The best mobile phone repair services in Canberra

+1 for universal phone repairs

+1 to not doing the DIY repairs. My partner’s Galaxy S5 is now a brick after I attempted to remove a broken screen and ended up peeling the entire digitizer off instead. They aren’t repairable, you have to replace the whole screen and sensor thing and it’s better to do it professionally. Why is the glass so breakable? Why can’t they make it from indestructible stuff like Lexan or something? [Oh, yeah, we won’t be paying $200 regularly to get them fixed, meaning repair businesses go out of business…]

Dame Canberra said :

I can recommend against buying a screen replacement online and attempting to fix it yourself. My seemingly tech-savvy partner tried to do that when I cracked my screen a few months ago and ended up rendering the entire phone useless. Not worth it.

I think it is very worth it. I fixed my smashed iphone screen. Followed a couple of youtube videos for the teardown/rebuild and told family “Do Not Disturb” until I’d finished. $32 for the screen on fleabay. Still works perfectly two years later.

I can recommend against buying a screen replacement online and attempting to fix it yourself. My seemingly tech-savvy partner tried to do that when I cracked my screen a few months ago and ended up rendering the entire phone useless. Not worth it.

As a fellow Samsung user I HIGHLY recommend Mobile Repair Central near Big W at Woden.

I smashed my screen and got a worse than rubbish $350 replacement from Universal Phone Services in Canberra Centre. When I told them the repair hadn’t worked properly and the screen now had ‘dead zones’ they told me it would cost another $200 to fix :/ I decided to try Mobile Repair Central and
go with a ‘refurbished’ screen as it was much cheaper, but when I wasn’t happy with how that turned out, gave me a great price on a new one and did labour for free. I had some problems with it over a year later and they then fixed it for free. Great service and really helpful.

Ben_Dover said :

Thanks to all who replied sensibly.

It’s now with Happytel at Belco, will feed back on the job they do.

Good to see you getting back into the Act, Bendy…any chance of the promised feedback?

maxblues said :

The mystery of the cracked phone and the missing Dover…

I reckon the old bugger is starting to feel his age.

Maybe you could get a bigger screen and stronger glasses, BenD ?

The mystery of the cracked phone and the missing Dover…

Ben_Dover said :

Thanks to all who replied sensibly.

It’s now with Happytel at Belco, will feed back on the job they do.

Dear Hon Mr Dover Esq, what happened to the feedback on HappyTel? Did it have a happy ending?

DUB said :

Ben_Dover, Universal is owned by Israelis, if I were you I’d go with other suggestions.
Be selective not just price wise, but also think of WHO owns the business before you support it.

WTF?

Do not even think of Universal in Woden.. Phone screen damaged and replaced however furthe problems arose. Upon taking the phone to the phone place outside Big W Woden, they revealed to me that the battery and other internals has been salvaged and replaced with cheap aftermarket parts.

The repairer in Gungahlin Woolworths building..the kiosk is also dodgy. Screen also replaced there by a crap screen that slides off. The touch sensor was also out of sync for a while.

Cash only and no receipt.

Are the genuine parts being stripped and sent to Israel?

I know im late to the party but philip station in woden across the burger joint and nandos n what not are GREAT! Friendly service, looks after u, warranty provided, very fast service. My samsung s3 screen was heavily damange and he replaced it at a decent price (the lcd’s are crazily over priced for sammies) in less than 20 minutes. Gave me a discount and screen protector. I am a very happy customer!

Thanks to all who replied sensibly.

It’s now with Happytel at Belco, will feed back on the job they do.

One dark day my darling youngest son dropped my ipad and the screen shattered. Angelo at GeekLABS did a great job replacing the screen. It was ready the next day I think, and the cost was reasonable too. I’m sure they replace screens for phones and would probably do Samsungs. They do all sorts of computer repair work, and I had a laptop repaired by them about a month ago. They are in Fyshwick now, if that is not too far for you to go?

Backyard job?

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-mobile-phones/canberra/phone+repair+samsung/k0c18597l3002977

jett18 said :

DUB said :

Ben_Dover, Universal is owned by Israelis, if I were you I’d go with other suggestions.
Be selective not just price wise, but also think of WHO owns the business before you support it.

I have used these guys many times and recommended their services to others who have been extremely happy with price and service. They are professional and offer you advise and honest opinions.
So, please Ben_Dover, enlighten us all as to why their nationality makes a difference in whether they are proficient in their business and service.

Hmm, well I’ve found the complete opposite with Universal Phone Services. First time the phone was bought in, whatever they claimed to have done didn’t fix the issue, and then after taking it back they somehow managed to “misplace” said phone. Days later get the phone back and the issue still not fixed, took the phone straight upstairs to Happytel and the issue was resolved in minutes and have no further issues since.

jett18 said :

DUB said :

Ben_Dover, Universal is owned by Israelis, if I were you I’d go with other suggestions.
Be selective not just price wise, but also think of WHO owns the business before you support it.

I have used these guys many times and recommended their services to others who have been extremely happy with price and service. They are professional and offer you advise and honest opinions.
So, please Ben_Dover, enlighten us all as to why their nationality makes a difference in whether they are proficient in their business and service.

Learn how to quote properly numb skull, Ben_Dover didnt post that!!!!

DUB said :

Ben_Dover, Universal is owned by Israelis, if I were you I’d go with other suggestions.
Be selective not just price wise, but also think of WHO owns the business before you support it.

