Wednesday, September 25, 2013

iPhone 5s Slow Motion Video – 120 fps

If you are an iPhone user now, you will absolutely LOVE the new slow motion video capability of the iPhone 5s. This video shows how truly incredible the new camera in the iPhone 5s is.

This video makes me want to shoot some slow motion video on my iPhone! Except I don't have an iPhone 5s. So I can't. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Launching Today: Samsung Galaxy Screen Repairs

As of today – September 24th, 2013 – we are launching Samsung Phone Repairs! The Galaxy S3 & Galaxy S4 are the two devices we are servicing at launch.


We at iHeart Repair have always been firm believers in specializing. The truth is, we cannot do everything. Though we can do a few things really, really well. The first devices that we mastered was the screen repair on the iPad & iPhone, and demand for those two products have kept us very busy for the past 3 years. We launched a few new repairs between now and 3 years ago, like screen repairs for the iPod nano, & the iPod touch. That's it! We've stayed very focused on doing a few things very well.


Today, we are adding 2 more repairs to the list – Galaxy S3 Screen Repair & Galaxy S4 Screen Repair. Our technicians have spent the time to learn the intricate details of the two Samsung phones so that we can offer the repair with the same 2-year warranty that our customers have come to expect from us. The Galaxy phones from Samsung have become bestsellers every year since the Galaxy S2 was released in February of 2011.

Samsung Phones – A Challenging Repair


We would have offered the repairs for the Samsung Galaxy S3 & S4 much earlier than today, but there were some technical challenges. When we repair an iPhone screen we replace the entire screen. The LCD, glass, & frame are all replaced. With a Galaxy phone we can do the same thing, except the parts alone cost around $200. This is a ridiculous amount for anyone to pay for a screen repair. For a little bit more a brand new phone can be purchased. So we set out to find the solution.

The Solution


Glass only repairs was the solution. We are able to offer the same quality repair, but the cost is half as much as a full screen replacement. The glass only repair involves careful extraction of the existing broken glass from the LCD. It takes a skilled hand and just the right amount of heat to make it happen. As with most repairs, we do not recommend that you attempt it on your own. In this case, we strongly encourage you not to attempt this repair on your own. It is incredibly complex and requires our best repair technicians.

As always, thank you for being a loyal iHeart Repair customer! We will continue to work hard and bring you the highest quality repairs for the devices you love most. – @joshmuccio


Monday, September 16, 2013

US Smartphone Market Share Infographic

I thought you all would find this to be interesting. We all hear the numbers in the news, but seeing that same information in this infograph is definitely easier to digest.

The iPhone is shown as the leading manufacturer of smartphones in the US (Though worldwide numbers show the iPhone at only 13.2%). When you look at iOS vs Android smartphones, you will notice that iOS looses to Android by a significant margin. This trend is expected to continue despite the fact that Apple continues to sell more & more iPhones each year. Credit goes to ExpressFix for the infograph.

What are your thoughts? Who do you think will end up on top? Leave me a comment below or message me on Twitter.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Truth About Water Damage

Water Damage iPhoneThere 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.

Friday, July 12, 2013

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!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Nexus 4 Repair Now Available

Today we are excited to announce that we are now able to do repairs on the Nexus 4 from Google! This smartphone from Google is a favorite for many Android users. The Nexus 4 is a beast with it's 1.5GHz Snapdragon Pro processor and with a 4.7" screen the phone is hard to beat as far as value goes. The phone retails at only $299 and $349!

After doing our first successful screen repair on a Nexus 4 just a couple of days ago we are ready to launch Nexus 4 Screen & LCD Repair, Nexus 4 Battery Replacement and Nexus 4 Button Repairs. The most common issue for the Nexus 4 is a broken screen, but this is not an unsolvable issue. It takes us just under an hour to make sure the repair is done right and your smartphone will be back in your hands!

See before & after repair pictures below:

Nexus 4 Broken Screen
Broken Nexus 4 before screen repair
Nexus 4 Before & After Screen Repair
The Nexus 4 after repair from iHeart Repair

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

iPhone 5 Repair Prices Falling!

It's nearly been a year since the iPhone 5 was released here in the US, and it's taken almost that long for repair prices to come down to a reasonable level. I'm going to talk a little about why the prices stayed high for SOO long, but the real exciting news is that prices have FINALLY come down on the parts! iHeart Repair will begin offering iPhone 5 glass repairs for $159.95 beginning (7/15).

iPhone 5 Screen Repair
Let's talk about why the parts for the iPhone 5 have been so expensive in the past and why they continue to carry a premium over their iPhone 4S counterparts.

  1. Apple is exercising greater control over their parts. Since the release of the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini, Apple has shown greater control over the chips that are needed in the manufacturing of these parts.
  2. Parts manufactures are getting smart. Instead of manufacturing as many knock off parts, (Non OEM) they have been waiting until OEM parts become available before ramping up production. Many of these OEM parts are recycled from broken iPhone 5 screens. By doing this, they create a huge imbalance in supply & demand that takes months to resolve. This means the price of the parts stays higher for longer, but the quality of parts supplied is significantly better.
  3. The technology is more advanced. Apple introduced in-cell touch screen technology with the introduction of the iPhone 5. This technology combines the touch sensitive layer and the LCD layer into one. This decreases the weight and thickness of the device. This technology was harder for manufacturers to replicate & increased the demand for recycled parts instead of using brand new parts.
It's frustrating for everyone that the parts have been this expensive for so long, but the reasons behind the price increase are actually good for the environment and allows for a better quality iPhone 5 repair for the end consumer. We at iHeart Repair like this... a lot!

Friday, June 14, 2013

SSD's - Superspeed for Your Computer

There is a reason why every single one of the computers that we use here at iHeart Repair have an SSD (Solid State Drive) installed in them. The speed results we get after switching a computer from a traditional HD to an SSD is like night and day! We can literally restart all of our work computers (Windows & Mac) in under 30 seconds. This compares to a minute to a minute and a half on a traditional HD. Opening and closing programs also show the same, super-snappy performance. The reason for this dramatic improvement after switching to an SSD is simple, bottlenecking.



The hard drive in a computer is where all the information is stored, so the rest of the computer has to wait for the information to come from the hard drive before it can respond to the request you are asking of it (Open a program, play a song, etc...). Traditional hard drives can transfer data anywhere from 50 - 100MB/s while an SSD transfers data from 200 - 500MB/s and some newer SSD's can do over 1000MB's. You don't even need to know what a MB is to see that SSD storage will at least double the speed of your traditional HD and often times it will be a 10x increase in speed.

Most computers still come with a traditional HD installed, unless you purchase an ultrabook or a Macbook Air that specifically comes with an SSD already in it. Your computer can easily be upgraded to an SSD by one of our certified computer repair technicians at iHeart Repair, and we can transfer all your data so everything on your computer stays the same (Except it's much faster)! Even older computers can benefit from an SSD. Believe it or not, traditional HD's have been the slowest/weakest part of our computers for years, now SSD's make a faster computer attainable for everyone.

FYI - If you have an iPhone or a smartphone of any kind, it has the same kind of fast storage that comes in an SSD. That's why apps load so quickly on your smartphone!