Apple May Replace Your Broken Fourth-Gen iPad With an iPad Air 2 Where Necessary - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple May Replace Your Broken Fourth-Gen iPad With an iPad Air 2 Where Necessary

Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers now have the option of replacing a customer's broken fourth-generation iPad with an iPad Air 2, according to an internal memo distributed by Apple last week.

ipad 4 to ipad air 2
An excerpt of the memo obtained by MacRumors:

Starting March 30, iPad 4th generation whole unit repairs may be substituted to iPad Air 2 models. Apple's repair and order management tool will indicate for each repair if a substitution will take place. Please note the substitute part’s color and capacity to ensure the customer understands what their replacement iPad whole unit will be.

The fourth-generation iPad was released in November 2012, so when a customer needs a replacement model, it's likely easier now for Apple to just give them a newer and more widely available iPad Air 2 in most cases.

Not every broken fourth-generation iPad will be replaced with an iPad Air 2. The decision will ultimately be decided on a case-by-case basis, likely depending upon availability of each tablet in the affected customer's region.

Related Roundup: iPad Air
Buyer's Guide: iPad Air (Neutral)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

astropad kit main feature

MacRumors Giveaway: Win an iPad Air and Revamped Rock Paper Pencil Kit From Astropad

Friday September 4, 2026 10:41 am PDT by
For this week's giveaway, we've once again teamed up with Astropad to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an M4 iPad Air, an Apple Pencil Pro, and an Astropad Rock Paper Pencil kit to use with it. The $49.99 Rock Paper Pencil is a screen protector and Apple Pencil tip combo that makes writing on your iPad feel like writing on a piece of paper instead of a slippery glass display. It's a...
iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...

Top Rated Comments

thisisnotmyname Avatar
123 months ago
so... do they also replace old accessories that may be useless due to a different form factor?
how do I continuously underestimate the forum's ability to find the negative in absolutely everything?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wildkraut Avatar
123 months ago
so... do they also replace old accessories that may be useless due to a different form factor?
Of course not, you should be grateful to have a new reason to buy new accessories.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
123 months ago
how do I continuously underestimate the forum's ability to find the negative in absolutely everything?
Given that businesses buy these things, it's a real issue if you have things like kiosk stands, cash register mounts, a mount and certification for your Boeing 767... It can easily cost more than the actual device. This is why real enterprise hardware companies like Dell and HP guarantee parts availability for 5 years after last sale date.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
123 months ago
Where's my hammer?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
123 months ago
What about the forgotten 3rd gen?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
123 months ago
Are any fourth gen iPads even still under warrantee??
Unlikely. So after paying for the repair, you don't really save all that much compared to just getting a refurbished iPad Air 2. Better than nothing, but I also can't imagine anyone wanting to pay that much to repair such an old device (a 4-year old device!) vs just spending the money on brand new device.

It's really more for convenience to Apple than anything else.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)