Update

Good News! Since this article was first written in 2017, we’ve invested considerable time and money in equipment for glass refurbishment and we can now carry out glass-only repairs on a wide range of Samsung screens. These include:-

  • Samsung Galaxy Note 8
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 9
  • Samsung Galaxy S5
  • Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
  • Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
  • Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

We’re also able to carry out repairs on a wide range of Apple iPhone and iPad devices (not listed here). Please ask for further details through our Dundee shop or via “Disc Depot St Andrews”.
We’ve kept the original article below, but please note that a lot of this is now out of date. The part about replacing the glass yourself still applies, though! As mentioned above, we’re now able to carry out these glass replacement repairs only after investing considerable time and money- without this, it’s unlikely to be worth your time and risk.

Introduction

Many people come to us asking how much a screen repair for a Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 Plus (S8+), S7 Edge or S6 Edge will be. The bad news is that replacement Samsung AMOLED screens cost a lot, and this is why our repair price is relatively high for these models.

Many people have only broken the glass, not the screen itself, and wonder if that alone can be replaced for a lower price. We sympathise with this, but the answer is unfortunately no. We’ll explain why here.

The Reason Replacement Displays Cost So Much

Screens for many of Samsung’s mobile phones are infamously expensive- frequently the cost of a replacement can be nearly as much as a used phone. This is because their higher-end models (including the S8, S7 and S6 lines) use AMOLED (active matrix organic LED) technology rather than the LCDs typical of most phones. These are more difficult- and hence expensive- to produce, something that’s reflected in the selling price. In addition, the manufacturers of compatible screens- typically based in China- have not yet created a compatible replacement for the newest models.

Replacement Screens Options

Generally, when it comes to replacing the screen on your Samsung, there are three choices:-

  • Third-party “copy” screens are available for older phones (e.g. S5 and S4), but aren’t all that reliable and use more regular LCD technology rather than AMOLED.
  • Genuine Samsung screens can be obtained via service packs, but supply is generally limited. (A service pack can be seen in the images below).
  • Official Samsung screens can also be obtained via refurbished sources, i.e. taken from other handsets. Supply and demand keeps the cost of fixable displays high, which bumps up the end price of even refurb screens.

Samsung’s official Service Pack is easily the best and most consistently reliable option- as it ought to be, since it’s the most expensive- and we tend to use this if possible. They contain entirely new AMOLED screens made by Samsung themselves, and come complete with everything needed to install them to brand-new standard. Unfortunately, they’re only usually available for newer phones.

Other stores might use refurb Samsung screens. These often come without adhesive or frame, meaning one has to be taken from the older display. If the frame is fitted incorrectly, this can cause problems later, for example, the display lifting from the frame and breaking, or pink lines on the display. (Note that some stores will blame you for this and refuse a warranty claim, even though it’s their responsibility).

Refurbished displays can also vary significantly in quality, depending upon who carried out the process. Some have dust trapped inside or other imperfections, and the glass often isn’t up to Samsung’s standards, being thinner and more easily broken.

The Important Points

  • Replacement display repairs for S6 Edge, S7 Edge, S8 and S8 Plus phones are expensive. The reason is that official replacement screens are themselves very expensive, and even refurbs are quite expensive due to limited supply.
  • For this reason, we’re often asked to do glass-only repairs. Unfortunately, we don’t.
  • The reason is that while replacement glass kits are cheap, actually replacing the glass without damaging the screen itself is near impossible, even if the technician is experienced. As a result, shops offering this service would probably lose more paying to replace broken screens than they were ever likely to make replacing the glass alone.
  • Some stores attempt to pass the cost onto the customer, requring them to pay if the screen breaks. In most cases, it’s impossible to judge how good they are- and what the risk is- or whether they’ll be truthful when it comes to breakages.
  • Glass replacement is only really practical if you have a large factory with the economies of scale needed to justify the required investment in equipment. Those trying to do this in small stores or workshops generally have to use inferior techniques.
  • Margins are narrow when it comes to repairing Samsung displays- this is why we’d expect most places to have comparable prices. Where a service is substantially cheaper, it’s possible the company may be using stolen parts or not properly declaring their VAT.

Service Packs and Refurbished Screens


 
Samsung Galaxy Edge Service Pack

 
Samsung Galaxy Edge Service Pack

 
Refurbished Screen

 
Refurbished Screen

 

Why Doesn’t Disk Depot Offer Glass-Only Repairs?

Almost Impossible, Even for the Best

As mentioned above, many people are disappointed at the high price of Samsung S6 Edge, S7 Edge and S8/S8+ repairs and ask us to carry out a glass-only repair. We can sympathise, but there are good reasons we don’t do this.

Many people understand that replacement glass kits can be bought for £20 on eBay. Sounds good? What those sellers don’t tell you is that there’s a horrible catch. Unless you have a large factory setup, replacing the glass on a curved display like the S8 is incredibly hard to do consistently without breaking the screens themselves. This is the case even for technicians skilled in doing it on other phones.

Too Much Risk for Too Little Profit

This explains quite simply why shops won’t offer cheap, glass-only repairs. They might in theory be able to make a decent profit from charging what most people would consider a reasonable price… but it would almost certainly be outweighed by major losses from covering the cost of broken screens.

For example, at the time of writing, an S7 Edge Service Pack costs £260. If the customer was charged £100 for glass replacement, but the screen got broken, even that decent profit could turn into a major loss. It’s just not worth it.

Maybe you’ll find a store that will attempt this on the condition that the customer covers the cost of the replacement screen if the original gets broken. But how do you know what their skills are like (and how big a risk it is) or whether they’re being honest when they claim that the screen got broken and that’s another £150 please? Once you’ve agreed to the repair, you can’t take the phone elsewhere in its original condition.

Leave Glass Replacement to Factories in China

Glass replacement can make business sense, but only when you have the economies of scale of a factory setup and can then justify investing in clean rooms, freezers to separate screens, facilities to use OCA, proprietary moulds and other techniques needed to do things correctly. These factories- usually based in China- then sell the screens on as refurbs.

This is impractical for small stores who can only afford basic machinery and use LOCA rather than OCA. LOCA is liquid glue that is spread over the LCD to bond the glass. Unfortunately, it smells bad, can leave excess glue inside the phone and trap dust. It’s just not worth it; at the very least, you’re as well using a factory-refurbished display.

Is It Possible to Save Money At All?

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of margin in repairing Samsung screens, and for this reason, we’d expect most stores to cost around the same price. If we saw someone much cheaper, we’d be asking how they could afford this- are they buying displays stripped from stolen handsets (a favourite of Gumtree buyers looking for “locked” or “no service” phones) or are they failing to correctly declare their VAT?