Troubleshooting Library

Start with what your phone is doing.

Symptom-first guides: pick what's wrong, get a likely cause, a likely cost, and an honest take on whether to repair, replace, or live with it.

Instant check

Symptom diagnostic

Pick what your device is doing. We'll explain the most common underlying cause in plain technician terms and give you a realistic independent-shop cost range. This is a quick orientation, not a substitute for a hands-on diagnosis.

Select on-screen symptom

Category One

Display & touch

Modern phone screens combine three layers — outer glass, digitiser, and OLED panel. Knowing which layer is broken determines whether you're looking at a $40 part or a $400 one.

Black screen of death

Phone rings but display stays dark

Green or pink vertical lines

Almost always full OLED replacement

Ghost touch / phantom taps

Screen taps itself — digitiser failure

Cracked screen, still works

When is it worth fixing vs. leaving alone?

Category Two

Power & charging

80% of "battery problems" are software, cable, or charging-port lint. The other 20% need a new battery — but here's how to tell which before you spend.

Battery drains in hours

When it's the battery vs. when it's software

Won't charge or charges slowly

Lint, port damage, cable, battery — in that order

Phone won't turn on at all

Battery, board, or display? Diagnose without disassembly

Phone runs hot and slows down

Throttling, battery age, and the malware angle

Category Three

Liquid & impact damage

First aid for dropped or dunked phones. The first ten minutes are decisive — and most "fixes" you'll read online actually make things worse.

Water damage — first 10 minutes

What to do, what to skip, when to give up

Dropped your phone — now what?

A 90-second triage to know what you're dealing with

Can't diagnose it yourself?

Use the calculator to get a range, or get matched with a local tech for a proper diagnosis.

Try the calculator