Hey all,

so my blackberry bold kinda just crapped out on me today.
basically i have a white screen and nothing else whenever i turn my phone on.
i've tried removing the battery and crap a bunch of times, doesn't work...

normally i'd go to pmall to fix this up but since i'm not in Toronto and i won't be able to go back anytime soon...i was wondering if anyone could suggest some reliable (and cheap?) places for me to go to in Hamilton to get my phone fixed.

any help would be appreciated...


thanks in advance

First of all I would suggest contacting RIM support for options. If they are quiet there's nothing you can do. I have never seen cell phone repair shops in Canada, while those that I have seen elsewhere would charge you so much it aint worth it, and all those unsertified home grown geniuses either can't do much to it, or trash something else while repairing it, or replace the damaged part along with something pricey to something cheap and barely working.

So the answer is to get a new phone, that would be less expensive and time consuming.

Whoever would 'fix' your phone would probably just try reload the OS and charge you a bunch of money. I don't have any experience with blackberries...sorry. . but maybe somebody on here would know, or of course, at a local warranty centre for your provider. Typically those guys in the mall that unlock phones have the expertise to do this as well.

Originally Posted by AngryBean

First of all I would suggest contacting RIM support for options. If they are quiet there's nothing you can do. I have never seen cell phone repair shops in Canada, while those that I have seen elsewhere would charge you so much it aint worth it, and all those unsertified home grown geniuses either can't do much to it, or trash something else while repairing it, or replace the damaged part along with something pricey to something cheap and barely working.

So the answer is to get a new phone, that would be less expensive and time consuming.

Pardon me if I'm being offensive, but how long have you been in Canada for? There are probably over a dozen in Hamilton alone, more in the GTA, and hundreds nation-wide. :l Just seemed like a pretty weird statement to make, especially since from the rest of your posts you've seemed like a reasonably smart dude.

I've explored a few repair shops when I had to get my phone's screen replaced, but the best price and service I got was from this admittedly sketchy place. You're free to Google around (they also advertise on Kijiji though, I assume different shops offer different prices for different parts and labour.

The only place I'd anti-recommend is Mobilinq at Limeridge Mall. They promised me two-day service but I didn't get a call back in week, and when I arranged to pick my phone up 'cause I was sick of waiting I was told it was left in the "lab" in North York so I had to wait even longer.

There are a bunch in the downtown/Jackson Square area so just take a night to explore. I also have a lot more faith in repair guys than AngryBean does, I've found a lot of them know what they're doing and if you're a likable enough of a person you can probably negotiate some kind of discount if you pay cash.

I'm gonna agree with Entropy and that you should check out some places around Hamilton. There's one on Locke St and the owner is super friendly, approachable, and willing to figure out a deal with you if you're polite enough. The place on John St mentioned above is also good.

Along with Mobilinq, there's a place on King St right beside Cheapies Record Store downtown in Jackson Sq that offered a good price on my phone repair but was completely unreliable on getting my phone back in the time they said--I had a rental phone for about two weeks because they "accidentally sold" the part I needed to someone else. Phone was good when I got it back, but I would not recommend them just because of the aggravation.

Pardon me if I'm being offensive

No, never.

There are probably over a dozen in Hamilton alone, more in the GTA, and hundreds nation-wide. :l Just seemed like a pretty weird statement to make, especially since from the rest of your posts you've seemed like a reasonably smart dude.

That might be because there aren't hundreds, but a couple of places in Hamilton. Which are hard to come by.

In the reviews to those places there are people complaining that the repairmen often broke something else while repairing or the phone stopped functioning shortly after. Which proves what I said about unofficial repair.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by AngryBean

Pardon me if I'm being offensive

No, never.

There are probably over a dozen in Hamilton alone, more in the GTA, and hundreds nation-wide. :l Just seemed like a pretty weird statement to make, especially since from the rest of your posts you've seemed like a reasonably smart dude.

That might be because there aren't hundreds, but a couple of places in Hamilton. Which are hard to come by.

In the reviews to those places there are people complaining that the repairmen often broke something else while repairing or the phone stopped functioning shortly after. Which proves what I said about unofficial repair.

Cheers.

Just so I have an idea, how much do people pay to get their phones fixed? I am sure you are right about quality of fixing since it is really easy for them to screw something up, with the high cost of buying a new blackberry or iphone it would end up being much cheaper to at least give it a shot

Update:

Got my phone fixed.
Shelled out 100 dollars for it .____. pmall would have done it for 40, lol i almost cried. but honestly i didn't have much of a choice by that point.
guess i should STOP DROPPING MY PHONE all the time.

Got it done at the place mentioned above on John St.,
thanks for the input everyone

Originally Posted by ellerytc

Update:

Got my phone fixed.
Shelled out 100 dollars for it .____. pmall would have done it for 40, lol i almost cried. but honestly i didn't have much of a choice by that point.
guess i should STOP DROPPING MY PHONE all the time.

Got it done at the place mentioned above on John St.,
thanks for the input everyone

Do you know what was wrong with it?

basically the whole LCD screen had to get replaced...
dropped it too many times i think :/