You plug your phone in before bed. You wake up and it’s still at 12%. Or the cable only works at a certain angle. Or your phone doesn’t recognise the charger at all.

Charging problems are one of the most common repairs we handle at our City Rd shop. Before you assume your phone is dying, here’s what’s probably going on and how to fix it.

The Most Likely Cause: Your Charging Port Is Blocked

This is the number one reason phones stop charging properly, and it’s the simplest to fix.

Your phone lives in your pocket. Pockets are full of lint, dust, and tiny fibres. Over months, this debris gets packed into the bottom of your charging port every time you push the cable in. Eventually, the cable can’t make proper contact with the pins inside the port.

Signs of a blocked port:

• The cable feels loose and falls out easily
• Charging only works if you hold the cable at a specific angle
• The phone charges intermittently – connects and disconnects repeatedly
• The cable doesn’t click into place like it used to

Can You Clean It Yourself?

You can try, but be careful:

• Don’t use a metal pin or needle – you’ll scratch the connector pins and cause permanent damage
• Don’t blow into it – moisture from your breath can cause corrosion
• Try a wooden toothpick – gently scrape the bottom of the port to loosen compacted lint. Work carefully and don’t force it
• Compressed air – a short burst from a can of compressed air can dislodge loose debris

If the toothpick trick doesn’t work, or if you’re not comfortable poking around inside your phone’s port, bring it in. We clean charging ports professionally with anti-static tools – it takes five minutes and costs far less than a port replacement.

The Cable Might Be the Problem

Before blaming your phone, check your cable and charger:

• Try a different cable – cables wear out, especially at the connector ends where they bend. If a different cable works, your phone is fine
• Try a different power adapter – wall plugs can fail too. Test with a different one
• Try a different power source – plug into a wall socket instead of a laptop USB port, which delivers less power
• Check the cable connector – look for bent pins, corrosion, or visible damage on the Lightning or USB-C end

Cheap cables from online marketplaces are a common culprit. They work initially but degrade fast. Stick to branded or MFi-certified cables (for iPhones) or cables from reputable brands.

Software Issues That Affect Charging

Sometimes the problem is software, not hardware:

• Restart your phone – a simple restart fixes a surprising number of charging issues by resetting the power management system
• Check for updates – operating system updates sometimes include fixes for charging and battery management bugs
• Check battery health – on iPhone, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. If maximum capacity is below 80%, the battery is degraded and may not charge properly. On Samsung, check Settings > Battery > Battery Status

When the Charging Port Actually Needs Replacing

If you’ve tried different cables, cleaned the port, and restarted the phone, and it still won’t charge properly, the charging port itself may be damaged.

Common causes of port damage:

• Water or moisture exposure – corrosion on the internal pins. Even small amounts of moisture from rain or humidity can cause this over time
• Physical damage – the port has been bent or broken from a fall, or from forcing a cable in at the wrong angle
• Wear and tear – after thousands of plug-unplug cycles, the port contacts wear down. This is normal after 2-3 years of daily use

A charging port replacement is a straightforward repair. We replace the entire port assembly, which also includes the microphone on most phone models, so you get a fresh port and a fresh mic.

For iPhones, we handle all models from iPhone 7 through to the latest iPhone 16 range. For Samsung phones, we repair the full Galaxy S and A series.

Wireless Charging as a Backup

If your phone supports wireless charging (most phones from the last 4-5 years do), a wireless charging pad can keep you going while you wait for a port repair. It’s slower than wired charging but it works independently of the charging port.

You can pick up a basic Qi wireless charger for under £20. We stock them at our shop if you need one.

Don’t Wait Until It Stops Completely

A charging port that works intermittently today will fail completely soon. The lint gets more compacted, the corrosion spreads, and the worn contacts lose more connection area over time.

If your phone only charges at certain angles, or you’ve been balancing books on top of the cable to keep it connected – it’s time to get it looked at.

We’re at 1 City Rd, St Andrews. Walk in anytime.

Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Most charging port repairs are done same-day.

If you’re a final-year student at St Andrews, your dissertation is likely the most important document on your laptop right now. Thousands of words, months of research, all saved on one device.

What happens if that device fails?

Every year between April and May, we see students come into our City Rd shop in a panic because their laptop has died mid-dissertation. The good news is most of these disasters are preventable. Here’s how to make sure your laptop survives dissertation season.

Back Up Your Dissertation – Properly

“I’ll back it up later” is the most expensive sentence in student life.

Your dissertation should exist in at least three places at all times:

• On your laptop – the working copy
• In the cloud – OneDrive (free with your St Andrews Office 365 account), Google Drive, or Dropbox
• On a USB drive or external hard drive – a physical backup you keep separate from your laptop

Set up automatic cloud sync so every save goes straight to the cloud. If your laptop dies tomorrow, you should be able to log into OneDrive from a library computer and carry on writing within five minutes.

Version Your Files

Don’t just save one file called “dissertation.docx”. Use version numbers: dissertation-v1.docx, dissertation-v2.docx, and so on. Or better yet, use the versioning built into OneDrive or Google Docs, which automatically saves every version and lets you roll back.

This protects you from file corruption, accidental deletions, and the classic “I accidentally replaced 2,000 words and saved over it.”

Check Your Laptop’s Health Now

Don’t wait until something breaks. Run through these checks today:

Storage Space

If your drive is more than 85% full, your laptop will slow down noticeably. Delete old files, empty the recycle bin, and clear your Downloads folder. You need breathing room for your operating system to work properly.

Battery Health

If your laptop dies after an hour unplugged, you have a problem. The library doesn’t always have plug sockets available, and you don’t want your laptop shutting down during a writing session.

On Windows, open Command Prompt and type powercfg /batteryreport to see your battery health. On Mac, hold Option and click the battery icon in the menu bar for a condition report.

