Should I fix my Samsung Galaxy S8 or S9?

Introduction

Released in 2017 and 2018, respectfully, these phones are starting to show their age. Over time, your phone may experience reduced speeds for a number of reasons.

Lithium Ion batteries, such as those in smartphones, have around a two year shelf life before they start to lose their longevity. This can also be observed at around 80% battery life or 500 charge cycles.

General hardware wear and tear or software updates can also cause your device to operate slowly.

If you’re experiencing any of these problems, we recommend coming into your nearest Gophermods locations to have one of our specialists diagnose your specific issue.

But what if you’ve got something else wrong with your phone, like a broken screen? Some of these Galaxy S8 repairs or Galaxy S9 repairs can be rather expensive (see why so expensive), so it can be difficult to know when a repair or a replacement is right for you.

Luckily, we hope to share some information to make that decision easier for you.

Should I fix a cracked screen on my Galaxy S8 or S9?

Repairing your broken Galaxy is almost always better than finding a replacement. Not only is it better for the environment, but it can help you save time and money.

We recommend repairing your device in a few different situations.

• If you have data on your Galaxy S8 or S9 that you would like to keep, we recommend fixing your phone and then saving that data in a back-up, ready for your next upgrade.
• Secondly, if you only need a screen replacement, it can be more cost effective to fix it now and get a little more life out of your device.

If you have multiple issues with your device, a replacement might be a more worthwhile choice.

While these phones are reaching their end-of-life, they are still very usable and decent choices for a smartphone in today’s world.

Finally, maybe you just really like your phone now and you’d like to keep it working. We love that! And we would be more than happy to help.

How much does a screen replacement cost on a Galaxy S8 or S9?

Samsung Galaxy screen replacement repairs can vary between $179 and $209, depending on your model.

These repairs include a $59 labor fee that is standard across all of our repairs.

Most of the repair cost comes from the price of parts, making up around 75% of the cost of the repair. Hopefully, OLED prices will come down in the near future and we will be able to service your devices at a less expensive rate.

See table for our pricing.

Why are Samsung screen so expensive?

Unfortunately, the OLED displays manufactured by Samsung are very exclusive, expensive, and not as available as those for other smartphones. This is because Samsung screens are their own proprietary technology. Because they are one of the only manufacturers, they get to set the market price.

In addition, as we will discuss below, you cannot just replace the glass on a Samsung, you must replace the entire display. Keep reading to learn more about how these Samsung OLED displays are manufactured.

Additionally, while our pricing remains equal across all the different color options, cost does not. Oftentimes, a repair for a color other than black can increase the part cost by over 25%. But why does cost vary so much?

Well, generally, the most preferred smartphone color is black. In the case of the Samsung S9, black accounted for nearly 60% of all sales, according to Swappa.

With such discrepancy in market share across the colors, manufacturers choose to stock more parts for the most popular colors.

This drives the price down, because there is more competition between manufacturers, as they look to secure the lowest price possible.

However, parts for less popular colors lack abundance and often go for more as demand outweighs the supply.

How much does Samsung charge to repair a broken Galaxy S8 or S9?

Samsung charges $219 to replace the screen on both the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S9, and $229 for the Plus versions. However, if your device has any other damage, they can refuse the repair or charge you significantly more.

Plus, you’ll most likely have to ship your device to Samsung to get it repaired. We offer quicker and more affordable repairs at any of our Gophermods locations.

Where can I repair a Samsung S8 or S9?

We are happy to serve any of your Samsung Galaxy device repair needs. Gophermods has locations around the Twin Cities metro.

Can I replace just the front glass on a Galaxy S8 or S9?

If you go online and search for a Galaxy S8 or S9 screen replacement, there is a good chance you’ll come across listings for front glass lens replacements that sell for much cheaper than what a repair would run you. This is where most people feel, am I getting scammed? Did Gophermods just overcharge me?

However! Attempting to repair just the glass on a Samsung device, like the S8 or S9, is a very difficult process.

