back to us, which is fine, but every so often we find a customer that is game and mails the box out.

If they do this, we also encourage them to include a short note or their specific ‘broken iPad story’ along with it, so that we can share it with others. Recently, a customer named Terry sent us his iPad box, along with the following short note:

“Sorry for taking so long to return the box! Thanks for the great service, I missed my iPad and was very satisified with the work you guys did to bring it back to its former glory.”

Perhaps one day you will be using the same box we used for Terry’s iPad – and that’d be cool.

Regards,

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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The Benefits of Communication

by Anthony Magnabosco on August 23, 2010

As you may have read in an earlier post, we have recently implemented a new device management system called ‘millihub’, and the results of all our hard work are starting to pay off. Providing timely updates via email has never been so automate for our employees, and it has never been so good for our customers.

Customers appreciate the notification when their device arrives, when it gets evaluated and we have determined what parts are needed, when we repair the device, when the device passes testing, and when the iPhone or iPod or iPad ships out, as evidenced by this recent review we received of milliamp.com:

milliamp.com_Reviews_01

milliamp.com_Reviews_01

And then a few days later, this one:

milliamp.com_Reviews_02

milliamp.com_Reviews_02

Like anything we do, we know there is always room for improvement. Customers may want to have these updates texted to them instead of emailed, or maybe even tweeted to them. Other customers may want pictures or perhaps even video of their in-progress repair as it happens. iPhone app, anyone? All doable, for sure, with millihub.

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Hola from Cancun, Mexico

by Anthony Magnabosco on August 9, 2010

Well my wife talked me into it and we snuck in one more vacation before the end of Summer – Cancun, Mexico! I was actually kind of dreading this trip – too much going on at the office these days. But I am coming around – it’s beautiful here and the people are very friendly. Went to the beach today and I was amazed that the sand was cool, despite the blazing rays of the sun beating down on it. And the water from the ocean was perfect and the waves just right. Of course, my daughter got the required braided hair to further prove to the guys hawking excursions that we were tourists, just in case they could not tell.

Oh, and here’s a short video of the kids goofing off just before we headed back out to the pool:

YouTube Preview Image

Had a brief scare this morning to find that my 6.5GB Microsoft Office email file (.ost) was corrupt – apparently it should never exceed 2GB – guess it’s time to archive some of these emails, huh?! Had to delete the file and re-build it up. It’s been running for about eleven hours now, and still going strong. Hope I am not being charged by the megabyte. So that means if you need to get a hold of me, email is still a good way to do so!

Buenos noches,

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

hola-from-cancun

hola-from-cancun

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You Don’t Know Shack – The CPU Shack Museum, That Is

by Anthony Magnabosco on August 6, 2010

We get lots of email each day, and you would not believe some of the stories we hear from our customers about exactly how their precious iPhone or iPod or iPad became damaged.

Well, we received an email from the curator of The CPU Shack Museum the other day, and he was looking to increase his collection of processors, specifically, iPhone processors. We were happy to oblige, and combed our shop for a few spare, broken iPhone motherboards. Shipped ‘em off today, in fact, just to help this worthy cause.

So if you want to learn more about microchips and the central processing unit of your favorite computer, pda, or other electronic gizmo, you need to head to one of the most comprehensive, if not quirky, sites, The CPU Shack Museum.

This website has gobs of information and interesting pictures of chips and sexy silicon, and even some pretty gutsy claims ([and I am paraphrasing:] “8-bit microcontrollers will not be replaced with their newer 16 and 32-bit bretheren for decades.” – the nerve! :-) )

This pictures shows you some of the packages that rolled into the museum while its’ curator was out for a few days:

the-cpu-shack

the-cpu-shack

Have a great weekend, everybody. I am off to Canun, Mexico with my family this coming week, but will still be checking email if you need to reach me. And of course, my crack staff is at the ready (210-568-7473) to help you out.

Will most definately try to get a blog post or two posted up here about our trip during that time.

