We recently received an iPad mini from its owner in Rockville, Maryland, who shared with us that the device had been smashed on the kitchen counter. The iPad mini owner had become upset about something, and the broken iPad mini was the result of misplaced anger. When he sent us the device, he requested that we first assess it full damage and determine if could be fully repaired before we attempted to replace the iPad mini's screen.
When we surveyed the damage of the 16 GB iPad mini, it was clear that the glass digitizer was very badly damaged. We could also see that the backplate was bent and bowed in such a way that we were unable to bend it out. The good news was that the device's logic board, battery and the other internal components were all intact and undamaged.
Damage like this is rare because a severely bent backplate usually means the device received enough force to damage the internal components that the backplate is there to protect as well. However, in this case, the iPad repair consisted mainly of external repairs. We were able to replace the entire backplate and the glass digitizer, and the device was back to working order and looking good in no time.