We love helping Mac Medics clients get their iPhones and iPods back to them quickly. We repair dozens of iPhones and iPods every week, and in the majority of the cases, the unit is fixed within a few hours of being dropped off here in our Millersville, Maryland Mac Lab.

There’e no need to send your iPod away to the West Coast or anywhere else (we hope it’s not some fly-by-night basement repair place) for that matter when you have a local, reliable, and trustworthy iPod/iPhone/Macintosh repair center right here in Central Anne Arundel County right near Arundel Mills Mall and BWI Airport.

Don’t forget that Facebook “Fans” of MacMedics get $10 off iPhone and $25 off Macintosh repairs. Make yourself a “Fan” right here and find out what all the buzz is about!

Here’s a testimonial that a nice guy who was heading to Afghanistan sent us. Nothing better than getting an iPhone back in the hands of a member of the Armed Forces.

“Mr. Stibolt,
 
I don’t know if you will remember me or not, but I am the U.S. Military member whose iPhone your company fixed the day before I left for deployment. Having my iPhone fixed same day was very helpful! I just wanted to thank you and your company personally again. Having my iPhone with me here overseas allows me to communicate with my family back home without worrying about big phone bills. I will be sure to mention MacMedics to every Mac or iPod/iPhone owner I see! So, thanks again and I look forward to doing more business with you in the future.

Sincerely,
Damu M.”

Before you make an appointment, drive to the mall, find a parking spot, and then lug your Mac through the Annapolis Mall to get to the Apple Store, please consider supporting your local neighborhood Mac shop! Visit MacMedics in Millersville (near BWI airport) or Lanham, Maryland (near RT 50 & I-495) the next time you need Mac sales or service.

See our Blog post with all the details on why to come see MacMedics instead of trekking to the Apple Store. Clients that come to see us, often tell us they will never go back to the Apple Store for Macintosh sales OR service!

Or review this quick top 11 reasons here:

1. No appointment is needed: No need to call ahead when you’re ready to come visit MacMedics! Just walk in and our Apple Certified Techs will take great care of you.

Fly-By-Night iPod-iPhone Repair Startups Can’t Keep Their Hands Off Off Our Images

I fancy myself to be a pretty good photographer, but I’m NOT winning any awards or anything like former MacMedic Evan Bishop (If you’re looking for a GREAT Professional Photographer in San Diego, CA, please do look him up). As an amateur photog, I take a fair amount of of the pictures here at MacMedics. One of my images has been repeatedly ripped off for use by other iPhone service firms.

Why do less scrupulous iPhone/iPod service concerns keep ripping this image off? Well, here’s the reason: In order to take a picture of the highly reflective iPhone (shooting directly at the iPhone glass), you have to jump through some hoops to get the cracks to show up in focus. We then “lightly” edited the image of the broken iPhone in Photoshop to show off the cracks and make the image really “ad worthy”. We actually put quite a bit of work into just this one picture!

There’s quite an abundance of these “Fly-By- Night” businesses operating in the dark, murky waters of the Internet. A favorite place to hang up a shingle seems to be on-line classified giant, Craigslist. In most of the postings I’ve seen, there’s no website and no physical address to visit. So in essence, you’re going to hire a guy off Craigslist, who’s not part of a long-term reputable business, and invite him to your house to fix your iPhone? You might as well just wander over to your closest open-air drug market to see if you can find some small electronics repair help. Okay I’m sure that some of these guys are just trying to break into the biz, but really folks, people have been killed by people they have hired from Craigslist (and other on-line classified ads services).

If the repair you have done has a problem, do you really think this guy will come back and re-fix the problem? Where are his parts coming from? Are they real deal or just “high copy” foreign counterfeit replacement parts that came from eBay?

In the long run, do you really want some guy who ripped off his advertising artwork from someone else working on your iPod or iPhone?

In the case mentioned in this Blog post, the Craigslist poster did not even bother to try and crop our logo out! I guess that might be good for us, as it’s advertising for MacMedics. Here’s a link to a large size picture of the Craigslist ad posting so you can get a close look at our logo.

Here’s a link to another instance of the SAME image being ripped off by someone else from a previous post about this topic from the MacMedics Blog.

We’ve blogged about “Do It Yourself” iPhone 3G and 3G S repairs before, but we wanted to post this.

This iPhone 3G S was dropped and it’s top glass is broken. It’s owner bought a new glass/digitizer off the Internet after he watched a DIY video that made the repair look pretty easy to handle. Sadly, in the process of trying to remove the glass from the iPhone he also broke the iPhone’s LCD. So while this well meaning client was trying to save a few dollars, he could have had the unit fixed same day if he had just brought it in to MacMedics.