Regards,

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Milliamp: More than just iPod/iPhone/iPad Repair???

by Wes on August 6, 2010

Where mp3 players and tablet computing are concerned, there really aren’t any worthwhile alternatives to Apple’s iPod and iPad, but where smart phones are concerned, the iPhone is great, but its not the only exceptionally awesome device out there. We at Milliamp have certainly taken note of the latter point, there are a wealth of impressive (and popular!) smart phones available on a multitude of networks! These devices’ offerings vary in form, function, color, size, interactive style, etc etc, but there is ONE thing that binds every single smart phone out there… THEY BREAK! Whether a touch screen, an LCD, a failing battery, water damage, or a worn key pad, smart phones will encounter human inflicted damage! So, with all of this in mind, we have begun to explore the myriad devices that need repair and are considering expanding our Award Winning repairs services to those devices.  Are you excited yet Milli-Fans!?!?! You should be! but don’t go and change your Facebook status (at least not yet) to proclaim to the masses that “You can’t believe it, but Milliamp will finally fix my HTC EVO’s broken glass!” because we haven’t completely settled on the devices for which we will begin to offer repair services. However, we can tell you that we are seriously considering expanding our services to different devices in the very near future, so stay tuned to our website and blog for information regarding these new services, you could even use a comment on this blog post to suggest a device for which we should offer services! It’s definitely worth noting that even though we have visions of smart-phone repair grandeur dancing through our heads, we still have our feet firmly planted on the ground and have not forgotten where our business so humbly began 5 years ago, DIY repair kits. It’s been a while since we have offered new DIY repair kits, complete with tools and instructions, for sale, but that, too, is about to change. We have already completed the photo shoot for the new instruction manuals and are in the process of carefully planning out the instructions themselves. So, I’ll leave you with that juicy morsel and the suggestion to look out for EIGHT brand-spanking-new DIY repair kits. Commence to jumping for joy.

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Vacation 2010

by David on August 4, 2010

Hello friends! Wow, its been awhile since ive written one of these things. Sorry about that. Well, this year has been going by super fast….maybe too fast? At the beginning of May I realized something…..I needed a vacation. We’ve been sooooo busy for months, I needed a little break. So I decided I wanted to go to California. I havent been there since I was 6 years old (23 now). I have tons of family out there that has been asking for me to go out there for years and years. I decided it was time. Now I could decribe to you all the cool things I saw and did….but I know what you want to know…..what did I eat?! :)

In-N-Out : So ive  had  friends and family hype this place up for years now, so i knew I had to stop and see what it was all about. My good friend and fellow technician, Jon, told me to make sure I got my burger ANIMAL STYLE. So I did. It kinda reminded me of culvers, or freddys here in San Antonio. It was a good burger and the animal style was interesting. :) Although I dont see myself craving it any time soon. They had great customer service though! Overall, this place gets a 7 out of 10.

Lotaburger: I found this place in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Sadly, it was dissapointing. It has the look of an old fashion burger, but unfortunately it had the taste of an old burger. The beef had no flavor and the rest of the burger was pretty much the same. Not very good customer service either. They get a 5 out of 10.

Stahmanns: This is a pecan farm/candy store that I found in New Mexico back in 2002 when I lived there for the summer. They have the best pecan….everything!!! The stuff is a tad expensive, but its worth it. Pecan Candies…..I cannot elaborate anymore. 10 for 10!!

Original Tommys – The BEST burger I had the entire trip. This spot is located in LA. They have a few other spots, but you know you’re at the original when there is no where to sit and they have counter tops all around the parking lot. Yep, no sitting here! You have to stand to eat your burger. The thing that made the burger great for me was the chilli they put on it. It goes soooo well with the flavor of the beef. Mmmm…..I still crave this 3 weeks later. 9 out of 10.

I stopped by a few more spots for burritos, shrimp and other things…..but I cant remember names and locations. I might post a pt. 2 to this post later, but we’ll see. I hope you get to have a vacation this summer too. Go out and eat something you’ve never eaten before…….I wont…..but you can!! :)

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Blockin’ Fire Exits

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 31, 2010

Quite a busy week, but productive. Devices seemed to be bottlenecking at Quality Control Testing a bit this week, so I jumped in to give David (who also doubles as our in-house Seinfeld Trivia Expert) a hand. Our new system has a kink in it that makes outbounding devices a little kludgy right now, so tag-teaming it until this gets fixed next week made sense.

Here is a shot from Thursdays shipment of evaluated and repaired iPods, iPhones, and iPads heading out to a few of our great customers:

boxes-shipping-out

boxes-shipping-out

Have a great weekend, from your pals at milliamp.com!

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Antigua

by Mark on July 29, 2010

I’m just a few days away from my wedding/honeymoon/vacation and couldn’t be more excited about it. We’re going to a Sandals resort at Antigua, so this will probably be the nicest place I’ve ever visited so far. Here’s a pic:

Here are the reasons that this will be the best vacation ever:

  1. I’m getting married
  2. Free food and drinks for 7 days.
  3. Scuba Diving.
  4. Doing nothing for 7 days.

The hard part will be getting there – total travel time in the air is just 8 hours, however we’ll be spending 10 hours in the Miami airport overnight! Has anyone ever had to do this? Do they have beds or something? Seems wacky to me, but it was really the only option to get to Antigua for a reasonable price.

