New Home for the iHeart Repair Blog

Well, we've had a good run here on Blogspot. It's time to move on to bigger and better things! You'll find the New iHeart Repair Blog here.

Come follow iHeart Repair on Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter to see what products we like the most, and you'll get first dibs on our monthly giveaways. Last month we gave away an iPad Mini!

You can stay up to date on all of the happenings at iHeart Repair and you'll be able to read about all our favorite products for your iPhone, iPad or Android Smartphone.

See you on our new blog!

The Truth About Water Damage

There is a lot of misinformation out there today about water damage and how you should handle your electronics when the damage occurs.

Unfortunately most people do the all the wrong things to their cell phones in the critical hours right after the incident happens.

What you should NOT do!

• Do NOT try and turn your device on - Immediately after the water damage occurs it is important to power off the device. Do not try to turn the device back on!
• Do NOT put your device in rice - This is a very common mistake people make when trying to do water damage iPhone repair. Putting your iPhone or smartphone in rice for several days only gives the water more time to do damage to the internal components as it slowly evaporates.

Note: Some people will swear by the rice method. Though it works for many people it is not the best way to handle water damage. There are far more trusted methods for water damage repair.

What SHOULD you do?

1. Immediately power down your device after contact with water occurs!
2. Quickly get your device to a repair center  - Or if you plan on doing water damage repair on your own you can use a desiccant and a combination of compressed air to quickly get all the moisture out of the smartphone. If you use a desiccant bag, make sure you leave your device in the bag for at least 48 hours. Powering on the device before all moisture is completely removed could fry the logic board.

If you plan on doing the repair yourself, we recommend that you have a Bheestie Bag on hand as an excellent solution to combat water damage on your iPhone or other smartphone.

Corroded logic board from saltwater

If damage is from saltwater...

Do NOT put the device in a bag of rice! Sometimes the rice trick will work, but when saltwater is involved you are only encouraging the corrosion process by using rice. Bring it to one of our repair centers or disassemble the device on your own. If you decide to disassemble the device on your own, you will need to then rinse each part off with distilled water before placing the parts in a desiccant bag for 2-3 days. A device that has come into contact with saltwater needs special treatment immediately after submersion.

Repairs for the iPod Nano - Coming 7/15

The iPod Nano has a glass touchscreen that can break just like any iPhone or iPad. Luckily, since the device has less weight it doesn't break as often as either of these devices. Starting Next Monday (7/15) we will begin offering repairs for the iPod nano.

7th Generation iPod Nano - Disassembled

As you can see in the photo to the right, the 7th generation iPod nano has many tiny parts crammed into a very small space. The glass screen on the nano is an incredibly thin 0.21 of an inch. This thin glass, combined with the close proximity of all the parts, makes for an extremely delicate and difficult repair. Whether we are talking about an iPod Nano screen repair, or a home button that needs replaced, the repair process takes a steady hand and a great deal of patience. Of course iHeart Repair only employs technicians with these characteristics. Our lead repair tech is certified by the FCC to repair electronics, & oversees the repair of all of our Apple product repairs.

If you are having issues with your iPod Nano just remember to Repair First, Don't Recycle & Always Sell when you are done!

Repair, one of 8 R's in Recycling

The info-graph above shows the 8 ways that we now need to look at recycling in the 21st century. Recycling has changed quite a bit from how we traditionally view the topic. As we covered before, recycling is actually the last option when it comes to electronics. This new info-graph shows the wholistic way in which we can look at all of our resources before we actually recycle them.

We all need to "Rethink" the way we handle all the stuff in our life. There is actually a grassroots effort going on now to reuse or repair many of the items that we use everyday. Many items that are old or worn out can actually be repurposed for something else. If you aren't creative with how to use your old worn out stuff you should consider selling to someone else instead. There is even a community of artists that have begun to repurpose old scraps as art.

When it comes to buying new items you should consider buying used whenever possible. This encourages people to continue selling their old things and it also reduces our demand for new products. As a society as a whole, we need to slow down our consumption rate of new products. Especially when it comes to electronics. Consider repairing what you have or buying used whenever possible, it is the best choice for our future.

Repair Apple products - Don't Recycle!

Last Monday (Earth Day) we were fascinated by the blog post by iFixit titled: "Happy Earth Day! Don't Recycle." Obviously the little seemed wrong at first, but we quickly understood where they were going with the surprising title. We are faced with a mountain of challenges in today's world of ever advancing technology. Every year a new model comes out of the iPhone & the most popular Android devices, and every time the product is updated people rush out to get their hands on the shiny new smartphone or tablet. The question that we ask is, what happens to the old device? Does it get placed in the sock drawer as a backup? Is it sold? If broken, is the old Apple product repaired or simply thrown in the trash? We hope that most people choose to reuse, repair or sell the device. Letting electronics sit dormant is most always a bad thing to do!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is the familiar encouragement to preserve our environment, but too often we skip to the last step much sooner than we should. We at iHeart Repair wholeheartedly agree with iFixit's statement below.

"Repair is better than recycling. Way better. Repair extends the life of electronics. It keeps things out of landfills, and out of shredders. Every cell phone repaired is one less that needs to be manufactured. Every laptop saved from the shredder lessens the strain on already overtaxed finite resources. Every computer upgraded can go on to a second, third, or even a fourth user before it really needs to be recycled."

We highly encourage you to get those old devices out of the drawer and sell them. If it needs repaired you can easily get that done for far less than what a new device would cost, then you'll be able to give the device to someone who will use it or maybe even sell it for a profit!

Source: iFixit

Save Money with your next Apple Repair

iPhones are the wave of the future. Every time the device is updated, it comes with better technology and more desirable features; however, the cost of this advanced technology is often high. While the base price for the new iPhone 5 runs from $199 to $399, getting it unlocked and contract free will cost you anywhere from $649 to $849. If locked into a contract with your phone provider, you'll be paying through the nose to buy the device and stay on your current plan.

If you already own an iPhone and have had the misfortune to break it before the contract is up, you may be wondering what to do. Getting a new phone will cost more than you'd like to pay or can even afford, but maybe you like the iPhone and don't want to give it up.

Here at iHeart Repair, we offer a solution. Instead of shelling out over $600 for a replacement phone, let us repair it for you at a much lower cost. This will eliminate the need to either spend a ton of money or wrangle with the phone provider over your plan.

The most common damage to an iPhone is undoubtedly a broken screen. While there are cases to protect the device and clear screen protectors that can prevent scratching, oftentimes they are not enough to deflect a hard knock to the vulnerable screen face. When your screen is badly broken, our skilled technicians can replace it with a high-quality LCD that looks and functions just like new.

At iHeart Repair, we specialize in Apple products, so if you're looking to get your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch fixed, look no further. We offer screen and back glass replacement, along with LCD replacement if the screen electronics have failed.

iPhones have become so ubiquitous that it has become hard to imagine life without them. We offer 24-hour turnaround time on most of our Apple repair services so that you can get your phone back quickly. Don't waste your time and money buying a new phone when you already have one! Send in your Apple product to us today and have it repaired affordably, quickly, professionally, and safely. The sooner you have it repaired, the sooner you can get back to business as usual and get on with your life.