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Do it Yourself Repairs – Are They Really Cheaper?

Is it worth it to do a Do It Yourself iPhone repair instead of having it professionally done?  This article will examine the costs and the benefits of the two.  Hopefully, this will make it easier to decide between doing a repair yourself and having it done professionally by the cast at iFixYouri.

We all know that going with the Do It Yourself (which will now be shortened to “DIY”) route is seemingly cheaper.  At least, it appears that way in theory.  Of course, once everything is said and done, one might find that the DIY repair costs more money, time, and effort than it would have cost by using a  professional.  Moreover, it’s possible to permanently damage the device, rendering it unfixable.

What are the reasons? First, time alone is a major issue.  Most people obviously have little to no experience repairing iPhones or iPods and DIY repairs can be timely without the practice.  An average iPhone glass repair can easily take one to two hours.  Now, the more a person does something, the more familiar he or she gets with the process and the quicker they get at doing it.  Yet, the first time someone attempts to repair a broken screen (for example) they should be ready to spend well over an hour.  Other repairs, such as replacing a back cover, can take four or more hours.

Next, effort is going to play a major role.  It’s true that the effort put into learning how to repair an iPhone is wonderful.  A person can learn a lot while dissecting their very own device.  That person should keep in mind that he is the owner of that device and therefore, has to deal with whatever the outcome.  None of these repairs are easy by any means.  When the phone is laying there in pieces, screws scattered about, parts spread out, it will be hard to put it back together correctly.  So, a DIY person must take his or her time and pay close attention to every little detail.

The last thing to consider is money.  Money is the most important factor in our decision of choosing a DIY repair over a professional repair.  The initial cost of the DIY kit/part will be cheaper than having it repaired by an business.  This is simply because the labor and service costs are no longer present.  Again, it is wise to keep in mind that these repairs are difficult and there are many parts that can be broken or damaged while performing a DIY repair.  This leads to a new problem, whereas the original problem with the device may have been a quick repair.  When a part gets damaged or broken, it will inevitably lead to more time and effort, which means more money spent on the new problem.  Anyone who has broken an iPhone knows how fragile they are.  They are just as fragile once disassembled.

In conclusion, DIY repairs are perfectly fine for a person who has experience repairing iPhones and can confidently fix them.  If the person who chooses to do a DIY repair is fortunate enough to have a few broken iPhones laying around, he can experiment with those and then try tackling his primary phone.  However, for the majority of people who are inexperienced yet want confidence that the broken device will work like new with the least amount of hassle, please get it professionally done.  It will save your time, effort and money.

Insurance for Your iPhone…Not Great for Everyone

iPhone Insurance

Early in 2010, AT&T announced that they would offer an insurance plan to cover all new iPhones.  The plan would cost you $11.99 per month, and must be signed within 30 days of purchasing a new iPhone.  The announcement was great news to iPhone owners who have been dismayed by the lack of an insurance option for their devices.  To me, this proclamation lost its shimmer once I thought about what a bad deal this is.

First, let’s talk about what insurance really is.  It is peace of mind, simply put.  You agree to pay money to a company and receive no product or service in return.  All you receive is a promise that the insurer will pay in the event of a loss.  Often times, the losses can be enormous (e.g., a flood, sudden death or home fire).  Yet, because these events are statistically unlikely to happen and the insurance companies know it, the cost of such peace of mind comes at a low enough cost to be a good value.

What if some sort of loss occurs more frequently (a cracked iPhone screen or an auto accident by a teenager, for instance)?  What does an insurance company do to account for that?  Well, they price the premiums higher because there is a higher likelihood that a loss will occur.  If the insurance company does not price the premiums high enough, the insurance company will go out of business.

So, how much does peace of mind cost for a $600 or $700 iPhone that break more often and cost more than many other smart-phones?  Well, it’s a price that I don’t believe is a good bargain.  First of all, at $11.99, the premiums alone are $287.76 for the duration of a two-year contract.  In addition, if you have a iPhone 4 with any size memory or an iPhone 3Gs with memory over 16GB, you must pay a deductible of $199 to replace your damaged device before you can get a replacement.  That added together is $486.76.  That’s a huge amount of money to insure a phone that costs $700 for the most expensive 4th Generation iPhone on the market and $600 for the next model down.  3Gs iPhones cost even less to replace.

Why not, instead of paying such a high premium for insurance, take advantage of iFixYouri?  You can fix a cracked 4th Generation iPhone screen for $109.  We even sell fully refurbished iPhone 3G’s for $149.  And you saved $11.99 a month.

The bottom line is that before you let yourself get talked into insurance by a sales representative, make sure this peace of mind is worth the cost according to your own lifestyle.  Measure the cost against the risk.  The sales rep gets commissions for selling insurance and will always recommend it.  They do not repair the devices and therefore does not make any money if customers know they can get their phone repaired elsewhere.  The price of the monthly premium adds up and if you are a person who typically doesn’t break electronics or lose things, then your money is wasted.

iDiagnose – Part 5 – iPhone does not sync, speaker does not work, or mic does not function.

Plug it in, sync it up, load your new music. Simple as that right? Not always. What happens when you plug it in, and nothing happens? Why are you getting no charge to your iPhone?

Perhaps it’s your cable. Most people have extras laying around. Seems like they’re as common as, well, I don’t know, an extension cord? Sure, we’ll go with that.

If it’s not your cable, it’s your dock connector. The dock connector is responsible for many functions in both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3Gs.

Problems with the dock connector come from:

  • Water damage – most common
  • Dropped iPhone – fairly common
  • Improper repairs – pretty darn common as well
  • Age – getting to be a little less common
  • Plugging iPhone into improper power source – finally, least common

Symptoms of a bad dock connector

  • iPhone will not charge
  • iPhone will not sync
  • Speakerphone sounds distorted, or does not work at all
  • People on other end of a phone call can not hear you
  • Home button does not work
  • Weak service signal

The dock connector is a vital feature of the iPhone. It controls numerous key functions and features that help make the iPhone what it is.

DIY Repair Difficulty – 5/10 – Moderately difficult

This repair can be a little tricky as it involves removing the entire logic board in order to remove the dock connector. With the glass removed, you’ll have to disconnect all connectors, remove all screws holding the logic board in place, and very gently remove the board. This will give you access to remove the 3 screws holding the dock in place. The dock connector consists of multiple iPhone parts put together into one unit. The mic, charging port, external speaker, home button pads, and the cellular antenna are all pieced together to make this one unit. If you are having any of the symptoms listed above, you are in need of a dock connector repair.

Turnaround time on iPhone dock connector Repair – Same day

With this iPhone repair service, our technicians will fix your dock connector problem in no time! All deliveries that we get here by 1pm, get fixed and shipped out the same day.  Whether you’re local in Palm Beach County, or a distant customer in California, iFixYouri can fix this problem for you quickly.