Category Archives: Repair

Repair

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Repair

June 5, 2015 Staff Leave a comment

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is one of the hottest smartphones on the market right now. Fans love the wraparound screen design and tech blogs laud it as worthy competition for the iPhone 6 or any other Android phone. Recently our own Bryce Rawitt, of our Palm Beach Gardens location, sat down to dissect the S6 Edge to repair what he believes will be an extremely common break.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Glass Repair

Why was this phone at iFixYouri for repair?

Bryce Rawitt: This phone had cracked glass. These edges are super prone to damage. The offering of cases available don’t seem to provide much protection, and I’ve yet to see any tempered glass for it.

What was unique or difficult about this repair?

Everything. From removing the back glass without damaging it, to removing the battery which was adhered to the back of the lcd, to the installation of the actual screen assembly itself.

Are there any tips/warnings you have for either users of this phone or repair technicians?

The screen assembly is paper thin, I thought I might break it just removing it from the packaging. It even comes with a warning telling you where not to press during install.

Any other comments about this phone or the repair experience:

Take your time with this, from start to finish it was like defusing a bomb. There was something trying to trip you up and cause damage at every step. It was by far one of the most delicate devices I’ve ever worked on.

If your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is in need of repair, stop by one of iFixYouri’s locations or send it to us. Prior to doing any repairs, we offer a repair quote and detailed description of your device’s issues.
Visit our Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge repair services page to learn more.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Photos

DIY Fix, iPhone

Dealing With an iPhone Black Screen

December 20, 2012 Staff Leave a comment

Most iPhone users freak out at their first encounter with the iPhone black screen. This often occurs unexpectedly and has been known to strike even brand-new phones. After all that money spent, most users don’t want to see their phone display pitch black. It’s important to know what to do when this problem occurs. If any of tips fail to bring your device back to life, send your phone in for a free diagnostic and our expert technicians will diagnose the issue and iFixYouri will offer to repair it (or buy it from you for cash!).

How to Deal With an iPhone Black Screen

If your iPhone screen blacks out, there’s no reason to worry. Several methods can get rid of the black screen. Below you will find some of the most common ways of dealing with this issue.

Hold the Home & Wake Buttons

Press and hold the Lock/Wake button on the right side of your iPhone.
Simultaneously, press and hold down the Volume Down button on the left side. Keep the Lock/Wake button pressed.
Continue holding the buttons until the screen goes black and the Apple Logo is displayed.

Also known as a hard reset, this is the first solution that you try since it is fairly easy. The screen should come back on. If it doesn’t try a full restore.

Do a Full Restore in iTunes

If the first solution does not work, a full restore is your next best bet. The restore returns your phone’s data to its original settings according to the settings on the backup. This is often done to transfer data from a defective device to a new and working device but also works to restore all data from a blacked-out iPhone.

Open iTunes on the Mac or PC used to back up your device.
Connect your device to your computer with a USB or Lightning cable. If prompted for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps.
Select your iPhone when it appears in iTunes.
Choose Restore Backup in iTunes.
Review the date and size of each backup. Choose the most relevant option.
Click Restore and wait for the restore to complete. Enter the password for your encrypted backup if asked.
Keep your device connected after it restarts. Wait for it to sync with your computer. You can disconnect after the sync finishes.

What to Do When the iPhone Black Screen Won’t Go Away

If none of these options work for you, you should contact the nearest Apple store and have your phone looked at by the technicians at the Genius Bar. If you try to do any repairs yourself, you’ll end up voiding your warranty. If your phone suffers from simple software problems, they can easily make quick fixes for you. If your phone is still covered by the warranty, the people at the bar can open it up and see what is wrong. If a visit to the Genius Bar reveals that you have a defective unit on your hands, you may get a replacement iPhone.

Other Options Available

If the warranty period for your iPhone ended, you can have it repaired by professional technicians. At iFixYouri, we have some of the best technicians in North America, with lots of experience fixing the black screen on iPhones as well as any other issue under the sun.

