Broken cell phones can be fixed

It might be cheaper to repair a phone than to get a new one

Julie Hutchinson, Special to the Rocky

Published March 31, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Javier Manzano © The Rocky

Service manager Clark Schmidt of MobilTel Communications says it takes less than an hour to make common repairs to a cell phone.

Javier Manzano / The Rocky

"It's usually cost-effective to get stuff repaired," says Clark Schmidt of MobilTel Service.

When I dropped my cell phone on the terrazzo floor at Denver International Airport last summer, the impact broke the screen.

At the AT&T store in Cherry Creek, no one suggested the phone was fixable, and the idea never occurred to me.

Instead, I got a new, "free" phone by signing up for another two-year contract for AT&T wireless service. The nifty little Nokia they gave me was basic - no camera, no flip top, no case - but it did the job.

Last month, I took that nifty little Nokia back to the same store and bought the headset a clerk recommended. But when I got the headset home and plugged it in, the screen said, "Enhancement not supported."

Back at the AT&T store, another clerk said my Nokia was so old that no headset would work with it. My only choices, he said: Pay $400 for a new, headset-capable phone or extend my wireless-service contract and get that new phone for $175.

Turns out I did have other choices.

That same day, I took my Nokia to the mom-and-pop MobilTel Communications storefront at 1921 Federal Blvd. and walked out five minutes later with a $20 headset that works just fine.

And, had I known better when I dropped my phone at DIA, the folks at MobilTel probably could have replaced the broken screen, too - while I waited.

Fixing the most common ailments that befall cell phones - broken LCD displays, moisture damage, disconnected antennas, sticking keys, malfunctioning ports - usually involves plug-in components and takes less than an hour in the hands of a skilled technician, said MobilTel service manager Clark Schmidt, who averages five to 10 walk-in repair calls a day, plus repair work subcontracted by major carriers.

"It's usually cost-effective to get stuff repaired," Schmidt said.

Still, the average U.S. cell phone is replaced every 18 months - piling up a whopping 130 million phones discarded every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Of those, fewer than 20 percent are recycled, a mountain of cell phones every year that end up in landfills.

So why don't more people fix their phones, rather than replace them?

Anthony Truong, location manager for Millennium Trenz Wireless, 2960 S. Federal Blvd., said his company's seven local sites repair more than 100 phones a week - a drop in the bucket considering that more than 256 million Americans are counted as subscribers to cell-phone service, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association, which tracks statistics for the industry.

"Most people are not aware they can have their phone fixed," Truong said. "When most people walk into a corporate store, if a store can't repair a phone, they push them into buying a new handset. They don't do repairs - they sell service."

AT&T Wireless spokeswoman Vanessa Smith said if a customer's phone no longer is under warranty, a new phone likely is in his or her future. "From our sales perspective, we would be looking to upgrade the customer to a newer phone," Smith said.

Karen Duffy, who, with her husband, Bill, has operated MobilTel for 20 years, understands that plenty of cellular customers are eager to trade in old or broken phones for the newest model, especially the 56 percent of U.S. teenagers who use cell phones and hang out at shopping malls where kiosks and retail outlets display all the latest cell phones, their coolest accoutrements and new color schemes.

But the Duffys' MobilTel, which employs two service technicians, is built on the notion that some people just want a cell phone that works - or will work, once it's repaired.

MobilTel is one of just a handful of local independent businesses that repair cell phones, often while the customer waits.

More than half of Americans between 65 and 74 carry cell phones; a third of Americans between 75 and 85 use cell phones - and that's plenty of potential customers for repair businesses better at fixing phones than fixing clients up with new contracts, Duffy pointed out.

"Cute is not the function of a phone, unless you are 16," Duffy said. "There's a great amount of people who just want a basic, working phone. We're not like the mall people."

Nathan Rutherford, store manager for Cell Solutions in Southwest Plaza, which sells cell-phone accessories, said the increasing trend to carry replacement insurance with small deductibles also adds to the mountain of discarded cell phones.

"With insurance, nowadays all those people have to do is pay $50 or so and get a brand new phone," Rutherford said.

Chris Landgrebe, store manager for Advantage Wireless in Englewood, sees lots of walk-in customers who hop off the RTD light-rail line near his store by the Englewood Civic Center. He advises customers to spend the money to fix newer phones but says if someone with an older phone doesn't have the money to buy a newer model, repairing is the cheapest option.

