While still expensive compared to other makes and models of phones, our primary supplier now carries quality parts that are dependable and have 90 day warranties – allowing iDoctor to pass along savings and value to you!

Note 2 Repair starting at $229.99

Galaxy S2 Repair starting at $179.99

Galaxy S3 Repair starting at $229.99

Price variance depending upon model and color (usually no more than $10 or so) – so please contact us for a quote on your phone today!

Eden Prairie Center:

Saturday 10-9

Sunday 11-6

Monday 10-7

Maple Grove:

Saturday 8am-7pm

Sunday 11-5

Monday : CLOSED

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding our hours or what we can do to help you.

Last night we dined with shop owners from Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas, and Oklahoma. Their stories were fun to hear – as each has a different way they entered the industry – and each has a different business model. The conversation was delightful and insightful. The brainstorming and collaboration was spirited and promising. There was a common underlying theme that we all had in our words and ideas – this was about how to deliver the best value to our customers. When working with other business partners or entities – this is something we like to hear. We know that their hearts and minds are in the right place to conduct business with.

iDoctor would like to extend our deepest thanks to eTech parts for inviting and hosting dinner. You have been a great partner and we look forward to growing with you to offer our customers the best value possible.

If you are from out of town and need a local shop recommendation in one of these areas – contact us and we will connect you with one of these reputable shops.

iDoctor sees every day what happens when the person you depend upon doesn’t know quite enough. iPads are trashed. iPhones are broken beyond repair. iPods are scrap. The person you know that has done one or two devices for friends, and is willing to do your for a meal, likely doesn’t have the skills required to troubleshoot when it matters the most. That isn’t saying that their heart isn’t in the right place or their intentions are any but pure.

While we are discussing this subject, another comment we hear is how quick a repair is done. We are able to practice over and over – each day – on these devices and do become very fast at repairing them. This is because we know exactly what to expect and what process is needed. Our rates are based upon individual repairs versus actual time – similar to a mechanic or doctor. It would be an understatement to say that our fast response time happened overnight or was an easy skill to fine tune.

Please contact us with any questions you might have with regard to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod – it’s our specialty!

Currently, you can walk in to either of our Eden Prairie or Maple Grove locations, drop off your iPad, and (in most cases) get it back in 24-48 hours. Schedule  your appointment or mail in through our website and get your iPad back same day. Extraordinary circumstances may result in additional repair time. You can email your appointment request to: appointment@idoctormn.com

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us – we are here to help!

First, we need to see what risks are hiding – the best way to keep your phone alive is prevention. Often times phones go swimming in the lake with the owner – but that’s not the only way a device can become wet. Condensation from cold drink containers that are in cup holders, purses, and other containers is a very common issue. Phones that users store in their back pocket have a tendency to slip out when changing clothes near water (lakes or toilets are common). Gardening, water fights (friendly fire), and drink spillage are all dangerous situations for an iPhone or iPod. Last, but not least, is sweat – yes, while you are working hard to stay healthy the little (or lots) drops of sweat fall into the openings of your iPod and cause damage – either all at once or build up over time.

Where does that leave you? Prevention is the first line of defense. Now that you know how devices get wet – find a case or holder that will keep your iPhone or iPod from coming in contact with normal moisture. Many quality cases make it hard for liquid to penetrate – such as OtterBox. A small spill will be blocked by the extensive coverage a Defender case offers – but don’t go swimming with this one – save the swim lessons for the Armor series case that is completely submersible. Other ideas would be placing a beverage in a holder that absorbs the condensation.

For the avid outdoorsman – we suggest the pursuit series of OtterBox. These cases come in a variety of sizes to keep your phone and other items safe. The biggest case could store your phone, wallet, and a set of keys comfortably.

Ok… so you really don’t want to hear the sales pitch that comes along with being proactive and preventing liquid damage. You are ready to get the 411 in the event your device grows gills. The first thing you need to do is turn your device off (if not already off). The second step is to dry it off as much as you can with a towel. After that, it’s time to make a decision. You can either bring it in to us to open and dry off internal components and clean as necessary – or you can take your chance and place your phone in a liquid absorbing contraption. One way to absorb liquid would be to place your device in a zip lock baggie with rice – or the bags that come in boxes of shoes or electronics (these work better than rice). Otherwise, iDoctor has emergency kits in stock that contain molecular sieve  that absorb the best – the kit is also sealable so you don’t need to tote around zip locks in your car.

Moving on to advanced stages… your device is working after a bit of time but is now showing symptoms of disfunction. This is when you should bring your device in for repair. Perhaps components are simply worn out and need to be replaced – or, your device has corrosion and needs to be cleaned. Whatever the case, iDoctor has pretty good success recovering devices – and the data that was stored on them (we have had some mighty happy people that recovered birth pics of their kids).

iDoctor recommends that you frequently back up your device. This helps insure your data and memories will not be lost forever in the catastrophic event your device is completely lost. Just as one would change the filter in your furnace each month – you should also back up your device once a month too (or more if you are an avid photographer).

