I bet you were told once or twice to never believe everything you see online. This is the case when it comes to tech hacks and DIY repairs. There are hundreds of videos online claiming to be the answer needed to fix your smartphone. In reality, they only offer temporary fixes and can cause further harm to your device.

One of the most popular “hacks” circulating the web and cited by many sources is applying toothpaste to your cracked screen. Allegedly once toothpaste fills the cracks of a screen, they suddenly smooth out and disappear. Don’t do this.

Even if your phone does appear smoother, there are still cracks that need to be fixed and you are left with a sticky, minty mess. If a hack seems too good to be true, take it with a grain of salt.

Rather than relying on videos that can be misleading, turn your device issues over to a tech repair service like iFixYouri.

iFixYouri specializes in repairing phones, tablets, computers, game consoles, and accessories.

Specifically for phones, iFixYouri offers:

• Glass repair
• LCD repair
• Battery Replacement
• Water damage repair
• Vibrate switch repair
• Ear speaker repair
• Volume button repair
• Front/ Rare camera repair
• Power button repair
• Microphone repair
• Loudspeaker repair
• Charging port repair
• Backglass repair

All of the following is done at a reasonable price, but if you want to take things into your own hands, you’ll need to use the proper tools and follow the right steps.

Fix your Smartphone: iPhone 6 Battery Replacement

If your device has poor battery life, the video and steps below may help:

Unscrew the two pentalobe screws on either side of the lightning dock on the bottom edge of the iPhone 6.

Use the isesamo to slowly and carefully separate the glass screen of the iPhone from the body. Start on the bottom edge of the device and proceed slowly. The flex cable for the screen is at the top.

Slowly pull the top of the screen away from the body and locate the EMI (electromagnetic interference) shield located by the bottom right of the battery.

Unscrew the two screws securing the EMI shield to the logic board and remove it.

Using a spudger, disconnect the battery cable from the logic board.

The next steps involve removing the adhesive tape underneath the battery to make it easier to remove. Slide one tip of your tweezers under the black adhesive strip at the bottom of the battery. Each black strip runs halfway across the bottom of the battery.

Now roll your tweezers away from the battery while simultaneously pull the tape out from underneath the battery.

Continue to pull the tape out from underneath the battery and roll it around the tweezers. It may help to pull diagonally out from the corner as the tape runs up the full height of the battery.

If the white tape snaps apart you may need to use a spudger to carefully pry the battery up. Continue using a combination of tweezers and the spudger to separate the battery from the body of the iPhone. You will have to repeat the process to remove the second strip of tape.

Now you can remove the battery. Use a small length of some adhesive tape to secure the new battery in place. Reconnect the battery cable to the motherboard and screw the EMI shield back on.

Reattach the screen by angling the top in first and then clicking the side clasps into place. Replace the two screws near the lightning dock. That’s it! You’re done.

Fix your Tablet: iPhone Mini Screen Replacement

If you ever want to remove your tablet’s glass and LCD, here’s another helpful video:

Tools Required

• Heat Pad: soft mat with a variable temp electrical heating element
• iSesamo, or metal spudger, used for prying device exteriors, never internal electronics
• Phillips head screwdriver
• Plastic spudger

Instructions

• Loosen adhesive with the heating pad (10min @ 75°C)
• Pry with a metal spudger slowly and gently.
• Lift glass from the bottom to avoid damage to the flex cable.
• Unscrew the screen from the body with a Phillips head screwdriver. Keep your screws organized.
• Be extremely careful while removing the screen. Go gently around all the edges to loosen the LCD.
• Unscrew the metal shield with your Phillips head screwdriver. Keep your screws organized.
• IMPORTANT: Disconnect the battery.
• Disconnect the LCD Flex.
• BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL. Separate the backside of the digitizer flex from the housing.
• Then, USING A PLASTIC SPUDGER, remove the digitizer clip evenly from the logic board.
• If the end of the flex cable is still attached, align your spudger with the side of the iPad and disconnect it.

Needless to say, several helpful tutorials can be found on iFixYouri’s YouTube page.

If you ever have trouble while attempting to fix your smartphone, feel free to visit iFixYouri for further assistance!

