We’re a repair shop, so you’d expect us to always say “repair”. We don’t — telling a customer to stop spending on a dying device is part of honest service, and we do it weekly. Here’s the framework we actually use across the counter in Guwahati.
Start with the 50% rule
If the repair costs less than half of what replacing the device would cost you — not the launch price, but what you’d actually pay for a suitable replacement today — repair is almost always right, provided the device otherwise does what you need.
Between 50% and 80%, it depends on the factors below. Above 80%, replacement usually wins unless the device holds something irreplaceable (data, a specific port, a paid app ecosystem you’d lose).
Factor in the device’s remaining life
The repair isn’t buying you a fixed part — it’s buying years of remaining service. That’s where device type matters:
- iPhones: a battery replacement on a 3-year-old iPhone typically buys 2–3 more comfortable years. The real ceiling is iOS support — check how many years of updates your model likely has left.
- iPads: the longevity champions. Usage is lighter, models stay supported long, and a 5-year-old iPad with a new battery or screen routinely serves 3 more years. iPads are almost always worth repairing.
- MacBooks: the most repair-worthy per rupee, because replacement costs the most. A battery + SSD-era machine with a single fault is usually an easy repair call. The exception: machines with accumulating faults — see below.
- iMacs: similar math to MacBooks, with one bonus — upgrades (SSD, RAM on older models) can transform performance for less than any replacement.
The two overriding situations
Repair regardless of math: your data is trapped inside. A dead device holding un-backed-up photos changes the equation completely — on iPhones and modern Macs, reviving the original board is the only path to the data. Recover first; decide the device’s future second.
Replace regardless of math: the failure cascade. When a device needs its third repair in six months — battery, then port, then board — it’s telling you something. Age-related failures cluster. We’ll say so plainly when we see the pattern.
Questions worth asking your repair shop
- What does this repair cost, and what would all current faults cost together?
- How many years of software support does my model have left?
- Is anything else on this device close to failing (battery health, storage age)?
- If it were your device, what would you do?
Any shop unwilling to answer the last one straight isn’t advising you — it’s selling to you. At iFix Guwahati the diagnosis is free and the recommendation is honest, whichever way it points. Bhangagarh, Shillong Road · +91 91271 99144.
