Checklist Before Sending Your Phone for Repair
Before handing over your phone for repair, a few simple steps can protect your data, prevent additional charges, and ensure the repair goes smoothly.
Here’s the essential pre-repair checklist every smartphone user should follow.
1. Thousands of Customers Ask What to Do Before Repair
At our Christchurch and Auckland branches, we check in hundreds of devices each month — from screen repairs to battery issues and water damage.
A clear, simple pre-repair checklist saves time, prevents misunderstandings, and keeps your data safe.
These steps also help technicians diagnose your device faster with fewer risks.
2. Most Users Worry About the Same Things
We hear the same concerns from customers every day:
- “Will my photos or messages be safe?”
- “Do I need to turn off Find My iPhone?”
- “What should I do before sending it in?”
- “Should I back up my data first?”
This checklist answers all of those questions clearly.
3. Essential Checklist Before Sending Your Phone for Repair
3.1 Back Up Your Data
Back up your phone to iCloud, Google Drive, Samsung Cloud, or your computer.
This protects your photos, messages, and app data in case unexpected resets occur during repair.
3.2 Disable Security Locks (If Requested)
For certain repairs (touchscreen testing, True Tone, Face ID checks), a passcode may be required.
Many customers create a temporary code and change it again afterward — a safe and common approach.
3.3 Turn Off Find My iPhone / Google FRP (If Needed)
These locks prevent technicians from testing or restoring devices after repair.
You can re-enable them after pick-up.
3.4 Remove Your Case and Accessories
Remove phone cases, SIM cards, microSD cards, and screen protectors.
These items can get damaged or misplaced during repair.
3.5 List All Issues Clearly
If your phone has multiple issues — screen lines, weak microphone, battery drain, etc. — tell the technician upfront.
This helps avoid missing secondary faults after repair.
If you want maximum privacy, follow this method:
- Back up your device.
- Perform a full factory reset.
- Hand over the device clean, with no personal data stored.
This allows any repair shop — including ours — to work without any risk of accessing your sensitive information.
Every repair shop will agree: no technician can guarantee 100% protection over data on a locked, live device.
Resetting before repair is the safest, most recommended option.
3.6 If Your Phone Has Water Damage
Do not charge it, and do not try to power it on.
Bring it in immediately to prevent corrosion and board failure.
3.7 Real Cases from Our Shops
- Customer reset the phone → technicians completed full repair with zero privacy concern.
- Another customer listed 4 issues → we fixed all, avoiding a second visit.
- Water-damaged device brought in early → recovery successful before board corrosion spread.
4. Why This Checklist Matters (Technical Insight)
Smartphone repairs involve sensitive circuits, firmware checks, and hardware diagnostics.
Preparing your device helps technicians avoid data loss, identify deeper faults, and return your device faster.
- Backups ensure no data is lost if resets are required.
- Disabling locks avoids delays during testing.
- Factory resets remove all risk of privacy exposure.
- Listing issues helps detect board-level problems earlier.
A properly prepared device leads to a safer, faster, and more accurate repair.
5. Related Guides
This article is for general information and reference only. Device conditions vary, and you should not rely solely on this content to make repair or safety decisions.
For accurate diagnosis or repair, please have your device inspected by a qualified technician.