If your battery is degraded, a battery replacement takes about an hour and gives you a full day of use again.

Screen Condition

A cracked or flickering laptop screen isn’t just annoying – it’s a distraction that costs you productivity during the most intense writing period of your degree. Get it fixed now rather than trying to work around it for six more weeks.

Keyboard and Trackpad

Sticky keys, unresponsive keys, or a jumpy trackpad all slow down your writing. If your spacebar requires extra force or your ‘e’ key only works half the time, that’s fixable. A keyboard repair is straightforward and makes a massive difference to your writing speed.

Speed Up a Slow Laptop Before Deadline Week

If your laptop takes ages to start up or freezes when you have Word, Chrome, and a PDF reader open at the same time, these are signs it’s struggling.

The fastest fix is an SSD upgrade. If your laptop still has a mechanical hard drive, swapping it for an SSD will transform performance. Boot time drops from two minutes to 15 seconds, and applications open instantly. We clone your existing drive to the new SSD, so you don’t lose any files or settings.

If your laptop already has an SSD but is still slow, the issue is usually too many background processes, insufficient RAM, or malware. Bring it in and we’ll take a look.

What to Do If Your Laptop Fails During Dissertation Season

If the worst happens and your laptop stops working:

1. Don’t panic – your data is almost certainly recoverable, even from a laptop that won’t turn on
2. Don’t try to fix it yourself – opening a laptop without the right tools can cause more damage, especially to the screen or ribbon cables
3. Bring it straight to us – we prioritise urgent student repairs during dissertation season because we understand the deadline pressure
4. Use a library computer in the meantime – log into OneDrive or Google Drive and continue writing while we repair your laptop

In most cases, we can recover your files even from a dead laptop. We remove the hard drive or SSD, connect it to our equipment, and extract everything. Even if the motherboard has failed, your data is usually intact on the storage drive.

Repairs We Commonly Do During Dissertation Season

• SSD upgrades – the best speed improvement for older laptops
• Battery replacements – get a full day of unplugged use again
• Screen repairs – cracked, flickering, or dim screens fixed same-day
• Keyboard repairs – sticky or unresponsive keys sorted out
• Data recovery – files recovered from dead or damaged laptops
• Malware removal – speed restored by removing background junk

Get Sorted Before Deadlines Hit

The best time to fix laptop problems is before they become emergencies. If your laptop is showing signs of trouble – slow performance, short battery life, cracked screen, dodgy keyboard – bring it to 1 City Rd now.

Most repairs are completed within 24-48 hours, and we’ll always give you a realistic timeframe before starting any work.

Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Free diagnosis, no obligation.

Every April, the same thing happens. Exam season hits, you open your laptop to start revising, and it takes three minutes to load a Word document. The spinning wheel becomes your new study partner.

We see a spike in laptop repairs at our City Rd shop every spring, and it’s not a coincidence. Here’s what’s going on and what you can do about it.

Your Laptop Has Been Working All Year Too

Think about what your laptop has been through since September. Nine months of lecture notes, downloaded PDFs, browser tabs left open overnight, software updates that installed half-finished, and apps you installed once for a group project and never removed.

All of that accumulates. Your hard drive fills up, your RAM gets eaten by background processes, and your startup time creeps from 30 seconds to two minutes without you noticing – until you actually need the machine to perform.

The 5 Most Common Reasons Student Laptops Slow Down

1. Storage Is Nearly Full

This is the biggest one. When your hard drive or SSD gets above 90% capacity, everything slows down dramatically. Your laptop needs free space to manage temporary files, virtual memory, and system updates.

Check your storage right now:

• Windows: Settings > System > Storage
• Mac: Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage

If you’re above 85%, that’s your problem. Old downloads, duplicate photos, cached Spotify songs, and lecture recordings from first year all add up.

2. Too Many Startup Programs

Every app you install tries to add itself to your startup list. Spotify, Discord, OneDrive, Teams, Zoom, Steam – they all want to launch when you turn your laptop on. Each one uses RAM and CPU before you’ve even opened Chrome.

On Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, then click the Startup tab. Disable anything you don’t need running immediately.

3. You Still Have a Mechanical Hard Drive

If your laptop is more than three or four years old, it might still have a mechanical hard drive (HDD) instead of a solid-state drive (SSD). The difference is enormous – an SSD upgrade can make a five-year-old laptop feel new again.

An SSD reads data roughly 10 times faster than a mechanical drive. Boot time drops from two minutes to 15 seconds. Applications open instantly. This is the single best upgrade you can make to an older laptop.

4. Malware or Adware Running in the Background

Those free PDF converters and “study helper” browser extensions you downloaded? Some of them come bundled with adware that runs in the background, eating your CPU and RAM while serving you pop-up ads.

Signs of malware: random pop-ups, your browser homepage changing by itself, new toolbars appearing, or your fan running constantly even when you’re not doing much.

A professional virus and malware removal cleans all of this out and gets your laptop back to normal.

5. Thermal Throttling

Your laptop has a cooling fan. Over time, dust and fluff build up inside, blocking airflow. When the processor overheats, it deliberately slows itself down to prevent damage. This is called thermal throttling, and it’s extremely common in laptops that have never been cleaned internally.

If your laptop gets hot to the touch, the fan sounds like a jet engine, or it randomly shuts down – dust buildup is likely the cause.

