A cracked screen or a dying battery doesn’t mean you need a new phone. But some repairs, like water damage on a newer iPhone with no coverage, cost almost as much as a new one. Ask yourself these three questions and you’ll know.
1. Does your phone still get updates?
This matters more than how old it is. A phone that stopped getting security updates gets sketchier every month, so throwing money at it rarely makes sense.
- Galaxy S24 and newer: seven years of updates
- Google Pixel 8 and newer: seven years of updates
- iPhone: Apple doesn’t promise a set number, but recent iPhones usually get iOS updates for six years or more
If yours has at least two years of updates left, a repair is usually worth thinking about.
2. How does the repair compare to replacing it?
Simple rule of thumb: if the repair costs more than half of what you’d pay for a similar phone, new or refurbished, lean toward replacing it. Here’s how the usual suspects stack up:
| Repair | Official price | Usually worth it? |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | $69 – $129 (iPhone) | Yes, almost always |
| Cracked screen | $174 – $289 (Galaxy S), $129 – $379 (iPhone) | Yes, if the phone gets updates |
| Back glass (iPhone 15 and newer) | $159 | Yes |
| Won’t charge | Often free to fix yourself | Try our 9 fixes first |
| Water or “other” damage (iPhone) | $519 – $899 on most recent models | Usually no, unless you’re covered |
3. Are you covered?
Check before you decide. With coverage, even the scary repairs get cheap:
- AppleCare+: $29 for a screen or back glass, $99 for other damage, and a free battery under 80% health
- Samsung Care+: a set deductible instead of the full price
- Your carrier’s protection plan, or a credit card that covers your phone when you pay the bill with it
Fix it if…
- It’s less than about four years old and still gets updates
- Only one thing is broken, like the screen or the battery
- The repair is way under half the price of a replacement
- You’ve got AppleCare+, Samsung Care+ or carrier insurance
Replace it if…
- It doesn’t get software updates anymore
- A bunch of things are failing at once: screen, battery, charging port
- It’s water damage and you’re not covered
- The repair quote is close to what the phone is worth
Do the math in 10 seconds
Our free repair or replace calculator takes your repair quote, the cost of a replacement and your phone’s age, and tells you which way to lean. No quote yet? The repair cost estimator shows typical prices for your model.
Repair prices are Apple’s and Samsung’s official US prices as of October 2026.