Once we get there, I plan to eat and drink like I’m on death row. No one will be able to stop me. They’ve got 10 restaurants and 10 bars – some of which let you sit on the beach.

We plan to go scuba diving, which I’ll admit is a bit intimidating for someone who’s never done it before. I’ve heard of some crazy freak accidents. I’ve also heard that sometimes if the equipment isn’t set up right, and you go too deep, the scuba mask can suck at your face causing major bruising all around your eyes. I’m kinda interested in doing the scuba first, then getting the crazy bruising, then getting married. What could be cooler than taking wedding pictures that make us look like we beat each other up the night before our wedding?

Anyhow, when I get back I’ll make another post to describe how it all went down.

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My Nearly Forgotten Love

by Marian on July 28, 2010

Thinking back to my childhood, several things pop into my head. Basically, it revolves around school, field trips, snacks, nap time and the library. I realize I went to the library quite often with my mom when I was a kiddo, but unfortunately, that habit didn’t exactly carry over when I blossomed into–eek–an adult! Recently, it dawned on me that I was missing out on a great local library system in San Antonio which offered copious amounts of books for my leisurely reading at no cost made me feel terrible because I could have saved so much much from not having to buy something I was going to read once.The San Antonio Central Library - a.k.a. "The Red Enchilada"

Since that revelation, I’ve since requested a library card, so all I need to do is drop by my local library (one street away from my house) and finish up that process. Then, it’s a long future of checking out books for me! Is it nerdy of me to be excited for this? Nah, I didn’t think so.

By the way, apparently the San Antonio Public Library has started gettin’ with the times and has now started offering free e-book, audiobook, music and video downloads…all without having to leave your house. Whoa. Meaning, I can download them onto my iPod or new, snazzy iPhone 4 and get my read on. Oh yeahhhh. :)

Alas, my new adventures to come are contingent upon whether or not I pick up that library card, so I’ve got to hop over there pretty soon. Man, how could I have possibly almost forgotten about one of my favorite places in the world?

If you have kids and have never really taken them to the library, I really recommend doing that. I especially recommend taking them to one of those huge gigantor libraries like the Central Library here in San Antonio. Memories of being completely mystified by this are still fresh and lingering to this day…

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The Elusive White iPhone 4 Glass Backplate – Now in Beta

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 27, 2010

Yo!

We received our first TRUE batch of white and black iPhone 4 glass backplates this week, and man are they spectacular. A bit pricey for now, if you ask me, but heck that will go down as supply goes up. The first batch we got were completely useless – just glass backings with none of the framework or camera lens parts. Probably good as a coaster in my living room, but that’s about all.

No, the ones we received this last time around look and work great. The only thing we could tell that was missing was the very small circular silver “flash diffusor” ring that goes around the camera opening. The black ones match the black glass iPhone 4 back cover perfectly. The white ones, well, we have nothing to compare it against for now, but they are sleek, white, and flawless as far as we can tell. There have been rumours that production challenges (perhaps they are struggling to get the color white just perfect so it matches other white Apple products) are the reason why new white iPhone 4 backings are not available yet from Apple, so time will tell, I suppose.

We had to immediately swap out the black glass backplate with a rare white on one of our lucky employees phone, and I managed to get a picture of his blanco iPhone 4 during his lunch break:

white-iphone-4-glass-backplate

white-iphone-4-glass-backplate

So keep an eye out for an announcement from milliamp.com when we get a steady supply of these bad boys so that you too can change out your black iPhone 4 backplate for a new white one!

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Oh the Odd Ways We Recycle Around Here

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 23, 2010

As you may have read in a past blog post, we take the old, used iPod batteries we collect and send them off to be disposed of properly. We also try to consume the left-over packaging that our customers used to send their iPhones and iPads to us when we find ourselves shipping things out – all of these efforts help the environment.

Another thing we have been doing (for almost two years now) is using plastic bins for storing the devices we repair as iPods, iPhones, and iPads are routed from area to area within our service shop. The bins are durable, brightly-colored, stackable, and easy to hang on a tech bench rack, wall rack, or shelf.

But one of the best things about our little bins is that we can write the order number on the front with a black grease marker, and when the device is repaired and shipped out, we toss the empty bin in a large red trash can. When we have a chance, we just wipe off the markings, and they can be used again and again and again. Definately low tech, but stickers cost money and consume paper, toner and glue; we have found that the “keep-it-simple” and “keep-it-green” mantras often go hand in hand.

Bins Ready for Cleaning and Re-Use

Bins Ready for Cleaning and Re-Use

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Ding Ding Ding! Milliamp Review Ratings Off the Chart!!

