I recently dropped off my phone at a local repair shop for a screen replacement. However, I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the repair process.
The technicians claimed they would not remove any screws and seem to have deviated from the repair guide I provided from Purism. They also said they do not need any thermal paste. While I typically trust professional tech support, their approach has raised some red flags for me.
I’m scheduled to pick up my phone tomorrow, and I’m worried about potential damage.
Is there any way they haven’t damaged the phone? I did not know you could repair it without removing the screws.
Are there any signs I should look for to ensure my device hasn’t been damaged during the repair? I believe the tech repair shop is insured.
The how-to for the screen replacement specifically does not mention thermal paste as such (Screen replacement - Purism user documentation) but the process requires removing motherboard which has the main processor thermally connected to back of screen to dissipate heat - and yes, there some paste is needed. But are they miscommunicating that part (talking just about screen replacement) or re-using the old paste (not good, but may work - any good service should clean it and put new) or maybe they replaced it with a thermal pad (doubt it), or maybe they really did not make sure the CPU’s main heatsink (screen) is properly connected…?
Also, the screen replacement doesn’t involve screws as such (the part of screen replacement specifically, according to the official how-to), although preceding opening of the case and removing other parts does - this could be just some miscommunication.
If the screen is correctly replaced, it should look like new, and if it shows you proper image and takes touch commands on all areas, then it should work. And if the thermal paste is not there, you can pretty quickly see CPU heat rising with some use. So, power-on the phone in the shop to see.
Thank you so much for your response. I will turn it on in the store and check the CPU temperature.
It was the weirdest interaction. I sent them the guide, but they said they would not need to unscrew anything, so I am a bit baffled by the interaction. They also said they do not need thermal paste.
I left some Corsair thermal paste with them and hoping it was some miscommunication and their tech was able to find out how to repair it properly. I am just worried that them not following the guide may lead to potential damage.I will update tomorrow.
As a side note, I believe I have interacted with you before on here @JR-Fi and wanted to let you know that I immensely appreciate your responses and support.
If I’m not mistaken, the L5 heat sensors should shut down the device in time if it overheats, so there shouldn’t be damages (unless the heat gets extreme). That’s a clear case of not doing the fix properly. More annoying case would be that it’s done “almost ok” and the thermal is “so-so” and the heat problem is more random and intermittent, which may not be easy/possible to see at the shop or to prove - that would/should just lead to needing new fix to put new thermal paste and seating the motherboard (so, no end of the world). It’s also remotely possible that they’ve never had a phone that has used screen as CPU heatsink and didn’t realize what it was, so ignored the paste and may just need to be explained it. Let’s hope it was just miscommunication.
Are there any other components that are easily damaged? I am worried they just put it on a hot plate and removed it. But, was unsure if perhaps this would damage any other components.
Hotplate is not uncommon technique to use with screens (not necessarily bad thing), so hard to say if it has any effect, but they still need to connect the screen cable too so it seems unlikely that’s happening without opening it.