If you’ve managed to break your smartphone screen, let us just welcome you to the club!
This club has lots of members – so you’re not alone.
And while it is frustrating, infuriating, irritating, and every other word that means annoying – it’s not the end of the world.
Yes, it’s an inconvenience, and when not handled properly, it can lead to other issues, but luckily, a cracked iPhone screen is nothing more than a small problem that your pals here at Fone Tek are more than willing and able to sort out for you asap.
To make sure you survive this dreaded situation, we’ve put together some handy information about smartphone screens, such as what you should do if you break your screen, whether you actually need to do anything about a broken phone screen, and how we can help.
So, keep reading to get your burning questions about smashed, cracked, split, shattered and broken phone screens answered.
Why do phone screens break in the first place?
Well, if we told you the answer to this, we might just have to kill you… No, we’re joking.
Even though fixing broken phone screens is a big part of what we do as qualified phone technicians, we don’t want to see people inconvenienced by this issue (maybe that’s why we work so fast to fix it?).
The reality is the smartphone is a pretty ingenious feat of technical engineering.
If you think about the relatively short span of time that mobile phones have existed, they have gone from what was essentially a brick that could make one 20-minute phone call to a powerful device that has replaced computers, TVs and even wallets.
But to be able to meet the demands of consumers, there have to be compromises. One of the key features of any smartphone is the intricate and highly detailed display on offer from these amazingly large screens on these pretty small devices. The screen offers us incredible visual clarity and detail, yet somehow, it’s encased within an object that is less than one centimetre thick with the screen going from edge to edge. And somehow a lot of smartphones only weigh a couple of hundred grams.
None of us want to be lugging around thick, heavy phones, otherwise we would probably have cases and screen protectors that offer incredible levels of protection, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.
Smartphone screens can break because they are made out of glass. They are made out of glass in order to satisfy what customers want in a phone – this great display and to essentially replace every other device you have.
To ensure that they are not too delicate, smartphone manufacturers, like Apple and Samsung are constantly testing different kinds of glass to see which ones can absorb impact the best without compromising the demands of consumers. It’s a delicate balancing act that is still evolving.
How can I cause a break, smash or crack in my smartphone’s screen?
Well, there are almost endless ways this might occur – it can be from simply dropping it from a great height onto a hard surface. You might step on your phone or sit on it. You might accidentally run it over with your car. You might throw it without meaning to. Or you might drop something on it.
Most commonly it happens because someone has dropped their phone. It can even happen when you have a case and/or screen protector. It can happen because you’ve dropped it one too many times and today is the day it breaks.
If you don’t have a case or screen protector on your phone and you’ve managed to get through a drop unscathed – well done, but get your phone protected, you’re living on borrowed time.
What should I do if I break my phone’s screen?
There are a few steps you should take if your phone has taken the dreaded tumble. The first step is to open your tightly squeezed shut eyes and assess the damage.
When you crack, smash, or shatter your phone screen, there are definitely levels of severity. There might be a deep scratch, perhaps a few small cracks in the corner, or you might be missing a whole chunk of the screen. These levels of severity might mean that your phone is still functioning basically perfectly well, and the issue is more cosmetic than anything. It might mean that your phone is on life support.
So, when you’re assessing the damage, if possible, put your phone on a flat surface and look it over under good lighting. You should be able to tell from a visual assessment whether the screen is going to stay intact or come flying off at any moment. In most cases, the phone screen is going to stay on and relatively intact.
If your phone has a screen protector and you’re not sure if it’s the protector or the actual screen that has broken, peel back a corner as carefully as you possibly can to assess. If it’s just the screen protector and you happen to have a spare one, very gentle remove this one – consider wearing gloves because they can be sharp – and replace it. If you don’t have a spare one, we suggest keeping the screen protector on until you buy a new one but aim to do it as soon as possible and to use your phone as little as possible until it’s replaced – safety first.
If your phone screen is smashed and you have the protector – keep it on there, it can help to keep the damaged screen protected until you get it repaired.
If you don’t have a screen protector and the screen is cactus, first up, tsk tsk, secondly, it’s a good idea to turn the phone off and very gently, using a clean, soft, and dry toothbrush, to remove any broken glass from the phone’s surface – you don’t want to cut or scratch yourself.
Your next step is to back up your phone – if the damage is particularly significant, we recommend doing this as fast as possible. If it is just a hairline fracture, we still recommend doing it, but you might have a little more time on your hands.
And your final step is to book in a smartphone screen repair service – like ours – for your phone.
Do I really need to repair a cracked phone screen?
Look, we’re not going to tell you how to live your life, but if you want to have your phone for a long time and save yourself some potential headaches and cash, then yes, you should repair a cracked phone screen.
Even the most minor crack can mean major problems in the future. It is essentially providing an opening for debris, like dust, liquid, and sweat to get into your phone and cause other problems – problems which are going to be more costly to fix than a broken screen.
Fixing an iPhone screen takes a very short amount of time and it’s definitely not as pricey as you think it’s going to be. Certainly not as pricey as getting your hands on the latest Samsung Galaxy Smartphone.
Can I fix it myself?
You can fix it yourself, but the real question is, should you fix it yourself? And while we won’t stop you, we would never recommend that you do it yourself. While you might have successfully done it four iPhone models ago or you’ve watched a pretty good tutorial on YouTube, there is a real fine art to the process. Phones are always evolving as well, so what worked on one kind of phone may not work on others.
If you want to make sure that the fix is going to work, you need a professional with years of experience.
How much does it cost to fix my broken phone screen?
It’s hard to give an exact cost to fix a broken smartphone screen as it is dependent on a number of different factors. These include whether it’s just a cracked screen or the LCD is also damaged; the model of your phone; the severity of the break; and whether any other issues are affecting the phone.
Some phone models can be repaired for under $100; others may cost a few hundred, but you can get an instant quote for our screen repair service here.
You may not realise this, but as part of our Sydney phone repair service, we actually come to you – wherever is convenient for you – and do our repairs and we don’t charge any extra for this, making the process a whole lot easier!
How long does it take to repair a smartphone screen?
While this is somewhat dependent on the extent of the damage, whether other damage exists and the model of the phone, in many cases we can smash out the repair of a smashed phone screen in under 30 minutes.
We’ve done more than 50,000 phone screen replacements in our time, which means we could be out of your hair and you and your happy phone will be back to making TikTok’s in no time at all.
Are phone screen repairs guaranteed?
They are when you choose Fone Teknician for your phone screen repair or replacement. We offer a 3-year guarantee for our labour and parts used in our repairs because we only use original manufacturer parts.
And if it’s a broken iPhone screen that you’re having repaired and it’s still under warranty, you can rest easy knowing that the Apple warranty won’t be affected by having your device repaired by us – which is a nice bonus!
How do I book my phone screen repair?
You can book our services online here or give us a buzz on 1300 806 774. We can provide you with an instant quote for your repair job and we come to you, wherever works for you. Our services are available within a 15km radius of the Sydney CBD, and whether you’re at work, home, or even at the local park, we can help fix your phone today.
One last thing
If you’ve got a smartphone, we highly recommend that you prepare for the drop – it happens to the best of us – but you can give your phone a fighting chance by putting a screen protector and phone case on the case.
This extra protection will work wonders for your phone, and it might mean that you can avoid us too!