Advice On Repairing Your Smartphone Or Tablet

In this day and age we are all becoming increasingly reliant on our smart devices but just like every other consumer product, they are prone to breaking. Just recently we showed you how it is possible to save your mobile phone from water damage but what happens if you break your tablet by cracking the screen for example; what then? There is help and advice out there to aid you in repairing your device at home but before you start consider the risks.

Before attempting any repair at home check if your device has a warranty. If it does then it is better to take it back to the retailer and get them to sort it. There is always an element of risk when trying to fix things yourself. The risk is that not only could you cause irreparable damage to a device but also to yourself. You could give yourself an electric shock or cut your fingers when messing with electrics so to minimize any accidents do thorough preparation. Make sure you fully read any guidelines, watch tutorial videos and have all the various steps of the repair clear in your mind.

Once you have weighed up the pros and cons and decided to proceed with a do-it-yourself repair, get advice and help from those in the know.

The Restart Project is a group of volunteers who advise amateurs on how to extend the life of their devices. They encourage and empower people to learn how things like smartphones and tablets work, so then they can undertake fundamental repairs and general maintenance. The volunteers arrange weekend and evening events as well as lunch-time clinics, where they will come to the workplace and share their knowledge.

Alex Perjescu from the repair company Lovefone attended one of the Restart events. “The instructions you find online are great – but also [you need to know] those little tricks to get it right from the first try. And make sure you’re confident with the instructions you’ve found,” he said.

The website iFixit.com is a crowdsourced website full of tutorials and has a shop where you can purchase parts and tools. All the guides are rated for difficulty and success rate as well as giving you a list of the tools that you will need to complete the task.

The ethos behind iFixit is to encourage people to repair rather than throwaway. “You bought it, you should own it. Period. You should have the right to use it, modify it, and repair it wherever, whenever, and however you want. Defend your right to fix,” it says on the website.

So the next time your smartphone or tablet breaks consider doing some research and giving the repair a go.

[Image via Lifehacker]

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26197229