DIY Fix

How To Fix Scratched iPhone Screen

December 19, 2012 Staff Leave a comment

Few things in life are more frustrating than purchasing a new touchscreen phone only to have it damaged and rendered difficult to use. That moment, frozen in time, when your phone slips from your grip and tumbles towards hard cement or wood, while you can only stand and watch, is a sad moment in every phone owner’s life. Luckily, there are a few ways that allow you to fix a scratched iPhone screen without having to purchase a brand new phone.

Use Your Warranty to Fix Your Scratched iPhone Screen

Since Apple’s warranty program is one of the best in the entire tech business, you should always check to see if you can get your phone taken care of under the protection program. This is the easiest way to fix it, but not always possible for those with an expired warranty. Since Apple prides themselves on customer service, however, you may get lucky and take it to a licensed Apple store with a more flexible approach to warranty. This is no guarantee, but many store owners want their customers to have a positive experience with Apple products.

Buff Out The Scratch

Depending on the degree of the crack or scratch on the iPhone screen, you may be able buff it out in the same manner that you would for a scratch on a car. To buff out the scratch, you will need:

a small drill (the smaller the better)
compound to attach to drill head
sandpaper

Using Wax to Fix Scratched iPhone Screen

Many wax products market their ability to take out any damage that can be done, whether it is by gravity or pets or clumsiness. A coat of Turtle Wax, for instance, will eliminate the scratch but can leave behind a film of wax that makes it difficult to use the screen. If you use wax, you have to clean meticulously around the scratch so that the wax residue does not complicate use. You can use a plastic polish to speed up the cleaning if you decide to use wax.

Toothpaste

One of the oddest home remedies for cracked screen has proven to be toothpaste. Anyone who has had a cracked watch face in the past may know about applying toothpaste. This is because toothpaste (not tooth gel — be sure you have the right type) has abrasive within the mixture designed to wear away at bacteria on your teeth. This abrasion, when carefully rubbed onto the surface of an iPhone, will smooth out a scratch. Be sure you only use a small dot (not enough to coat the entire surface) and that you clean the entire surface carefully with a damp rag after you have applied it on.

Professional Help

If your warranty has expired and none of the methods mentioned above have worked, you should consider seeking professional help. That is where we at ifixyouri.com come in handy. Our specialists have been fixing cracked iPhone screens for years, and you can rest assured that your iPhone will be in good hands.

DIY Fix, News, Tips

What To Do If Your iPhone Touch Screen Isn’t Responding

December 13, 2012 Staff 1 Comment

An iPhone touch screen that is not responding can be a challenging problem. The device is quite costly, so any issue that requires repair is automatically frustrating. When it stops working, it means that your main line of communication is cut off from the world. It can even endanger your livelihood, if you rely on your phone for work.

Here are a few things that a person can do when the screen becomes unresponsive.

Troubleshooting Unresponsive iPhone Touchscreen

Certain applications take up a great deal of memory, which can cause the phone to freeze up. This is very likely to occur when several programs are being run at the same time. If the phone becomes unresponsive, it is best to force the application to stop. To do this, hold down the home button until the application stops and the screen once again becomes responsive.

Restart the iPhone

If you’re unsuccessful in stopping the application, it may be necessary to restart the entire phone. The on/off button should be held until the red slide bar appears. Power down the phone and turned back on. This should make the phone responsive again.

Resetting the iPhone

Under rare circumstances, an iPhone touchscreen will still not respond after a restart. In these cases, it will become necessary to reset the phone. This is different from the above restart; the phone will be forced to shut down without the normal closeout process. Resetting the phone involves holding the on/off button and the home button at the same time until the Apple logo appears and goes away. After the device is off, it can be turned back on in a few seconds. By this time, the phone should be working again.

Restoring with iTunes

If none of the above seem to work, the next step is to connect the phone to a computer and open iTunes. On the Summary pane, a person can select “Restore”. If the phone does not appear in iTunes, there’s not much you can do yourself at this point, but you can still get it fixed or salvage the value of the phone.