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 22, 2010

Top Consumer Reviews - Milliamp Bests the Rest

Top Consumer Reviews - Milliamp Bests the Rest


The venerable consumer review and rankings site TopConsumerReviews.com just called out Milliamp as THE place to go for your iPod, iPad, and iPhone repair services. Milliamp topped the charts amongst a list of worthy competitors, and our openess about the entire repair process with our customers seemed to seal the deal. Here is the review of milliamp:

Milliamp Review - Ranking One

Milliamp Review - Ranking One

As an aside, their site is quite nice – they even spent the time and money to record a video greeting so that visitors to their site can learn all about iPhone repair – here’s a screenshot of the woman that welcomes you:

iPhone Repair Review Welcome

iPhone Repair Review Welcome

So thank you, TCR, we greatly appreciate the recognition.

Best regards,

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Danny Lee Mercedes Golf Tournament

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 12, 2010

Think you had a bad day today? No, you didn’t. It could have been much more difficult.

I would like you to read about this fundraiser our UPS Driver called to our attention the other day for Danny Lee Mercedes, a local San Antonio boy that suffers from Autism. You can be sure that we made a nice donation for the charity event, and we hope that it helps make this event a success.

The event is on Saturday, July 31 at the Flying “L” Golf Course.

Danny Lee Mercedes

Danny Lee Mercedes

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Frank milliamp Review

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 8, 2010

We occasionally get feedback from our customers in the form of reviews or emails to the owner or emails to our Customer Service Department, but this one that came today was different in that it was a milliamp review from a customer that was visiting San Antonio and decided to walk into our shop for service.

So Frank, thanks for taking the time to submit your feedback on milliamp.com – I have printed the review and placed it in our break room so that it can be read by my entire staff:

milliamp review by frank

milliamp review by frank

It is brief, but we value any feedback, good or bad, so that we can learn from it and improve our offerings in new and unexpected ways.

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Recycle Your Old iPad/iPhone/iPod Battery with Us

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 8, 2010

It may not be a well-known fact, but we have been encouraging our customers to (if they purchased one of our do-it-yourself battery replacement kits) to send back their old, original, stock battery when they have compleed the repair so that we can dispose of it properly for five years now.

And if we perform the battery replacement here in our shop, we take care of that chore for our customers immediately.

We Can Dispose Of Your Old Battery - The Proper Way

We Can Dispose Of Your Old Battery - The Proper Way

We have a long-standing partnership with Call2Recycle, which is this great outfit that sends us a sturdy box that we dutifully fill up with old batteries, and ship it back to them when it is filled. They can then properly dispose of our old iPod batteries, iPhone batteries, and iPad batteries so they are not clogging up some landfill in San Antonio.

call-to-recycle

call-to-recycle

We do not charge our customers anything extra for this service – we WANT to do this, and it is the right thing to do. So the next time you purchase a kit from our site, or send in your device to us for a new battery or other repair, you can rest assured knowing that we not only have YOUR best interests in mind, but that of the environment as well.

Heck, that’s the main reason why we have a green leaf in our logo!

Best regards,

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
Milliamp LTD

Let Us Recycle Those Old iPod Batteries for You

Let Us Recycle Those Old iPod Batteries for You

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My ‘Dual Survival’ Review (Lovvvve It!)

by Anthony Magnabosco on July 5, 2010

Dual Survival_Review

Dual Survival_Review

There is a new show on the Discovery Channel called ‘Dual Survival’ and it immediately shot to my top three favs from the very first episode. It features these two survival dudes that have markedly different philosophies when it comes to their outdoor methodology, and this dichotomy alone makes for compelling television. Add to this the beautiful scenery, interesting animals encountered, and the little tips and tricks they impart, and you have one great show.

Cody Lundin is the earthy-cruchy desert rat who apparently lives in a shack somewhere in Arizona, and his often-mentioned claim to fame is his penchant for walking around barefoot. But he knows his sh!t, and is very respectful of nature and plays it very conservative. He will graze for food rather than waste calories hunting for a chance to score meat, and his respect for water borders on religious.

Dave Cantebury is an ex-military man with respectable experience in wilderness environments, and immediately made me think of my buddy David, who I just know would love this Cantebury. He is a meat-eater who likes to lay low to the ground so he can see furry animals better, and has a habit of saving (and later, eating) the hearts of the creatures he snags.

It’s great folley to see tough Dave shake his head at Cody’s eccentric ways, but don’t worry – this is not overplayed, and it is subtle. The guys have true respect for each other, and even though I have just see four episodes, you can see they have grown to trust in each other.

