TECH BYTE: When to Get Your Phone Repaired

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — We’ve all done it – dropped our cell phone on the floor, shattering it.

Should you get it repaired, or buy a new one altogether?

How can you better protect it in the first place?

Oops Repair in Chattanooga has repaired tens of thousands of cell phones and other electronic devices since opening six years ago.

Owner Josh Hrinik says it’s always less expensive to get a phone repaired instead of replaced.

He says it only takes them 30 minutes or less to fix most iPhones.

“Probably 80 percent of everything we do is front screen repair,” Hrinik said. “Dropping it, running it over, dropping it in the whatever, yes, it’s always something that, we’ve always got good stories.”

And even if you drop it in water, that doesn’t always mean the phone won’t work again.

Hrinik says it helps to put it in a rice bath for a few days to dry it out.

“Most of the phones nowadays are getting a lot better with the water proofing, and the water resistance, I should say. Most of the newer devices that you see out there like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, and all that’s newer has the gasketing in there that makes it a little more resistant, but sometimes water still gets in, and we have about a 50 to 60 percent success rate when people drop their phone in water,” he said.

It helps to invest in a waterproof case, or something durable.

Hrinik says some of the cases that snap on may look cute, but they don’t protect your phone well.

“The ones that you definitely want to get are the ones that have a little cushion in them that can absorb the shock when you drop the phone,” he said. “The other recommendation would be a case that comes up over the lip of, the face of the phone, so that if it does do a faceplant, there will be that little bit of a lip protection to protect it from smashing on the hard ground.”

He also recommends tempered glass as another layer of protection for the front of your screen.

“Tempered glass is actually the same material that your front screen is made out of. It’s a little bit more durable than just a plastic film screen protector,” Hrinik said.

If your phone is too damaged to get repaired, and you’re in the market for a new one, Hrinik says the best time to buy any new Apple products is on Black Friday.