Experiences with Cell Phone Repair Shops

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

cbrunny

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2007
6,791
406
126
Tell me about your experiences with cell phone repair shops. Wondering if my experience is similar to others.

In brief:
- Dropped Nexus 5 several months ago. Put off screen replacement due to cost, expecting to get a N6. Due to cost, went back to screen replacement. Got hosed, $226 (expensive parts from what I understand).
- Received phone back - looks great and works. No issues with digitizer and the screen looks great. Appears to work fine for a few hours.
- Put phone in pocket, shuts off. Getting it back up again takes some basic troubleshooting.
- Put phone in pocket, shuts off. Does not turn back on even following more complicated troubleshooting.
- Took it back to the shop today and they're looking at it, but I have a feeling they're going to screw me on it and make me pay to have it fixed. In which case the BBB is getting involved.

I'm sure something this invasive is never a sure thing. But I am a bit disappointed that the first fix didn't take. I'd expect a pro-shop to get it right the first time.
 
S

soccerballtux

Lifer
Dec 30, 2004
12,553
2
76
yes the parts for screen replacement on n5 are expensive like $150-175. has me scared of breaking mine!

these sorts of issues are why I like to do things myself, like with car. It's hard to vet their experience level in something you don't have experience in.

I feel same way regarding invasion.
 
C

cbrunny

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2007
6,791
406
126
I have no skill of any kind to replace the screen though, especially with something so expensive. If it was cheaper, I'd probably have attempted it myself.
 
AznAnarchy99

AznAnarchy99

Lifer
Dec 6, 2004
14,695
117
106
cbrunny said:
I think the BBB is a good first step, but I recognize that others don't agree. I use the BBB to choose contractors/trades, etc.
Click to expand...

BBB is a glorified Yelp. The last company I worked with, we responded to the BBB complaint but if we couldn't come to an agreement so be it.
 
I Saw OJ

I Saw OJ

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2004
4,923
2
76
Took my S4 with a cracked screen to one last year. They fixed the screen and it looked great but never quite worked the same. Something with the digitizer or the screen or both made typing a headache. I went back to them and they "fixed" it a couple times but it never was the same. Asked for a refund but they woofed about their no return policy and everything. Over all it was a bad experience and ill never go back to one.
 
I

ImDonly1

Platinum Member
Dec 17, 2004
2,357
0
76
Have you seen Craigslist? Seems like almost anyone can call themselves a repair shop. You do it a few times get familiar with it and then call yourself a pro.

Anyone with some time and tutorials online can do it. Rather attempt it myself if they are going to charge me $250. Also you think they are using OEM parts?
 
C

cbrunny

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2007
6,791
406
126
Went in after work today. They told me the memory on the n5 was corrupted. I got angry because it worked flawlessly before they touched it and they agreed to give me my money back. Just out the $40 bench fee, which I can swallow. Still angry but it could be worse.

Needless to say I won't be going back to one either.
 
Last edited:
B

Bman123

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2008
3,221
1
81
I've never had a issue with a repair shop. The local guy here us really good and the prices aren't bad on labor either. You just had a bad experience that's all
 
JEDIYoda

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
3,321
126
cbrunny said:
Tell me about your experiences with cell phone repair shops. Wondering if my experience is similar to others.

In brief:
- Dropped Nexus 5 several months ago. Put off screen replacement due to cost, expecting to get a N6. Due to cost, went back to screen replacement. Got hosed, $226 (expensive parts from what I understand).
- Received phone back - looks great and works. No issues with digitizer and the screen looks great. Appears to work fine for a few hours.
- Put phone in pocket, shuts off. Getting it back up again takes some basic troubleshooting.
- Put phone in pocket, shuts off. Does not turn back on even following more complicated troubleshooting.
- Took it back to the shop today and they're looking at it, but I have a feeling they're going to screw me on it and make me pay to have it fixed. In which case the BBB is getting involved.

I'm sure something this invasive is never a sure thing. But I am a bit disappointed that the first fix didn't take. I'd expect a pro-shop to get it right the first time.
Click to expand...
You took it to a shop to have the screen replaced.....and nothing else?

It`s not the shops responsibility to do extra work that you did not ask for...is it??

The BBB is a joke..nothing will happen...the BBB has no enforcement powers at all...none...zilch!!
 
C

cbrunny

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2007
6,791
406
126
JEDIYoda said:
You took it to a shop to have the screen replaced.....and nothing else?

It`s not the shops responsibility to do extra work that you did not ask for...is it??

The BBB is a joke..nothing will happen...the BBB has no enforcement powers at all...none...zilch!!
Click to expand...

My bad - I should have added that while the screen was cracked in the months after the drop, it otherwise functioned as normal.

I wouldn't expect the shop to do work I wasn't asking for. I am angry because I gave them a working phone and they gave me back a brick.
 
blankslate

blankslate

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2008
8,780
559
126
Going to third party shops is hit or miss.

Some have very little experience and perhaps not even the right tools to separate the digitizer from the glass which makes the proposition more risky.

Your best bet is to suck it up and pay the manufacturer to fix the phone or buy a replacement depending on cost.

Otherwise, unless you know of a local repair guy who has a lot of experience with gadgets as well as laptops and desktops then you're probably just as well off getting the parts and doing the repair yourself.


....
 
rudeguy

rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
I fix phones for a living. I don't do customer repairs because of things like this.

Here is what *probably* happened:

You dropped your phone and its possible that there was damage to the board, however it still worked fine since everything was still in place. The repair shop tears it down, replaces what was broken and puts it back together. It powers up, they ship it.

Another possibility is they used 3rd party parts. This can cause weird issues like you described. My next step would be to order an OEM screen and try that. If it still didn't work right, I would lean towards the next possibility:

The last possibility is they used metal tools to work on your phone. I see this so much that its not even funny. A tech goes about disconnecting all the different cables with a set of metal tweezers. 90% of the time there is no issue but its a very good way to short a board. In your case it sounds like this probably happened. Figuring out what chip/resistor/filter they fried would take forever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom