Any recommendations for Iphone repair?

[tvarad]

I have a first gen 8GB iphone that's completely dead. Can anyone recommend a iphone repair shop or do I have to send it over to Apple to have it fixed?

Thanks in advance.

 

[S Freud]

I would assume you would have to send it to apple. Is not under waranty? Can you be more specific about being "dead."

 

[pm]

Yeah, send it in to Apple. I fixed the screen on mine (which is a non-warranty repair... plus I hacked mine) but it was a dicey repair.

You've tried putting it in DFU mode? (hold down power and home together at the same time for about 45 seconds)

 

[tvarad]

OK, I'm going to come clean. I tried to do one of the first HW hacks available for it and messed up the comm board (I think that's the one; it's been a long time). That didn't turn out too well :-(. It's been lying in the closet for a long time. Otherwise everything is as good as new.

It's out of warranty.

 

[pm]

1. Ebay it as a broken iPhone. I've seen them get over $200... mention the comm board is bad, and that there's no water damage. I bet you'll get over $250 for it.

2. Take it apart to the point where you can show where the hack went wrong and take it to a local electronics repair place and see what they think. Professional electronic repair guys are often really impressively good. (but also sometimes they aren't... it's very hit or miss). A good professional electronics repair guy should be very good at scraping off solder mask and then doing a precision high-quality solder to a sub-mm trace. Check the phone book for TV repair or electronics repair. Call around to the guys in the book and describe the problem in general terms... I don't think I'd say "hey, I have a broken iPhone that needs fixing"... that'll just freak them out. You didn't say what is wrong exactly, but I presume you cut the A17 trace when trying to strip down the solder mask to make a solder point, so just say "I cut a 1mm trace on a PCB board and I need to have a wire jumper soldered onto it". This option is likely to be the most time-consuming, but also the cheapest. The repair should run you less than $75 - probably $30-$50 if the problem is just a cut A17 trace.

3. Google "iphone repair" and then choose one of the numerous places on there, research them a bit to make sure they are legit, and send your iPhone to them. Tell them the comm board is bad and ask them to swap it. Should run less than $100.

4. Take it to an Apple store - or call them - and tell them that you broke it and be as vague on the details as you can be. Lie if your ethics allow it, but if not, say that you physically damaged it doing something. In any case, tell them it's not water-damaged but that it's not a covered warranty repair. Just ask them to fix it. This is likely to be an awkward conversation and may run you up to around $150, but I don't know anyone who has done this so I don't know.

5. Buy a broken iPhone on Ebay - make sure it's not water damaged. Swap comm boards. This is probably the riskiest idea and is likely to be the most expensive. Broken iPhones are going for >$200... and I would bet that some of them are water damaged...

 

[tvarad]

pm,

Thanks for the great advice. I wasn't looking to make money off of it (God knows how rich I'd be if I Ebay all the gadgets that I killed with my non-existent modding skills) and I'm not worried too much about cost. I was looking for a reliable repair shop recommendation and I may just go with Apple if they charge around $150. You're right, the conversation will probably be the hardest part. I'm thinking of putting the blame on my non-existent college-going son ;-).

Regards.