Quick Fixes You Can Do Tonight

Before bringing your laptop in for repair, try these:

• Delete old files – empty your Downloads folder, clear your Recycle Bin/Trash, remove apps you don’t use
• Close browser tabs – 47 open Chrome tabs uses more RAM than most apps combined. Bookmark what you need and close the rest
• Restart your laptop – sounds obvious, but many students put their laptops to sleep instead of restarting. A proper restart clears temporary files and resets memory
• Run Windows Update – pending updates can cause background processes that slow everything down
• Check for malware – run Windows Defender (built-in) or download Malwarebytes for a free scan

When to Bring It to a Professional

If the quick fixes above don’t help, or if you’re dealing with hardware issues (overheating, battery dying fast, cracked screen, broken keyboard), it’s time for a professional repair.

Common pre-exam repairs we handle:

• SSD upgrades – the most impactful speed improvement, usually done same-day
• Screen replacements – cracked screens, dead pixels, flickering displays
• Battery replacements – if your laptop dies after 30 minutes unplugged, the battery needs replacing
• Virus removal – deep clean of malware, adware, and unwanted programs
• RAM upgrades – if your laptop has 4GB or 8GB and you’re running multiple applications, more RAM helps
• Thermal paste replacement and fan cleaning – fixes overheating and thermal throttling

Don’t Wait Until the Night Before Your Exam

The worst time to discover your laptop needs repair is the night before your dissertation is due. If your laptop has been showing signs of slowing down – sluggish startups, freezing, overheating, short battery life – get it sorted now while there’s time.

We’re at 1 City Rd, St Andrews, a two-minute walk from the town centre. Walk-ins welcome, and most repairs are completed within 24-48 hours.

Need your laptop fixed before exams? Call us on 01334 478866 or just drop in. We’ll give you an honest estimate before any work starts.

The internet is full of phone repair advice. Unfortunately, a lot of it is wrong – and some of it can actually make the problem worse. We’ve seen the aftermath of these myths at our shop more times than we can count.

Let’s go through the most common ones and set the record straight.

Myth 1: “Put Your Wet Phone in Rice”

This is the most persistent phone repair myth on the planet, and it needs to die. Rice does not fix water-damaged phones.

Here’s the reality: rice can absorb moisture from the air around it, but it cannot draw water out of the sealed interior of a modern smartphone. Your phone isn’t a sponge – it’s a tightly sealed device with water sitting on circuit boards and connectors inside.

Worse, rice dust and starch particles get into your charging port, speaker grilles, and headphone jack. We’ve opened phones that came out of rice bags with starchy residue caked onto the logic board. That creates new problems on top of the water damage.

What to actually do: Turn the phone off immediately. Don’t charge it. Don’t try to turn it on to check if it works. Bring it to us as soon as possible for proper water damage repair. We’ll open it, clean the board with isopropyl alcohol, and dry it properly. Time matters – corrosion starts fast.

Myth 2: “Use a Hairdryer to Dry It Out”

People hear “water damage” and think “apply heat to evaporate the water.” Makes sense in theory. Terrible in practice.

A hairdryer produces temperatures that can damage your phone’s battery (lithium batteries and heat are a dangerous combination), melt the adhesive holding internal components in place, and warp plastic connectors. You can also push water deeper into the phone rather than drawing it out.

The truth: You cannot safely dry the inside of a phone with consumer tools. Professional repair involves disassembly and ultrasonic cleaning, not blasting hot air at a sealed device.

Myth 3: “Cracks in the Screen Will Spread if You Don’t Fix It Immediately”

A cracked screen isn’t great, but glass cracks don’t grow on their own. If you drop your phone and crack the screen, those cracks will stay exactly where they are unless you drop it again.

There is one exception: LCD or OLED damage underneath the glass can spread. If you see black spots, coloured lines, or areas where the display doesn’t work, that internal damage can get worse over time. But the glass cracks themselves? They’re stable.

That said, a cracked screen does compromise the phone’s water and dust resistance, and small glass fragments can cut your fingers or catch on your pocket. Getting a screen replacement is still a good idea – just don’t let anyone pressure you into thinking your phone will self-destruct if you wait a week.

Myth 4: “Phone Repairs Void Your Warranty”

This one used to have some truth to it, but not anymore. In the UK, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 protects your right to have your products repaired by whoever you choose. A manufacturer cannot void your warranty simply because an independent repairer opened your device.

EU and UK right-to-repair legislation further supports this. Apple even launched a self-repair programme, which is a pretty clear acknowledgment that independent repair is legitimate.

The only situation where a repair could affect your warranty is if the repair itself caused the problem you’re claiming warranty for. But a screen replacement doesn’t void your warranty on the motherboard, for example.

Myth 5: “Aftermarket Parts Are Always Bad Quality”

This is an oversimplification. Aftermarket parts vary hugely in quality, from terrible to virtually identical to the original.

Good quality aftermarket screens use the same panel technology as the originals. The colour accuracy, brightness, and touch sensitivity are extremely close. You’d struggle to tell the difference in daily use.

The key is where you get the repair done. A reputable shop uses quality-tested parts and stands behind the work with a warranty. A random market stall or the cheapest listing on eBay? That’s where you get the bad parts.

We test every part we install and offer a warranty on all our repairs. Quality aftermarket parts at fair prices – that’s the model.

Myth 6: “You Need to Go to Apple or Samsung for the Best Repair”

Manufacturer repair services are fine, but they’re not the only option and they’re often not the best one. Here’s what independent shops typically offer that manufacturers don’t:

• Faster turnaround – we do most repairs same-day or next-day. Manufacturer mail-in repairs can take 1-2 weeks.
• Lower prices – manufacturer repair pricing is often significantly higher, especially out of warranty.
• More flexible service – we’ll look at your phone, explain the problem, and give you options. Manufacturer service centres often just quote a flat repair fee regardless of the actual issue.
• Data preservation – manufacturers often wipe your phone as standard procedure. We keep your data intact whenever possible.

For things like battery replacements and charging port repairs, an independent shop is often the smarter choice.