See large size photo of this iPhone 3G S here.

You can see all of our previous posts about our warning regarding DIY iPhone repairs at this link.

I’ll recap three things here:

1. It only costs about $20 to $30 more to have MacMedics fix your iPhone or iPod. If you figure in ALL the costs: The replacement part, the shipping of that part, is the part you ordered BOTH the correct part and actually genuine?, the special tools needed, the correct adhesives to attach the parts, the fact that MacMedics will warranty our work for one year, and the fact that if you try the repair yourself, you’re taking on a whole bunch of risk. (Trust us folks, the people who sell the parts WANT to make it look easy, it’s not. Plus, many of the bloggers that HAVE done the repair, say if given the choice, they would not do it again!)

2. How fast do you want to have your iPhone fixed? How about same day? If you buy a part on-line, you have to wait for it to arrive, pay for shipping, and then have the time to perform the repair.

3. Are you properly grounded for static? Most likely not! Our techs perform all repairs in a static safe environment and perform the work while they are properly grounded. Our lab facility has been inspected by Apple and meets their requirements for Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Trying to catch up on all the latest MacMedics and Macintosh service news just got a little easier. The MacMedics Blog is now formatted for easy reading on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Update 12/16/09 If you read my Blog post below you’ll see my ten reasons for coming to visit MacMedics vs. making a trip to the Apple store. I love the Apple Store and what they do there, but as a local business owner I hope you’ll come see us instead. As the owner of MacMedics I do have my reasons, but don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at the first two Yelp.com reviews for the Apple Store in Annapolis.

Lots of MacMedics clients and Mac friends I’ve been talking to recently have commented on the longevity of MacMedics. If you have not heard, we’re now in our twentieth year of business (pretty cool). It’s nice that I no longer have to explain that Apple is NOT going out of business, why Apple has no market share, why Macs cost so much, why would anyone want a Mac, aren’t PC’s so much better then Macs for business, and why Macs are not just for hobbyists, gamers, and people who wear sandals?

Now, the conversations are much more positive! The most prevailing questions seem to be related to be how on earth can MacMedics’ TWO Maryland based Macintosh sales and service locations continue to proper and expand when we have to compete directly with Apple’s very strong retail store presence in Maryland and Virginia?

The MacMedics Millersville/Baltimore office is in the middle of three local Apple Stores in Baltimore-Annapolis area, (Annapolis, Columbia, and Towson, Maryland) and the MacMedics Lanham/Washington DC office also in thick of Apple Store country (including first Apple Store in Tysons Corner as well as Bethesda (soon to be in it’s own new “store front” location on Bethesda Ave.), Clarendon, Pentagon City, and also Annapolis).

First of all, Apple sends tons of people to us directly from the Apple Store and from AppleCare telephone support. The folks at Apple know that for many repairs, MacMedics’ labor pricing structure and service parts costs are different (and usually LOWER) than Apple, so for most repairs, MacMedics is less expensive than Apple (and many others as well). When you factor in that all MacMedics “out-of-warranty” Macintosh repairs we perform are covered by our 1-year “no hassle” warranty. This fact makes MacMedics the BEST choice for ALL Apple out of warranty repairs. The Apple Store and other AASP’s only offer a 90-day warranty on Apple service repairs.

When faced with a major repair like a logic board or LCD replacement, our price is hundreds of dollars less than the Apple Store. The Apple Store also does not offer full repair services for their iPod and iPhone family of products. They will exchange certain units in certain circumstances, but not always and generally a “whole unit” exchange is MORE expensive then just having the exact problem fixed by MacMedics.

What about AppleCare and Apple Warranty repairs? Well, as an Apple Authorized Service Provider, MacMedics is the place for that as well. With no lines, no lugging your Mac gear though the mall, and our award-winning in-lab service, it’s pretty clear that we are on our game. At the Apple Store you have to compete with the crowds, and those crowds mean that there’s an equally large amount of Apple hardware in the back room waiting for the Genius team to get to it. We almost always start your repair the same day you bring it to us. As soon as we have a repair plan and cost estimate we’ll call you and give you all of your choices. You never have to worry if we’re push you one way or another when considering to buy a new Mac (or used Mac) or to perform a repair. It’s always your choice, and we’ll advise you like family when it comes to making a decision about replacing an older Mac or one that may not be worth investing any more money in. As an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, MacMedics is well suited to help you find a new Mac when you’re ready for one.

We’re also quite proud of the fact that MacMedics almost never uses Apple depot (mail-in) service. We perform any repair we can in-house, and that translates into a faster turn around time for you.

