Repair or Replace Your Phone? A Simple Way to Decide

1. Compare the repair cost to the phone's value

Our rule of thumb: if the repair costs less than about a third of what a comparable replacement would cost, repairing usually makes sense. A screen on an iPhone 11 starts at $54, far less than any replacement phone. On the other hand, a phone with a cracked screen, a bad battery and a broken camera may not be worth fixing all at once.

2. Is it still getting software updates?

Updates bring security fixes and keep apps working. If your phone still receives current iOS or Android updates, it has useful life left. If updates stopped years ago, banking and messaging apps will eventually stop supporting it, and a repair only delays the inevitable.

3. Is the problem the battery?

Many phones feel "old" only because the battery is worn. Slow performance, random shutdowns and a phone that dies by mid-afternoon are classic battery symptoms. A battery replacement is one of the cheapest repairs and often makes a phone feel close to new.

4. Do you still like the phone?

If the phone does everything you need, has enough storage, and you are happy with the camera, there's no reason to spend hundreds on an upgrade just because the screen cracked.

When replacing makes more sense

• The phone no longer gets security updates
• Several major parts have failed at the same time
• The repair costs more than the phone is worth
• Storage is constantly full and slowing you down

Repairing before a trade-in

Carrier trade-in offers drop sharply for cracked screens. Sometimes fixing the screen first raises the trade-in value by more than the repair costs. Ask us for a price and compare it with the trade-in offer for a damaged and an undamaged phone.

Get an honest quote

Our diagnostic is free. We'll tell you what's wrong, what it costs to fix and whether we think it's worth it. Start with our screen repair or iPhone repair pages to see common prices.