Our phones have slowly but steadily replaced our desktop. These days, it is the go-to-device for our banking, our social connects, and safekeeping of vital documents. It goes without mentioning the countless picture and videos of our most private lives that we would not want just anyone to see.
As crucial as smartphones may have become, they sometimes to break down for one reason or the other, like a broken screen, water damage, etc. If it is something that can be fixed, sometimes it makes sense to just repair our damaged phones instead of buying a new one. Then you will have to visit the phone repair shop to get it fixed.
Here is where all the problems arise. Like we said earlier our phones have become a hub and the center for managing our digital lives. While we would like to believe the technician at the phone repair shop will just focus on repairing the phone, and not stick his/her nose where it doesn’t belong. That is seldom the case, and in any case, sometimes they might need to power up and check the device to see if all systems are functioning as they should be.
Now, you as a user, you are supposed to take due diligence before surrendering your phone for repair. Make sure the phone can be powered, and the repair guy accesses your phone, without having access to anything you would not want them looking at. So how do you go about doing that?
Is the technician reputable and qualified? Due diligence dictates that you only hand over your device to someone who knows what they are doing. A qualified technician will know how to handle swollen and/or exploding battery. Then again, if you use an unqualified person, you run the risk of ending up with an entirely new problem from the one that took you to the repair shop in the first place. To be on the safe side, it helps to use referrals instead of going somewhere blindly.
Backup your device: You should always backup your phone before undertaking any major adjustment to it; let alone taking it for repair. You never know, your phone might be bricked while at the repair shop, and things will get from bad to worse had you not performed backup of important files in it.
Give all the damage information on your device: Sometimes our phones get damaged but they still keep on working, and most people will continue using their device this way until such a time they cannot anymore. At which point, usually it is because of another subsequent damage piling up on top of the previous damage making it hard for the device functioning normally. When you take your phone to the repair shop, ensure you give all the damage report. This way, you expedite the repairer’s work in repairing the phone. Say you went to the repair shop for screen damage and earlier on your phone had survived a water damage. It is in your best interest that the repairer addresses both issues at this once instance they are opening your device.
You might need to give your passcodes: There is a chance that the technician will need you to turn off your security features or surrender your passcodes. Especially if it is necessary for diagnosing the problem with your phone (to check if things work fine after the repair).