← Back to Blog

What to Do Before Your Phone Repair

June 2026 · 4 min read · By Curbside Phone Tech

Five minutes of prep before your repair protects everything on your device and makes the appointment go faster. Here's exactly what to do — and what we do on our end to protect you.

1 Back up your data

Hardware repairs (screen, battery, port) never touch your data. But accidents happen and drives fail — backing up is just good practice before any repair.

2 Disable Find My iPhone or Google Find My Device

Some repairs require powering the device off and back on. If Find My is active, the device may enter Activation Lock and require your Apple ID to unlock — which can cause delays. Disable it before your appointment.

3 Note your screen lock passcode

After a screen or battery replacement, we need to test Face ID, Touch ID, and full touch function — which requires unlocking the device. You can unlock it yourself while we watch, or simply have the code handy. We never ask for your Apple ID or Google account password.

4 Remove your case and screen protector

Saves a few minutes at the appointment. Also check: is there a pop socket, wallet, or ring holder attached? Remove anything from the back of the phone.

5 Note any pre-existing issues

If there's already a problem with the camera, speaker, or charging that predates the current repair — tell us. We log pre-existing issues so neither of us is surprised at the end. If something was broken before we arrived, we document it before touching the phone.

What we do to protect your device

We photograph the phone before starting to document its condition. We don't access your apps, photos, or messages — we only test the specific function that was repaired. With mobile repair, you're present the entire time, which means you see everything we do. There is no anonymous drop-off and no "wait and see."

Prepped and ready to book?

Same-day mobile repair in Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Plymouth and the Lake Minnetonka area.

Book Your Repair →