Category Archives: Repair

Repair

Because of modern society’s love of smartphones, most of us keep a watchful eye on battery levels. When our phone’s power level is getting low, life can become a rush to find an outlet to charge back up so we can return to our interconnected day. As cell phone batteries age, they lose the ability to hold a charge and our outlet search anxiety becomes more frequent. But did you know there is also a safety risk involved with carrying around a phone with an old battery? Old batteries can expand, damaging the device they were meant to power, heat up, and sometimes even explode.

The Brief Life Story of a Battery

Rechargeable batteries may run for a long time but they do have a limited lifespan. iPhone batteries, for example, are good for roughly 600 charge cycles, after that performance starts to degrade, necessitating a battery replacement. Sometimes a replacement is required much earlier, such as when the unit routinely fails to charge, gets noticeably warmer, or runs out of power quickly.

What Causes Batteries To Explode?

Cell phone batteries are lithium ion batteries, which differ from the alkaline AA’s you have in your cable remote. Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable and rely on the chemical lithium as their power source. Typically these are built directly into smartphones. Lithium-ions are a newer type of battery than alkalines and allow quite a bit more voltage. However, this increased power also increases some possibilities for combustion. Cheap manufacturing, rough treatment or impacts, overheating, or improper charging process (determined by device software, as well as accessories) can sometimes lead to a thermal runaway which concludes with a literal bang.

So How Do We Take Charge of Our Battery Life?

Always make sure to use high quality charging accessories. Many modern phones provide notifications when charging blocks are not the proper voltage. Pay attention to them. They do this to get the best performance and quality out of your battery. Avoid the super discount junk chargers found in gas stations and opt to purchase quality accessories from specialized phone companies, like iFixYouri.

Owners may choose to replace batteries themselves as sometimes spare batteries are available online at reasonable prices. However, the benefit of bringing your phone with the old battery intact to a professional repair company like iFixYouri for battery replacement is that you can be sure a high-quality battery is installed correctly and comes with a warranty.

Accessories, News, Repair, Tips

Why You Shouldn’t Buy Cheap Chargers

December 2, 2016 Staff Leave a comment

Beware of cheap chargers! It’s not just your phone you have to worry about blowing up on you (Sorry, Samsung). It’s safe to say that most of us have been caught in the wild without a charger and 2% battery and succumbed to the $8.99 iPhone charger at the gas station. You know the type; sold right next to the male-enhancement pills and questionable energy tonics, not the familiar clean white but instead a color that reminds you of bad candy. While these may be fine in a pinch, we recommend avoiding using these chargers regularly. Reports of fire, electrocutions, and (much worse) damage to phones have been widespread. These cheap chargers, sometimes blatant counterfeits designed to look similar to official accessories, are inexpensive for a reason. Let’s take a look at a MacBook charger, since its larger size makes things easier to see. The official Apple charger is on the left, the knockoff on the right.

macbook charger — Original vs. Cheap MacBook Charger

The biggest issue regarding the safety in these knockoff chargers has to do with insulation. These devices are designed to take a very powerful electrical current from your wall and convert it into something that can safely charge your laptop. As you can imagine, a lot of safeguards are required to prevent wires from crossing and to distribute the electrical load evenly. Those safeguards aren’t as numerous in the knockoff; you can see how much empty space there is compared to the official one. If you’re going to use one, make sure you’re not standing on a wet or metal floor or you might get a deadly surprise. Budget chargers for iPads and iPhones are similarly constructed: a housing the same size and shape as the official, but the electronics inside barely fill the space. Here’s another side-by-side with iPad chargers (counterfeit on the right)…

…and a $2.95 iPhone wall charger, looking like something from a vending machine.

Now, we’re not saying all off-brand charging accessories are bad (but a lot of them are, according to the BBC). You can save money, but don’t be tempted to save more than 50% or you might be in trouble. An iPhone charger (wall plug and cable) retails for around $25 and good alternatives, such as PureGear or AmazonBasics, can be found for close to $15. These, of course, will be of a different external design than the official Apple product, but feature similar build quality and safety. Beware of products that make an attempt to look like exact copies of official products but have a price tag one-tenth the size; these are designed to trick you into buying an inferior counterfeit while thinking it’s legit, much in the way that Ghosthunters is titled to confuse people looking to rent Ghostbusters at the local RedBox. In the interest of safety, be sure to look for logos of product-quality organizations, such as UL, CSA, and CE.

At iFixYouri retail locations, we sell a variety of accessories for your devices, from protective and decorative cases to chargers. Our stores carry PureGear chargers, all of which carry either the CSA or CE label and are touted by our expert technicians. If your device was damaged by a faulty charger, either a charging port malfunction or a battery that suddenly doesn’t hold a charge or dies suddenly, iFixYouri can diagnose the problem and repair it quickly and with top-quality parts. We might even throw in a quality charger, too!

Photo credits http://www.righto.com/

Locations, Repair

Reviews for iFixYouri West Palm Beach

July 14, 2015 Staff Leave a comment

Your Center for iPhone Repair & Tablet Repair in West Palm Beach

Here are some reviews for iFixYouri West Palm Beach, your source for professional tablet and smartphone repair. The reviews that follow come from our Yelp and Google+ pages and will give you an idea of our professional service, expertise and quality of work. These are from our actual customers.