Professional Assistance for Unresponsive iPhone Touch Screen

If the iPhone screen is still not responding, it may be necessary to take the phone in for professional repair or sell your iPhone for cash. An experienced repair shop, like iFixYouri, will be able to evaluate and fix the problem with no hassle. This will avoid further damage or loss of data in the phone. iPhones are very expensive and sensitive. Getting the job done correctly will save a lot of headaches down the line.

DIY Fix, iPhone, News, Repair Parts

What To Do When Your iPhone Microphone Stops Working

December 12, 2012 Staff 1 Comment

One of the most common problems that iPhone users encounter is the microphone not working during phone calls. The person you are speaking to can’t hear you while using the handset, but in some cases may still be able to hear while on speakerphone. It’s a frustrating problem that can make it difficult to use the phone on a regular basis. If you’re tired of shouting and asking people to “SPEAK UP,” consult the tips below or take it in for a professional diagnostic and repair.

Causes of iPhone Microphone Malfunction

Water exposure. Has your phone recently been dropped into water? Gotten wet in any way? Sometimes, even exposure to high levels of moisture, like steam, can cause the microphone to malfunction.
Mechanical malfunctions can sometimes cause the mouthpiece on the phone to stop working, like after a drop onto a hard surface.

How to Fix an iPhone Microphone Malfunction

Allow the phone to dry. If the microphone is malfunctioning after being exposed to moisture, you can allow the phone to dry. Turning the phone off and placing it in a porous environment, like in a box of rice, can help to dry the phone effectively and hopefully get the microphone back to normal.
Replace the microphone. If the problem persists, and you don’t want to buy a new phone, you can always have the microphone replaced by a professional.

Microphone Repair Cost

The costs can vary depending on the model of the phone, the damage and whether the mouthpiece can be repaired or needs to be replaced completely. Mechanical problems with the phone that have not been caused by the user are usually fixed under the warranty of the phone with no cost to the customer.

Keep in mind that phones less than one year old are usually covered under the manufacturer or carrier warranty, but there are exceptions. In addition, the warranty program on phones that have been tampered with or repaired outside Apple are often void under and the phones are ineligible to be repaired or replaced for free when the mouthpiece breaks.

The next best alternative is to ship your iPhone to our stores and we will fix it for you and send it back to you. iFixYouri has experts equipped with skills required to fix your iPhone’s microphone when it stops working. Alternatively, you could also sell your iPhone for cash.

DIY Fix, iPhone, News

How to Increase iPhone Processor Speed

December 11, 2012 Staff 3 Comments

Your smartphone has certain benchmarks for processing that can be overcome, increasing the processing power of your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. By overclocking the internal processor, it is possible to boost the circuit boards and increase performance. This overclocking, however, greatly reduces the battery life of the iPhone and will rapidly drain it, even for programs that draw relatively little energy. The key to increasing iPhone processor speed lies in overclocking the processor through jailbreaking.

Benefits of Increasing iPhone Processor Speed

When you increase the processing speed of a phone, there are many benefits. Your apps take less time to power up and down, you can get better access to streaming internet content, and your wait times for pages to load is significantly reduced. One of the major criticisms of some iPhones is the amount of time they take to load content.

Secret to Increasing iPhone Processor Speed

Apple iPhones are “underclocked,” running at about half the capacity of their processor power. An iPhone 6S, for instance, can run at 1.4 megahertz but is set to run at only half that. Thus, overclocking the phone will boost processing speed by 50%, but will also drain the battery 50% faster. These safeguards put on the phone also prevent it from overheating. When you overclock an iPhone, it may heat up past the point of damage to the circuitry.