The material is very well-paced, and I have yet to encounter a show that is boring. Some of the highlights that come to mind include Cody snagging an iguanna (and Dave subsequently slicing off its’ tail [which wagged and twitched afterwards in the sand]), Dave punching this Peruvian rabbit-like creature in the head after it blasted through a firery blockade, and Cody teaching Dave how to eat a Huhu grub (which my kids now re-enact [much to my wife's chagrin] with french fries).

Dual Survival - You Gotta See It

Dual Survival - You Gotta See It

If you haven’t seen the show – take the time to find in on your DVR and record ALL the first-run episodes. You will not be sorry, and heck, you will learn something about survival as well.

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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Blowin’ in the Wind

by Marian on July 2, 2010

Hey, folks!

Over the weekend, I took a nice little roadtrip with my husband west of San Antonio to go visit our delightful family for a few days. It has been three years since he had seen his little brother (who was a Marine and was shipped off to Iraq a few times), so now that the entire family was together, it was extra special. Although there’s not too much to do in the lazy little town of Menard, I was okay with relaxing, playing cards, going to the lake and playing with our cute little nephew.

Fastfoward to Monday when it was time to go home. Obviously, Texas is, well, really freakin’ hot and really freakin’ humid! After we packed up our gear and were just about to hit the road, I saw a mosquito that I wanted to get OUT of our truck immediately! Unbeknownst to me, however, I slipped and forgot that when you roll down the passenger-side window all of the way, it’s probably not going to roll back up again. Whoops. So, despite our best efforts, we came to the conclusion that the motor was shot and that there was no hope in that little window rolling up again! Guess who got to blast down I-10 doing 85mph with their hair blowing in the wind! :)

Fortunately, things turned out to be pretty positive and we missed the clouds of doom that were looming above and looked like they were going to dump water on us at any second. I realized I desperately needed to call my dad mid-trip so I decided that, despite the wind, I’d make do with what I had to work with! A few minutes into the conversation, I realized that my father (who I normally have to yell at for him to hear me), wasn’t having any problems hearing me! Finally, I asked him if he could hear me okay even with the wind blowing like crazy and he asked me what the heck I was talking about! Haha, needless to say, I think my new iPhone 4 just paid for itself with its new kickass noise-cancellation microphone. I was “blown away” by the fact that that he could hear me okay even with all the noise! He didn’t even know I had my window down!

Amongst many, many, many, many, many other reasons, I can’t say I’m disappointed with Apple’s new iPhone 4! Awesome display, blazin’ fast speed, efficient and smooth multi-tasking and even a sleek design to boot. Oh, and yes, I’m also INCREDIBLY happy for the upgrade in camera.

Own an iPhone 4? Did you break your new screen yet? If you did, send it over to us! We’re itchin’ to get even more fixed up and looking new again! Click this link for more information: http://www.milliamp.com/iphone-4-screen-repair.html or email us at support@milliamp.com if you have more questions!

Happy trails,

Marian

P.S. R.I.P., iPhone 3G!

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iPhone 3GS Battery Issue with iOS4 May be Lurking

by Anthony Magnabosco on June 23, 2010

Potential iPhone 3GS Battery Issue with Apple iOS4

Potential iPhone 3GS Battery Issue with Apple iOS4

It has just come to our attention that there may be an unforseen compatibility issue with the iPhone 3GS batteries that we have been offering to our customers, and the new iOS4 operating system that Apple has released.

We have had a customer report today (and we have been able to duplicate this in our shop) that, while upgrading his iPhone 3GS that had one of our batteries installed to the new iOS4, the update stopped midway and reported an ‘Error 29′. We have been doing some research (admittedly, very limited because this is such a new development) and it appears the update is failing because of the replacement battery. The update to iOS4 appears to work just fine if the old, original, stock battery is installed.

Now, we do not know if this is an issue that will quickly fade away with a yet-to-be-released iOS4 patch from Apple, or if this outcome was by design, but we will eventually get to the bottom of it.

As a company that prides itself on providing perfect iPhone repair products and services, learning that there could be an issue with something that we have sold, even when it is largely out of our control, is very disconcerting to us. But we also pride ourselves on transparency: we are determined to find a solution to this potential issue, communicate our findings to you as we get them, and hopefully be able to offer a solution to all of our customers in a way that is as quick and painless for all involved.

