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levmc

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 18, 2019
687
25
It's home button is not functioning well as well as the power button on the top. Also it doesn't charge unless the cable is pushed down while connected.

Would it be not worth it?
 
Unless you can get it fixed nearly for free, most likely not. The money is better put towards a secondhand 6S or 7 so you can at least be on the latest iOS.
 
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Your looking at $50 minimum in parts if you repair it yourself. The phone is probably worth $25, maybe $50 if everything works.. I’d get a used SE if you like the form factor..
 
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Objectively no, but then again the 5C is one of the coolest iPhones Apple has ever made. I’m glad they made a spiritual successor.
 
If you are on the ATT network you can get a new 6s on ATT prepaid for $175+ tax. Can't unlock it without 6 months directly with ATT Prepaid. $150 + $25 for credit that doesn't have to be used. And can use apps released the last few years.
 
Not worth it from a performance standpoint.

Particularly so if you're on Verizon since they're shutting down 3G/CDMA after 2020 so you won't be able to make calls on any device without VoLTE support (so 5s and older).
 
I agree with everyone else on this. It definitely makes more sense to upgrade. My 5s is in pristine condition. It only needed a new battery, but instead of spending $50+ on a new battery, I decided to upgrade. I figured there is little chance that Apple will support 5s much longer, so it just made sense to put that money toward a newer phone.
 
I agree with the others mostly, it’s not worth it in my opinion. Get a newer device.
 
Have a look inside, could just be a bit of gunk or something not aligned correctly. It’s easy enough to take apart.

If you do need to spend anything on parts though, I wouldn’t bother. It’s app support will be running dry and as a whole the thing is just really outdated, would not recommend it as a daily driver.
 
It's home button is not functioning well as well as the power button on the top. Also it doesn't charge unless the cable is pushed down while connected.

Would it be not worth it?

Have you even researched if certain repair shops would even consider fixing an iPhone 5c? I can tell you right now, repair shops in my area don’t service an iPhone 5c, [iPhone 6 and up is serviceable]. Parts are more difficult to come across for an iPhone 5c (Unless they are being sourced from eBay) it’s generally _not_ a phone that is in third party repair stores.

When you factor in cost V.S. what the phone is worth, not sure why anyone would fix a 5C, when you could probably purchase one for what it will cost you to actually pay for the labor/parts. (Unless this 5C has a personal value to you.)
 
^^^ Agreed. Once I discovered my 5s's battery was not holding a charge as well as it once did, I rang some shops to find out who could put in a new battery for me, how soon, and for what cost. I was shocked by what I was told.

First stop was Best Buy. They said they had stopped servicing the 5s a good while back and had no parts for it. Then, I contacted some smaller shops near my home, and I was told the same exact thing. I could have spent a lot more time trying to search out a shop that might still have a battery in stock for it, but all things considered, why bother?

The only option I had was to send it to Apple to replace the battery, but the cost to do so would have been $50+, and I would have had to do without my phone whilst it was sent to them, the battery replaced, and then the phone posted back to me. I could have lived with that if I thought the phone was going to be supported another 3, 4, or more years, but I knew it was becoming too old for Apple to support it. iPhone 11 had already been released, and I was still using 5s. As much as I wished it was not so, I knew it was time to move on because everything else aside, my first thought was that Apple was not going to support the 5s for more than one more year at most. I could pay for a battery, but why do it if the phone was not going to be supported for more than 10-12 more months at MOST. I would have to get another phone by then anyway. Better to put that $50+ toward a new phone, which was what I did. The cost of a new battery equaled the tax paid on my new phone. It was definitely the right decision but hardly rocket science in deciding it.
 
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iPhone 11 had already been released, and I was still using 5s. As much as I wished it was not so, I knew it was time to move on because everything else aside, my first thought was that Apple was not going to support the 5s for more than one more year at most. I could pay for a battery, but why do it if the phone was not going to be supported for more than 10-12 more months at MOST.
Technically, we already knew the 5s (along with 6 and 6+) was no longer supported back when iOS 13 beta rolled out early this year.
 
Have you even researched if certain repair shops would even consider fixing an iPhone 5c? I can tell you right now, repair shops in my area don’t service an iPhone 5c, [iPhone 6 and up is serviceable]. Parts are more difficult to come across for an iPhone 5c (Unless they are being sourced from eBay) it’s generally _not_ a phone that is in third party repair stores.

When you factor in cost V.S. what the phone is worth, not sure why anyone would fix a 5C, when you could probably purchase one for what it will cost you to actually pay for the labor/parts. (Unless this 5C has a personal value to you.)
Ifixit has a surprising amount of replacement hardware for the 5C and the prices I listed on my response to the OP came from there. It’s just not worth the cost in my opinion when he could get a gently used SE for a decent price now..
 
Ifixit has a surprising amount of replacement hardware for the 5C and the prices I listed on my response to the OP came from there. It’s just not worth the cost in my opinion when he could get a gently used SE for a decent price now..

I don’t doubt that you can find the parts online to fix the iPhone 5c, but third-party repair stores probably are a lesser value, considering that phone was produced almost 7 years ago, where they wouldn’t have interchangeable parts readily available.

But as I mentioned, unless this phone has some type of sentimental value, then I wouldn’t even consider repairing it, and just purchase one from a reputable seller.
 
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You may have known that, rui no onna, but I did not know it. I am not a technophile. I only look at phones and computers once I know what I have has run its course. It is not something I keep up with on a yearly basis, much less more often than that.
 
Your looking at $50 minimum in parts if you repair it yourself. The phone is probably worth $25, maybe $50 if everything works.. I’d get a used SE if you like the form factor..
Parts for the 5C are extremely cheap, iFixit just has an insane markup.

I say if you have the time, make a fun repair project out of it and gain some experience from it. If you're successful, I can promise someone someone will buy it and you'll make a little profit. If not, at least you're not out that much money :)
 
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