Methodology & sources

Price journalism only works if the reader can check the journalism. This page states exactly where every figure on DeviceFixCosts comes from, how ranges were compiled, when they are re-checked, and how to get an error corrected.

Sources

• Apple's published out-of-warranty prices, as compiled by bidiscreen.com (checked Oct 2026): iPhone screen $129–$379, and $29 (with active AppleCare+ cover — eligible screen damage); iPhone battery $69–$119; MacBook battery $149–$249.
• Apple's published Mac prices, as compiled by Talo (checked Oct 2026): MacBook screen $299–$849; MacBook logic board $399–$1,499.
• Angi cost data (cross-check source — broad national cost-data ranges used as cross-checks, not published shop menus): typical laptop repair $50–$150; laptop screen replacement $125–$200; laptop keyboard replacement $100–$120.
• Published data recovery tiers: Rossmann Repair Group published pricing — HDD data recovery $100–$2,000, head swap $1,200–$1,500; Micro Center data recovery from $249.99, as cited by ThePricer.
• Market context: uBreakiFix by Asurion's reported scale (nearly 700 U.S. stores, 24M+ devices repaired) and iFixit's traffic (approximately 9.2M monthly visits, SimilarWeb) are used only as market context, never as price evidence.

How ranges were compiled

We publish ranges, not point estimates, because repair prices are genuinely range-shaped: manufacturers price by model, and honest shops price by diagnosis. Each dataset entry on this site carries its figure, its source, and its checked date, and the same dataset renders the tables on the home page, the hubs, and the device pages, so figures cannot drift apart between pages. Where verified published data does not exist for a repair — charging ports and liquid damage are the launch examples — we say so on the page and publish the qualitative factors instead of a number. We never average anonymous quotes, never scrape a shop's price and present it as a market figure, and never rank, rate, or review repair businesses.

Update cadence

The dataset is re-checked against its published sources quarterly. Every figure carries its checked date (the launch set: October 2026). When a source changes a price between cycles and we learn of it, we update the entry and its date at the next cycle or sooner for manufacturer menu changes.

Corrections policy

If a figure on this site does not match its cited source, that is an error and we fix it. Use the contact and corrections form with the page URL and the correction; confirmed errors are corrected and the entry's checked date is updated. Suggestions for additional published sources are welcome through the same form — a source is added when it publishes prices we can attribute and date.

The repair-vs-replace calculator adds a caution note for devices six years or older, because remaining service life changes the value of a repair even when the price ratio favors it.

Publisher transparency

This site is published by Starbase Computer, an independent repair shop in South Pasadena, CA — the publisher's own shop — and we disclose that on every page rather than hide it: see the advertising and affiliate disclosure. Our method protects the reader: only published, attributable figures appear, and our own shop is never ranked, rated, or presented as a market average.

Colophon: The launch dataset compiles manufacturers' published prices via the named compilations above, national cost-data cross-checks, and named data-recovery providers' published tiers. Starbase Computer (South Pasadena, CA) publishes this site; its own prices are never presented as market averages.