Smartphones, Tablets and Laptops- Why Not Save Cash and Repair It Yourself?
Why not indeed? We can’t pretend to be entirely neutral here(!), but we’ll try to explain our case as fairly as possible.
We attempt to price our repairs as competitively as we can, while still allowing for a reasonable profit once everything has been taken into account.
However, it often happens that customers don’t understand why a certain repair costs what it does. We’ll normally try to explain this, and let them judge for themselves whether it is- or isn’t- economically worthwhile.
That assumes they speak to us in the first place, though! We’ve heard of people comparing the price of the replacement parts on (say) eBay with the cost of the repair and- on noticing the difference- deciding they might save themselves quite a bit of money by doing it themselves using one of the guides available online.
We obviously can’t know how good the technical skills of the people in question are. What we can say is that laptop, smartphone and tablet repair in particular can be a trap for the unwary- those with decent everyday soldering and electronics experience who haven’t realised that they require more specialised knowledge and skills. (Often such skills are required just to disassemble these devices).
Pitfalls for the Unwary
Many Smartphone, Tablet and Laptop Repairs Need Specialised Tools and Experience
It’s true that some repairs are relatively straightforward- but you’d be surprised how many that appear to be so at first glance actually aren’t. We’ve been in the business a long time, and have learned what do look out for even with the apparently “easy” repairs.
The other issue is that many repairs need specialised tools to carry out reliably. We’ve invested in these machines because it makes sense to do so when you’re repairing devices day in, day out; if you’re not in that position, it’s unlikely that you’d have access to similar equipment or the knowledge needed to use it effectively.
Components Can Be Tiny and Require Microscopes to Fit
For example, take a new-style 20p coin out of your pocket and note the writing that says “Twenty Pence” at the top. The capacitors used in some Apple computers are less than two-thirds the height of those letters. (See the accompanying images). That’s almost impossible to work on without a microscope, for a start!
You’re not going to replace one of those with a regular soldering iron- that’s the reason “microsoldering” is considered a distinct skill in its own right, with specialised equipment needed to do it effectively.
Note how small the capacitors on this Apple MacBook are compared to the pen tip.
Now you can really see how small they are- less than two-thirds the height of the letters on this 20p piece. (Chances are your screen is still showing this larger than actual size).
When It Comes to eBay, Never Buy Solely on Price
It’s understandable to want something for the best possible price. Unfortunately, eBay is full of substandard goods from sellers happy to exploit those who buy on cost and cost alone- corners cut, blatantly substandard or out-of-spec parts and outright lies and fakery. Then again, if you don’t know what you’re buying, you could easily end up buying these at a higher price anyway.
We keep an eye on what we’re buying, stick to trustworthy suppliers and know the pitfalls.
Be Sure You Know the Whole Story When It Comes to Parts
So, the glass on (say) your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is broken and you’ve noticed that the cost of the repair is in the hundreds of pounds. What a ripoff! You don’t even need the screen replaced- it’s just the glass that’s broken, and there’s a kit for sale on eBay for £18 to fix this.
Now, here’s the thing. It’s virtually impossible for even an experienced technician to separate the glass without breaking the LCD itself as well. In other words, the kit is basically useless, a false promise. The LCD assembly for this phone costs (at the time of writing) between £250 and £300, and allowance for overheads, risks and labour have to go on top of that.
Our Repair Prices Don’t Just Cover the Part Itself
Sometimes- but not always- the part itself isn’t expensive. Of course, if you hired a plumber to replace the washer in your tap, you would expect to pay a lot more than the few pence the washer itself cost! That’s the case here- a lot of parts are difficult to fit; in fact, a lot of phones and tablets are difficult just to get into.
Add the cost of the specialist equipment we use, and allowance for the usual risks involved in such procedures, and you’ll see it’s not necessarily the part you’re really paying for, but the labour and everything that goes with it.
A Mistake Could Easily End Up Costing You More
This isn’t hypothetical- we come across cases like this quite regularly. In the pictures below, you’ll see the FPC connector on an iPad Mini someone attempted to fix themselves. While disconnecting the old digitizer, they accidentally damaged the connector, not realising that the pins were very delicate. (This is an understandable mistake if you’re not experienced with such delicate and small-scale devices).
After that disaster, they brought it to us. Fortunately, we managed to remove and replace the broken connector- and then we did the original repair. Of course, due to the extra work this caused, the customer was charged significantly more for the connector repair than they were for the original job!
The damage caused by insufficient care during a DIY repair.
The broken connector after desoldering.
The new connector fitted successfully into place.
A Mistake Could Ruin Your Device Completely
While it might not seem it, the person above was lucky… lucky that their iPad could be fixed at all! We’re good at our job, but we can’t guarantee that we’ll always be able to recover the damage caused by someone else’s botched repair, even if the original problem itself might have been fixable.
You might consider the risk worth it if your tablet or phone is no longer worth much and wouldn’t justify the cost of the repair.* If it’s an expensive smartphone- or whatever- that’s otherwise worth a few hundred pounds though… well, we’ll leave it up to you to decide whether it’s a sensible choice or not.
* Bear in mind that we always attempt to notify customers of any costs and potential charges in advance, and that where a repair obviously isn’t economically worthwhile- e.g. a screen replacement for a £40 tablet- we try to be as upfront about this as possible.
