We all have faced the situation of cracked screens on the smartwatch. Should you get the smartwatch screen repaired? What are the options available for repairing a cracked screen of the smartwatch.
Repairing screen of an in-warranty watch
Before finalizing the repair of a cracked screen, it is important to know the warranty terms and warranty coverage. Most smartwatch manufacturers cover screen damage as part of warranty terms. For sure, Apple and Garmin replace your smartwatch if the screen is cracked and the smartwatch is under active warranty coverage.
So, the best bet is to take the in-warranty smartwatch to the manufacturer for repairing the cracked screen. In most cases, you could get a replacement smartwatch in lieu of the watch with a cracked screen.
Assuming the warranty on your smartwatch expired, you do have a few possible alternatives to repairing the smartwatch. Before picking the best option for repairing of your smartwatch, we do suggest trying to figure out the exact type of damage to the screen.
Understanding Smartwatch Screen Repair
Repairing a cracked smartwatch screen involves recognizing the types of damage, gathering the right tools, and assessing how severe the cracks are. Each aspect plays a crucial role in determining the best approach for repairs.
Types of Screen Damage
Smartwatch screens can experience various forms of damage, including cracks, scratches, and complete screen failure.
- Cracks: These may be minor surface blemishes or extensive breaks that can affect functionality. Remember, the functionality of the watch is compromised due to cracks.
- Scratches: These might not alter the operation but can impair visibility and aesthetics. These are superficial in nature.
- Complete Failure: This generally refers to total screen blackout or malfunction, often requiring screen replacement. This is basically a dead screen of the smartwatch.
Understanding the type of damage helps determine whether to repair or replace the screen. This would also give you a fair assessment in terms of repair costs.
Third-party repairs of Smartwatch
If the watch is out of warranty, there is little chance of the manufacturer fixing the cracked screen in a budgeted manner.
That leaves you with the possibility of using third-party service providers for repairing the smartwatch.
Before committing your money on repairing cracked screens at a third-party service provider, there are practical considerations to ponder over.
- Consider the cost of replacing the whole screen
- Consider the cost of filling in minor cracks on the screen
- Consider the warranty coverage on the new screen. Usually, this is lower than manufacturer’s warranty on the screen. Some screen repair may yield 3 months warranty. Others may offer a warranty of 1 month only.
Before finalizing the repair with the third-party service provider, do consider taking the smartwatch to the manufacturer. Consider talking to the customer support for any trade-in discounts on a new smartwatch. This may be potentially more expensive than the watch repair. But, you get to enjoy a longer warranty period.
The decision to get the screen repaired or replaced must be based on warranty and cost considerations.
Understandably, getting a trade-in offer for a new smartwatch may cost more in the short term. But, it would give you an extended period of peace and hassle-free ownership of the watch.
Repairing the smartwatch screen would include the following costs:
- Costs of screen replacement or repair or fixups
- Costs or fees charged by the watch technician
Together, both costs would give you a fair price for the complete repair of the cracked watch screen.
As a parting note, we would like to reiteration that screen repairs or replacement for a smartwatch would never give you the same performance and display quality that you would get on a watch bought directly from the smartwatch manufacturer.