I have used these guys many times and recommended their services to others who have been extremely happy with price and service. They are professional and offer you advise and honest opinions.
So, please Ben_Dover, enlighten us all as to why their nationality makes a difference in whether they are proficient in their business and service.

If u do decide to get any phone repaired just remember if it is not repaired by an authorized repairer you will automatically void your warrenty. The choice is yours though I would suggest taking it back to your phone dealer. You may have to send it away to get repaired but at least you are garunteed legit repairs and still have warrenty … Choice is yours

I agree what does nationality have to do with anything?

DUB said :

Ben_Dover, Universal is owned by Israelis, if I were you I’d go with other suggestions.
Be selective not just price wise, but also think of WHO owns the business before you support it.

Does nationality make a difference in phone repair then? Weird as!!

Ben_Dover, Universal is owned by Israelis, if I were you I’d go with other suggestions.
Be selective not just price wise, but also think of WHO owns the business before you support it.

There’s a phone repair kiosk at Gungahlin town centre near Woolies. I’ve never used them so can’t comment on the quality of service.

Happytel seems to have the edge at the moment, any other thoughts folks?

Do not under any circumstances take it to Universal Phone Services in the Canberra Centre. I can, however recommend Happytel upstairs in the Canberra Centre

harvyk1 said :

Try universal phone repair in the city, they are relatively cheap and pretty quick..

What do they say? Cheap, quick, good … pick two.

Having said that, isn’t screen replacement the bread and butter of those phone repair kiosks in every mall in this town?

I recently got my S4 fixed in tuggeranong, ‘my happy tel’ I think is the name. The S4s are pretty pricey it cost me $290 which was cheaper than the city or belco who quoted me $300 or more.

Probably not what you want to hear – but I’ve done several repairs on my Galaxy S2 myself. My phone took a swim in the bath with the kids. Was quoted something like $300 for a new battery and new USB connector. Got the battery on ebay for $20 on ebay – and the USB connector for $6. Was a simple job and it’s like new.

Screen replacement is a trickier job – but youtube has 100s of tutorial videos.

Try universal phone repair in the city, they are relatively cheap and pretty quick..

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/smoking-iphone-on-flight-prompts-warning-20120504-1y3ao.html

Sic said :

A two year old iPhone is a worthless peice of crap anyway, if for no other reason than the battery will be at half or less capacity. No need to ruin the day to day use with a pedantic case to try and keep your resale up.

Who’s worried about resale? The fact is that most people’s phones are part of a 2 year contract with one of the mobile providers, and they may or may not have incremental payments over that 2 years to cover the cost of the phone itself.

Now if you drop and break the phone during that contract, it’s not going to be covered by warranty, and your mobile provider isn’t going to listen to your sob story and either replace your phone or cancel your contract. You’re going to have to pay to get that phone repaired and/or replaced.

Cases aren’t about keeping your phone pretty – they’re about keeping it alive until you have a chance to get a new one.

There are companies that come to you now in Canberra, check out http://www.smashedapples.com.au or http://www.canberraphonefixer.com.au

I used Smashed Apples 2 weeks ago and I havent had any problems with my iPhone 4S so far!

You need to watch out for the shopfront iphone repairers, I have had a lot of problems with them whenever my phone breaks. They seem to change prices every time I go back, and promise the world, and deliver very little.

I did use an online company the other day though who drove to my work and fixed my iPhone over lunch. It was cheap at $110 for the front screen of my iPhone 4 and I have had no problems since.

Their website is http://www.smashedapples.com.au and they are Canberra locals if that helps!

Disinformation said :

[. Of the five people I know who have their iphones in Defenders, none have suffered damage. .

Make that 6. I spend my days crawling under cars and houses, climbing on ladders and roofs and generally doing things that don’t make my clothes last very long. My iPhone 4 has been in my pocket for the last 20 months and still looks as new as the day I got it. It’s been dropped on concrete multiple times ( and thrown several times by a 2 year old) , had a good 4m fall off a roof onto gravel and generally been subjected to harsh dusty conditions.
All my fashion conscious friends however have had multiple breakages and issues. I’m not trying to keep the phone in museum quality condition for generations to come. I just want it to last the 24 months of my contract till I get a new one and not get ripped off in the meantime by a middle eastern 4 eyes at a kiosk in Woden. $60 well spent and I’d hardly call my phone ugly and cumbersome. (spent 30 minutes looking for it in an out of service area the other day. It was in the top pocket of my polo shirt.)

Solidarity said :

never have.

first one died due to “logic board” failure even though it’d never been dropped. 4 days out of warrenty.

another reason not to bother wasting $60 on some massive cumbersome case.

c’est la vie….

60 dollars? Massive cumbersome case?
You’re out of touch and getting ripped off.
But that’s cool. A phone for me is a tool and not a fashion item.
Just remember to apply your theories to seatbelts and condoms.

never have.

first one died due to “logic board” failure even though it’d never been dropped. 4 days out of warrenty.

another reason not to bother wasting $60 on some massive cumbersome case.

c’est la vie….

I’d use a case if they weren’t all retardedly huge. It’s a phone, it’s going to get wear and tear. Once it’s worn out, you replace it.

Having a phone in a case is like those old people who never take thier plastic off the sofa, keeping it nice for the next person.

Sic said :

A two year old iPhone is a worthless peice of crap anyway, if for no other reason than the battery will be at half or less capacity. No need to ruin the day to day use with a pedantic case to try and keep your resale up.