We hope that this brief post on liquid damage helps you. If you have a need for more specific questions or have a device in need of help – please do not hesitate to contact us – we would be more than happy to assist you!

Here is to warmer, drier, and brighter days – Cheers!

Here are a couple of links that we would like to share with you:

This first link is an article located on the patch. The Patch websites offer hyper-local news and the staff members are great to interact with.

Business Spotlight: iDoctor of Maple Grove

This is a link to a news story on Channel 12 Community news. The filming was a lot of fun. Again – a couple of great people from Channel 12. Something that didn’t get filmed: trying to actually break a screen for demonstration purposes – we took a hammer and took several hits without putting a dent in an itouch screen – then we used a hammer against an anvil – that did the trick!

Business Matters: iDoctor Aims to fix damaged devices

Here is a feature story created by our parts vendor. What can we say? These guys are great to work with day in and day out. My deepest gratitude that they would drive up from Kansas City to spend a day with us!

eTech Parts: Featured Repair Shop Series: iDoctor Part 1

Have a story idea? Children that would like to learn a few things about mobile electronics? Please contact us and we would be happy to discuss options with you.

Keeps harsh components out of the earth – this includes a number of rare earth material that cannot be recycled. Also among these harsh components are materials that were developed in countries that have lax environmental standards – One less device manufactured because of your repair helps out in more ways than one!

A little more friendly on your pocketbook. Average repair prices are under $100 – and they continue to fall as parts become commodities. Compare this to the cost of purchasing an iPhone outright ($600 or more), or shelling out $200 and becoming handcuffed to a two year contract. Hidden in those good monthly deals are the dollars that are really paying for that phone. Having a device that is contract free enables you to get the best pricing possible.

You are saving money for the next “game-changing” device. Yes, we channeled the great Steve Jobs there – but think about it – how much have iPhone changed since the iPhone 4? The display is a little more crisp, the devices are a little faster, the connections are just a little bit…everything is just a little bit of something – not a gigantic leap into the next world like we want.

Bottom line – save your money and be kind to the environment!

Here is another article that was done pretty good (and someone obviously had a lot of time to do their fact digging – but they are not bombarded with real-life repair deadlines that keep people connected

http://ifixit.org/4546/happy-earth-day-dont-recycle/#more-4546

Instead of explaining the pros and cons of DIY (do-it-yourself), we are going to instead focus on what is providing the false  sense of security that many feel provides them with the skill-set to carry out such a complex repair. The techs at iDoctor are provided with months of training before they are allowed to work on an iPod Touch 4th generation by themselves. What we here most often from folks that have attempted the repair is that they watched several videos on YouTube before attempting the repair. They felt a good level of understanding was in hand after watching an hour or two of videos, a couple instruction manuals, and for a select few – a shot of whiskey!

With the number of selfies coming in for follow up repair – or the fatal diagnosis of “not recoverable” – we asked ourselves, “what is being shown to these good people on YouTube?” Being the good people we are (shameless plug), the techs at iDoctor viewed a couple videos at random to see the process being shown for iPod Touch 4th Generation repair. Both videos were taken at random from seemingly popular sources. One of these videos even had 116,608 views (perhaps some were repeat watchers)!

Video 1

This video starts with the warning that this repair voids the warranty, is for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY , and the maker assumes no liability in case you biff (industry lexicon for breaking your iPod even more) the repair. The technician starts by applying heat to the unit to melt the adhesive. Even though the directions are to use a low heat setting, the possibility exists that a novice uses too much heat and warps the board or causes solder to flow when it shouldn’t be flowing (just because you can’t see it happen doesn’t mean that it is safe). Second, the technician in the video proceeds to use an exacto knife to cut the adhesive (wasn’t this supposed to be melted?). Unless you are sure about what is beneath the screen, and what is being cut – this is probably not a good idea for a first timer. Next, the lifting of the display; there is no warning about the wifi cable that sticks to the display, or how the LCD can separate from the glass (in the event you are opening to do a different repair other than glass replacement). Additionally, if you do want to preserve the glass, take into consideration the scratches you might be creating (this doesn’t look very nice when you are all done).

In a professional setting, we are about two minutes into the repair at this point. The narrator in the video is now taking out the screws to the metal shield with no mention that each screw is differently sized and needs to go back into the place it was removed from. Trust us, you will not remember which screw goes where unless they are laid out exactly the way they came out. Lifting the metal shield has some problems that are not mentioned – like the copious amounts of adhesive that will likely pull the external speaker from its home and break the wires that make external sound possible (these are soldered on and are a difficult repair to reinstall). Additionally, there is adhesive holding the shield onto the board that could pull up capacitors and other components if not done wisely – the video neglects all of these warnings.

