Technology can reserve us bad surprises when we least expect it: the day before everything works perfectly, the next day it doesn’t start or it falls and breaks, quickly leading to frustration and anger. When we break a cellphone, tablet or computer we can replace the broken part or buy a new one.In this guide we will show you for each technological device, whether it is convenient to repair or replace, also based on the type of damage that the device has suffered: there are low-cost elements that we can replace on our own (on PC and notebook), while others require labor costs and spare parts that often exceed the value of the device (as in the case of inexpensive smartphones), forcing us to buy a new one directly.
Repair or replace?
When we buy a device we know very well that it will devalue over time, losing its original value: for understand if we need to replace or repair a modern electronic device we will have to take into account the residual value of the device at the time of damage and relate it to the cost necessary for the repair or replacement of the broken piece.
Smartphone
Breaking a smartphone is unfortunately very simple: just a fall from your pocket or desk is enough find ourselves with the broken display glass (without a shadow of a doubt the most vulnerable piece).
The replacement of broken elements in a smartphone is feasible, but it all depends on the residual value of the device: if we have broken a recent iPhone (8 Plus and above) or any Samsung / Huawei released in the last 2 years, their residual value exceeds still the cost of the repair (which, for glass, is around € 100-150).
If, on the other hand, we have broken a less expensive smartphone (up to € 300-400), repairing it can only be convenient if we find a spare part online that is quite cheap: in this case eBay it can be of great help, but we will still have to find a technician who can change the piece (at least € 50 of labor).
Did we break a $ 200 or lower smartphone? Its residual value has already halved after one year: it is worth it change it under warranty or replace it with a new, equally inexpensive model, taking care to also purchase a tempered protective glass and a cover.
READ ALSO: Do-it-yourself repairs for smartphones and iPhone s with cell phone repair guides
PC fixed
On PC I fix the elements easier to change are the internal drive (hard drive or SSD) and i RAM memory modules, which we can replace personally without the help of a technician.
If we notice slowdowns or problems with these two elements, we can change them as seen in our guides How to add or replace PC RAM and How to replace the hard disk to upgrade your PC in an hour.
If instead the problems concern more delicate components such as CPU, motherboard and video card, the change will often require having to update all the elements together, to avoid incompatibility: the technology goes on and what was compatible 4 years ago may no longer be, forcing us to “redo” the entire PC from scratch (only the case is saved , the monitor, the power supply if appropriate and the optical readers). So we saw the guides on how to change the motherboard and how to replace the CPU.
In this regard, we invite you to read our guide on How to choose the parts of the new computer to assemble.
Notebook
For broken or slowing down notebooks, the same speeches apply to the desktop PC: if RAM and internal drive break, we can replace them personally without problems.
If we still use a mechanical disk on the laptop, we recommend that you change it immediately before it breaks, replacing it with an SSD as seen in our guide SSD on the Laptop, instead of the hard disk or DVD player.
The battery can also be replaced, but on the new models it is internal and we will have to get help from a technician (labor costs at least € 30 in addition to the cost of the piece to be replaced).
Does our laptop show symptoms of CPU, screen or motherboard failure? In many cases, the expense of making it work exceeds the residual value of the laptop: we will have to throw it away and replace it (hoping that at least 2 years you have managed to exploit it).
To learn more, we recommend reading our guide What to throw, store or recycle of the broken laptop.
Tablet
A broken tablet is a great misfortune, since the parts to be changed can be very expensive and nowhere to be found: most of the damage obviously affects the displaywhich, given its size, breaks very easily.
In the case of screen break on iPads, the residual value is still worth the cost for the repair, but no later than 2 years: on Apple products it is always advisable to add, at the time of purchase, the additional guarantee offered by the house (AppleCare), so that you can change the glass for free (the plan offers two interventions for accidental damages).
Android tablets are often inexpensive and this makes it practically inexpensive to attempt repair after 2-3 months from purchase: the cost is likely to be equal to the purchase of the same tablet as new.
If we find ourselves having to throw away a tablet to buy a new one, we invite you to read our guides Android with broken screen, how to use it or recover data is Guide to buying a new tablet.
Conclusions
Pulling the sums often repair is convenient, but only if our device has a really high residual value (as in the case of Apple products) or changing the internal components is so easy to do it almost with your eyes closed (disk and RAM on desktop computers and notebook). In all other cases it is almost always advisable to replace the broken device with another functional one, perhaps taking greater care of the new device with additional protections such as covers, tempered glass and padded carrying case (for notebooks).
To recover personal files from a broken disk or SSD, please read our guide on Retrieve important files from frozen or broken Windows.
If instead we notice some broken or burned pixels on our monitor, we can try to repair using our guide on how Repair broken or stuck pixels on an LCD screen / monitor.
If instead we want to get good at repairing a computer on our own without any external help, we can continue reading on our article How to repair your computer yourself without going to the technician is how to repair Mac, fix MacOS problems and errors