Considering that there are businesses that exist purely to repair iphones, it would tend to suggest that as a singular device, they’re relatively fragile. I know people on their fourth iphone from damage alone. Mind you, they don’t use protective cases. Of the five people I know who have their iphones in Defenders, none have suffered damage. Most impressive is the original iphone which is still going strong (other than a battery replacement) despite being given as a toy to a three year old. That was three years ago. So if you buy something that is fragile and don’t have the handling habits which will ensure reliable functioning, a protective case can be a cheap investment. Mind you, about the only one which will survive a dunking is one of the new lifecases.
I don’t have an iphone and never will. I do however look after my phones and even without cases, I have all my functional phones from a 14 year period. Now I have a touch screen phone, it is protected as much as practical.
Mind you, I have a work history of fixing devices broken by the stupid mistakes of other people, so I have a rather low opinion of the average person’s ability to not look after things and a healthy respect for accidental damage.

Disinformation said :

Grail said :

An otter box defender case? I have nothing more than a matte screen protector on my phone. It lives in my pocket, or the phone pocket of my backpack. The only problem I have had was a home button that stopped working. The cases make these phones far too cumbersome to keep on my person.

Just handle it properly.

Let me know how that matte screen protector goes the first time you don’t handle it properly and drop your phone on cement, edge down.

A two year old iPhone is a worthless peice of crap anyway, if for no other reason than the battery will be at half or less capacity. No need to ruin the day to day use with a pedantic case to try and keep your resale up.

Scrumpox said :

Apple repairs in Canberra are rubbish. My son spilt a glass of Coke on his MacBook keyboard, went to Mac1 (Canberra Centre and then Fyshwick) and was quoted $2,000 to replace the keyboard (about $900 more than a new MacBook). They also (disturbingly) couldn’t tell the difference between a 15″ and 17″ screen. The other thing was that no-one wants to serve you at the Fyshwick store – lots of older “manager” type guys who go nowhere near the front desk – they leave it to the 18 year old trainee. & you have to wait 30 mins to talk to the trainee. Anyway had it fixed in New York while on holidays for $200 US and received actual customer service.

There is some hope, Mac1 isn’t the only authorised repairer in Canberra, NCSS are up the other end of Gladstone street (opposite side of the road) and I have had success with repairs through them after my own experiences at Mac1.

http://www.ncss.com.au

Another alternative is to organise a day trip to Sydney to the Mac store (make a booking).. that is until our Mac store opens in *cough* shopping centre.

Not sure what compels people to go to glorified phone cover shops to get iPhones fixed when Apple offer their replacement service.

G.R.R said :

They didnt fix it after a number of times, so I went back more!

Just in case, I imagine!

Yeah, I like the way he gives them the phone and they bugger it up, so he gives them another $50 and they bugger it up some more, and then they ask for another $100 bugger it up even more.

Apple repairs in Canberra are rubbish. My son spilt a glass of Coke on his MacBook keyboard, went to Mac1 (Canberra Centre and then Fyshwick) and was quoted $2,000 to replace the keyboard (about $900 more than a new MacBook). They also (disturbingly) couldn’t tell the difference between a 15″ and 17″ screen. The other thing was that no-one wants to serve you at the Fyshwick store – lots of older “manager” type guys who go nowhere near the front desk – they leave it to the 18 year old trainee. & you have to wait 30 mins to talk to the trainee. Anyway had it fixed in New York while on holidays for $200 US and received actual customer service.

I’ve also used the iPhone kiosk in the Canberra Centre for a 3GS repair – seems they use cannibalised parts from other phones in for repair. Heaps of dudes were coming in to pick up phones and they weren’t ready, told to come back in a couple of days. They seemed dodgey but were able to put on a replacement back cover for $100. Not a bad business to get into, seems to be tax free and you don’t have to have any skills.

A mate of mine needed a Ipad repaired ( not at the dud Woden dudes) and when they got it back all their photos had mysteriously been replaced with and African gentleman’s holiday snaps. So yeah, make sure they gave you your own phone back.

They didnt fix it after a number of times, so I went back more!

Just in case, I imagine!

I’ve had my iPhone 3GS wrapped up in a Tuffwrap cover for 3 years now. Dropped my phone multiple times and the silicon cover makes it bounce and stop (not to mention the silicone makes the phone stick in your back pocket/hand)

http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=34241

Best cover ever, Oh and yeah it sounds like the guy switched the phone around :-/

Keijidosha said :

I’m going to state the obvious here, but if the phone was still under warranty maybe you should’ve taken it to an authorised repairer instead of a mall kiosk. Just sayin’.

I smashed my iphone too and $200.00 to Apple got me a new one! 🙂

Those assgoblins at woden couldn’t light a fire with matches and petrol. Completely hopeless.

I took my old iPhone 3GS there to get the simcard reader replaced as replacing it required soldering and I’m not confident with small electronics and a soldering iron and they not only failed to replace the reader (it looked like they just resoldered it, it had some distintive marks on it from a sim adaptor I was using for a while) they tried to charge me $80 and gave it back with the antenna unhooked! I ended up arguing with him because I refused to pay to be given back a still broken phone. I told him exactly where he could stick it and will never go back there.

I ended up replacing it myself (which is when I found the antenna unhooked) and it worked fine. When I went back the next week and let him know that he had left the antenna unhooked and hadn’t actually replaced the part I asked him to replace, he didn’t want to hear a bar of it and then asked to buy the phone for $50… What a scam.