Even after more than a decade of experience, our most experienced technicians cannot consistently be successful in completing a glass only replacement.

For example, check out this popular YouTube video from Vroom Broom Zoom that shows just exactly what could go wrong if you try to attempt a glass only repair.

But why is replacing just the glass so difficult?

Well, firstly we have to understand what we are working with here. That front glass cover is just one part of the complete OLED and digitizer assembly.

To replace just that front glass, one would have to carefully remove the broken glass debris from the digitizer layer, which is extremely fragile. Additionally, OLED displays can be as thin as 2.5 mm, which means that they are extremely fragile.

As fellow Minnesotans, think of it this way. Imagine try to get all the cheese out of a Juicy Lucy and putting it back in, while leaving the burger intact…Yaaa, ain’t going to happen!

Attempting this repair requires going to great lengths, with advanced equipment, skill, and precision. Because it takes so much time, and requires specialized equipment, no professional retail repair shop will attempt to replace the glass only and offer a one or two hour turnaround time. Any reputable repair shop replaces the entire display.

This venture, much like trying to win the lottery, is rarely successful.

That is also assuming that the digitizer or OLED has not already been damaged by the trauma in the first place, which is rather rare. Black spots, white spots, bruises, or lack of touch indicate there is greater damage than just the glass. While we wish we could utilize these parts to more cheaply fix your devices, it just is not a viable option.

For example here is the displays reputable repairs shop will purchase to install on your phone. As you can see, these parts are significantly more expensive, than the scammy $19 part on Amazon that is 85% less expensive.

So what parts do we use at Gophermods? We only use the highest quality, premium displays from US vendors. We also use OEM service packs, when available, that come with original quality replacement parts for your device. Doing the math, you can see Gophermods is (a) not marking up the parts all that much (b) charges only $59 in labor. As a result, when parts prices drop, we pass those savings on to our customers.

How much does a Pre-Owned Samsung S8 or S9 Cost?

As of writing, a renewed Samsung Galaxy S9 64gb costs $139 on Amazon.

Even cheaper pricing can be found on online marketplaces like eBay.

As always, used devices can be found for less than refurbished or new devices. Because this Galaxy S8 / S9 replacement cost is below that for a screen repair, this is why we generally advise against it, unless you have data that you want. Instead, we suggest getting a replacement device or choosing a device to upgrade to.

Are the Samsung S8 and S9 still worth buying?

In our opinion, while the S8 and S9 are still viable smartphone options, there are better choices out there for consumers.

These devices are nearing the end of their life cycle and are losing software support soon. Additionally, these phones do not take advantage of new 5G bands, which are quickly becoming the standard for cell service providers. Their cameras are also showing their age, and if you’re someone who is always snapping pictures or just hoping to perfectly capture an important moment, the S8 or S9 might not be for you.

What are good devices to upgrade to from the S8 or S9?

There are many good upgrade choices currently available; some would feel very familiar, while others might be a nice change of pace. Feel free to contact us, or stop by a store and we’ll share our experience with you.

Check our new shop.gophermods.com store, where we will have a wide array of great renewed Samsung devices to purchase.

Our Professional Feedback

If you’re anything like me, I can probably guess what you’re thinking, “Thanks for telling me all of this, but why? What’s your angle CJ? You just talked me out of spending money with you…Who does that?”

If we’re being honest, sometimes it’s hard to know why our customers are looking to us for information.

Sometimes it’s just for a quote, or to validate a choice they’re thinking about making, or maybe they’re just stopping by – quick – in that moment between moments.

Whatever the reason, we’re happy to help, and we hope articles like these can help you more quickly reach the information that you’re looking for.

Our wish is that all of our customers feel as if they’ve made an educated choice that is right for them.

The information in this article is – in the ideal world – the information we would like you to have before coming to a decision about your tech, and maybe even more importantly, the time we would like our customers to invest before making their choice.

We can’t always explain everything in a 60-second phone call, so our hope is that these resources can better help you make educated choices during your, understandably, busy lives.