Students fix cracked phone screens

When most students drop their iPhones, a long process of finding a replacement or someone to fix the device ensues. But Dylan Baxendell sees it as an opportunity, at a rate of two students per week. 

After Baxendell, a senior majoring in athletic training, dropped his phone and had not purchased AppleCare+ — Apple’s protection plan for the company’s devices —  he became interested in repairing mobile devices. He decided to watch a YouTube video from iFixit.com, a repair guide website, to learn how to fix the screen. 

For many, these videos serve as a great solution, and Baxendell decided to cash in on this newfound opportunity. Offering his repair services to fellow Pitt students and members of the Pittsburgh community in exchange for cash, Baxendell has been able to financially support himself throughout college for costs such as food and utilities. On a typical week, Baxendell said he serves about two clients, drawing interested customers through advertising and the “Free and For Sale” Facebook page, which is popular among Pitt students looking to swap items and services for cash.

As consumers ramp up their spending on touch-screen devices, the number of smashed screens is also increasing. According to MobileInsurance.co.uk, a mobile phone insurance website, about a quarter of all iPhone owners have cracked or damaged displays on their phones. While going straight back to the phone’s manufacturer for repairs has been the most conventional solution in the past, other options have recently proven to be valuable, as well.

Baxendell, who has been doing phone repairs for roughly three years, said he started out by helping friends whose screens broke. In the past year, his knack for phone repair grew into a business. 

Baxendell said when he first started his business, he had a tough time getting used to repairing devices.

“I have to admit, I was terrible when I first started doing my own phone repairs. But now I’ve learned so much over the years. It’s just second-nature now,” he said.

While screen repair isn’t rocket science, the task is tedious.

“Doing repairs is something that takes patience and practice, like anything else you do in life. For something like an iPhone 4 [or] 4S screen repair, I will be taking out about 30 to 40 very tiny screws and mostly all the internal components of the phone just to get the front screen off,” Baxendell said. “Then the whole phone needs to be reassembled. It’s a lot to keep track of.”

Because of the complicated nature of the repairs, Baxendell limits the different kinds of phones he fixes to iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices.

Pricing on his repairs varies depending on different factors.

“The phone’s make and model are the biggest factor on price. It also depends on how much the replacement part costs,” Baxendell said. “Other factors include the time it will take me to complete it, and also if they want anything extra like a change of screen color or buttons.”

Baxendell also said if there was an issue with the repair or if he accidentally broke a part of the phone, he would take full responsibility and purchase a replacement part or an entirely new phone for the client. 

“I’m an honest guy and would never return a phone that isn’t functional,” he said.

For a screen repair for an iPhone 4 or 4S, Baxendell said he would charge about $45 or $50. For an iPhone 5, he’d charge $75 to $80. The difference in price is because of the cost of replacement parts in each device.

Baxendell’s business has some competitors.

“As far as competition goes, there are a lot of options out there. You have your manufacturers like Apple and Samsung,” Baxendell said. “Then below that you have repair shops all over Pittsburgh who employ people to do repairs on various devices and individuals such as myself looking to earn a little extra money on the side.”

One such competitor is Cellhelmet, a cell phone case manufacturer and repair service that opened a new location at 3601 Forbes Ave. about two weeks ago.

Mike Kane, a Pitt-Johnstown alumnus who graduated in 2005, and Dave Artuso, who graduated from Penn State in 2011, teamed up to form the company. The pair was featured on ABC’s reality television show “Shark Tank,” which provides entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their ideas to a team of potential investors, in March 2013.

On the episode, the two men stood before a team of potential investors as Kane asked, “Are we saying that our Cellhelmet cases can withstand all kinds of crazy abuse?”

As Kane asked his question, Artuso simultaneously slammed an iron club down onto an iPhone held by their case, shattering the screen. 

“Absolutely not,” Kane said.  