I have yet to break my iPhone 3GS (which is about 1 year old).

On the other hand, a lot of things that apple appear to have done deliberately while designing and building the phone frequently make me want to break it. On the other hand, it mostly does what it is supposed to do, and I dare say I would consider anther apple phone product in the future.

I was always a little curious about apples use of a sealed inside battery (obviously a continuation of a reasonably successful feature of the ipods, but a notable change from almost all other phones pre-iphone), and can happily say that even if the battery dies and it cost to have it replaced, it has probably been worth it for not having the battery bounce off when dropped like earlier generation nokias.

mine does the whole “not turning screen off when on a call” thing too, turns out its not a bung sensor, but the screen protector i had on it

anyway i don’t care cause it just means sometimes i put people on mute my accident. hanging up, changing apps etc while you’re on the phone, wtf? are you trying to make out via phone with the person on the other end or something?

Grail said :

An otter box defender case? I have nothing more than a matte screen protector on my phone. It lives in my pocket, or the phone pocket of my backpack. The only problem I have had was a home button that stopped working. The cases make these phones far too cumbersome to keep on my person.

Just handle it properly.

Let me know how that matte screen protector goes the first time you don’t handle it properly and drop your phone on cement, edge down.

An otter box defender case? I have nothing more than a matte screen protector on my phone. It lives in my pocket, or the phone pocket of my backpack. The only problem I have had was a home button that stopped working. The cases make these phones far too cumbersome to keep on my person.

Just handle it properly.

The maintainability of most devices isn’t a consideration for most people. A friend of mine arrived home from the US a day or so after the release of the original iphone. With some very low level adjustments, he was on the air here. While I appreciated its level of technology at the time, I was most perturbed with maintenance issues. When something battery powered is not designed for easy battery changing and uses batteries of interesting chemical makeup which start dying from the second they’re put together, I have doubts. The more a unit is sealed, the less it is designed to be fixed by the user. So when you buy an iphone, you buy into the costs of fixing it. Trusting that device that you love so much to other than an authorised repairer was your second mistake. Not putting it in an Otterbox Defender case was the first.

rhino said :

I really don’t know what went wrong. Are you certain it was the same phone you got back? If it had the wrong sim card in it, then maybe he gave you the wrong phone?

I have heard of this happening with other electronics in for repair. Probably less of an issue with phones, after you have had one for a while you get to know the little dings and scratches and would notice a swap… Although I’d check the serial number if even slightly unsure.

I dont get it. It only costs $198 (incl postage) to have an entire iphone 4 replaced by Apple, or I think $250 for an iphone 4S.

This is for out-of-warranty service, it may be cheaper/free if it is still under warranty, depending on this issue.

Why would you pay anything more than like $50 for shonky brothers to do it when you can get a (basically) new phone from Apple for not much more??

(And definitely do not get your telco to do it, I know first hand from work that Telstra charge $250 for something Apple charges $198 for, when all they do is send it to Apple.)

rhino has a very valid point, i’ve replaced screens before and those sorts of problems sound like you may have been given a different phone. check the imei number on your contract with your current phone..

Just replaced a shattered 4S. Considering the OEM screen is approximatley $100 and watching a video on how to replace it on youtube I thought it would be best if i just had the phone replaced by Apple. Arrived overnight and cost $260 change over. There are cheaper screens but considering the touchpad is part of the screen an Apple knockoff might not be the best.

Sounds like a rather frustrating experience. iOS5 and above have some really good accessibility features which mean that you can put a white button which hovers on the screen and allows you to lock the phone, change the volume, rotate the screen etc.

Go to: Settings > General > Accessibility > Assistive Touch [swipe on]. You can have a play around with it and hopefully it helps you with your battery problems.

Keijidosha said :

I’m going to state the obvious here, but if the phone was still under warranty maybe you should’ve taken it to an authorised repairer instead of a mall kiosk. Just sayin’.

Not for the price they charge. That would have been a mistake. My girlfriend went to the exact same place and saw the exact same guy and was charge $180 for the screen replacement of her iphone 4 and it has been fine. I have a friend who replaced his own with one he bought off ebay for $10 and that was fine also. It’s not a difficult thing to do and generally mistakes like this do not happen. So I would still recommend doing this rather than paying most of the price of buying a new phone again.

I really don’t know what went wrong. Are you certain it was the same phone you got back? If it had the wrong sim card in it, then maybe he gave you the wrong phone?

I’m going to state the obvious here, but if the phone was still under warranty maybe you should’ve taken it to an authorised repairer instead of a mall kiosk. Just sayin’.

I bought everything online for ~$50 and did it (front & back) myself, haven’t had any issues. I guess it depends on what else (if anything) broke when you dropped it, and on the ‘quality’ of the replacement parts they’ve used.

hi,, that LG of your have a problem with bootloader at start up. i can fix it up for you ,, i am in sydney working with mobile phones long time it will cost you 45$ with your own postage charges
thankx
cell-tech-cell@hotmail.com

Buzz2600 said :

Deref said :

What I’ll never understand is why anyone would buy a phone with notoriously restricted functionality then void their warranty by “jailbreaking” it so that it’ll do some of the things that other phones do better out of the box.

So, what phone would you recommend?

ANything not made by Apple. Its funny how thier fans still claim that Microsoft is the big bad monster, however Apple are the ones who are making things exclusive and trying to control things like some digital overlord.

