There's an UBER For fixing phone screens? WHATTTT??

[AlTech]

If you ever happen to be unfortunate enough to break your phone screen, you can always count on this new company called "iCracked". This company is a new company which decided to take the Uber idea/concept but change it for repairing phone screens.

 

if you're phone screen breaks a technician can come straight to wherever you are (obviously not in the Atlantic ocean or the artic) and fix it for a fee.

 

AND Now is where you ask me, gee Al what's the catch? Well it's damn expensive at $199 USD per iPhone 6S.Plus screen.

 

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/6/6/11867020/icracked-phone-screen-repair-cracked-broken-iphone

 

I was also self-conscious taking my phone out in public, under the scrutinizing eyes of the lord and whoever happened to be standing next to me on the subway. What kind of story does a cracked iPhone screen tell? Either that you are leading a life well-lived full of adventure or that you're a psychopath with sweaty hands. Or maybe both!

So here's where I went wrong: I had a flimsy phone case that was more aesthetic than functional (rookie mistake #1), a history of being terrible to my phone plus weak hand strength (rookie mistake #2) and I didn't have a warranty (rookie mistake #3). Luckily for me, Jordan and Taha from iCracked came to my rescue.

 

iCracked is kind of like Uber for broken screen repairs, in that technicians will come to your home, office, or anywhere you happen to be to fix your phone. They can fix your iPhones, iPads, and Samsung Galaxy phones in about 25 - 30 minutes, and are basically the modern-day heroes of our generation.

 



 

After all was said and done, The Verge paid $199 for the entire repair experience. This is a good deal higher than having an iPhone 6S Plus repaired by Apple ($149 without AppleCare, $99 with). Still, I'd rather pay a little bit more for the time-saving convenience of having a technician come to me, versus having to go to the Genius bar, waiting in line and eventually having a meltdown like this lady.

[Guest]

Still wouldn't get an iPhone screen replaced by anyone other than Apple - you can't get OEM screens unless you strip it off another iPhone.

[Kobathor]

iPhone repairs are bad these days. If you want a quality screen, it's always cheaper just to go to an Apple store and ship it off. Now you even get to keep your data, you used to have your phone wiped when you used Apple repair services. 

[thekeemo]

10 minutes ago, Windspeed36 said:

Still wouldn't get an iPhone screen replaced by anyone other than Apple - you can't get OEM screens unless you strip it off another iPhone.

And who knows it might have a chip that stops touchid from working

[AlTech]

23 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

And who knows it might have a chip that stops touchid from working

They already have a chip to detect if you're using the Apple charger or not lol.

 

Therefore they probably have a chip to check TouchID.

[Guest]

44 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

And who knows it might have a chip that stops touchid from working

 

21 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

They already have a chip to detect if you're using the Apple charger or not lol.

 

Therefore they probably have a chip to check TouchID.

They do - it's a security measure to prevent using 3rd party hardware to bypass the biometric security. Most of the financial & banking apps can use the fingerprint scanner to authorise payments. Imagine getting a phone, bypassing a password by using a fingerprint through 3rd party hardware and suddenly being able to empty someones bank account?

[AlTech]

8 minutes ago, Windspeed36 said:

 

They do - it's a security measure to prevent using 3rd party hardware to bypass the biometric security. Most of the financial & banking apps can use the fingerprint scanner to authorise payments. Imagine getting a phone, bypassing a password by using a fingerprint through 3rd party hardware and suddenly being able to empty someones bank account?

That would make me scared shitless if that happened to me.

[suicidalfranco]

late to the game, iPhone screen repair is a dying business now that Apple is so adamant at doing everything it can to kill it 

[dalekphalm]

9 hours ago, huilun02 said:

For $199 I could get a whole new phone delivered to me?

Not an iPhone 6s (or 6s Plus), nor any comparable Android flagship level phone...

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

Not an iPhone 6s, nor any comparable Android flagship level phone...

No this is for a 6s Plus. For a 6s it would be cheaper.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, AluminiumTech said:

No this is for a 6s Plus. For a 6s it would be cheaper.

My point literally remains the same. Show me a working, perfect condition iPhone 6s or 6s Plus for $200

 

The person I quoted was saying that instead of repairing their ~$600+ phone, they could buy a new phone for $200.

 

Yep! You sure could. A shittier, less good phone. Definitely

[AlTech]

6 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

My point literally remains the same. Show me a working, perfect condition iPhone 6s or 6s Plus for $200

 

The person I quoted was saying that instead of repairing their ~$600+ phone, they could buy a new phone for $200.

 

Yep! You sure could. A shittier, less good phone. Definitely

In that person's defense my phone costs $300 and it's decent.

 

It's $200 for the glace not anything else.

[michaelocarroll007]

9 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

They already have a chip to detect if you're using the Apple charger or not lol.

 

Therefore they probably have a chip to check TouchID.

if you replace an iphones button /  touch id sensor it wont work due to it not being the original though They say its so no one can trick the sensor i guess like plug in something to crack the login or something who knows but  you can replace the screen without replacing that i believe 

[dalekphalm]

21 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

In that person's defense my phone costs $300 and it's decent.

 

It's $200 for the glace not anything else.

Yeah but, we need to compare apples to apples. That's like saying I crashed my Tesla Model S P85D, and they want $30,000 to fix it. $30,000 can get me an awesome car (Brand new Jetta or Corolla or many other options)... but it's sure not a Tesla.

 

I'm not saying your phone is terrible But it's not an iPhone 6s Plus by any means.

 

16 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Lets consider the fact that in most cases, a cracked screen is still functional.

Having just that fixed for $200 is pretty exorbitant.

Only someone wealthy with an expensive phone, his/her pride hurt by having a cracked screen, would take up such a service.

