My wife's SE K550i recently had some problems. Why does it happen that issues appear after just a few months the warranty has expired ? Her SUN SIM card suddenly was not able to be seen by the phone and her battery suddenly ballooned. So I got a new battery which was the easy part. But then as I inspected the phone on why the SIM was not read, the SIM PINS was damaged. 1 pin was pushed up and 1 SIM was broken off. I wanted Sony Ericsson service center to see the unit since I bought it from them more than a year ago.
After just a minute of inspecting by the attendant and forwarding it to the technician inside their shop, I was given a "You need to BUY a NEW PHONE" impression by the attendant. She told me the phone was exposed to liquid based on the indicator in the phone. That was unfortunate for me since my wife places the phone together with the baby stuff for my daughter. Most likely with the baby bottles, milk, and diapers that is a expected. However since this is out of warranty, that won't matter since I have to pay already.
But then the thing that I was disappointed was the next one she told me. The SIM PINS are damaged and that is connected to the main board plus the battery connectors have electrically shorted out. For short, a new board for the unit is needed and the cost is as if I bought a new phone. I asked if they can still repair it just to make it work. Their answer is "NO".
Greatly disappointed, I had no choice but to look for a 3rd party cellphone repair service in SM NORTH cyberzone. What I don't like with such 3rd party providers is that if this is your first time to have a phone repaired with them, you are not sure regarding the skill of the technician. Good thing the one that I had this phone brought to was a good one. TOPWIN Telecom Trading corporation is the name of the shop. (need to advertise it since I am happy with their technician) It is near Sun cell shop in cyberzone. I told the technician the problem with the battery and the SIM pins. After inspecting the unit, he told me that he will be able to repair it without replacing the board. After an hour, the SIM Pins was repaired, the battery contact points was cleaned and the phone was working again!!!!!
The limitation/reminders he told me are the following:
1. The SIM pin that is broken was a patchup. He had to do a makeshift pin that is welded to replace the broken one. That is understandable since you can't remove the SIM holder which is attached directly to the mother board.
2. Never overcharge the battery since it may again bloat the new one and damage the contact points.
3. Avoid exposure to water or liquids again, it may not survive the next round. Which I concur, that made me buy a semi-water resistant pouch and placed it inside a zip lock for double protection. That added a 100 pesos cost but in comparison to a new phone, that is acceptable.
Total cost of the repair? 500 pesos compared to the 560 pesos labor for SE plus the main board. What I can say is that is a good price difference.
Final analysis:
If your phone is within warranty coverage and not damaged by any liquid exposure, then SE service center is a good place to bring your unit, since it will be free of charge.
BUT....
If your phone is damaged not covered by warranty such as liquid exposure or even if out of warranty already, looking for a good 3rd party repair service is a better option. Since the technician can try to find ways to repair your unit to be usable till your next scheduled purchase unlike in Sony Ericsson wherein damaged part equals replace the whole module or part.
Now if only Sony Ericsson has a bright idea of making a 3rd party repair service to do such odd or "non-serviceable" units for them that would be added business income. But I guess that is not within their line of thinking, what they want is for you to purchase a new one. Which I am happy that I won't do until my next scheduled purchase or when my retention plan comes in.
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