Cellhelmet’s real protection comes from the company’s one-year guarantee of accidental damage coverage for the customer’s device, as long as the customer registers the product within 30 days of purchase. 

Cellhelmet offers cases for recent versions of the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Prices range from $34.99 for a case for an iPod Touch to $49.99 for an iPhone 5 case. 

According to Kane, each time a customer’s phone is damaged while inside a Cellhelmet case, the customer can send the device to the company to be repaired or replaced, depending on the severity of the damage. After paying a $50 handling fee, Cellhelmet will send the device back to the customer within three business days. 

Kane said Cellhelmet’s main selling point is that customers can get unlimited repairs within one year of the case’s purchase for most physical damage that occurs to the device. This damage includes a cracked screen, a broken speaker or a faulty headphone jack, but excludes repair coverage for water damage and scratched aluminum. In the instance of something such as water damage, the customer must use their one allotted device replacement.

This may be a cost-effective alternative for an iPhone user that plans on purchasing Apple’s popular warranty for iPhones, AppleCare+.

According to Apple’s website, Apple products come with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary support. 

However, once the warranty is up, Apple users are not guaranteed repair support. Customers can choose to purchase AppleCare+, which provides an additional year of repair support.  

Customers must pay an initial fee of $99 for AppleCare+, which will then allow customers two incidents of accidental damage repair at a $79 service fee for each incident. 

Other phone manufacturers, such as HTC, promise to provide customers with a free one-time screen replacement on devices within the first six months of ownership.

But while HTC’s screen-replacement guarantee is limited to only HTC customers, Cellhelmet’s services aren’t limited to just those who have bought one of the company’s cases.

According to Kane, Cellhelmet offers walk-in repair service for any type of cell phone or tablet, and a team of certified technicians will be able to perform most repairs on the spot.

“We typically ask that you give us an hour to do a repair. Most repairs are done in half that time,” Kane said.

Kane encourages people to think twice before evaluating the severity of their phone’s damage.

“It’s kind of interesting. Most people think, ‘If I drop my phone in the toilet, it’s done,’ which is not true,” Kane said. “We can bring back about 85 percent of water-damaged devices, even if they’ve been sitting in the bottom of the ocean for a month.” 

According to Kane, in addition to repairs, Cellhelmet allows customers to sell their broken phones or tablets to them for immediate cash.

“There are a lot of buyback sites on the web. We pay a lot more [for devices] than those guys. I think that’s one of our biggest opportunities, being so close to all these colleges,” Kane said. “Kids can bring in their broken phones and we can basically give them their beer money for the night.”

Katie Deats, a freshman pre-pharmacy major, posted on Pitt’s “Free and For Sale” Facebook group in the hopes of finding someone to replace the shattered display on her phone. 

“I was initially hoping to have a student repair my phone, because I assumed this would be the cheapest route,” Deats said.

However, after speaking to one of the employees at UBreakiFix, a cell phone repair company with a store in East Liberty, she decided that it would be worth the extra money to have her phone screen replaced by a trained professional. 

“The reviews for UBreakiFix were generally positive, and the employees were very nice,” she said. 

Zach Szarmach, assistant manager at the UBreakiFix in East Liberty, said that if customers come in with their own replacement screens, the repair will generally cost only $49, rather than $79 for both materials and labor.   

Szarmach said that while the company offers a 90-day warranty for all of its repairs, accidental damage is not covered.

“If the part we installed in the device does not function, we will honor that as part of the 90-day warrantee for no extra cost,” Szarmach said.

He also said that if customers come into the store with their own parts and just need an install, UBreakiFix does not offer the warranty.

Szarmach’s advice for those looking for ways to avoid breaking their phone was both short and sweet.

“Just get a case,” he said.

While Baxendell recognizes that his competition includes trained professionals, he isn’t too worried about the prospects of losing business. For now, phone repair is just a hobby. 

“I enjoy doing it and also feel good knowing I saved a fellow student some cash at the same time,” he said. “We can all use a little more back in our pockets.”