MacMedics’ Millersville headquarters is a hassle-free place to come when you need Macintosh support. We have over 3000 square feet dedicated to ONLY Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone service. That’s larger then most Apple Stores, and far more “service” space then pretty much anywhere else. Don’t forget that our Lanham, MD location is just as well suited to handle your Mac service and sales needs.

Here’s TEN great reasons to come see MacMedics Mac Lab in Millersville or Lanham:

1. No appointment is necessary at MacMedics: Just walk in and our Apple Certified Techs will take great care of you.

2. No lines: We’re always busy, but there’s almost never a wait to speak to a MacMedic Tech.

3. Quick Check In: Tell us what your Mac’s issue or problem is, and we’ll get right on the case! We’ll call you to talk in detail when we have an idea of what’s going on with your unit and what ALL of your options are. MacMedics offers an initial Macintosh Dialogistic for your computer at no charge. If we have to dig deep with part testing or advanced software testing our fee is only $49, and only if you choose NOT to have your machine repaired.

4. No lugging your iMac, Mac Pro, or G5 through the mall: Our front door is less then 10 steps from our parking lot. You can bring your Mac in, or come in and get us, and we’ll carry it in for you.

5. Quick Turn-Around: Our goal for in-lab service it to have it done in less then 72 hours. Many repairs take less time, and if that’s the case then your Mac will be back to you even quicker.

6. Hassle free warranty: Got a Mac that needs out of warranty service? The Apple Store only offers a 90-day service warranty. MacMedics “Hassle Free” warranty is a full 1-year!

7. Need a new Mac? We’ve got them: Come pick out what you want, and we’ll be happy to help with no sales hype! MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, so you can get the equipment you need coupled with the very best advice from the experts at MacMedics.

8. Full Service for iPhone & iPods: While the Apple store might do a whole unit replacement or offer a small discount for buying a new unit, MacMedics will fix just the problem your iPhone or iPod has, thus saving you money. All iPhone and iPod repairs MacMedics perform come with a full one-year parts and labor warranty.

9. Same day service for iPods & iPhones: In most cases if you drop off your iPod or iPhone in the morning, we’ll have it done later that same day!

10. Advanced, complex, or difficult repairs are performed at MacMedics every day: If you’ve been quoted an exorbitant amount of money to have your Mac fixed at the Apple Store, MacMedics can help! Liquid damage, fried logic boards, SuperDrive replacements, broken LCDs or MacBook Pro glass, and severe Macintosh case damage are all offered at MacMedics and often for hundreds of dollars less then Apple (or anywhere else!).

New Bonus Reason: The Apple Store Can’t Upgrade Your Hard Drive. MacMedics Can! See our new blog post from 1/30/10 to get all of the details here. A common issue we help clients with here at MacMedics is “upgrading” or “retiring” a failed (or perfectly good) hard drive. What many people don’t know is that we can “upgrade” your computer to a larger size hard drive, even if your hard drive has failed under Apple warranty.

Update 5/26/09 Need another reason? We are pleased to announce that Apple has selected MacMedics for a quarterly Commitment To Excellence service award for the second time. Only 179 Apple Service locations were honored with this award putting MacMedics in the top 5% of all Apple Authorized Service Providers in the United States and Canada. Get the scoop here.

So we’re at it again! This time we’re helping a client get his money back from eBay and PayPal in a case of a counterfeit iPhone 3G S.

The side-by-side unboxing, package contents analysis, and real iPhone 3G S vs. fake iPhone 3G S video from MacMedics is coming soon.

Here’s some preliminary photos to get the story started. I also wanted to warn folks that to the untrained eye, you could easily get stuck with a phony iPhony on the street. The look, the feel, the weight, and even the Apple like retail iPhone box are all pretty convincing. iPhones make great gifts during the holidays, but don’t grab one too quickly. be sure to check it first. See my handy guide in six photos below. Links to large size photos taken with real iPhone 3G S are at the bottom of this post.

Here we go:

Real iPhone 3G S box for White iPhone 3G S is in foreground. Fake box which is taller and wider is behind it.

Again, real box is in foreground, fake box is behind it.

Smaller iPhone 3G S box is on the left. If you look closely you can see iCal and clock are set to same date and time. Fonts and icons vary, but all in same place.

Box contents from fake iPhone. Note stylus, old style iPhone power brick, battery booster, funky headphone, and free protective case!

Box contents from real Apple iPhone 3G S

The real iPhone 3G S is on left, the fake one on the right. You can see that it's pretty different. Note Internet Explorer icon in place of Safari.