Myth 7: “A Cracked Back Glass Is Just Cosmetic”

Modern phones have glass backs for a reason – they enable wireless charging and allow signal to pass through for NFC. When that back glass cracks, two things happen:

• Water resistance is compromised – the seal is broken, and moisture can now get inside your phone. That “IP68 water resistant” rating? It’s gone.
• Wireless charging can be affected – cracked glass can interfere with the charging coil sitting just underneath it, and glass fragments can scratch the coil itself.

It’s not an emergency, but it’s not purely cosmetic either. If you rely on wireless charging or you’re around water regularly, it’s worth getting fixed.

When in Doubt, Ask a Professional

The internet gives everyone a voice, including people who have no idea what they’re talking about. Before you try a DIY fix based on a YouTube video or a Reddit thread, consider whether it might make the problem worse.

We’re happy to take a look at your phone and give you honest advice about what it actually needs. No pressure, no upselling, just a straight answer.

Repair St Andrews, 1 City Rd, St Andrews, KY16 9XQ. Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Open Monday to Friday 09:30-17:30, Saturday 10:00-17:00.

If your laptop takes forever to start up, struggles to open programs, and generally feels like it’s wading through treacle, you probably think it’s old and slow and needs replacing. In most cases, you’d be wrong.

The single biggest upgrade you can make to an older laptop is swapping the hard drive for a solid-state drive. It’s not a minor improvement – it’s a transformation. Here’s why.

What’s the Difference Between HDD and SSD?

A traditional hard drive (HDD) stores data on spinning magnetic platters. A tiny mechanical arm moves back and forth across the platters to read and write data – like a record player. It’s a technology that’s been around since the 1950s.

A solid-state drive (SSD) stores data on flash memory chips. No moving parts, no spinning, no mechanical arm. Data is accessed electronically, which is fundamentally faster.

Think of it this way: an HDD is like finding a specific page in a physical book by flipping through it. An SSD is like searching a PDF – instant.

Real-World Speed Differences

The numbers are dramatic:

• Boot time – HDD: 2-3 minutes from pressing the power button to a usable desktop. SSD: 15-20 seconds.
• Opening applications – programs like Word, Chrome, or Photoshop launch almost instantly on an SSD. On an HDD, you’re waiting 10-30 seconds for each one.
• File transfers – copying large files is 5-10 times faster on an SSD.
• General responsiveness – no more lag when switching between windows, no more freezing when you open File Explorer, no more watching the loading cursor spin.

Every single person who’s had an SSD upgrade done at our shop has said the same thing: “It feels like a brand new laptop.” Because it does.

Your Laptop Probably Isn’t Slow – It’s Bottlenecked

This is the key insight most people miss. A laptop from 2016-2019 typically has a perfectly capable processor and enough RAM for everyday tasks. The bottleneck is the hard drive. Everything else is waiting for the HDD to catch up.

It’s like having a fast car stuck behind a tractor on a country road. The car isn’t slow – it just can’t get past the thing in front of it. Swap the HDD for an SSD and suddenly the road is clear.

We’ve upgraded laptops that owners were ready to throw away. After the SSD, they’re genuinely faster than some brand new budget laptops that ship with cheap, slow storage.

Other Benefits Beyond Speed

Better Battery Life

An HDD needs power to spin the platters and move the mechanical arm. An SSD has no moving parts and draws significantly less power. You won’t double your battery life, but you’ll notice the improvement – especially if your laptop battery is already getting on a bit.

Durability and Reliability

HDDs are fragile. The spinning platters and mechanical arm are vulnerable to drops, bumps, and vibration. Carrying your laptop in a bag, setting it down too hard, or using it on the bus can cause HDD failures over time.

SSDs have no moving parts. You can jostle them, carry them around, even drop the laptop (not recommended, but it happens) and the drive itself is far more likely to survive. For students carrying laptops between lectures, this matters.

Silent Operation

If your laptop makes a faint clicking or whirring sound, that’s the hard drive. SSDs are completely silent. It’s a small thing, but once you notice the absence of noise, you won’t want to go back.

How We Do the Upgrade

This is the part people worry about – will I lose my files? Do I need to reinstall Windows? The answer to both is no.

Here’s the process:

1. Clone your existing drive – we make an exact copy of everything on your HDD: Windows, your programs, your files, your settings, your desktop wallpaper – everything.
2. Swap the drive – we open the laptop, remove the old HDD, and install the new SSD.
3. Boot and test – your laptop starts up and everything looks exactly the same. Same login, same desktop, same files. Just dramatically faster.

No reinstalling Windows. No setting everything up again. No losing files. If you want your old data backed up separately, we can handle that too through our data recovery service.

Which Laptops Can Be Upgraded?

Most laptops manufactured before 2020 that still have a traditional HDD can be upgraded. This includes most HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and ASUS laptops from that era. Some newer laptops can be upgraded too – it depends on the design.

Some ultra-thin laptops and most MacBooks from 2016 onwards have soldered storage that can’t be swapped. If you’re not sure whether your laptop is upgradeable, bring it in or give us a call and we’ll tell you.

Cost vs Buying a New Laptop

A new laptop costs £400-£800 for something decent. An SSD upgrade costs a fraction of that. You’re getting 90% of the performance improvement of a new machine at a fraction of the price.

If your laptop’s processor, screen, and keyboard are all fine – and they usually are – there’s no reason to spend hundreds on a replacement when the SSD upgrade solves the actual problem.

Students – Don’t Buy a New Laptop Before Exams

If your laptop is crawling and exams are approaching, the last thing you want is the hassle of setting up a new machine, transferring files, and reinstalling software. An SSD upgrade takes far less time, keeps everything exactly as it is, and gives you a laptop that actually works when you need it most.

We handle laptop upgrades and PC repairs at our shop on City Rd. Bring your laptop in and we’ll have it running like new.