I bailed on My iPhone when I got tired of it being slow and getting worse with every update. Got a Samsung Galay S and know I have modified the cyanogen ROM to suit myself and have a one of a kind phone thaty suits me perfectly. Still does everything an iphone does and more, even has a cracked and ported version of Siri.

Deref said :

…but I haven’t seen anything that makes me want to change…

I still have nokia N8 (which is fine piece too, use it along with HTC. I was a bit cautious of getting HTC Incr S, but, my fears were gone within a week.
Ovi store is good (free Angry Birds and all), but Android market is better.
Try it, it may be your next phone.

DUB said :

Buzz2600 said :

Deref said :

What I’ll never understand is why anyone would buy a phone with notoriously restricted functionality then void their warranty by “jailbreaking” it so that it’ll do some of the things that other phones do better out of the box.

So, what phone would you recommend?

I had iphones, my choice now is HTC Incredible S- Android. It is far better than Iphones.:)
And I am not limited to having to bloated software like Itunes.I like the simplicity of simple usb connections to transfer files or sync it with my machines.

That sounds very fine.

Mine’s a Nokia N900. It’s a brilliant phone – it’s fully legally rootable, it multitasks, isn’t network-locked, tethers out of the box with no restrictions, and has the best damn I’ve seen on a mobile – I love it, though it’s a bit long in the tooth now. You can still pick them up new for a few hundred dollars. There’s a significant body of opinion that it’s still the best phone made to date. I haven’t used enough to comment on that, but I haven’t seen anything that makes me want to change. And best, – I decide what I’m going to run on it and how I’m going to use it. No walled garden.

Buzz2600 said :

Deref said :

What I’ll never understand is why anyone would buy a phone with notoriously restricted functionality then void their warranty by “jailbreaking” it so that it’ll do some of the things that other phones do better out of the box.

So, what phone would you recommend?

I had iphones, my choice now is HTC Incredible S- Android. It is far better than Iphones.:)
And I am not limited to having to bloated software like Itunes.I like the simplicity of simple usb connections to transfer files or sync it with my machines.

Gungahlin Al said :

Oh yeah forgot – it makes phone calls too, and those stupid SMS things that cost too much.

For those with iPhones, I think SMS ans MMS messages to other iPhones can now be included in your data allowance instead of at exorbitant provider rates, when you upgrade to iOS5 (i.e. iMessages?)?

May be a good thing if you send lots of those messages – but then again, a lot of providers seem to offer a fair few free messages anyway nowadays…

I think it also makes an iPod touch into a messaging device of sorts (only when on a wireless network though!)

Deref said :

What I’ll never understand is why anyone would buy a phone with notoriously restricted functionality then void their warranty by “jailbreaking” it so that it’ll do some of the things that other phones do better out of the box.

So, what phone would you recommend?

What I’ll never understand is why anyone would buy a phone with notoriously restricted functionality then void their warranty by “jailbreaking” it so that it’ll do some of the things that other phones do better out of the box.

gospeedygo, you probably just need a landline, no mobile at all. You just need to be able to call your comfort zone, the 1980s.

Of course, people who can’t see a reason to have a smartphone, probably have no use for one. Of course, those that feel the need to comment seem to be too naive to understand that some people find that additional functionality quite useful in their lives. You could probably live without electricity or plumbing too; doesn’t mean you should… It is the same attitude as the vegan-pushers…

We are a iphone screen repairs centre at 1/42 Essington St mitchell. We can fix your iphone same day or within 24 hrs guaranteed. We carry most iphone screens in stock, Prices start from $99.

Visit us @ Iphone repair canberra or call us 6262 3000

http://www.iphonecentral.com.au

Local repairs in Canberra, competitive prices.

+1 on troll-sniffer’s comment. Need to consider what you buy online and weigh up the risk of a warranty issue. I’m also a frequent online shopper, and i feel im ahead overall.

anotherpublicserv said :

Totally agree troll-sniffer, and I’ll be more careful on Ebay in the future. In this case the phone was Aussie stock and only a few months old when I bought it second hand. It’s a bit silly that had I insisted on getting a photocopy of the original purchase receipt from the ebay seller, I would be covered by the warranty (even though I’m not the original purchaser) but without the receipt, they’re not interested in helping (even though they can tell from the serial no that the phone is aus stock and its age). But that’s the law and that’s LG, not a great company IMO especially since their customer service staff were so rude.

…

I could be a forgery hence the requirement of the production of the original receipt.

Totally agree troll-sniffer, and I’ll be more careful on Ebay in the future. In this case the phone was Aussie stock and only a few months old when I bought it second hand. It’s a bit silly that had I insisted on getting a photocopy of the original purchase receipt from the ebay seller, I would be covered by the warranty (even though I’m not the original purchaser) but without the receipt, they’re not interested in helping (even though they can tell from the serial no that the phone is aus stock and its age). But that’s the law and that’s LG, not a great company IMO especially since their customer service staff were so rude.

qbngeek, have tried all that and the phone won’t respond at all- so I now believe it’s a hardware issue rather than a software issue and I was just sold a ticking time bomb…

Before you call it quits, it might be worth looking over the android developer forums and seeing if there is a custom ROM for the phone. This may be able to fix the issue, but it depends if anyone has bothered to crack the original firmware and modify it. A lot of them don’t bother with LGs as Samsung are the android kings at the moment.