A few other hints to keep in mind – lifting the board can catch the power/volume flex cable and tear that. Tears of any component in this device are bad. The camera also comes up with the board. The ground spring is pretty flimsy and will come out with the slightest tug.

And…not to drag this video out much longer, but the tools the normal novice DIY’er has are not magnetic – nor are the tools that are sent with the part. The screws that hold the iPod touch 4th generation together are small and all work in a concert to foil your plot of self-righteous repair.

ON TO THE NEXT EXPERT VIDEO!

Video 2

This video has some serious flaws. The immediate thoughts that raced through our technicians minds were: OMG…OMG…WTF…Moron…OMG…WTF. Granted, every technician has their own methods that work for them, but this video is really like the blind leading the blind. I am sure this company has good intentions and sells decent parts, but this was just too much.

The one thing I like about the video is that an Aussie is narrating it. The accent has to be arguably the best for narration (second only to Morgan Freeman’s). Getting to the substance… The first thing instructed to the viewer is to place the entire unit in your oven for 30 minutes. Keep in mind, the crack on the unit in the video was not that bad – and yours is likely to leave glass everywhere it goes – keep it away from food preparation areas!

As he is handling this unit with his oven mit (because it is friggin hot), the narrator has to use tools to separate the adhesive from the frame (isn’t that why we cooked it? perhaps basting was in order). As he attempts to separate the adhesive he gets one thing absolutely right – iPod touch 4th gens are a nightmare to work on (when you have little experience). This fellow does call out the wifi cable as a warning, but like video 1, neglects any mention of the home flex cable.

Similar to video 1, the glass on each unit is relatively in one piece (only with one crack in the middle). Most units are in a million pieces. This means that there is glass everywhere. None of the videos show the proper way to deal with this situation – nor do they discuss adhesive or unit preparation to install the new screens.

Another noticeable flaw the narrator has – he has no process down. He fumbles through his steps. Like we mentioned in the beginning, this is like the blind leading the blind – don’t follow. Although calling warning to the adhesive by the speaker, he uses tools by the volume flex cable and lifts on the board. He places strain on the flex cable, on the camera, nor does he call out a warning about capacitors near the FPC connector for the digitizer (technical terms that should be known prior to conducting this sort of technical work).

I’m cutting this review short – but it had nearly 117,000 views. Some of the comments said this was the best instructional video out there. Some said it was better than others (this is scary – which one are you basing your repair off of?). How many people in the world were given a false sense of empowerment and were not given critical advice that is required to successfully complete this repair?

Many people end up wasting money on the screen, then end up in a position of needing other components repaired. The cost added together becomes significant. Otherwise, the consumer pays for the part, spends countless hours, and then purchases a new device because of the irreversible damage they caused to their iPod. In the end, the most time conscious and efficient decision is to take your device to a professional repair shop and have it repaired in about an hour.

Generally, the glass and LCD in newer models of phone are not able to be separated – kind of like in the beginning stages of a relationship between two people (it just isn’t going to happen). Usually, when the attempt is made to separate the two – the LCD becomes damaged, the digitizer is damaged, or the amount of scratches or smears left on the LCD makes the finished product look ghetto-fabulous (feel free to use that word – we don’t have a copyright on it).

The second phase in this line of reasoning is the re-assembly of any two components. Attaching the glass to the LCD is a tricky process for an iPhone – most of the time there will be light that bleeds through onto the screen. This looks awful and the money that is saved is minimal.

In the professional manufacturing environment, the two pieces are able to be seperated – as you likely know from watching countless YouTube videos. The good folks at iDoctor have tried the same processes that are shown on the video. Lots of heat, lots of adhesive, lots of effort – and lots of money to facilitate these tests. All end up failing miserably.

Something you might want to ask – why would you want to re-use any of the parts from the broken front panel on the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S? The part cost is low enough where the savings would come at a considerable expense of time and considerable risk of damaging your phone. The iPhone 5 would save a lot of money if you were able to separate the two pieces, but the chances of doing this on a limited basis would be rare. Most folks that do this are doing so in a manufacturing environment – where, with enough money, anything is possible.

Take this scenario a step further… what happens if you start the process and break the LCD? Do you have an extra phone you can use while you wait for back up parts? This is what usually happens to folks and then they are in worse shape then when they started.

Looking online at the cheap glass – $8 pieces of glass for your $600-$900 device – is more or less wishful thinking; the profiteering off cheap products and false hope. The folks that sell this have no obligation to refund your money because of your skill level. Our advise – pay a fair price to have your device repaired – you will be much more satisfied with your product and it will last much longer. What angers us, and should anger all consumers – is the way these parts are marketed to the public. They are cheap enough that most people will not make too big of a deal when they break or there is an issue with the repair – however, the seller makes a ton of money (a business idea for the evil miser out there).