Apple is experiencing a shortage of replacement iPhones due to coronavirus

Apple has informed its tech support retail employees that stock of replacement iPhones will be strained for the next few weeks, according to Apple Store employees who spoke with Bloomberg. This shortage is one of the first instances of the current coronavirus epidemic and its many ripple effects on industries around the world, impacting the existing product supply for the iPhone manufacturer.

The company announced in a recent investor call that it did not expect to meet sales goals for the second fiscal quarter of 2020, and Apple CEO Tim Cook also said the worldwide iPhone supply would be “temporarily limited,” but it wasn’t clear at the time that coronavirus effects would also affect existing products such as iPhones replacement.

If your iPhone is severely damaged to the point where it needs to be replaced, probably there will be a limited supply of replacement parts to change it out for over the next two to four weeks. The study also states that some Apple Store stores are short on individual parts, meaning minor repairs usually done in-store due to shortages may not be possible in those situations.

This doesn’t mean that if your iPhone doesn’t work you are without any options. Bloomberg says an Apple memo informs employees that stores are allowed to e-mail customers to replace iPhones once they become available, or to loan iPhones until a replacement arrives.

Bloomberg reports that most of the China-based Apple Stores that closed because of the COVID-19 virus have been reopened by Apple. This may be a sign this certain areas of Apple’s company will function normally soon. Also, that Apple expects the shortage to last for up to four weeks may mean that it is already ramping up replacement phones restocking.

What if you need the iPhone screen replacement done immediately? Well you can only look for the 3rd party iPhone repair specialist near you.