One of the benefits of an android phone over Apple and Windows 7

Therein the lesson for today kiddies. When you buy from a retailer at an ‘excessive’ markup, part of that markup is to deal with warranty issues and the like. Not a lot, but every cost to a business is a cost and needs to be factored in.

I do buy quite a lot of items through ebay but I am always mindful that if I’m not buying from an accredited retailer I won’t have warranty. Especially when ” The seller was a private seller, not a company”. I can’t think of any merchant, company, dealer, manufacturer, distributor or retailer who would consider a private sale to be grounds for a warranty claim.

The way I figure it, by careful buying on eBay, even with the odd dud, I still come out well ahead of the pack in the long term when all working items vs duds are totalled up. Just add this one to the ledger and move on. Google your fault until your fingers drop off, there’s probably an affordable solution out there.

petriecg, if you search google this seems to happen to a lot of people with this phone and no one has found a solution. Conviniently, LG claimed they had no idea what I was talking about and said it had never happened to anyone else before. My phone is sitting in a box under my bed, $250 down the drain and I only got 3 months use out of the phone. Last time I ever purchase an LG product or trust LG.

You will probably have more luck with them than I did since you have the purchase receipt. If you find out anything about why it happened, or what can be done to fix it, I’d really appreciate your advice. I won’t be using the phone again but if I can fix it i might be able to sell it. As you say it’s now $179 new, so I would probably get $100 for it if that….

I was searching for opinions or reasons why LG’s main website and warrenty forms don’t seem to work properly (i submitted a claim and recieved no reply whatsoever, guess it’s phone only with them), but came across this which is the same phone and problem i have.

I usually put my phone in USB charge sometimes, which is plugged into my PC and left overnight or for many hours, i woke up one morning to find the phone with the LG loading screen i think and the 4 buttons (Home button, etc) flashing non stop in snyc (not 100% on what the screen was doing at the time), i’ve tried it without the battery and only USB power and with the battery and both with and without USB power and it boots up the same way every time, tried the 3 button combo for system reset and no luck

Though the part i don’t like the most is the fact that i bought mine last December for $350 and they are now $179 arrgghh, though the phone is still in warrenty (phone is 12 months & battery 6 months) and if i feel like it i will get it fixed, though it will probably break again, i have no one i know who would want to buy it and i dont trust it anymore for my needs, so i will probably buy a different phone, my first and last LG phone and probably for a long time, had my V3x motorola for over 4.5 years with only minor issues (weird phone lid shutting resets ,etc, rare though) and this phone i thought would be good for a few at least, but i guess not.

Anyway i signed up here just to post this as i found nothing when i searched last time and wanted to let you know that i had this issue also.

I thought so too Erg0 and TVStar, but it appears that I don’t have any rights. LG were rude about my questions relating to ‘statutory warranty’ and their answer was illogical. So I contacted the ACCC information service, who confirmed that if I don’t have the original purchase receipt, I have no rights. The Trade Practices Act (which the original purchase comes under, the phone has been broken for a month already so the original purchase was prior to 1 Jan 2011) specifies that a contract exists between the seller and buyer. It seems that it is enforceable by future owners only if they possess the original purchase receipt. The ACCC confirmed that this is how it works in practice.

It doesn’t make much sense to me, and basically LG are just complying with their legal obligations and won’t stand behind the quality and integrity of their product. Lesson learnt, I won’t be dealing with LG again and no ebay purchases unless I make a conscious choice to take that risk and be left with a dud item and no recourse.

I am kinda curious as to what LG’s reasoning would be for requiring a receipt. As mentioned above, the serial number tells them it’s Aussie stock so the only thing a receipt would prove is that it’s (probably) not stolen property. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if their policy isn’t actually enforceable from a legal perspective.

Gus929 said :

Are you sure you don’t have something that qualifies as a receipt from ebay? If the purchase is less old than a few months, you should be able to print the order details page from ebay (not the auction page, this particular page is laid out like a receipt) and then tell LG that it’s your invoice.

Alternatively, can you ask the ebay seller nicely if they will email you the invoice again?

Also, irrespective of having a receipt, the Trade Practices Act will require LG to offer a product of ‘merchantable quality’. If it’s only a few months old, they must still repair it, even if you are not the original owner.

Hi Gus, I have the ebay invoice but LG will not accept it because it’s not the “original sale” invoice. The seller was a private seller, not a company. I tried telling LG that the phone has only been on the market for 6 months and so it can’t be any older than that, and you can tell from the serial number that it’s aussie stock – they don’t care.

I have asked the ebay seller nicely if they have their original purchase receipt, or even can tell me the store where it was purchashed, but conviniently they have ignored my emails despite being active on ebay. I tried exchanging contact details but their phone number is fake.

Are you sure you don’t have something that qualifies as a receipt from ebay? If the purchase is less old than a few months, you should be able to print the order details page from ebay (not the auction page, this particular page is laid out like a receipt) and then tell LG that it’s your invoice.

Alternatively, can you ask the ebay seller nicely if they will email you the invoice again?

Thanks for your replies. Re LG and ebay and caveat emptor – yep, lesson learnt. I feel stupid (and was stupid) but you live and learn.

The phone only cost me $200, so not sure if it’s worthwhile paying evertech $25 book in fee + $25 quote fee + postage to and from Sydney + whatever it costs to repair.

If there aren’t any cheaper options I might (a) try to sell it for parts, or to someone who is savvy and will try to fix it or (b) cut my losses and forget about it.