Repair St Andrews, 1 City Rd, St Andrews, KY16 9XQ. Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Open Monday to Friday 09:30-17:30, Saturday 10:00-17:00.

Your phone restarts out of nowhere. Maybe it happens once a day, maybe five times. Maybe it gets stuck in a loop where it shows the Apple logo or Samsung screen, restarts, and never actually reaches your home screen. It’s frustrating, and it always seems to happen at the worst possible time.

Random restarts always have a cause. Here’s how to work out what’s going on and when it’s time to bring it in for repair.

Software Causes – The Easy Fixes

Start here, because software problems are the most common trigger and the easiest to rule out.

A Corrupted or Buggy Update

If the restarts started right after a software update, the update itself may be the problem. Apple and Samsung both release patches fairly quickly when major bugs are found. Check if there’s a newer update available and install it – it may fix the issue.

A Rogue App

Think about whether you installed anything new around the time the restarts started. A poorly coded app can cause system instability, especially on Android. Try uninstalling recent apps one at a time to see if the problem stops.

On Android, you can boot into Safe Mode (hold the power button, then long-press “Power Off” on screen). Safe Mode disables all third-party apps. If the phone stops restarting in Safe Mode, you know an app is the cause.

Insufficient Storage

When your phone’s storage is nearly full, things get unpredictable. The operating system needs free space to run properly – to manage temporary files, swap memory, and handle updates. If you’re at 95% capacity, delete some photos, videos, or unused apps and see if that helps.

Hardware Causes – The Ones That Need Repair

If you’ve ruled out software, the problem is almost certainly hardware. These are the most common culprits:

A Failing Battery

This is the number one hardware cause of random restarts. Here’s what happens: as a battery ages, it loses its ability to deliver consistent power. When you do something demanding – opening the camera, loading a game, using GPS – the phone needs a burst of power that the worn battery can’t provide. The phone shuts down to protect itself.

You might notice the restarts happen more often when the battery is below 30-40%, or when it’s cold outside. Both of these reduce the battery’s ability to deliver power even further.

How to check: On iPhone, go to Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health. If Maximum Capacity is below 80%, your battery is the likely cause. Android doesn’t have a built-in equivalent, but apps like AccuBattery can give you an estimate.

We do iPhone battery replacements from £49 and Android battery replacements at similar prices. It’s a straightforward repair that solves the problem in most cases.

Water Damage

Your phone doesn’t need to go swimming to get water damage. Humidity, rain, a steamy bathroom, or a small splash can introduce moisture that causes corrosion on the logic board over time.

Corrosion creates intermittent short circuits. The phone works fine for a while, then a tiny short triggers a restart. These can be tricky because the restarts seem random – there’s no obvious pattern.

If your phone has been exposed to moisture at any point, even months ago, water damage could be the cause. We can open it up and check the board for corrosion.

Loose Internal Connections

A previous drop can dislodge internal connectors without cracking the screen or causing any visible damage. The battery connector, display cable, or other ribbon cables can come partially loose. When they make good contact, the phone works fine. When they shift slightly, the phone restarts.

This is especially common if the restarts happen when you pick up the phone, put it down, or tap it. The slight movement is enough to break and remake the connection.

Boot Loops – When Your Phone Won’t Start Properly

A boot loop is different from random restarts. The phone starts up, shows the logo, then restarts before reaching the home screen. This repeats endlessly.

Boot loops are usually caused by:

• Corrupted system files – sometimes fixable with a factory reset through recovery mode, though you’ll lose data if it’s not backed up.
• Failed update – the update process was interrupted (maybe the battery died mid-update) and left the system in a broken state.
• Hardware failure – a dying storage chip or logic board fault that prevents the system from loading.

If your phone is stuck in a boot loop, it almost always needs professional attention. Bring it in before you try too many things yourself – some recovery attempts can make the situation worse.

When to Bring It In

Try the software fixes first. But bring your phone to us if:

• Restarts happen multiple times per day and software fixes haven’t helped.
• Battery health is below 80% on iPhone, or the phone is more than 2 years old.
• The phone was dropped recently or exposed to moisture.
• You’re stuck in a boot loop and can’t get past the logo screen.
• The restarts happen under load – when using the camera, GPS, or demanding apps.

We repair iPhones, Samsung phones, and other Android devices. Most restart issues are caused by batteries or minor board faults that we can fix the same day.

Repair St Andrews, 1 City Rd, St Andrews, KY16 9XQ. Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Open Monday to Friday 09:30-17:30, Saturday 10:00-17:00.

That sinking feeling when you realise a file is gone. Maybe you deleted it by accident, maybe a drive failed, or maybe your laptop just won’t turn on and your dissertation is on it. Whatever happened, don’t panic. In many cases, data recovery is possible – but what you do in the next few minutes matters.

Here’s a practical guide to recovering lost files, when to try it yourself, and when to bring the drive to a professional.

Accidentally Deleted Files – Check the Obvious Places First

Before you do anything else, check these:

• Recycle Bin or Trash – it sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people forget. Deleted files sit here until you empty it. Right-click and restore.
• Cloud sync services – if you use OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud, your file may still be in the cloud. All of these services keep deleted files for 30 days or more. They also have version history, so even if you saved over a file with the wrong content, you can roll back to an earlier version.
• File History or Time Machine – Windows File History and Mac Time Machine create automatic backups if they’re turned on. Check before assuming the file is gone for good.

These simple checks solve the problem about half the time. No software needed, no stress.

Formatted or Corrupted Drives – Stop Using It Immediately

If you’ve accidentally formatted a drive, or a drive has become corrupted and unreadable, the single most important thing is to stop using it right now.