Large size photos can be found here:

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-1.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-2.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-3.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-4.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-5.jpg

http://www.macmedics.com/images/Counterfeit-iPhone-LG-6.jpg

MacMedics is well know for our award-winning Macintosh service & consulting, as well as our iPhone & iPod repair. So much so, that other firms offering similar services have ripped off our name, our look, and even our ads.

In the case listed below, the image used in our ad was a photo that we actually took in our office. believe it or not, it’s quite difficult to get a picture of an iPhone facing the camera straight on. The iPhone’s glass or lens reflects right back to the camera so getting a good shot was no easy task. In order to get the shot for this ad, we created our own “white box” to place the iPhone so we could get the best shot possible.

MacMedics holds a U.S. Government Trademark on the name “MacMedics”.

Here’s one of the more recent cases of someone ripping MacMedics off. In order to prevent unintentional promotion for the other business, the names and information have been blurred out to protect the not so innocent.

I did e-mail the firm that posted this ad, and while they offered no apology or explanation, they did change the ad so that our image was no longer in the ad. They also switched up the layout of the ad, so it no longer appears to be a direct rip off. For that, I thank them.

Update: 3/8/10 MacMedics has lowered our iPhone 3G & 3G S glass/digitizer repairs. iPhone 3G is now $89 and iPhone 3G S is now $99. Flat fee FedEx Express shipping anywhere in the USA is only $10!

MacMedics Cyber Monday deals: iPhone glass repair $20 off and MacBook LCD repair $100 off!

So maybe your iPhone had a hard Thanksgiving, if so your friends at MacMedics have you covered with good deals on our iPhone glass/digitizer service.

iPhone 3G glass/digitizer/lens repair only $89 (Regular price $109)

iPhone 3G S glass/digitizer/lens repair only $99 (Regular price $129)

If you MacBook is home from college or just got caught up in some holiday hi-jinx and ended up with a broken LCD, we’ve got that too.

MacBook (Black or White plastic model) parts and labor $249

These special prices are only good Monday and Tuesday (November 30th and December 1st). Must metion “Cyber Monday” to get sale price. If you can’t get you device to us in time, call us to set up your repair, and we’ll hold the price for one week until your unit reaches us.

Return FedEx Ground shipping is included for all three deals. Upgrade to FedEx Express for only $10!

Call 1-866-MAC-MEDICS to set up your repair!

Some of the other Internet based firms that offer iPhone service and repair are now making a big deal out of how they now accept walk-in repairs, and that they also same day iPhone service. MacMedics has always offered same day iPhone and iPod service. Drop your sick iPhone or iPod off in the morning, and we’ll have it done by the end of the day (in almost every case).

Even if you send us your iPhone or iPod, we normally have it fixed and back on the FedEx truck the same day it arrives. If you need us to send you a pre-paid FedEx label, just e-mail us your name, address, and phone number, and we’ll e-mail you back a PDF of a label. We just add $10 onto your repair for this service.

Do you have a 3G iPhone and you’re in an extreme hurry? Well, MacMedics does offer the iPhone 3G “Apple” broken glass or LCD repair solution. We can replace the entire top half of your iPhone 3G while-you-wait in about 5 minutes. Same price as Apple, $199. If you become a MacMedics “fan” on Facebook, and we’ll knock $10 of any iPhone or iPod repair!

I recently updated my Blog post warning against Do-It-Yourself iPhone repairs. I’ve copied-n-pasted a teaser below for your reading enjoyment. If you care to read the updated post, you can find it here!

We are seeing more and more iPhones that have been damaged during do-it-yourself repairs. Folks, the videos you see on-line make it look very easy. There’s a reason for that, the companies that make these step-by-step videos on iPhone and iPod disassembly and repair are the same people that are selling all of the parts, tools, and supplies you need to perform the repairs. They want it to look as easy as possible and they often edit the video in their favor making it look like it’s easier then it really is and that it takes less time then it will take you. I can guarantee you that guy/gal in the video is NOT performing the repair you are watching for the FIRST time.

This blog post is a bit of rant, so if you’re already on the same page as me, and you think paying $20 to $30 plus parts cost, and getting FREE return shipping via FedEx to have my guys fix your iPhone right the first time, and you want to avoid the risk of trying it yourself then, just use this form. If you need us to e-mail you a pre-paid FedEx Express label we can do that too, and we’ll just add $10 onto your total repair. Questions? Just call us 1-866-MAC-MEDICS or Email us. 99% of the iPhones that reach us are fixed the same day the arrive, and we pack them back up and ship them back for next day FedEx delivery. If you’re local to the Baltimore-Washington DC area, then just drop your iPhone off in the morning, and we’ll have it done by the end of the day!

If you need more convincing, then keep reading. I love to talk shop!