It’s happened to all of us: we’re going through our day, and WHAM!
You drop your iPhone, and the screen shatters. Dealing with a broken iPhone can turn sour the best of days.
Once you’ve realized you need an iPhone repair, the obvious question is who will do it, you or an iPhone repair shop?
If you’re on a tight budget and feel pretty tech-savvy, you’re probably going to want to see if you can fix your iPhone by yourself.
That’s where iPhone kits come in.
What are iPhone repair kits?
In short, iPhone repair kits are tool sets that contain all of the tools you need to fix your iPhone.
Some tools are problem-specific, like iPhone screen repair tools or digitizer tool sets. A repair tool kit will also include electronics tool sets that come with iPhone repair-specific tools, like a suction cup or iPhone screwdriver.
DIY iPhone repair tools make it easy and fast for you to fix all models of iPhones when you need an affordable smartphone repair solution.
So, now that we know what an iPhone repair kit is, let’s talk about what comes in an iPhone repair kit.
Knowing which tools come in each iPhone repair kit will help you choose the repair kit that’s best for your needs.
What’s included in an iPhone repair tool kit?
Owning a kit for small electronics repairs is a good idea for anyone, but it especially comes in handy when you’re trying to fix your smartphone. Having a ready and specifically designed toolset to repair electronics like your smartphone is an excellent way to save on cost and time on iPhone repairs.
It’s important to note, though, that just like there are different types of iPhone repairs, there are also various types of tool set options to consider. It’s especially important to have a magnetic screwdriver or magnetic pad to help you keep track of the tiny bits and screws that make electronics issues so frustrating to correct.
We’ll cover the top tool kit types here so you can choose the best for your repair needs:
Basic smartphone tools
A basic smartphone repair kit is a bare-bones tool kit that includes just what you need to repair your smartphone and nothing else.
Typically, a basic smartphone tool kit includes:
- A tool overview manual: this shows you how to use each tool in your repair kit.
- A flathead screwdriver: used to open your iPhone (includes iPhone 7 and other models).
- A pentalobe screwdriver: this 0.08 screwdriver is used to unscrew the bottom screws on an iPhone.
- Metal tweezers: a good set of tweezers is good to have when dealing with tiny iPhone screws.
- 1 nylon spudger/spludger: this tool has a flat-head end used to separate pressure-fitted components in your smartphone during a battery replacement or touch screen replacement.
- 1 Phillips screwdriver (PH 00): This is a 0.048 inches screwdriver designed to fit the small screw holes on smartphones.
- SIM card ejector: this tool helps you open the SIM card ejector tray on your iPhone.
- Suction cup: often, a repair kit will include a suction cup so you can take your smartphone apart without damaging it.
How an iPhone kit saves you money
iPhone kits, and device repair tools in general, are an affordable way to fix your smartphone. If you don’t have the budget to get a professional smartphone repair, you’ve probably been reading about how a phone kit can save you money.
While it’s true that Amazon and other online stores offer many tool kit options, you must be careful and cautious when buying a tool set online.
A website may say that the kit includes everything you need, but you want to read reviews and compare other tool kit products to make sure you don’t buy a cheap-quality tool kit.
In addition to making sure your tool kit includes everything needed for a repair (e.g., tweezers), you also want to be prepared to exercise plenty of patience.
Consumer Reports Tech Editor Bree Fowler tried to save some money and do a quick DIY phone repair. After finishing, Fowler said, “To me, the hours that I put into this, the aggravation and the stress, it just wasn’t worth it.”
In the end, if you’re going to buy the tools to do your own smartphone repair, you better know what you’re doing or be prepared to learn through trial and error.
Types of iPhone tool sets
Many products are called “smartphone tool kits,” which means it can be hard to know which tool set is right for your device. Often, a repair kit is more or less equipped with all the tools necessary to fix a specific problem.
Smartphone screen repair kit
A screen repair kit includes the tools you must have to repair a cracked smartphone screen or scratched glass on a smartphone. It’s tempting to think that all you need to repair a broken phone screen is a replacement LCD screen, but you also need suction cups and a few other tools to get the job done. Often, these tools include a magnetic pad to hold the tiny screws you’ll be dealing with as you address the issue with your gadget.
Digitizer Tools
A digitizer accepts input (e.g., sound or touch), converts it into digital data, and stores it for analysis. The touchscreen on your smartphone is an example of a digitizer. When you swipe or tap on your touchscreen, it acts as a digitizer, interpreting your gestures and processing them to produce the action.
If you have a broken digitizer, some items you’ll address the issue and get it fixed are:
- A razor blade to remove the old digitizer and shave off its plastic bump
- A screwdriver to remove and re-tighten the screws
- About 30 minutes of time total
How to find the best phone kit?
To find the best kit, take note of the customer reviews that people have left. Amazon and other websites allow verified customers who’ve purchased the product to give their opinion on which features they liked and which they didn’t.
Another shopping tip is to take note of the seller. Often, counterfeit products will try to deceive a customer by falsifying features and promising custom or free bits to get their product to show up higher in search.
To avoid being scammed when shopping online, here are recommendations from someone who was scammed themselves.
Even professional electronics shops aren’t exempt from being infiltrated by scammers, which is why we put together these recommendations to avoid repair scams.
Are smartphone toolsets in stores?
Most people stick to online search for their parts and tools, but others prefer to search in-store. Fortunately, Walmart, Target, and even Apple, all carry top-quality sets that include all of the parts you must have to get any gadget working the right way.
Phone tools in stores
Apple-certified repair technician uses a screwdriver to repair smartphone. iPhone repair kits are a budget-friendly alternative to visiting an Apple store. Source 
Walmart.com sells phone repair kits that include all of the tools you need to fix your smartphone. 
Searching for iPhone repair kits on Target.com can yield little success, depending on your location.
Visit your local Walmart, Target, or Apple store, and you can find dozens of products to let you correct any electronics issues. You can also pick up a quality magnetic screwdriver that’s small enough to handle the little screws on our modern-day cellphone.
Have DIY phone repair tools failed? Call ScreenWorks!
At ScreenWorks, we provide professional in-store repairs and mobile repairs for devices throughout Fresno County. Our mobile repairs services allow you to set a time for our driver to come by and work on your electronics, from iPhones and Mac computers to PC desktops and custom-built computers.
Don’t worry, when our driver pulls up to your home, they’ll have all the tools they require to get to work, whether it’s cleaning the bits and details for a faster computer or showing you how to back up your data to the cloud. We work hard to ensure our technicians can offer you every bit of help you require so your computer and other electronics are fixed as fast as possible.