Here’s why: when you delete a file or format a drive, the data isn’t actually erased. The computer just marks that space as “available.” Your files are still physically there on the drive until new data is written over them. Every minute you keep using the drive, you risk overwriting the files you want to recover.

• Don’t save new files to the drive – this is the most common mistake people make.
• Don’t install recovery software on the same drive – if you’re trying to recover files from your laptop’s main drive, don’t download recovery software to that same drive. Use a USB stick or a different computer.
• Don’t defragment the drive – this actively moves data around and can destroy recoverable files.

SSD vs HDD – Recovery Is Very Different

This is something most people don’t realise. Recovery from a traditional hard drive (HDD) and a solid-state drive (SSD) are fundamentally different.

HDDs keep deleted data on the platters until it’s overwritten. If you act quickly, recovery success rates are high – even from formatted drives.

SSDs use a feature called TRIM that actively wipes deleted data in the background to maintain performance. Once TRIM has run – which usually happens within minutes – that data is genuinely gone. SSD recovery is much harder and sometimes impossible.

This is one reason why backups are even more critical if your laptop has an SSD, which most modern laptops do.

When DIY Won’t Work – Professional Data Recovery

Some situations need professional help. Bring the drive to us if:

• The drive makes clicking or grinding noises – this means the read/write heads are damaged. Running it further can scratch the platters and make recovery impossible.
• The drive isn’t detected by any computer – this usually means a controller board failure or severe corruption that needs specialist tools.
• Your laptop is completely dead – if the laptop won’t turn on but the drive is intact, we can remove it and recover the data. This is one of the most common jobs we do.
• You’ve already tried recovery software and it didn’t work – we have professional-grade tools that go beyond what consumer software can do.

We do data recovery from laptops, external hard drives, USB sticks, and memory cards. If the data is physically intact on the drive, we can usually get it back.

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule – Never Lose Files Again

The best data recovery is the one you never need. The 3-2-1 rule is simple and it works:

1. 3 copies of your data – the original plus two backups.
2. 2 different types of storage – for example, your laptop’s internal drive plus an external drive.
3. 1 copy offsite or in the cloud – so a fire, flood, or theft doesn’t take everything.

You don’t need to buy expensive backup systems. A basic external hard drive for weekly backups plus a cloud service covers you.

Students – Your University OneDrive Is Free

If you’re studying at St Andrews, you get OneDrive storage included with your university Microsoft 365 account. Set it to sync your Documents folder and your dissertation, notes, and coursework are automatically backed up to the cloud. It takes two minutes to set up and could save you months of work.

We’ve seen students come in the week before a deadline with a dead laptop and no backups. Sometimes we can recover the data. Sometimes we can’t. Don’t be that student.

Need Data Recovered? Bring the Drive In

If you’ve lost important files, the sooner you act the better. Stop using the drive, bring it to us, and we’ll assess what’s recoverable. We work on laptops, desktops, external drives, and USB sticks.

If your laptop needs a faster, more reliable drive to prevent future problems, we also do SSD upgrades – and we can clone your existing data across so you don’t lose a thing.

Repair St Andrews, 1 City Rd, St Andrews, KY16 9XQ. Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Open Monday to Friday 09:30-17:30, Saturday 10:00-17:00.

Starting at St Andrews? One of the biggest decisions you’ll make before freshers’ week is what to bring for studying. The iPad vs laptop debate comes up every year, and there’s no single right answer. It depends on your subject, your budget, and how you actually work.

We repair both iPads and laptops every week at our shop on City Rd, so we’ve seen exactly how each device holds up through three or four years of university life. Here’s an honest breakdown.

Purchase Cost – What You’re Actually Spending

A base iPad Air with an Apple Pencil and keyboard case runs around £750-£900. An iPad Pro setup pushes past £1,200. That’s not cheap.

A solid mid-range laptop – something like a Lenovo IdeaPad, HP Pavilion, or MacBook Air – sits in the £600-£1,000 range. You get a full keyboard, larger screen, and all the ports you need without buying extras.

The iPad looks attractive at first glance, but once you add the keyboard and pencil, the price gap narrows or disappears entirely.

Repair Costs – Where the Real Difference Shows

Things break. Especially when you’re carrying them between lectures, libraries, and flat parties. Here’s what repairs typically cost:

iPad Repairs

• iPad screen replacement – from £89, depending on model. Newer iPad Pros with OLED screens cost more.
• iPad battery replacement – from £79. Most iPad batteries start struggling after 2-3 years of heavy use.
• iPad charging port – from £99. Lightning and USB-C ports both wear out over time.

Laptop Repairs

• Laptop screen replacement – varies widely by model, but comparable to iPad screens in many cases.
• Laptop battery replacement – similar price range to iPads, and just as common after a couple of years.
• SSD upgrades – if your laptop slows down, a storage upgrade is far cheaper than buying new.

Repair costs are broadly similar for both devices. The difference is what breaks and how often.

What Actually Breaks – Damage Patterns We See

iPads and laptops fail in very different ways. After years of repairing student devices, here’s the pattern:

iPads are essentially a screen with a battery behind it. They’re thin, light, and easy to carry – but that screen is exposed and vulnerable. The most common repair we do is cracked iPad screens. They slip out of bags, slide off desks, and get sat on. If you use an iPad, a proper case is non-negotiable.

Laptops have more things that can go wrong. We see keyboard failures, hinge damage, battery swelling, and fan issues. But the screen is protected when the lid is closed, which makes screen cracks less common than with iPads. The trade-off is that laptops pick up more wear and tear from daily mechanical use – keys, trackpads, and hinges all degrade.

Lifespan – How Long Will Each Last?

Both iPads and laptops can last 4-5 years with reasonable care. The limiting factor is usually the battery, and we replace those for both devices regularly.

iPads tend to stay fast for longer because iPadOS is lighter than Windows. But older iPads eventually lose software support, and once that happens, apps stop updating too.