Until then, if you have had us install an iPhone 3GS battery for you, or you have purchased an iPhone 3GS battery from us and installed it yourself, please refrain from updating your iPhone 3GS to the new iOS4 operating system. If you have already done this, and encountered ‘Error 29′ and your iPhone 3GS is no longer working properly, please email us so that we can provide you with the necessary steps to reverse the iOS4 update [if this is even a feasible option at this time]. And if you have updated to iOS4 with one of our batteries installed and did not encounter any issues, please email us and let us know that as well. Email: service@milliamp.com

As far are we know, this issue does not affect 1st Generation iPhone (aka iPhone 2G) batteries, iPhone 3G batteries, or any of the other batteries that we sell.

We will be providing updates to this situation as it develops on our blog and on Twitter.

Thank you in advance for your patience during this time.

Best regards,

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
Milliamp LTD
owner@milliamp.com
Cell Phone: 210-787-9482

6/24/2010 11:48AM Update:
We just posted a Press Release on TransWorldNews about this issue to see if it helps generate solutions. – Anthony

6/25/2010 11:23AM Update:
We have been working hard and trying all sorts of ways to restore an iPhone 3GS back from iOS4 to 3.1.3 so that at the very least an iPhone 3GS in this predicament can be functional again, but we keep encountering the dreaded Error 29 during the restore process. As soon as we have a proven solution that works, we will let you know here. -Anthony

6/26/2010 1:00PM Update:
We just posted a Press Release on PRWeb about this issue to see if it helps generate solutions. – Anthony

6/28/2010 9:23PM Update:
Well, we have received a handful of emails/calls from customers that have our iPhone 3GS battery installed and are unable to complete the update to iOS4. Interestingly, we are also receiving (and reading) reports of others that have the stock OEM iPhone 3GS battery installed with the original Apple operating system (non-jail-broken) and are also having issues upgrading to iOS4, or if they can upgrade, they are having severe battery meter drainage issues.

This suggests to us that the issue that we have reported is not entirely related to just third-party, after-market, generic iPhone 3GS batteries. There are a few rumours of a new update to iOS4, but as of today, nothing is available yet.

We did just have a customer tell us about the method that he used to downgrade his iPhone 3GS to his pre-iOS4 operating system, but we have not yet had a chance to duplicate his steps and see if it really works – we will give it a shot first thing on Tuesday. More important than a successful, temporary downgrade in OS, however, are functionality and stability. We will have to make sure the device continues to work well in 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 without freezing up, hanging, or rebooting before we can conclusively say we have a way for you to downgrade from iOS4.

As an aside, we have already put our feelers out for brand new, stock, OEM iPhone 3GS batteries. If we can get our hands on some, we will glady change out the first battery with this new one – providing that these newbies pass our tests and work flawlessly with iOS4. Please stay tuned, and thanks for your continued patience. – Anthony

6/30/2010 12:34PM Update:
Took a few days, but we have been able to successfully communicate the exact type of OEM iPhone 3GS battery that works with iOS4 to a couple of our suppliers. These should arrive late next week, and once they do, we will test them out to not only make sure that they work with iOS4, but will also hold a charge comparable to the original stock battery Apple installs in the iPhone 3GS. More updates to follow. – Anthony

7/7/2010 10:27PM Update:
Our first of two OEM battery shipments will arrive early next week. The minute they arrive, we will be pouring over them to see if they work in an iPhone 3GS with iOS4. A customer that found an OEM battery elsewhere brought their iPhone 3GS in – we installed it and she was able to complete the iOS4 install, so it looks like this is the correct approach. Thanks for your continued patience. – Anthony

7/12/2010 2:40PM Update:
Our first batch of OEM iPhone 3GS batteries arrived just a few moments ago! We expect to have the results of our tests with iOS4 with this first shipment available before the close of business Wednesday. Stay tuned. – Anthony

7/14/2010 10:34PM Update:
Sorry for not posting this a bit earlier today, but wanted to be sure of our findings. Great news. The brand new OEM iPhone 3GS batteries we received are working great with iOS4. Details on how to get your OEM iPhone 3GS battery will be emailed to our customers and will then posted here before Noon Thursday. – Anthony

7/15/2010 2:24PM Update:
We were literally minutes away from blasting out an email that contained a link to the page on our site where former customers can place a new order for a free OEM iPhone 3GS battery when we learned that Apple has just released an update to their iOS4 Operating System. We are downloading it from Apple now and expect to be able to attempt to install it on several iPhone 3GS’ running one of our batteries later this evening. Before Noon Friday we expect to be able to advise you on going forward with the new iOS4 or going through the steps of getting a new OEM replacement battery. This is definately not a planned thing and we are not dragging our feet at all – we just want to make sure we have all of our ducks lined up before we communicate a solution to our customers. Thanks again and stay posted. – Anthony

iPhone 3GS Battery Replacement Plan

iPhone 3GS Battery Replacement Plan

7/16/2010 9:20AM Update:
Well, iOS 4.0.1 did not play nicely with our original replacement iPhone 3GS batteries, but our new OEM iPhone 3GS batteries worked just fine with iOS4 and iOS4.0.1, so we are moving forward with our battery replacement program.