Image by InspiredImages from Pixabay

Are you trying to turn your broken iPhone, iPad or Macbook into a D.I.Y project? Even though fixing your device sounds like a good idea initially, the work you do to it  could possibly cause more damage or break it completely. 

Fixing a device is a tedious task and requires a lot of your time and effort, as well as the tools needed. 

Here are the tools you’ll need to be successful at fixing an iPhone, iPad or MacBook  

• Small Phillips screwdriver
• Small Flathead screwdriver
• Plastic opening tools 
• Suction cup 
• Nylon Spudger 
• Point Pentalobe screwdriver 
• Fine tip curved tweezers 
• Microfiber cleaning glass 
• SIM card ejection tool 
• Handle bar
• Flexible extension shaft 

While some people have had luck repairing their device with an at-home tool kit, others not so much. Below are real reviews written in response to a tool kit: 

“Tri tip screwdriver has successfully stripped over half of the screws I’ve tried to remove. This is not a quality product. Maybe I just happened to receive a dud, but I’m definitely not impressed. The Tri Tip screw driver appears to not be “sharp enough” to engage the screw head and get a grip on it. In turn, it strips the screws easy. This has now caused a mess that I have to deal with, and also wait to get another kit of better quality. At first I thought it was user error, but it stripped two screws in a row with proper pressure applied after only removing two screws.” 

“No Phillips screwdriver, no tweezer, basically useless for computer repairs.”

“The kit comes with everything you’d need, but the screwdriver heads and extensions drop right out of the handle, a simple magnet would hold them in place, but what I got was completely useless!”

Most importantly, fixing one of these devices, even with the tools needed, requires experience. Without this, you will probably spend several hours flustered over a procedure you don’t understand. 

To avoid the mishaps and frustration, we strongly recommend that you have an expert repair your device for you. Even though repairs may seem costly, partnering with a reasonably-priced repair service will save you time and money. 

Photo Credit: Kilian Seiler

Apple said it best. The latest update- iOS 14- looks brand new and feels like home. This update came alongside the iPhone 12, which was released in October. The goal of this post is to show how to upgrade your iPhone with iOS 14.

The update’s fresh features are just one of the many reasons why people are so eager to get their hands on the iPhone 12. Yet, the update is also compatible with the iPhone 6 and later models as well as several iPad models.
Here’s a highlight of some of the new iOS 14 features that will help upgrade your iPhone experience.

Add Widgets to Your Homescreen

With iOS 14, you can now customize your home screen and other pages to be more fitted toward your personality and lifestyle. 

iPhone with iOS 14: Widgets

Widgets, which at one point could only be examined with a swipe to the left, can now be placed directly on your home screen, allowing quick access to information.

Convenient widgets to have:

• Weather
• Mail 
• News
• Clock 
• Podcasts 
• Notes 
• Music 
• Calendar 
• Travel 
• Stocks 
• Reminders 
• Fitness 

Each widget can be sized and placed differently, as well as stacked on top of each other to save space and keep your screens organized.

iPhone with iOS 14: App Library

Another iOS 14 feature that helps with saving space and organization is the App Library. Instead of having your apps at random and scattered, or having to manually organize your apps in folders, your phone does all the work for you. 

The App Library automatically organizes your apps into convenient categories such as Suggestions, Recently Added, Social, Entertainment, and Creativity. The best part about this update is that every one of these folders can be found on one screen. All you have to do is swipe all the way to the right and there you have it!

Multitasking in iOS 14

Have you ever scrolled through your socials or read your emails when suddenly you’re interrupted by a phone call that takes up the whole screen? With the newest update, you can do two things at once.

 Because of a new compact design, only a small top portion of your screen is used when someone gives you a call. This feature allows you to answer your calls while still being able to navigate your phone.

What about facetime calls? The same still stands true. Now you can talk face-to-face with a friend (sort of) without having to pause what you were doing beforehand. 

Even movies and videos? Sure. Without having to pause your movie marathon on Netflix, you can get other tasks done. 

Think about it this way, the more you can get done at once and the less time you have to spend on your phone, the better your screen time statistics. This sounds like a win-win situation.

Stay conveniently connected

Navigating through your messages can be a bit overwhelming at times, especially if you are carrying several conversations at once.