Jailbroken Phone Necessary for Increasing Processor Speed

An overclocked iPhone needs to be jailbroken, removing the limitations that Apple puts on their products. A jailbroken phone automatically violates Apple’s warranty process, meaning that overclocking your phone will make it impossible to get it fixed by Apple’s product services. It is best to jailbreak an iPhone once the warranty has expired or else you risk losing the phone in the event of damage. Using a cooling pad minimizes the damage that overclocking could present.

Overclocking 101

There are a number of protocols that you can download from the internet to overclock your phone. File-sharing sites and torrent distributors have the files needed to install overclocking software on your processor. It will be necessary to download and rename the file, however, since the device will automatically block any files do not have Apple configurations. Install it on your phone and reboot the processor. Your iPhone will utilize the program to run on a new processor configuration.

Overclocking Can Damage iPhone

In addition to boosting processor speed and heating up the phone, overclocking will reduce the lifespan of your phone’s computer processing unit. The best way to maximize CPU life and minimize heat is to close the apps you are not currently using and to check the temperature often. Anytime you jailbreak or overclock a phone, you do so at your own risk. Increasing the processor speed on a brand-new smartphone is not recommended, especially since some new devices (like the Galaxy Note 7) are subject to recalls and jailbroken iPhones cannot be recalled or replaced.

While it is possible to increase iPhone processor speed, it can end up causing you more issues with your phone. Since you’ve voided the warranty by jailbreaking your iPhone, you’ll need to get it repaired by a third-party professional company, like iFixYouri.

DIY Fix, News

How to Replace iPhone 4 Headphone Jack

December 2, 2012 Staff 4 Comments

After spending several hundred dollars on a brand new Apple iPhone, the last thing you want to do is replace the iPhone 4 headphone jack due to an internal or external problem. The iPhone 4 headphone jack is prone to damage if mishandled or if you accidentally drop your phone. Luckily, you can easily replace it with a new one.

Replacing iPhone 4 Headphone Jack

In order to repair a headphone jack on an Apple iPhone, you will need several tools, including:

Paperclip
Phillips number 00 screwdriver – Buy
Small Flathead screwdriver
Spudger – Buy

Cost of Replacing iPhone 4 Headphone Jack

In order to change the headphone, you will have to buy the required tools. The tools will include opening tools that will allow you to get into the shell of the iPhone without damaging the circuitry underneath. While this sounds like a daunting task (especially since it can void the Apple warranty), it is possible to achieve with careful dexterity.

Preparations

Once you have all the tools and parts, including the replacement part and the opening tools, you have to clean your iPhone and work station carefully in order to avoid getting dust within the interior of the opened phone. Degrease all metal parts and contact points so that the oil on your fingertips does not interfere with the circuitry. If you wear gloves, clean the tips of the gloves carefully and ensure they are not damp.

Disconnecting the Headphone From The Motherboard

Once you have opened up the iPhone, you need to disconnect the headphone jack from the motherboard’s sockets. The two small screws on the edge of the headphone jack need to be removed with the Phillips’ head screwdriver. Once they are removed, the entirety of the headphone jack can be taken out with the spudger.

The connecting wire of the headphone jack is only held loosely in place, so that it may be taken out easily. The next step, however, is replacing the part and keeping the connecting wires from flapping around. Using a hot glue gun can keep them down. Once it is firmly in place, screw the new headphone jack in with the flathead screwdriver. Clean the area again and then plug in your headphones to see if they now work and project sound.

Easy Enough? Or Let the Experts Handle it?

Although you can personally replace the iPhone 4 headphone jack, the risk of messing up and damaging the entire phone is quite high. Plus, the cost of buying tools and the new part might seem like more of a hassle than getting a professional repair company to do the job, like iFixYouri. You simply ship the phone to us, and we’ll get it back to you fixed – it’s that simple.

DIY Fix, News, Tips

How to Change a Cracked iPhone Screen

November 30, 2012 Staff 1 Comment

How to Recover Data From a Damaged iPhone

You have finally bought an iPhone and you are enjoying every moment of it but unfortunately, the screen gets cracked or broken and you are confused because you do not know how to change a cracked iPhone screen. Some people might even decide to shop for a new iPhone since the broken one no longer seems attractive as it was before. When you find yourself in such a situation, you need the right tips and ideas of how to change an iPhone screen to save the hassle and expense of a new phone.