Anyone who received an iPhone 3GS battery from us can place a new order that will start the process for getting their battery exchanged. We are not going to charge anyone for the cost of the new battery, the labor associated with swapping these batteries out, or the return shipping expense from us to you.

All of the specifics about this and the place to get started can be found here: OEM iPhone 3GS iOS4 Compatible Battery Replacement Program

An email about this has just been sent to all of our customers, and we will continue to make updates regarding iOS4 and battery compatibility as we learn more about it on this specific blog post and via our Twitter account.

Thank you for your patience through all of this – it certainly was not expected, but hopefully we handled it to your satisfaction. All future sales of replacement iPhone 3GS batteries that we sell from this point on will be the OEM battery. – Anthony

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Mr Cod Review San Antonio – Our New Neighbors

by Anthony Magnabosco on June 21, 2010

mr-cod-san-antonio-review

mr-cod-san-antonio-review

We have new neighbors in our little strip mall here in San Antonio – Mr. Cod!

The owners of this new establishment have been working very hard to get the place (which is actually the 2nd Mr. Cod’s in San Antonio) ready for business over the past several weeks. And us milliamperes have been waiting with anticipation for it to open. Well, last week it did!!

Side-Note: There used to be a Charlie’s restaurant there, but we rarely frequented it; we took to the saying “Well, there’s always Charlie’s…” whenever we got too wrapped up doing iPhone repairs, realized that it was 2pm, and we still had not eaten lunch yet, and really did not want to head out too far from the office…

I had the chance to eat at Mr. Cod last week, and the fish was steaming hot and fresh – in a word, delicious. You can tell that the owners really care and want you to have an enjoyable experience. I will be going there again this week for sure, to get some more Mr. Cod flaky fish goodness. So check them out the next time you are on De Zavala Road near the US Post Office – the food is really good and includes quick, friendly service, too!

Anthony Magnabosco, Owner
milliamp.com

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An Evening iPhone 3G Repair Chat

by Anthony Magnabosco on June 17, 2010

iPhone 3G LCD Repair and Other Discussions

iPhone 3G LCD Repair and Other Discussions

This evening I was contacted by a potential customer via AOL Instant Messenger (my handle is ‘MilliampOwner’, if you wish to chat with me directly) who had an odd situation with his iPhone 3G. Here goes!