At the risk of being outright helpful for once, Evertec in Sydney is where I go my LG repaired (under warranty). I just posted it to them, and they posted it back.

Their website is here. http://www.evertec.com.au/

Website says that they have a $25 inspection fee for non-warranty work, which sounds pretty reasonable me thinks.

Vani1 # 1

I have had my LG mobil phone for years, it’s never let me down.

Typical LG. No wonder people say that LG stands for Low Grade.

I’ve got a few old Nokias lying around. You can borrow one while you take out phone insurance, wait a few weeks then ‘drop’ your LG.

there is a mobile repair Kiosk n Woden plaza, near the green grocer. ot cheap though.

Ebay? Caveat emptor.

1) Shouldn’t of bought an LG mobile phone
2) There is a kiosk in the Canberra Centre that do mobile phone repairs etc…..but might cost a bit considering that the damage is not cosmetic.

Select Business Centre in Chisholm can repair iPhones, same day turn-around on broken screens or even on the spot if you can wait 5-minutes for the 3G/3Gs.
ph 6291 3444 or 0428 315 018

Disposable said :

Genie said :

So I went into Belconnen Mall to the little phone booth.

They have no parts in stock.

Maybe this weekend we get stock in, come back on Monday I was told.

I asked if they used Apple parts and was told no, asked if they offered any warranty, no again. I questioned that if the glass broke or fell out straight away would they fix it ?? Their answer was sure – another $100 ! PASS.

My iPhone will now be posted off to a place in Sydney called iExperts, they claim to use Apple parts and give you a 6 month warranty on the repair.

Did you seriously think that a place that will “jailbreak” your phone would be an authorised Apple repair agent?

No I never thought that… I just expected them to at least offer some kind of warranty. So if anything happened to the screen again within a few weeks would at least be covered. Mainly if it fell out like some people report after getting iPhone/iPod screens fixed.

dvaey said :

Erg0 said :

Why even bother with calls and texts, nobody really needs those functions when they’re out of the house. Carry 40c in your pocket, that’s even cheaper than a mobile.

Its obviously been a while since youve used a pay-phone, its been 50c for a while now. Although with how fast Telstra has been removing public payphones, its understandable that you mightnt have seen the change.

I considered Googling it, but figured that someone would correct me soon enough if I was wrong. 😛

Genie said :

So I went into Belconnen Mall to the little phone booth.

They have no parts in stock.

Maybe this weekend we get stock in, come back on Monday I was told.

I asked if they used Apple parts and was told no, asked if they offered any warranty, no again. I questioned that if the glass broke or fell out straight away would they fix it ?? Their answer was sure – another $100 ! PASS.

My iPhone will now be posted off to a place in Sydney called iExperts, they claim to use Apple parts and give you a 6 month warranty on the repair.

Did you seriously think that a place that will “jailbreak” your phone would be an authorised Apple repair agent?

So I went into Belconnen Mall to the little phone booth.

They have no parts in stock.

Maybe this weekend we get stock in, come back on Monday I was told.

I asked if they used Apple parts and was told no, asked if they offered any warranty, no again. I questioned that if the glass broke or fell out straight away would they fix it ?? Their answer was sure – another $100 ! PASS.

My iPhone will now be posted off to a place in Sydney called iExperts, they claim to use Apple parts and give you a 6 month warranty on the repair.

If you still crave lots of different gadgets, then you’ll be hankering after one of these: http://dvice.com/archives/2010/07/behold-a-trench.php

Erg0 said :

Why even bother with calls and texts, nobody really needs those functions when they’re out of the house. Carry 40c in your pocket, that’s even cheaper than a mobile.

Its obviously been a while since youve used a pay-phone, its been 50c for a while now. Although with how fast Telstra has been removing public payphones, its understandable that you mightnt have seen the change.

Lazy I said :

Sometimes it’s hard to avoid feeding the trolls, they’re just so damn hungry round here.

😉

Sorry to double post here but I was actually serious.

Gungahlin Al said :

tl;dr

But you see thats just like the man yknow’, trying to keep you like under wraps man but you like don’t know it. At Uni I’ve been reading up on like this thing called Communism man, it’s like reaaaaally far out.

Lazy I said :

What a load of crap. People can buy whatever the hell they want as a phone, just because you see no use in the additional features doesn’t make them useless.

I wouldn’t buy another phone that didn’t do email or GPS ever again, they are features I now use on a daily basis and not something I see as ‘extraneous BS’.

Your rant can be applied to any tangible possession. Why use a mobile? just use a landline.. you don’t really _need_ a mobile.. and you could *GASP* save money!

Yeah ditto. Just want a phone, then go for it. But if your day involves more then there is so much more these gadgets can do. What have I disposed of that used to get carted around?

No more Yellow or White pages in the car, likewise pile of CDs.
No carrying book in case stuck somewhere with some reading time. (eReaders)
No separate camera (Gorillacam – yes I know it’s basic but good enough – but a couple of full-page GunSmoke newsletter 4-colour covers have been iphone pics).
No notebook computer (Docs to Go – full MS Office functionality on board)
No watch. No pen.
No TV program. (IceTV)
No workout computer thingy for bike rides or runs. (Runkeeper)
No workout diary folder in the gym (all in an Excel spreadsheet now)
No calendar/diary/to do list book. (Google Apps app)
No digital voice recorder. (iTalk)
No street directory (asked for directions on the street yesterday and I was able to just show the guy on aerial photo).
No compass.