Tools Required – How to Change a Cracked iPhone Screen

Before you even start the process of changing the iPhone screen, ensure that you have the right tools, most of which can be found online. This helps you get the exact size that you need instead of shopping online where you are not very sure about the dimensions. If you prefer shopping online, ensure that you have the right dimensions that will be compatible with your device. Here is a list of the basic tools that you should have:

Replacement glass
Philips screwdriver
A wedging and scraping device or a razor blade
Superglue or double-sized tape
A pair of scissors
Q-tips and Rubbing alcohol
Heat gun or hair dryer

Step 1: Unscrewing The iPhone With a Cracked Screen

Check the bottom part of your iPhone and take keen interest on the side that has the Home button. You will notice two screws fitted on both sides of the USB port. Unscrew them using the Philips screwdriver. Also remember that it will not be necessary to remove the SIM card for you to open the device.

Step 2: Removing The Cracked iPhone Screen

The screen can be removed using two major methods. You can either use a scraping or wedging tool. A razor blade is mostly preferred because it can be fitted between the metal and the rubber to lift the screen. Alternatively, you can use a suction cup by placing it above the Home button then pulling it up gently. You will notice that the glass has been removed without damaging the rubber gasket that surrounds it.

Step 3: Separating The Screen From The iPhone

Check for the flaps that hold the phone and the screen together at the top right corner. They are normally labeled 1 and 2 attached to orange stickers. You will also notice the 3rd sticker placed under the 2nd flap. It should be released by lifting the black clamp. At this point, you will notice that the screen has been completely separated from the iPhone.

Step 4: Detaching The Screws

The interior of the device has 5 screws along the side rails, 3 along the flaps and 2 on the opposite sides. These screws are of the same size and that means you should not worry about where to place them after completing the installation process. You will also notice a black tape over each screw and you can cut it off using a razor blade. The black tape is less important in this case.

Step 5: Separating The LCD From The Glass

Detach the LCD screen from the glass by putting the wedge between the rails then wedge the inner section out. For you to clear the top flanges, make sure the LCD drops down near the Home button. Use some little force if possible because the metal cannot get distorted that easily.

Step 6: Scrubbing The Adhesive

Use a wedging device or razor blade to scrape the glass leftovers or any other pieces along the metal frame. It is also possible to use a hair dryer or heat gun but this should be done carefully to avoid distorting the frame. The bonding agent may not dissolve by rubbing alcohol so you can try scrubbing using a Q-tip then removing it with a razor blade.

Step 7: Installing The New Screen

When installing the new screen, make sure the super glue does not cross to the Home button. You may also decide to use a double-sided tape but ensure it is trimmed properly. Adhesive should be applied along the black plastic at the top or bottom sides while excluding the middle part. Use the tweezers to control the double-sided tape so that you do not let your fingers touch it thus weakening its ability to stick. Also ensure that you take away the protective plastic found on the new glass where it is expected to touch the tape.

Step 8: Installing The LCD

Install the LCD glass and make sure it fits properly by sliding it from the bottom part of the device. Fix the screws back where they belong and also restore the 3rd cable into the clamp. Press the 1st and 2nd cable onto the connector by using a little pressure. Do not worry if you miss the connector several times because this is quite common.

Step 9: Assembling The iPhone

Restore the screen back to the iPhone by inserting the top part first. The sides should be attached to the connectors and also make sure the bottom fits in properly. When the LCD and screen are well-fitted, fix the remaining 2 screws back into their places found on both sides of the USB port.

DIY vs. Professional Repair

These are the most crucial tips on how to change an iPhone screen; however, as you can see, it is a long and rather confusing process. That is where we at iFixYouri come in handy. We can replace your cracked iPhone screen properly and inexpensively.