How to prepare your phone for a repair

Back up, protect your data and bring what the technician needs. The short checklist:

1. Back up to iCloud, Google or Samsung Cloud while the phone still works.
2. Turn on your phone's repair mode if it has one: Samsung's Maintenance mode or Google's Repair Mode on Pixel.
3. Keep your passwords to yourself. Apple says never to give your Apple Account password, device passcode or account security details to anyone else.
4. Bring the phone and the cable you normally use and, if you have them, the original box or the model details.
5. Say what matters most: if the photos or data matter more than the repair, tell the technician first.

Apple, Samsung and Google all recommend a backup before a repair, because data can be lost even when the plan is a simple part swap.

On an iPhone, connect to Wi-Fi, open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud › iCloud Backup › Back Up Now, and wait for it to finish. Apple also asks you to check that iCloud has finished syncing: under Settings › your name › iCloud, the "Saved to iCloud" status should be green.

On Android, open Settings › Google services › All services › Backup and turn Backup on (menu names vary between phones); on a Pixel, Google's path is Settings › System › Backup › Backup Now. Samsung also offers a temporary Samsung Cloud backup from the Maintenance mode screen, kept for 30 days. If the screen is cracked but still responds, back up now: a damaged display can stop responding at any time.

For a repair at an Apple Store or an Apple Authorised Service Provider, Apple's checklist is: back up, make sure iCloud has finished syncing, turn off Apple Cash, remove cards and passes from Wallet, and check Parts and Service History in Settings. Then deal with Find My:

• iOS 27 and later: turn on Ready for Repair or Trade-In in the Find My app (select the device, tap More, then Repair or Trade In, then Enable). The iPhone stays secure and findable during the repair.
• iOS 26 and earlier: turn off Find My in Settings › your name › Find My.

For an independent repair, ask the shop what it needs: a standard screen replacement at A1 Computers doesn't require erasing the phone. If you turn Find My off for any repair, turn it back on when you get the phone back.

It hides your data during the repair. Introduced with Android 14 and One UI 6.0, Maintenance mode creates a separate account on the Galaxy: your photos, messages and files stay out of reach, only pre-installed apps can be opened and your accounts are logged out. Apps downloaded during the repair are deleted when you leave it.

Turn it on in Settings › Battery and device care › Maintenance mode, or from the Samsung Members app. You need a screen lock (PIN, password, pattern or fingerprint) to switch it on, and the same lock to switch it off afterwards, so you don't have to share it with anyone. Samsung still says to back up first, because data could be lost during a repair. Supported phones include the Galaxy S10 and later, the Z Fold and Z Flip families and the Note10 and Note20.

It is Google's version of the same idea. When you turn on Repair Mode, the Pixel restarts into a clean copy of Android in a separate, secure partition, so a technician can run diagnostics without seeing your data and without a factory reset. When you leave Repair Mode, anything created during the repair is removed.

Repair Mode needs a Pixel phone on the Android 14 December 2023 update or later, with at least 2 GB of free space; you'll find it under Settings › System. Google still recommends backing up before every repair, because if a part that affects storage has to be replaced, the data must be deleted even with Repair Mode on. Google also suggests removing your SIM card and keeping it with you.

The phone, the cable you normally use and, if you have them, the original box or the model details from Settings, so the exact model can be confirmed quickly. Say what happened (a drop, the sea, a sudden black screen) and whether the data or the phone matters more. There is no need to book: A1 Computers takes walk-ins at Local 4, CC San Eugenio, Av. de los Pueblos 20, Costa Adeje, Monday–Saturday 10:45–21:30 and Sunday 10:45–14:00.

After a screen or board repair, features such as touch, the cameras and Face ID are tested before you leave, where they apply. If a test needs the phone unlocked or an account signed in, do it yourself at the counter rather than handing over passwords. For a laptop, bring the charger too.

Test everything you use before you leave the counter: touch across the whole screen, brightness, both cameras, Face ID or the fingerprint sensor, the speakers and microphone, charging with your own cable, and mobile data with your SIM. Then put your protections back:

• Turn Find My back on if you turned it off for the repair, as Apple reminds you to.
• Leave Maintenance mode or Repair Mode with your own screen lock; anything created during the repair is removed.
• Check that your data is all there, and restore from your backup if anything is missing.

If something doesn't work as it should, say so straight away, while the technician can still look at it.