Part of the cost is the fact that they are essentially making a house call. You're not only paying them for the time and parts to fix the issue, but you're also basically paying them to come to you, whether it be via car, bus, train, etc.

 

House calls are always premium. Look at any IT business (Whether it be private IT Consultants, or something like the Geek Squad at Best Buy), paying them to make a house call or a business call is going to cost you extra.

[M4st4M1nd]

10 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

 

They do - it's a security measure to prevent using 3rd party hardware to bypass the biometric security. Most of the financial & banking apps can use the fingerprint scanner to authorise payments. Imagine getting a phone, bypassing a password by using a fingerprint through 3rd party hardware and suddenly being able to empty someones bank account?

Not exactly no they don't. I replace iphone screens and iphone finger print sensors all the time without any issues. Might see if these guys have any job openings. Beats doing it on the side and trying to find customers off my own back.

[dtaflorida]

19 minutes ago, M4st4M1nd said:

Might see if these guys have any job openings. Beats doing it on the side and trying to find customers off my own back.

The title is a bit ridiculous. If it were truly like Uber then, there'd be an app that lets me post my broke items to a bulletin board that set's a repair price and lets you choose to accept the repair contract at the price given. This Verge post is pushing the idea of Uber far and beyond the idea of what Uber is. 

 

A true uber for repairs is exactly what you want as a provider of repair services, and exactly what I'd want as a consumer of repair services.

 

Verge post is... what's the word? sensationalist?

 

Anyways, the author seems to know nothing about Uber, and is just using random buzzwords to garner more views.

[NumLock21]

$200 brand new iphone is with a 2 year contract, so you have to pay your monthly bill of whatever that is for 2 years. Let's say your monthly bill comes out to $70 bucks, then for 2 years, you would have paid a total of $1,680

6s Plus no contract is $750, with the 2 years you've paid, you could have got yourself 2 iphones and still have change left over.

$750x2=$1500

[Suika]

4 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

$200 brand new iphone is with a 2 year contract, so you have to pay your monthly bill of whatever that is for 2 years. 

2-year contracts are basically dead except a few limited scenarios. Most people are buying iPhones at full MSRP, which is $650, but are paying that over a 2-year term.

 

Also most carriers had contract line fees at $40/mo, which is $960 after 2-years.

[NumLock21]

1 minute ago, Suika said:

2-year contracts are basically dead except a few limited scenarios. Most people are buying iPhones at full MSRP, which is $650, but are paying that over a 2-year term.

Yeah, 2 year are basically dead, but I won't be paying $650 for a new phone unless I really like it and has the features I want. I got myself the Zenfone 2, for a MSRP of $300, and there is no annual contract with your service provider.

[Kobathor]

1 hour ago, huilun02 said:

Lets consider the fact that in most cases, a cracked screen is still functional.

Having just that fixed for $200 is pretty exorbitant.

Only someone wealthy with an expensive phone, his/her pride hurt by having a cracked screen, would take up such a service.

The screen for the iPhone 6 costs around $100 from a quality vendor, but even then, it's not as good as the Apple screens. Then, they're driving to your house to repair it, not you going to a shop. Overall it looks like this service will either suck, or they'll be losing money. And I don't think they want to lose money.

[Suika]

1 hour ago, NumLock21 said:

Yeah, 2 year are basically dead, but I won't be paying $650 for a new phone unless I really like it and has the features I want. I got myself the Zenfone 2, for a MSRP of $300, and there is no annual contract with your service provider.

Yea, but that's a quality you're used to dealing with. Most people are already loyal to the iPhone and Galaxy line of devices, and refuse to believe any other device exists on the market and aren't willing to choose a device that's aesthetically inferior.

[NumLock21]

3 minutes ago, Suika said:

Yea, but that's a quality you're used to dealing with. Most people are already loyal to the iPhone and Galaxy line of devices, and refuse to believe any other device exists on the market and aren't willing to choose a device that's aesthetically inferior.

But when they start using a cheaper phone with all the features they need, they won't really care about Samsung or Apple.

I remember going to AT&T about a year ago asking if they have the ZenFone2 and they said, they never heard of it. Forward to today, and they even sell it. Asus even makes a special version just for them.

http://www.asus.com/us/Phone/ZenFone-2E-US-ATT-exclusive/

 

[GlassBomb]

I don't understand why they are calling it "Uber for broken screen repairs". It's a screen-replacement service that does call-out's...

 

And I'd honestly just get it done at a first party (or certified) service place. Just to avoid any possible future warranty problems. Despite their service coming with a "Lifetime Warranty". Which I only really think is if the screen starts to malfunction in any way due to their repair.

[Mew]

2 hours ago, NumLock21 said:

$200 brand new iphone is with a 2 year contract, so you have to pay your monthly bill of whatever that is for 2 years. Let's say your monthly bill comes out to $70 bucks, then for 2 years, you would have paid a total of $1,680

6s Plus no contract is $750, with the 2 years you've paid, you could have got yourself 2 iphones and still have change left over.

$750x2=$1500

That is simply not true. The way installment plans work is you either pay $0 at the beginning, $100, or $200 then they take the full value of the phone ($650 for the 6s) and subtract however much you initially paid and then divide it by 24 and that will be the monthly cost of the phone. The other $50 or so will be the service cost of the carrier (probably T-Mobile's udp in this case). 

[zacRupnow]

20 hours ago, Windspeed36 said:

Still wouldn't get an iPhone screen replaced by anyone other than Apple - you can't get OEM screens unless you strip it off another iPhone.

The Chinese companies Apple has build their stuff can sell replacement (B grade) parts in China and the companies that buy them can ship out of country.