And on tap:
Weather, news, emails, Facebook, recipes, shopping list.
Games to shut the kids (or me) up in the car.
Insomnia cure audio app. (iRelax)
Podcasts that allow me to listen (at double speed) to an hour of Science Show, etc in every 30 minute commute.
Even tide times (Day Tides), public loo finder (ToiletMap).
Traffic alerts (Trapster)
Much more.

Been using PDAs since 1997. This is about as good as it gets for rolling everything into one. And OT, I have a Speck case that has a harder outer and squishy inner to protect (fingers crossed) the device.

Oh yeah forgot – it makes phone calls too, and those stupid SMS things that cost too much.

Sometimes it’s hard to avoid feeding the trolls, they’re just so damn hungry round here.

😉

Not so lazy to overreact, I see. 😛

What a load of crap. People can buy whatever the hell they want as a phone, just because you see no use in the additional features doesn’t make them useless.

I wouldn’t buy another phone that didn’t do email or GPS ever again, they are features I now use on a daily basis and not something I see as ‘extraneous BS’.

Your rant can be applied to any tangible possession. Why use a mobile? just use a landline.. you don’t really _need_ a mobile.. and you could *GASP* save money!

Why even bother with calls and texts, nobody really needs those functions when they’re out of the house. Carry 40c in your pocket, that’s even cheaper than a mobile.

Sammy said :

Oh the joys of new technology and lack of support options. Good Luck

Actually, there are a myriad of support options. But they all cost money. So unless you’re one of those people who constantly expect something for nothing, then there’s no problem.

Or people could just buy mobile phones that make/receive calls/texts minus the extraneous BS they don’t really need so they could *GASP* save money.

/rant

Oh the joys of new technology and lack of support options. Good Luck

Actually, there are a myriad of support options. But they all cost money. So unless you’re one of those people who constantly expect something for nothing, then there’s no problem.

Put in a service repair ticket at apple support website, they’ll pay for the postage they’ll fix it if its under warranty and if worst case scenario it’ll cost 250 bucks for a refurbished phone. It took me less than a week to get mine back which had a busted mic. Didn’t know i had warranty under it still so it was a nice suprise to see i didnt have to foot a bill haha.

Oh the joys of new technology and lack of support options. Good Luck

I got mine fixed a couple weeks ago and all was going well, except then today i dropped it and the whole screen came out.
but i just pushed it back in, then tapped it a few times, and it seems to have stuck so that’s okay with me.
$150 at the little stall in woden next to the fruit shop and the knife shop.
Though the guy was pretty rude, they were very quick, only half an hour.

Sammy said :

Another tidbit for iPhone owners. If you have dust under your screen, and it’s still in warranty, Apple will replace it for free.

Just what I always wanted, free dust…

gospeedygo said :

If you do decide to be adventurous and do it yourself try: http://www.ifixit.com/

another vote for ifixit. I did the replacement battery job using ebay + instructions from ifixit. Now it lasts longer than it did when i got it new!

If you do decide to be adventurous and do it yourself try: http://www.ifixit.com/

If you have no joy locally, I can recommend sending it to http://www.fixpod.com.au/

I’ve used them twice and was very happy with the job and turnaround.

Another tidbit for iPhone owners. If you have dust under your screen, and it’s still in warranty, Apple will replace it for free.

Same story over here.. the glass looks pretty and all but isn’t all that functional!

From memory, the place at Belconnen quoted about $100-$120. It also depends on whether you’ve just smashed the glass or the digitizer as well (does the “touch” still work underneath the glass? If so – then it’s just the glass broken, if not then the digitiser will be gone too).

http://www.iphonedoctor.com.au are currently offering replacement 3G/3GS glass digitsers for $100 and only use genuine parts. Good luck 🙂

I’ll keep you posted.. I’ll get it done this week !

Definitely keep us updated on how you go. I have one with a smashed screen stored away. Was planning to take it to Brisbane/Sydney with me next time I made the trip as plenty of places there will do a while you wait service (I am also not keen on sending it away).

$300 option isn’t bad.. might end up doing that if no one can be found locally at a decent price.

Hmmm thanks anyway Sammy but my iPhone is only about 6 months old.. The only tatty thing about it is the screen. I’m looking for the cheapest option possible.

I’ll check out the store in Belconnen and find out if they use genuine parts or not, Since i’m most definitely not tech savvy enough to try and fix it myself.

When my wife smashed hers, Apple replaced it with a fresh one for about $300. They send out a new one, and then you send back the old one in the included reply-paid package, so you are never without a phone. You get a ‘new’ phone (the internals are refurbished, but you’ll never see those), so if your phone was starting to look tatty anyway, this is not a bad option.

http://www.apple.com/au/support/iphone/service/exchange/

You want to go down to “9. My iPhone is not under warranty”. To get the express service, you have to pay the ‘ARS Charge’ (Advance Replacement Service’ and the ‘Out-of-Warranty Service Fee’. The ‘Cover Charge’ gets charged to your credit card if you never send back the broken iPhone.

Think there is a repairer in Woden as well…outisde the 3 phone shop or in that area??

There’s a little store that sells phone accessories on the top floor of the Belconnen mall (near the concierge) that yesterday I happened to see with a sign saying they can repair broken iphone screens. No idea about price, but I can’t imagine it being that much…

Depending on how tech-savvy you are, you can buy replacement parts on ebay from Hong Kong, for about $2 and do the job yourself in an hour or two with no labour cost.