How reliable are 3rd party phone repair stores?

[DrThots]

Planning to get my huawei mate 10 speaker to get fixed but I purchased it in China and for some reason Huawei does not do international warranty because the whole hardware ect is designed differently from EU and China.

I spilt some milk (Feelsbadman) and now the speakers distort during max volume, I'm sure it never did when playing normal music. Now the only thing I have as an issue is how trustworthy are third party repair shops? Will they give me the same quality speaker, will they maybe swap out something in my phone for a cheaper quality to possibly scam me and I wouldn't notice and would they charge me a large amount which would not be reasonable for a simple loudspeaker switch. (May require a new adhesive but shouldn't cost that much).

[W-L]

-Moved to Phones and Tablets Section- 

[Razor Blade]

Likely varies by location... There is some real scum shops around...but there are also shops that are legit and earn your business. Best way to tell the difference is word of mouth. If you're on social media, try asking people to recommend you a shop around where you live.

 

I don't know how it is in the UK but shops here in the states sort of do the repairs as a side business. Most of them sell used phones and accessories as their main business.

[DrThots]

1 minute ago, Razor Blade said:

Likely varies by location... There is some real scum shops around...but there are also shops that are legit and earn your business. Best way to tell the difference is word of mouth. If you're on social media, try asking people to recommend you a shop around where you live.

 

I don't know how it is in the UK but shops here in the states sort of do the repairs as a side business. Most of them sell used phones and accessories as their main business.

Ah that could help. I do have a bunch of friends who tend to break their phones alot since we're still in school and they're careless about their belongings haha.

 

How much would a normal replacement cost in the states for a loudspeaker?

[Razor Blade]

1 minute ago, DrThots said:

Ah that could help. I do have a bunch of friends who tend to break their phones alot since we're still in school and they're careless about their belongings haha.

 

How much would a normal replacement cost in the states for a loudspeaker?

It is probably not going to be a flat rate thing. Most of the time a shop may know off the top of their head how much it is to replace a screen on a popular phone but may need to quote you an amount after they estimate labor and find out how much parts cost.

[DrThots]

1 minute ago, Razor Blade said:

It is probably not going to be a flat rate thing. Most of the time a shop may know off the top of their head how much it is to replace a screen on a popular phone but may need to quote you an amount after they estimate labor and find out how much parts cost.

Do you think they will have the parts for my phone? It is only avaliable in China I think, it's not avaliable in the uk so it might be a bit expensive

[Razor Blade]

7 minutes ago, DrThots said:

Do you think they will have the parts for my phone? It is only avaliable in China I think, it's not avaliable in the uk so it might be a bit expensive

Do I think they do? Unless it is a popular speaker that is used in multiple phones, and they just so happen to keep it in stock...no...I seriously doubt it. Chances are a shop like that will have the most frequently broken parts that people feel the need to get their phone repaired (bezel, digitizer, maybe LCD) for the most common phones (Apple, Samsung, etc.) really that is if they carry any parts at all...because there is always the chance they won't.

[00RaZoR11]

On 2018. 05. 30. at 2:11 AM, DrThots said:

Now the only thing I have as an issue is how trustworthy are third party repair shops?

There must be at least one great repair shop in your area. Watch out for scummy ones. Try to find opinions and reviews of them. Take a look at their website if possible, that can say a lot about a store (quality, professionalism, business model, how they treat their clients). I'd be reluctant to give my phone to a store where they don't give at least a few months of warranty on the service.
You could also try going to the store, ask if they could repair it, and how they would go about it. How they remove the screen/back, if they have any special tools. The heatgun+prying tools method might work (and very well can be done flawlessly), however I'd rather give my phone to someone who uses a specialized freezer, and tools specifically made for this job. Just don't tell them what you want to hear. Don't ask if they use a freezer, just simply ask what they do to take it apart.
 

[DrThots]

4 hours ago, 00RaZoR11 said:

There must be at least one great repair shop in your area. Watch out for scummy ones. Try to find opinions and reviews of them. Take a look at their website if possible, that can say a lot about a store (quality, professionalism, business model, how they treat their clients). I'd be reluctant to give my phone to a store where they don't give at least a few months of warranty on the service.
You could also try going to the store, ask if they could repair it, and how they would go about it. How they remove the screen/back, if they have any special tools. The heatgun+prying tools method might work (and very well can be done flawlessly), however I'd rather give my phone to someone who uses a specialized freezer, and tools specifically made for this job. Just don't tell them what you want to hear. Don't ask if they use a freezer, just simply ask what they do to take it apart.
 

Well my town is not the richest and it has a small population so there is only one reputable company who does repair phones, but they suddenly don't repair Huawei phones anymore. What a bummer

[00RaZoR11]

2 hours ago, DrThots said:

but they suddenly don't repair Huawei phones anymore. What a bummer

That's unfortunate. That's one of the reasons why I don't have a Huawei p20.
If there's no other way, you can try to order a speaker from ebay/ aliexpress or some site like those. Maybe huawei sells them directly. You can find videos on smartphone repair on the JerryRigEverything youtube channel. He has a video on taking the mate 10 pro apart: Huawei Mate 10 Pro Teardown - Is true beauty on the Inside?

[DrThots]

2 hours ago, 00RaZoR11 said:

That's unfortunate. That's one of the reasons why I don't have a Huawei p20.
If there's no other way, you can try to order a speaker from ebay/ aliexpress or some site like those. Maybe huawei sells them directly. You can find videos on smartphone repair on the JerryRigEverything youtube channel. He has a video on taking the mate 10 pro apart: Huawei Mate 10 Pro Teardown - Is true beauty on the Inside?

Yeah I've seen that but It's risky for me especially because once its broken, the warranty will most likely be voided.

[00RaZoR11]

1 hour ago, DrThots said:

Yeah I've seen that but It's risky for me especially because once its broken, the warranty will most likely be voided.

I know, it's scary. I paid 200usd for a screen replacement, cuz I was afraid to open up my galaxy s7.