The Dreaded Broken Screen

By Alika Salazar

Of all the repairs we do on mobile phones here at iParts, broken screens are definitely the most common. Is it just me, or are the manufacturers making phone screens more fragile than ever?

The most common cause of a broken screen is when a person drops their phone on the ground. A lot of our customers tell us that they forgot that their phone was on their lap and when they got up out of a chair in their home or a seat in their car. Of course, when the phone falls to the ground and breaks, their memory comes back!

Most people mistakenly believe that if their phone falls on a soft surface, like carpet or grass, it will withstand the impact. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. While it's true that hard surfaces like concrete, asphalt, tile and wood floors will increase the odds of a broken screen, soft surfaces can also cause a screen to break.

Are dropped cell phones the only causes of cracked screens? No, cracked screens can be caused by a variety of other impact related issues. I've worked on phones that were broken by objects being dropped on them, like a weight during a work out. I've even seen screens broken while in the owners pocket! If the owner should fall, hit a sharp corner or smack some other hard object against the phone while it is in their pocket, the screen can break. These situations are more common that you might imagine.

For these reasons, I strongly recommend putting a protective case on your phone as well as a glass screen protector.  We do have protective cases and glass screen protectors in all three of our stores and they are very reasonably priced, especially when you compare it to the cost and inconvenience of a glass screen repair. There are several different types of cases. There’s a silicone case, a TPU case, and a combination of rubber and plastic cases. There is also the three piece cases that are really heavy duty military grade cases for maximum protection against breakage.

Personally, I prefer a really thin case with a glass screen protector over a bulky case. For those reasons, I’m really careful with my hi tech friend, but in case I do break it, at least I have a reliable place to get it fixed!