Laptops slow down over time, but a simple SSD upgrade or RAM increase can give them a second life. That’s harder to do with an iPad, where everything is sealed and soldered.

Which Is Better for Your Subject?

This is where the decision gets clearer:

• STEM subjects (maths, physics, computer science, engineering) – you’ll almost certainly need a full laptop. Specialist software like MATLAB, SPSS, R, or coding environments either doesn’t exist on iPad or runs poorly. A laptop is the safer choice.
• Humanities and social sciences – an iPad with a keyboard case handles essays, reading, note-taking, and research perfectly well. The Apple Pencil is brilliant for annotating PDFs and handwriting notes.
• Medicine and sciences with lab work – the iPad is fantastic for lecture notes and diagrams, but you may need laptop access for specific software. Check with your department.
• Art, design, and architecture – the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil is genuinely excellent for sketching and design work, but you’ll likely need a laptop too for rendering and professional software.

The Hybrid Approach – Best of Both Worlds

Here’s what we’d actually recommend if your budget allows: a cheap, reliable laptop for software that needs a full operating system, plus a base iPad for lectures, reading, and note-taking.

You can pick up a decent refurbished laptop for £300-£400 and a standard iPad for £350. That gives you both bases covered for less than a single iPad Pro setup.

If something breaks, you’ve still got one working device while the other is being repaired. That matters during exam season.

We Repair Both – Right Here in St Andrews

Whether you’re team iPad, team laptop, or running both, we handle tablet repairs and laptop repairs at our shop on City Rd. Screen replacements, battery swaps, charging port fixes, and everything in between.

Don’t wait until your device dies the week before a deadline. If it’s playing up, bring it in and we’ll take a look.

Repair St Andrews, 1 City Rd, St Andrews, KY16 9XQ. Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Open Monday to Friday 09:30-17:30, Saturday 10:00-17:00.

Your computer is running slowly. Strange pop-ups keep appearing. Your browser redirects to websites you’ve never heard of. Programs you didn’t install are sitting on your desktop. Something is wrong.

Malware is one of the most common computer problems we deal with in St Andrews – and students running pirated software are our most frequent customers for it. Here’s how to spot it, what you can try yourself, and when to bring it in.

Signs Your Computer Has Malware

• Slow performance – Your computer was fine last week and now everything takes forever to load. Malware running in the background eats CPU and memory.
• Pop-up ads – Ads appearing on your desktop or in your browser even on websites that don’t normally show ads. Especially suspicious if they appear when your browser is closed.
• Browser redirects – You search for something on Google and end up on a completely different search engine or a suspicious website.
• Programs you didn’t install – Unknown applications in your start menu, taskbar, or system tray that you don’t remember putting there.
• High CPU or fan usage when idle – If your fans are spinning loudly when you’re not doing anything, something is using your processor. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and look for unfamiliar processes using high CPU.
• Your antivirus is disabled – Some malware specifically targets and disables Windows Defender or other security software to prevent itself from being detected.
• Ransom messages – If you see a screen telling you your files are encrypted and demanding payment in cryptocurrency, that’s ransomware. Stop using the computer immediately and bring it in.

Common Types of Malware

Viruses

Programs that attach themselves to files and spread when those files are opened or shared. Traditional viruses are less common now but still exist.

Trojans

Software that looks legitimate but contains hidden malicious code. That “free” version of Photoshop? Probably came with a trojan. This is the most common type we see.

Adware

Injects advertisements into your browser and desktop. Annoying rather than dangerous, but it can slow your computer significantly and some adware tracks your browsing habits.

Ransomware

Encrypts your files and demands payment to unlock them. This is the most destructive type. Do NOT pay the ransom – there’s no guarantee you’ll get your files back, and paying funds criminal operations.

What You Can Try Yourself

Run a Full Windows Defender Scan

Open Windows Security, go to Virus and Threat Protection, and run a full scan – not a quick scan. A full scan checks every file on your computer and can take an hour or more. Let it finish completely.

Download and Run Malwarebytes Free

Malwarebytes catches things that Windows Defender sometimes misses. Download the free version from malwarebytes.com (make sure you’re on the real site, not a lookalike). Run a full scan and let it quarantine anything it finds.

Check Your Installed Programs

Go to Settings, then Apps and Features. Sort by install date and look for anything you don’t recognise or didn’t intentionally install. Uninstall anything suspicious.

Check Your Browser Extensions

Open your browser’s extension or add-on page. Remove anything you don’t recognise or didn’t install yourself. Malicious browser extensions are a major source of redirects and pop-ups.

When to Get Professional Help

Bring your computer to us if:

• You have ransomware – Do not attempt to fix this yourself. Do not pay the ransom. We can assess whether your files are recoverable and clean the infection properly. We offer data recovery for situations where files need to be rescued.
• The infection keeps coming back – If you clean it and it returns within days, you’re dealing with a rootkit or a persistent infection that’s embedded deeper than consumer antivirus can reach.
• Your antivirus won’t run – If malware has disabled your security software and you can’t re-enable it, the infection is actively defending itself. This needs manual removal.
• You’re not sure what’s safe to remove – If you’re worried about accidentally deleting something important, let us handle it.