"I make sure I do what is best for the customer," he said. "If they can get in and get out for $30, they're going to say I took care of them, and that's how I get my business."

Still, the nation's largest wireless carrier, AT&T Wireless, offers no on-site repair capability for its more than 70 million customers, although manufacturers provide replacement phones.

"Because AT&T doesn't make the phones, it's up to the manufacturer whether a phone can be fixed. We have no on-site repair within our retail stores," said AT&T Wireless' Miller.

Verizon, the nation's No. 2 cellular company in subscribers, is running close behind AT&T Wireless with its 65 million subscribers and makes it much easier for customers to repair, rather than replace, phones, with on-site service in many stores.

"If it's a fairly simple repair, they can fix it on the spot," said Bob Kelley, Verizon spokesman.

Third-largest Sprint also offers in-store repairs at many of its locations.

Broken cell phone? Hold off on replacing it

Some options for on-site, local cell-phone repair:

* MobilTel 1921 Federal Blvd., 303-455-0333

* Advantage Wireless 841 Englewood Parkway, 720-833-0663

* Millennium Trenz Wireless 2960 S. Federal Blvd., 303-806-1001

* Most Verizon corporate stores, but call first.

* Some Sprint corporate stores, but call first.

Repair or replace?

* Pay attention to the warranty. Most cell phones come with a one-year manufacturer's warranty that covers the cost of repairs during this period.

* If a phone can't be repaired in a corporate store's on-site facility, the customer usually is responsible for packing and mailing the phone to the manufacturer.

* Before you send your phone to the manufacturer for repair, ask your carrier if a loaner or replacement phone will be available while your phone is being fixed.

* AT&T Wireless does not offer in-store repair facilities.

* Insurance policies, some costing as little as about $5 a month, can cover the cost of repairs. Most phones covered by insurance must be returned to the manufacturer for repairs.

* Ask any repair service, whether it's an independent shop or an in-house corporate facility, for an estimate before you agree to service.

* AT&T Wireless customers who have been signed up for at least six months can purchase a Nokia 2610 for $39.99 without the requirement to extend or renew a service contract. This phone usually sells for about $150.

* Most corporate carriers offer commissions to salespeople who upgrade customers to newer phones and extended service contracts.

* Numerous send-away repair services for cell phones can be found on the Web; many post price lists for common repairs. Few of these offer loaner phones, and the customer is responsible for packing and mailing the phone.

* If your cell phone is damaged by moisture, remove the battery immediately and take the phone to a repair center. Do not place the battery back in the phone, even if you think the phone has dried out. Experts say returning the battery too quickly to the phone most often causes the real damage.

• March 31, 2008

  10:40 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jbowen43 writes:

  Excellent information that readers should forward to their friends and relatives. Wouldn't it be great if the TV stations were to run this story, too?

• April 1, 2008

  3:59 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  tt535xi writes:

  WOW! That is awesome that this is brought to peoples attention. I have had my phone repaired and unlocked at millennium trenz before too. They do awesome work there. I have had tmobile service and currently on cricket service. I have been to the corporate store from tmobile to cricket the funny thing is that they have referred me multiple times to Millennium Trenz at federal and alameda in the far east center. 333 S Federal Blvd #210 Denver CO 80219. They will fix your phone on the spot. If not fixable they do have various used phones to purchase also. I just want to say grade A service there...Thanks guy if you are reading this Mike N...

• April 1, 2008

  4:23 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Pookie1686 writes:

  I used to work for a wireless company, and we would always tell people about mobiltel on 19th and Federal. In fact I still have the number memorized in my head. I think that sales reps, and customer service reps are expected to know EVERYTHING. The rep probably didn't even realize that Mobiltel would have the headset. Phones go out of date so quickly that usually accessories for those phones are no longer brought into the stores. This article makes the rep, and the company sound bad. I think if the rep knew that Mobiltel had the headset he would have said something. Some phones can be repaired, and some cannot. Give retail reps a break. In wireless you have to know every phone, every pc card, every pda, all the plans, all the features, bluetooth, computer systems, the wonderful iphone, what phones work with what computer, what phones use what email,customers who use that email and this server, customers who have that computer and that software. The company worked very hard to have all their employees trained on all of this... You would be amazed on how hard wireless employees work so that when you go in there they can help you. I've known reps to spend HOURS and HOURS on a customers phones yet you never hear about that. You only hear the negative. I'm sure the headset being at Mobiltel didn't even cross his mind.

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