There comes a time in every phone's life when its screen cracks. The are three ways to deal with it: You could live with it, to teach yourself a lesson, you could get in line for a replacement at the Apple Store, or you could call the on-demand screen repair service iCracked. You should probably call iCracked.
What Is It?
iCracked is an iOS device repair service that comes to you, where ever you are. Enter your location, the type of device you borked, and a technician (an iTech) will accept your job. You set up the time and location and they will come to your home, office, or bordello—and within half an hour, your phone will be fixed.
This is Henry Rivera, the noble iTech who fixed my phone. He can fix yours, too, provided you're in the New York metropolitan area. If you're not, there are iTechs all over the country, so chances are there's one nearby, just waiting for your precious phone to slip out of your butterfingers and smash to smithereens. And by the way, anyone can become an iTech, no matter your location. iCracked is training new technicians every day, and it's a self-starter kind of place. Henry, who works on a part-time basis, sees around 10-15 customers a week, but some iTechs see that number in a day.
Why Does It Matter?
Because you will break your phone at some point. Everyone does. It's almost inevitable. It's a special club into which I've been inducted three times now.
Using It
If you've ever used a website, any website at all, or communicated with another human being in any capacity, this is a very simple process. Go to iCracked's site or mobile app, enter your location, and it will tell you if there are any iTechs nearby. Then you'll click through a few steps: what kind of device you have, what model and color it is, your carrier, and what the problem is.
iCracked can handle not only smashed screens, but also water damage, battery problems, and other structural issues. Then you'll enter your name and phone number, and a technician will contact you directly.
From here, you'll set up a date and time to meet up—I had my friendly neighborhood iTech, Henry, come to my office. They'll quote you a price, and the rest, as they say, is history.
My faithful iPhone repairman Henry arrived on time—in fact, he was early! And it took him about 20 or so minutes to fix my screen, which by the way, was a 7/10 in terms of how badly it was smashed, thanks to a dent in the top right-hand corner. But Henry has seen some things in his life, the worst of which was a phone that had nearly met its death when a weightlifter dropped a weight on top of it.
Like
No one likes going to the Apple Store. Not even Geniuses like going to the Apple Store. People are surly, you have to wait forever, and then there's always the off chance someone will pee on your phone. You could also go the route of a random electronics repair place, but you have no guarantee as to how that will pan out.
With iCracked, on the other hand, you know exactly what you're getting. You know the cost right out of the gate, and you know that an actual qualified human being is coming to fix your phone.
That human touch is one of the best parts. I enjoyed Henry regaling me with tales of iPhone destruction—like a woman who left her phone on top of a cab, and Henry, of course, fixing it like a champ. By the way, he said one of the most common ways people break their phones, at least in New York City, is by texting and walking, running into someone, and just dropping the dang thing. As long as people are doing dumb things with their electronics, iCracked will be in business. Thankfully!
No Like
That I cracked another phone screen.
Should You Buy It?
If you break your phone, you should 100 percent give iCracked a ring. The service is more affordable than most (my repair cost $125), and on top of that, you're paying for a ton of convenience. And I'm all about paying for convenience.
I really hope I've learned my lesson with phones, and I really hope this is the last time I need to have a screen fixed. But if I'm being honest with myself, the truth is that it probably isn't. And next time, I will most definitely be barking up Henry's tree for help.
Disclaimer: I went to high school with iCracked's founder, AJ Forsythe. He's pitched iCracked to me in the past, although this is the first time I've used the service. Consider me converted.