I express gratitude for the kind, fast, professional, and cost effective service I received at iFixYouri (west palm beach, fl). The equipment and parts needed to repair my device were in-stock and available for immediate use!! I had my iPhone 5 repaired in 25 minutes. The price I paid for my new case was a steal!! I value my experience with iFixYouri in west palm beach, fl. 🙂

Awesome. saved me buying a new phone today. Great service, nice guys and a good deal.

I had an issue with my iPhone 3GS with what I thought was the battery not charging. I sent the phone in for diagnostic testing. It turned out that the dock (charging port) had gone out. iFixYouri could have fixed the phone, no problem, but they offered to buy the phone from me, so I decided to sell it to them for parts. I am very satisfied with how iFixYouri handled my particular situation. I highly recommend iFixYouri for all of your cell phone, iPad or iPod repairs. They are fast, knowledgeable and keep you informed of what the status is on your device. I will call on them again if the need should arise.

Beth Holt

I have maybe an unhealthy addiction to my iphone. I’m sure all other iphone owners do. so when I dropped my phone and the screen shattered I was devastated! I went to another local shop before I went to iFixYouri (sorry guys, this one was closer) and was not impressed at all. I didn’t even want to leave my phone with those people. so rude. I had seen iFixYouri on facebook so I decided to contact them. best thing I could have done! they were soo friendly, the shop is nice and clean, very professional, and they fixed my phone faster than I would have imagined it would take! such a deal too! Thank you iFixYouri!!! I will be recommending you to EVERYONE I know!

I have a white iPhone 5 and have gone to this location twice for help, both times A+ service! I had visited some other local “iphone repair” companies with zero luck and horrible service!
I first visited about a month ago with a cracked screen. They quickly replace the screen while the other repair places said they didn’t have the parts. The second time was to get the home button fixed, it had fallen off. At first I was told they did not have any white buttons but could either give me a black one or order one. When I went outside to call a friend to see what they thought I should do one of the employees overheard me and offered to give me his button (he also had a white iphone). I accepted the offer and they fixed it in 5 minutes and didn’t even charge me.
Fantastic service, friendly and very professional. Like I state earlier in this review, I’ve visited several other similar companies with zero luck.

Meaghan E.

This is a class operation. Fast & professional service. My IPhone was repaired perfectly with Apple parts. But the real story is the service. The USPS did not properly scan the item when iFixYouri was returning my phone. iFixYouri went to the Post Office to try and resolve the scan issue. This is above & beyond good service. My IPhone arrived the next day.

While I was in Florida having fun at the beach I almost lost my phone to the tide. I was able to save it, but it was soaked through. Took it to these guys and they had it back to me a few days later good as new. Way cheaper than buying out of my contract for a new phone. Shout out to Vince for being so awesome. He knows how to take care of a customer.

F. John R.

They did an absolutely amazing job replacing the screen and shattered glass on my Verizon iPhone 4. When I got it back from them (shipped to and from), it looked better than when I first got the phone. Thank you for doing what Apple considers “beneath them” and treating people right!
I have to give credit where it’s due, so I want to update my prior review and should have done so sooner.
I’ve been in contact with Chris from iFixYouri and not only did he give me a full refund for the cost of my diagnostics, but iFixYouri has actually changed their policy and no longer charges for diagnostics on a water damaged device if they are unable to successfully repair the device!
I was incredibly frustrated by initial experience with iFixYouri, but I’m blown away to see how committed this company is to satisfy customers and work out any kinks. I’ve never received such excellent customer service when dealing with an issue.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use iFixYouri in the future (which will probably be sooner than later, since our toddler just busted the screen on our new ipad :/ ) and feel more than comfortable recommending them to anyone who needs a device checked out. Their rates are more than fair and I know there is someone at the wheel who is striving to ensure customer satisfaction.
Thanks Chris, you definitely changed my mind about iFixYouri.

Ingrid L.

They had my iPhone screen repair done in about 10 minutes! Excellent service!
I love iFixYouri!!

I dropped my iPhone 4 in the pool in May, 2011. I immediately turned it off, stuck it in a bag of rice, then waited the suggested (by the community at large) 4 days, and nothing. Totally dead.
As everyone knows, AT&T is of no help in this area. My only choice was to buy a new iPhone 4 from them at the street price of $600.
I looked online and found iFixYouri.com, not far from where I live. Called them, got shipping instructions and shipped UPS which, since they’re close, was only one day. They kept it for several days, with constant — at least twice daily — emailed updates as to their progress.
It took a few days because, as it turns out, they had to replace almost every part in the iPhone. But they stuck to their $160 cap and overnighted the phone back to me. It was like a brand new phone (and I did not lose any of my data or settings.) I was extremely happy.
Two months later, my phone suddenly died in the middle of a call. I could not revive it (tried rebooting, hard resetting, recovery mode, syncing, etc…) Given the time that had gone by, I was doubtful that it could be a residual effect of the water damage, and worried about my options (again.) I called iFixYouri and without hesitation, they said I was still under their repair warranty. They immediately emailed me a prepaid return label. I sent the phone back to them and 24 hours later, they shipped me my repaired phone, again in brand new condition and with all of my data and settings intact.
Throughout the process their phone and repair people have been thoroughly knowledgeable and very friendly. I will continue to recommend them to many friends.

Jill P.

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 Leave a 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, News, Repair Parts, iPhone

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.

iFixYouri Blog