If you live in Dimapur, Kohima, Imphal, Aizawl, Agartala, Itanagar, Shillong or Gangtok, you already know the problem. Routine phone repair is available almost everywhere. Board-level Apple repair is not.
So the answer you usually get for a dead iPhone or a MacBook that will not power on is the same everywhere: “motherboard problem, cannot be repaired, buy a new one.”
Sometimes that is true. Often it is not — it simply means that particular workshop does not do component-level work. That is the gap that makes sending a device to Guwahati worth considering, and this page explains exactly how to do it safely.
First: is sending it actually worth it?
We would rather you did not courier a device across a state border for no reason. Work out which row you are in.
| Your situation | Honest recommendation |
|---|---|
| Cracked screen, phone otherwise fine | Repair locally if you can. Routine work, not worth the transit. |
| Battery worn, phone otherwise fine | Repair locally if you can. Same reason. |
| Phone dead, no power, no display | Worth sending — this is where board-level work is needed |
| Stuck in a boot loop with data inside | Worth sending — recovery is specialist work |
| Liquid damage | See someone locally today, then send if board work is needed — see below |
| Told “motherboard problem, cannot be repaired” | Worth sending — this is exactly the case for a second opinion |
| MacBook will not charge or power on | Worth sending — charging circuit faults are board-level |
| Quoted more to repair than the device is worth | Send us the model and fault first — we will tell you honestly if it is worth it |
If you are in the first two rows, use a local shop. We are not going to pretend otherwise to win a job.
The one fault where couriering is the wrong choice
Liquid damage.
Corrosion begins inside the device within hours of liquid reaching the board, and it keeps spreading while the device sits switched off. It does not pause for transit.
A phone that could have been saved on day one can be beyond recovery after four days in a parcel. This is the single most time-critical fault in Apple repair.
So if your device has been in water, tea, rain or a sink:
- Power it off and leave it off
- Do not charge it or plug it in
- Get it to any competent technician near you the same day to have the liquid and corrosion cleaned off the board
- If they then find board-level damage they cannot repair, that is the point to send it to us
That advice sends you to someone else first. It is still the right advice.
For the full emergency procedure, see what to do in the first minutes after liquid damage.
What you must never courier
A swollen or damaged battery. If the back of your phone is lifting, the screen is being pushed out of the frame, or a MacBook trackpad has started clicking strangely or sitting proud, the battery is swollen.
Damaged lithium batteries are a genuine fire risk and carriers restrict them — particularly by air, which is how most parcels move in and out of the hill states. Do not pack one and do not declare it as an ordinary parcel.
Message us and describe what you are seeing. We will tell you what your options are.
Before the device leaves you
Five minutes here prevents almost every problem that arises with mail-in repair.
1. Back it up
Back up to iCloud or to a computer. Repair sometimes requires a restore, and no workshop anywhere can recover data that was never backed up. If storage is the reason you have not backed up, here is how to free up enough space to do it.
2. Turn off Find My
Find My locks the device to your Apple Account. If it stays on, some repairs and most restores cannot be completed, and the device may simply have to wait until you can turn it off remotely — with your device sitting in another state.
If the device will not switch on, you cannot do this from the device. Turn it off from iCloud.com → Find Devices, or from Find My on another Apple device you own.
3. Sort out the passcode
Many faults cannot be tested without unlocking the device — a camera, a speaker, Face ID or a display cannot be verified from a lock screen. Talk to us about this before you send it rather than after. Our privacy policy explains how your data is handled.
4. Photograph it from every side
Front, back, both edges, and a close-up of any existing damage. Do this yourself, before packing. It takes a minute and it means both you and we have an agreed record of the device’s condition before transit. Any honest workshop will welcome this.
5. Strip it down
Remove the SIM tray and SIM, the case, the screen protector if it is loose, and any cable or charger. Send only the device unless we have specifically asked for the charger — with a MacBook charging fault, for example, the adapter is part of the diagnosis.
Packing it so it survives the journey
Northeast road transport is hard on parcels. Pack for the road, not for the shelf.
The rule: the device must not be able to move inside the box.
- Wrap the device in bubble wrap, then again — two layers
- Put the wrapped device in a box, not a courier flyer bag. A padded envelope is not protection for a screen
- Fill every remaining gap so nothing shifts when the box is shaken. If you can hear movement, add more
- For a MacBook, use a box with at least two inches of packing on every side
- Tape all seams
- Put a slip inside with your name, phone number and a one-line description of the fault — parcels do get separated from messages
- Keep the tracking number and send it to us on WhatsApp
Do not write “iPhone”, “MacBook” or “Apple” on the outside of the box.