To make this task easier, iOS 14 has introduced several features to ensure that the right person receives the right message. 

Pinned conversations

With pinned conversations, you are now able to pin up to nine significant messages to the top of your conversation list. 

Pinned conversations will indicate unread messages, give you a preview of the person’s reply and let you know how they react to a message you sent.

Group photos, mentions, and inline replies 

Do you have several group chats that are difficult to differentiate because they have the same overlapping people, or you find yourself becoming annoyed because your phone is flooded with messages? 

Now you are able to add an image to group chats to help tell them apart, send a direct message to someone within a group chat and reply directly to a message within a group chat. This way your notifications are reduced and you see the messages meant for you. 

Search Securely with Safari

According to Apple, Safari is more responsive than ever before with the iOS 14 update. The update ensures that you are able to browse the web efficiently and securely. 

Translate What You See

Safari can now recognize and translate webpages in seven different languages. Once you come across a webpage that can be translated, just click on the icon that will appear and begin reading.

Passwords and Privacy

An iPhone with iOS 14 benefits from a version of Safari that mindfully monitors your saved passwords to guarantee that each one you use is secure. There is also now a Privacy Report button that can be used to acknowledge how websites treat your privacy. 

All of these new features are meant to make using your phone an easier task. But keep in mind, the functionality of iOS 14 depends on the model of your iPhone. The older the model, such as the iPhone 6, the slower your phone may function with the update.

Loyal Apple users and technophiles alike are now ordering the iPhone 12, or at least two of the four models.

Apple recently announced the launch of four new iPhone models- the most to ever be released in a lineup at once. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are available for U.S preorders as of Friday Oct. 16. The device will be available in stores by Oct. 23.

If buyers want the iPhone 12 Mini or the iPhone 12 Pro Max, they will have to wait a little longer. These two models won’t be available to preorder until Nov. 6.

With time in between the next pre-order, there are things to consider before making the purchase.

What’s new with the iPhone 12? 

According to Apple, the iPhone 12 has 5G speed that allows for one trillion functions to be performed per second. The phone’s A14 Bionic is claimed to be the fastest chip in a smartphone and goes beyond its time. With this new feature, downloading, streaming and Facetiming can be done at ease. 

The iPhone 12 has also improved externally. It offers a new body design and overall look with aerospace-grade aluminum edges, as well as an edge-to-edge OLED display. 

“This is the best iPhone display we’ve ever made, and it goes all the way to the edge,” Apple noted on its official website.

The advanced display delivers more contrast, remarkable color accuracy and an increase in pixel density. With four-times better drop performance and stronger splash resistance than other models, this phone will be hard to break. If your phone does happen to break and is in need of repairs, you can schedule an appointment and bring your device to a walk-in iFixYouri location.

Advanced can also be used to describe the camera features- night mode and Smart HDR 3. Both the wide and ultra-wide cameras bring in 27 percent more light than other models, which allow for pictures to retain detail and color no matter the lighting setting. Smart HDR 3 uses science to balance elements such as color, sharpness and texture. Now, studio-quality photos are one reach away. 

If these features are not appealing enough, the iPhone 12 also comes in five fresh color finishes- white, black, navy blue, apple red and seafoam green.

What about the iPhone 12 is the same? 

Labeled as a “blast from the past,” the new iPhone appears to pay homage to the iPhone 5, 5s, SE and iPad Pro with its squared-off edges.

The iPhone 12 has also incorporated MagSafe wireless charging, originally found in the MacBook, to improve charging efficiency. This will be exciting to some people ordering the iPhone 12. However, our technicians have been wondering what the smaller battery size of the iPhone 12 will affect its battery life.

At what cost?

The iPhone 12 mini, which has a 5.4-inch display screen, starts at $699. Apple claims it’s the world’s smallest, thinnest 5G phone. 

The iPhone 12 starts at $799 and has a 6.1-inch display. Both the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 offer 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB of storage. 

The iPhone 12 Pro starts at $999 while the iPhone Pro Max starts at $1,099. Both devices offer 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB of storage.

Whether an Apple user is looking for a phone that is small but mighty or large and sturdy, the new iPhone 12 lineup is innovative and has captivated many thus far.