1. How old the phone is
This is the strongest criterion. If the phone is less than three years old, replacing the screen almost always makes sense — the rest of the device still has years of life ahead of it and the battery is usually in good condition.
With phones older than five years the situation is different. Even if we replace the screen, the battery will soon start to give up, or the charging connector may stop working. In that case we consider whether it would be wiser to invest in a newer device.
Between three and five years, the condition of the other parts decides. That is why, during the diagnosis, we do not look only at the screen but also at the battery capacity and the state of the connectors.
2. What type of panel the phone has
The price difference between the individual types of screens is substantial and worth understanding:
- LCD panels — used in cheaper and older phones. Replacement is the most affordable.
- OLED and AMOLED panels — found in higher-end and newer phones. They are more delicate and more expensive.
- Curved panels — the screen wraps around the edge of the phone. Replacement is technically the most demanding and the most expensive.
For OLED panels there is also a cheaper alternative — a well-made replacement part. Colours and brightness may not be completely identical to the original. We will always tell you in advance which type of part it is, so that you can decide for yourself.
3. Do touch and image still work?
This is an important distinction that surprises many people. There are three situations and each has a different price:
- Only the top glass is cracked, image and touch work — for some models we can replace just the glass, which is considerably cheaper than replacing the whole module.
- The image works, touch does not respond — the touch layer is damaged, so the whole module has to be replaced.
- Black screen, stripes or coloured patches — the panel itself is damaged, so replacing the module is unavoidable.
Even if the phone looks functional after a fall, do not ignore cracked glass. Moisture and dust get in through the cracks, and a cheap repair turns into an expensive one after a few months.
4. How much you would get for the phone if you sold it
Here is a simple comparison you can do yourself: look at how much your model sells for on a second-hand marketplace in working condition. If the repair price is significantly lower than that difference, the repair is worth it.
For mid-range and high-end phones, replacing the screen almost always works out cheaper than buying a comparable device. For cheap phones under €150, buying a new one sometimes really is the better deal — and if that turns out to be the case, we will tell you straight away.
What to do now
Bring us your phone for a diagnosis. We will look not only at the screen but also at the condition of the battery and the connectors, and we will give you a specific price and our honest opinion on whether the repair is worth it. If we carry out the repair, we do not charge for the diagnosis.
You can find more about what we deal with on the pages iPhone repair and mobile phone repair.