iPhone 17 Pro Max Repair in Saugus. Screens back in about an hour.

If the back broke and the screen did not, the bill may not go the way you expect

Let us get the awkward part out of the way, because it is better heard here than felt at the register. On this phone, fixing a shattered back costs more than fixing a shattered screen. Most people assume the opposite and we do not blame them.

The reason is how Apple built it. The front glass is tough enough that displays regularly survive a fall onto asphalt. The rear glass is fixed into the body of the phone instead of clipping off, so putting a new one on means opening the phone right up and working for hours, not swapping a panel in minutes.

What that means for you is simple: do not guess from what you can see. A free basic diagnostic takes about 10 minutes and gives you the actual number for your actual phone. If you do not like it, you take the phone home and you owe us nothing.

Tell us if it landed on a corner. A phone this heavy sends that impact along the frame, so we check the camera glass and the side buttons as well rather than stopping at the obvious damage.

Face ID will still work when you get it back

This is the thing people worry about most with a screen replacement, and the answer is yes. The hardware that unlocks your phone with your face lives in your broken screen, and moving it carefully onto the new one is part of the job. Done right, your phone unlocks exactly as it did the day before the drop.

The one exception is honest and unavoidable: if the impact physically destroyed that hardware, Face ID cannot be restored by us or by anyone, because Apple ties those parts to your individual phone. Any shop that promises otherwise is selling you something. We check yours during the free diagnostic, before money comes into it.

Two more things we say at the counter on any current iPhone. Your phone will note in Settings when a screen or battery did not come from Apple, and a few display features can behave slightly differently depending on the grade of panel you pick. Everything keeps working. Finding it out at home just feels like a secret was kept, so we tell you first.

Nothing on your phone gets erased

Photos, messages, apps, and logins all stay put. Screens, batteries, cameras, and charge ports never require touching your data, and we do not wipe devices.

We ask for your passcode for one reason: so we can test the repair before you walk out with it. That means checking touch across the whole screen, Face ID, every camera, charging, and the speakers. Your Apple account password is not something we need or will ask for.

Back it up first if you want to. It is a sensible habit no matter who has your phone.

Timing, parts, and which screen to choose

A screen is about an hour once the panel is in hand. Back glass on this model runs into hours of bench time, so plan on leaving the phone and we will call you with an update rather than making you wonder.

This is the newest phone in the lineup, so parts are the scarcest and priciest they will ever be. When we do not have yours on hand, you get the arrival date while you are standing there. That is more useful to you than a promise to call.

On part grades, our advice flips on a phone this new. On an older handset we recommend the cheaper screen without hesitation. Here we usually point people at the best panel available, because you will own this phone for years and the display is what you paid for. A quality aftermarket screen is still a fair choice and plenty of people take it. What differs is color accuracy, how readable it is in direct sun, and how the always-on display looks. We put both prices in front of you and let you decide.

Either way, our Limited Lifetime Warranty covers the part we installed and the work we did. It does not cover the next drop, and we will say so before you ask.

Repair, claim, or trade?

Set against buying a new Pro Max, every repair on this page is the cheaper route by a long way, back glass included. So the default answer is repair it.

Two things change that. Several serious faults on one phone can stack into a number that stops making sense, and we will tell you rather than quietly quoting it. And if the phone is still under Apple's coverage or you carry insurance on it, that may be the better path. We handle insurance claim repairs, so mention it at the counter and we will point you the right direction.

When moving on is genuinely smarter, we buy phones including damaged ones through our buyback, and our pre-owned inventory is tested and warrantied. A pre-owned Pro one or two generations back is very often the best value in the store, and telling you that costs us a repair ticket and earns a customer who comes back for years.

Everything else that comes in on this model

• Charging trouble. New cable first, it is free and it works more often than you would think. Next is a port packed with pocket lint, which we normally clear during the diagnostic at no charge.
• Battery fading. Early for this generation, though heavy users notice. We read the real health numbers rather than guessing, so nobody pays for a battery that was fine.
• Blurry or streaky photos. Usually a cracked cover over the camera, not a dead camera. Much cheaper, and we check it first every time.
• A camera that really has failed. The zoom camera on a Max is the priciest Apple ships, so ruling out the cheap cause first is not a formality.
• Water. The factory rating assumes an undamaged, sealed phone. After a drop that is a question mark. Power it off and bring it straight here.
• A repair somebody else started. Happens often. Bring the parts that came out and the free diagnostic tells you where you stand.

No appointment needed

Walk in any day we are open. Bring the phone and your passcode, and mention any coverage you might have on it. That is all there is to it.

The bench sits in the open in the same room as the counter, because there are no curtains around our repair tables. We have been locally owned and operated since 2011, and we would rather you watch than wonder.