What happens when it reaches us
- Logged in on arrival — condition recorded against the photos you sent
- Diagnosed — we find what is actually wrong, not what the symptom suggests
- Quoted on WhatsApp — in writing, before anything is opened or ordered. Diagnosis carries a fee, and that fee is waived if you go ahead with the repair
- You decide — no work happens without your approval. If we think the repair is not worth it, we will tell you that instead
- Repaired and tested — the fault and everything around it, so you are not sent a phone with a working screen and a dead speaker
- Couriered back — with the tracking number
Courier charges, timings and who pays which leg are confirmed with you up front when you contact us, because they depend on where you are and what the device needs. We are not going to publish a number here that turns out to be wrong for your town.
Why people send devices here rather than replacing them
Most phone shops replace parts. That is a legitimate business and it handles the majority of faults.
What is scarce across the region is the bench behind that: a microscope, hot air and soldering equipment, and someone who can diagnose a board down to the individual component. When a charging IC fails, when liquid has corroded a few traces, when a phone boot-loops with five years of photos inside — that is not a parts problem. It is a repair problem, and it needs board-level work.
A device declared dead elsewhere is often a device that simply needed a different bench.
We will not claim every device can be saved. Some boards are genuinely beyond economic repair, and severe corrosion sometimes wins. What we will do is tell you which one yours is, honestly, before you spend anything on it.
Sending from your state
Guwahati is the transit hub for the entire region, so parcels from almost everywhere in the Northeast already route through this city. Here is the practical picture state by state.
Nagaland
Dimapur, Kohima, Mokokchung, Wokha, Zunheboto, Tuensang, Mon, Phek, Chümoukedima
Dimapur is the closest major courier point to Guwahati and the easiest send in the region — it sits on the same rail and road corridor. Kohima and the eastern districts add a leg by road. Dimapur has the most local phone repair of any town in the state, so use it for routine screen and battery work; send the board-level cases on.
Manipur
Imphal, Thoubal, Churachandpur, Bishnupur, Kakching, Ukhrul, Senapati, Jiribam
Imphal parcels usually move via the Dimapur–Guwahati corridor or by air. Check current routing with your courier when you book, as road conditions on this route vary. Because transit can be longer, the liquid-damage warning above matters more here than almost anywhere — have it cleaned locally first.
Meghalaya
Shillong, Tura, Jowai, Nongstoin, Williamnagar, Baghmara, Nongpoh, Byrnihat
Shillong is barely three hours from our workshop. For Shillong, Nongpoh and Byrnihat, many people simply come in person rather than courier — it is a day trip. Tura and the Garo Hills are better served by courier.
Arunachal Pradesh
Itanagar, Naharlagun, Pasighat, Tezu, Ziro, Bomdila, Tawang, Aalo, Roing, Namsai, Along
Itanagar and Naharlagun connect through North Lakhimpur and Tezpur into Assam, which is a straightforward send. The higher and more remote districts — Tawang, Ziro, Anini — take considerably longer and weather affects the route. Specialist Apple repair is very thin on the ground across the state, which is exactly why mail-in exists.
Mizoram
Aizawl, Lunglei, Champhai, Serchhip, Kolasib, Saiha, Mamit
Aizawl parcels move by road through Silchar, or by air. Kolasib is nearest the Assam border. Transit is longer than from Nagaland or Meghalaya, so prepare the device properly before it leaves — the checklist above matters more the further the parcel travels.
Tripura
Agartala, Udaipur, Dharmanagar, Kailashahar, Belonia, Ambassa, Khowai
Agartala connects through Silchar by road and directly by air. Dharmanagar and Kailashahar in the north are closer to the Assam route. Tripura has reasonable routine phone repair in Agartala — send us what that cannot handle.
Sikkim
Gangtok, Namchi, Gyalshing, Mangan, Rangpo, Singtam, Jorethang
Sikkim is the one state that does not naturally route through Guwahati — parcels generally go via Siliguri. That is still perfectly workable, but confirm the routing when you book, and allow for the extra leg.
Assam
Nagaon, Jorhat, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur, Diphu, Karimganj, Golaghat, Barpeta, Nalbari, Hailakandi
Within Assam, mail-in is quick and a pickup can sometimes be arranged instead. There is also a branch in Nagaon. See areas we serve for the full picture.
Whichever state you are in, the sequence is the same: message us first, prepare the device, pack it properly, and get a written quote before any work begins. We are not going to quote courier timings for your specific town here — those depend on the carrier and the season, and a number that is wrong for you is worse than no number.
Where we are
iFix Guwahati — Ground Floor, Syed Market Complex, Shillong Road, near Opal Infomatics, Bhangagarh, Guwahati, Assam 781005
Guwahati is the transit point for the whole region, so parcels from the hill states generally route through here anyway.
If you are elsewhere in Assam — Nagaon, Jorhat, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Sivasagar, North Lakhimpur — see areas we serve and the pickup and mail-in page. There is also a branch in Nagaon.
Not sure whether sending it is worth it? Message us the model and what it is doing, on WhatsApp. If the answer is “get that done locally, it is not worth the courier”, that is what we will tell you.
Contact us → · Mail-in repair → · Phone: +91 91271 99144