STTF 8:40 pm
(9:08:30 PM): Hello, how are you? I don’t mean to bother you, but I just had a couple of questions about iPhone repair.
(9:08:30 PM): If you have a moment, please let me know, and I’ll be quick for sure. Thanks.
MilliampOwner 9:08 pm
(9:08:42 PM): of course – how can i help you this evening?
STTF 9:09 pm
(9:09:39 PM): Hi. Well, I have an iphone.. unfortunately, on the corners, it has a pale shade of white… and im not sure how it got there. have you guys ever seen that?
MilliampOwner 9:10 pm
(9:10:12 PM): what generation iPhone is this, STTF?
STTF 9:10 pm
(9:10:21 PM): It’s a more pale light that’s lined up on the corner of the phone… … its the 3G.
MilliampOwner 9:11 pm
(9:11:23 PM): this is on all four corners, or just one or two?
STTF 9:11 pm
(9:11:34 PM): on two, left and right..
MilliampOwner 9:11 pm
(9:11:51 PM): top or bottom
STTF 9:11 pm
(9:11:58 PM): and there’s also specs of dust under the screen. so those are pretty much my only two problems.
(9:12:12 PM): well.. the left side and the right side of the phone.. the whole area.
(9:12:17 PM): of the corner.
MilliampOwner 9:13 pm
(9:13:17 PM): can you send me a pic?
STTF 9:13 pm
(9:13:42 PM): well, unfortunately, it doesn’t show up in pictures… i tried, but its hard to see.
MilliampOwner 9:14 pm
(9:14:38 PM): it sounds like the lcd, the part that lays below the digitizer screen, but it’d be helpful to see it. if you took a snapshot with the phone, would it capture then – the old – home button/on button press-at-the-same-time trick?
STTF 9:15 pm
(9:15:20 PM): sorry i’m not sure what you mean…
MilliampOwner 9:17 pm
(9:17:29 PM): ah sorry – if yuo press the on/off button at the top of the phone, and the home button at the same time, the iPhone takes a screenshot of the screen – I am curious if the distorted image you are seeing appears in the resulting image.
STTF 9:18 pm
(9:18:40 PM): hmm doesn’t seem to work for me. but the light doesnt annoy me that much, its the dust thats driving me nuts, ha
MilliampOwner 9:18 pm
(9:18:51 PM): you can then see that image as a photograph in your photos
(9:19:06 PM): ok
MilliampOwner 9:19 pm
(9:19:33 PM): well, dust is no problem for us, and if the issue is your LCD, that is not a problem for us, either. Is this an iPhone 3G or 3GS?
STTF 9:19 pm
(9:19:48 PM): 3g, sir
MilliampOwner 9:20 pm
(9:20:55 PM): then this is the place to start – just mention in your Order Comments about your concern with the dust and we can make sure that is long gone during the LCD replacement: http://www.milliamp.com/lcd-replacement-iphone-3g.html
STTF 9:21 pm
(9:21:47 PM): sure thing.. but im hoping you guys could take a look at the screen as well.. and see if you can try to fix it or what caused the shade of white..
MilliampOwner 9:22 pm
(9:22:23 PM): did the iPhone get dropped or wet?
STTF 9:22 pm
(9:22:31 PM): nope
(9:23:28 PM): honestly, i bought it from somebody else.. and they claim to have never noticed it before.
MilliampOwner 9:23 pm
(9:23:43 PM): well, i can’t say that I personally have seen just edges of an iPhone 3G LCD fade out like that, but perhaps one of my techs have. If it turns out that there is a smaller or larger issue other than than an LCD, then we’d bring that to your attention and then you could decide on which was to proceed.
STTF 9:24 pm
(9:24:36 PM): and i should mention for you guys to take a look in the order comments?
MilliampOwner 9:25 pm
(9:25:19 PM): no need – my technicians are trained to always read the comments from our customers, as this make determining the root cause of the issue(s) easier.
STTF 9:26 pm
(9:26:02 PM): if i end up having to replace the glass, its just too expensive..
(9:26:13 PM): maybe depending on the condition, you guys can offer a lower price?
(9:26:15 PM): is that possible?
MilliampOwner 9:27 pm
(9:27:12 PM): why don’t you place an order for our $19 evaluation instead. This way, we put the repairs towards the part(s) you need, and then we can negotiate a bit :-)
(9:27:17 PM): here’s that link instead:
(9:27:40 PM): http://www.milliamp.com/iphone-repair-evaluation.html
STTF 9:36 pm
(9:36:00 PM): sure thing. i may just have you guys do a dust removal. i just have one more question. after you guys remove the dust, how do i keep the iphone clean and not allow dust to enter the phone again?
MilliampOwner 9:37 pm
(9:37:20 PM): well, there is always a chance more dust can get between the digitizer and the LCD. If you are really concerned about that, you might want to consider getting this: http://www.milliamp.com/dust-under-iphone-screen-cleaning.html
STTF 9:38 pm
(9:38:00 PM): lifetime removal?
MilliampOwner 9:38 pm
(9:38:08 PM): yep
(9:39:00 PM): all you’d have to cover on that one woudl be the shipping
STTF 9:39 pm
(9:39:06 PM): they say the 4G has some kind of anti-dust thing… that sounds interesting.
MilliampOwner 9:40 pm
(9:40:26 PM): well, they fused the digitzer and LCD into one piece. no dust. However, if the digitizer breaks and the LCD is still good – too bad – you need to buy a new digi/LCD combo. This is how the FIRST generation iPhone was constructed.
STTF 9:41 pm
(9:41:28 PM): oh i understand. also, i hate to admit this, but my phone is unlocked/jailbroken. i realize you guys are not big fans of that, so im not sure if that would deny me any service?
MilliampOwner 9:42 pm
(9:42:26 PM): not big fans of that process, but we see if all the time and it does not phase us
STTF 9:43 pm
(9:43:05 PM): well the problem is that the iphone is only available for at&t… and let’s be honest, that’s not really fair lol. so people really have no choice.
MilliampOwner 9:46 pm
(9:46:16 PM): yeah. don’t get me started on that one…
(9:46:18 PM): :-)
STTF 9:47 pm
(9:47:00 PM): alright, alright. well anyway, thank you for all your help.
(9:47:04 PM): i appreciate it a lot
MilliampOwner 9:48 pm
(9:48:15 PM): my pleasure – watch for the blog post – and I will keep an eye out for your device.
STTF 9:48 pm
(9:48:37 PM): yes, sir. thank you.
(9:48:43 PM): have a good one.

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