How We Remove Malware

Our virus removal process goes beyond just running an antivirus scan:

1. Full malware scan with multiple professional tools
2. Manual inspection of startup programs, scheduled tasks, and registry entries
3. Browser reset and extension cleanup
4. Windows system file repair if the OS has been damaged
5. Data backup to make sure your files are safe
6. If the infection is too deep, we can back up your data and do a clean OS reinstall

How to Avoid Getting Infected Again

• Don’t open email attachments from unknown senders – This is still one of the most common infection routes. If you weren’t expecting it, don’t open it.
• Keep Windows updated – Security updates patch the vulnerabilities that malware exploits. Turn on automatic updates and don’t skip them.
• Avoid pirated software – This is a huge one for students. That cracked copy of Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, or a game torrent is one of the most common malware delivery methods we see. The “crack” IS the virus.
• Use an ad blocker – Malicious ads (malvertising) on legitimate websites can deliver malware. uBlock Origin is free and effective.
• Be cautious with USB drives – Don’t plug in USB drives you find lying around. This sounds paranoid, but infected USB drops are a real thing.

Mac Users Aren’t Immune

Macs are less targeted than Windows PCs, but they absolutely can get malware. Adware and trojans on macOS are increasingly common. If your Mac is behaving strangely, the same principles apply – run a scan, check your applications, and bring it in if you can’t resolve it.

Computer Repair in St Andrews

If your computer is infected and you can’t shift it yourself, bring it to us. We’ll clean it properly and make sure it stays clean.

Repair St Andrews, 1 City Rd, St Andrews, KY16 9XQ. Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Open Monday to Friday 09:30-17:30, Saturday 10:00-17:00.

When your phone needs a new screen or battery, one of the first questions is: what kind of part goes in? You’ll see terms like “genuine”, “OEM”, “aftermarket”, and “refurbished original” thrown around, and it’s not always clear what they actually mean or whether the difference matters.

Here’s an honest breakdown – no hard sell, just the information you need to make a good decision.

What Do These Terms Actually Mean?

Genuine (OEM) Parts

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. These parts are made by or for the company that built your phone. A genuine iPhone screen is the same component Apple would use. A genuine Samsung battery is the same one that came in the box.

These parts are identical in quality, fit, and performance to what your phone shipped with. They’re also the most expensive option.

Aftermarket Parts

Aftermarket parts are manufactured by third-party companies to match the specifications of the original. They’re not made by Apple or Samsung, but they’re designed to fit and function the same way.

Quality varies significantly. There’s a big difference between a cheap aftermarket screen and a high-quality one. The cheapest options cut corners on colour accuracy, brightness, and touch sensitivity. The best aftermarket parts are very close to original quality at a lower price point.

Refurbished Original Parts

These sit between genuine and aftermarket. A refurbished original screen, for example, uses the original LCD or OLED panel from a used phone, fitted with a new glass front and frame. You get the original display quality – colour accuracy, brightness, touch response – at a price between aftermarket and brand new genuine.

This is a popular option for iPhone repairs because you keep features like True Tone (which matches your screen’s colour temperature to the room you’re in).

Screen Differences

Screens are where the difference between part types is most noticeable.

• Colour accuracy – Genuine and refurbished original screens match the colours your phone was designed to display. Some aftermarket screens have a slightly cooler or warmer tone.
• Brightness – High-quality aftermarket screens get close to original brightness. Cheap ones can be noticeably dimmer, especially outdoors.
• Touch sensitivity – All quality screens should respond accurately to touch. Cheap aftermarket screens occasionally have dead spots or delayed response at the edges.
• True Tone (iPhone) – This feature requires either a genuine or refurbished original screen, or a programmer to transfer the data from your old screen. Some aftermarket screens don’t support it at all.

We offer iPhone screen repair and phone screen repair for all models, with a choice of part quality. iPhone screens range from £69-£299 depending on the model and part type. Samsung screen repairs vary by model too.

Battery Differences

Batteries are less visually obvious, but quality still matters.

• Capacity – A genuine battery matches the original mAh rating exactly. High-quality aftermarket batteries come very close. Cheap ones may advertise the same capacity but deliver less in practice.
• Longevity – Better quality cells retain their capacity for more charge cycles. A cheap battery might feel great for six months, then drop off quickly.
• Safety – This is the most important factor. Quality batteries – genuine or aftermarket – have proper safety certifications and protection circuits. We never use unbranded or uncertified batteries. Battery replacement prices range from £49-£119 depending on the model.

When Genuine Parts Are Worth It

You should consider genuine or refurbished original parts when:

• It’s a flagship phone you plan to keep – If you’re running an iPhone 15 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S24 and intend to use it for another two to three years, the best quality parts make sense.
• Display quality matters to you – If you’re particular about colour accuracy for photography or design work, genuine screens deliver exactly what the manufacturer intended.
• You want to maintain resale value – A phone repaired with genuine parts is worth more when you sell it or trade it in.

When Aftermarket Parts Are Perfectly Fine

Aftermarket parts are a sensible choice when:

• The phone is a couple of years old – If you’re planning to upgrade in the next year or so, a high-quality aftermarket screen will serve you well without the premium price.
• Budget is the priority – A good aftermarket part at a lower price is better than leaving your phone broken because the genuine option is too expensive.
• It’s a secondary or work phone – If it’s not your primary device, the subtle differences in screen quality won’t bother you.

What We Use

We offer both genuine and high-quality aftermarket options for most repairs. When you bring your phone in, we’ll explain the choices available for your specific model and the price difference between them. No pressure either way.

What we won’t do is use the cheapest parts available. Within aftermarket parts, quality tiers range from barely functional to nearly indistinguishable from original. We stock from the upper end of that range because a repair that fails or looks wrong after a few weeks isn’t a repair worth doing.

We’ll always tell you exactly what part is going into your phone before we start the work.

Phone Repair in St Andrews

Whether you want genuine, refurbished original, or quality aftermarket – we’ll give you an honest recommendation based on your phone, your budget, and how long you plan to keep it.

Repair St Andrews, 1 City Rd, St Andrews, KY16 9XQ. Call 01334 478866 or walk in. Open Monday to Friday 09:30-17:30, Saturday 10:00-17:00.