Author Topic: For the most part, cell phone repair is *not* worth the time and trouble  (Read 1950 times)

taiwwa

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It seems like a simple astute way to save money and have some fun, but cell phone repair is fairly frustrating, time-consuming, and often ends in failure and a damaged phone, especially when dealing with adhesives. And the time it takes to do cell phone repair done right would be more profitably spent working a job. Or just selling it on eBay for whatever you can get and buying a new phone (and often by then it will be cheap due to age).

The only time it is worth it is when you have a relatively simple phone that is rated "low" or "easy" by ifixit.

Linea_Norway

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On the other hand, changing a battery by yourself is worth it. If you have an iPhone, you can buy the correct Apple-invented screwdriver at some Chinese copy shop. This way you can extend the lifetime of your phone by 2 times.

My cellphone needed 2 repairs, but luckily that was in the guarantee period.

I do agree that it is a cheap solution to buy an old model phone when needing a new phone. I also always buy an older model that costs much less than 50% of a new, fancy model. But it shouldn't be too old. At a certain time the hardware doesn't support the software that is required to run most apps. Then it starts to suck.

scottish

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How about a cell phone repair store?   We've had reasonably good luck with those...

Syonyk

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What I'm hearing is that sucking at cell phone repair is not worth the time and trouble. :)

I've made very good beer money in the past being a cell phone repair & refurbish guy - even at a tech company with a lot of intelligent people, I was "the guy" for cell phone and laptop repair.  And Nexus 5 battery replacements, which tended to go bad right out of warranty.

Johnez

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When I broke my MotoX screen it cost $200 to repair. Versus $60 for iPhone screen.

Almost made me want an iPhone. Decided a cheap phone is where it's at for me, $200 or less.

Candace

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I have a Nexus 5x. I damaged the camera by dropping the phone. It still worked, but there were black spots on my pictures. Then I figured hey, I'll just DIY the fix. There are YouTube videos all over the place and parts available via Amazon and other places.

So I ordered a camera that had my phone model listed as compatible. I also ordered a $20 tool kit for phone repair because I figured it would be worth it in the long run. I got the toolkit and the camera. Turns out the camera was simply the wrong part. It didn't even fit or have the same form factor as the camera it replaced. It would have cost almost as much to ship it back as it had to purchase it. And taking apart a Nexus 5x feels like breaking it at first -- the back cover is difficult to get off. I didn't break it, but was afraid I would.

So I went to a second site and made absolutely sure the next camera I ordered was the right part, listed as compatible for the exact phone I have. Got the camera, then said hey, now I know how to take the phone apart, so this should go more quickly than the first time. It did. The new camera fit fine, but when I turned the phone back on, it went into a bootloop and wouldn't come out. Tried a couple of more times, putting the new camera in extremely carefully, with the same results. Replaced the second new camera with the old, damaged camera and guess what, the phone turned on fine.

I gave up and took my camera to a cell phone repair store. I tried the DIY route twice, and it didn't work for me. The repair store ordered a camera and when they did the work, everything was hunky-dory.

Sometimes DIY works out, sometimes it doesn't. But at least I have a toolkit I can use when I need tools for a small device.

CCCA

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I've replaced a half dozen batteries, replace 2 cracked screens and a camera module all on iphones.  Not the easiest thing, but I'm a tinkerer and so it was fun and saved money at the same time. 

Chris22

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How about a cell phone repair store?   We've had reasonably good luck with those...

I paid a cell phone repair store ~$100 to repair a small crack in my iPhone screen, and then I turned around and traded in the iPhone for $6xx towards a new iPhone.  I called that well worth it.


(Long story, but old iPhone was a corporate phone (that I was gifted on the way out) that was on the 'wrong' provider from the company my wife was on so it made sense to consolidate on one plan, etc etc)