So you broke your iPhone and can’t replace it. Now what?

How to fix your Apple device in Egypt: It stands to reason that many of us (particularly those with the little ones at home) have dropped their phones one time too many or spilled a cup of coffee across their brand new laptop. And with the EGP being where it is and Apple products costing an arm and a leg, replacing your device may not really be feasible. And with the very finite strength of phone and laptop covers, the need for coffee at the workstation, and the brand loyalty of iSheep being what it is (not to mention the surprising strength of those very same little ones), fixing a broken Apple product may be the only recourse.

If only it was that simple: Fixing a broken Apple gadget is not only expensive, but also near impossible — with an emphasis on the “near.” And since many of us here at Enterprise Global HQ are traveling with families over the break while being iSheep and coffee addicts with a propensity to rage fling their phones, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to hack this problem.

Why is fixing your devices even a problem?The difficulty of repairing Apple products in Egypt boils down to several factors such as the availability of certified repair centers, access to genuine Apple parts, and technical expertise. And while Apple-authorized resellers in Egypt are certified to make repairs, the price tags they charge for changing a screen or a battery will hurt your wallet.

Apple-authorized store ≠ repair shop: There are two authorized resellers of Apple stores in Egypt: Tradeline and Switch Plus. Both of these chains have service stores and shopping stores, which means not any store will accept your request to repair your device. Which means you have to find one of only six service stores in the whole country, book an appointment then live without said device for 3-5 business days while they repair it.

That’s right, dear reader, you read that correctly. There are a total of six Tradeline and Switch Plus service stores in all of Egypt. There’s Switch Plus’ Mohandessin, Degla, Smouha, or Downtown Mall branches for repairs, or Tradeline’s Concord Mall, City Stars, or Mall of Arabia service stores.

The more widely available and cheaper option is the plethora of non-authorized Apple repair services.iFix, Salsapeel, and iRepair are among the most trusted among iSheep and sales reps we’ve spoken to.

A house favorite is Salsapeel— a very cloak-and-dagger operation that charges premium-adjacent prices. A number of us at Enterprise have tried their fixes and were very happy with the speed and quality of the repair.

And these come with some added benefits: iFix will come where you are and fix it on the spot with what they claim are genuine Apple parts. It takes a maximum of 20 minutes, according to their pages. Not only do they assert that the parts they use are genuine Apple components and not just high-quality copies, they back it up by offering you generous warranties.iRepair, for instance, provides a 12-month warranty on most of its spare parts, and is one of the least expensive repair services we’ve seen.

LET’S TALK NUMBERS- We called up a few stores to find out what to expect if we needed to fix one of our Apple products. Here’s what we found out.

iPHONES-

The authorized reseller route: A screen change Switch Plus or Tradeline will cost you a minimum of EGP 14.3k and take 3-5 business days, depending on the model of your phone. Changing your phone battery costs less, with a cool EGP 3.7k at Tradeline and EGP 3.9k at Switch Plus.

The cheaper alternative: iFix claims to change iPhone screens for almost half the price listed above, at EGP 8k. Getting your phone a new screen from Salsapeel will cost you EGP 10.5k, or EGP 8k if you’re willing to downgrade from genuine components to a high-copy. iFix charges EGP 1.6k for a battery change — which they say takes 20 minutes — and a six-month warranty. Both iRepair and Salsapeel charge an additional 1k for the same repair, claiming that genuine batteries aren’t available on the market and that theirs is the next best thing.

MACBOOKS-

Macbooks are a little trickier. A representative at Tradeline explained that macbook repairs are priced on a case-by-case basis, which is why you have to visit the store for an assessment first. The same goes for Switch Plus. The price will also depend on the FX rate, according to the sales rep, who explained that because authentic Apple components are shipped from abroad on a custom order basis, how much it’ll cost you is contingent on how much the USD runs for on the day it arrives in Egypt.

Prices at authorized sellers have us wishing they made kevlar Macbook covers:Macbook screen changes will cost you upwards of EGP 30k, or approximately 2.83 kidneys.

What about the unauthorized folks? Macbook screens unfortunately lie outside of iFix’s scope, but Salsapeel will charge 24k to come to your rescue. iRepair once again charges the least of the pack, with a screen change setting you back EGP 14k and it comes with a (you guessed it) six-month warranty.

OTHER APPLE PRODUCTS-

There’s no fixing a broken iPad screen or Apple Watch at the authorized reseller:If the screen or the battery get busted, authorized resellers in Egypt cannot repair them. But they can switch them out if without charge they’re still under warranty. If your warranty has expired, you can get it replaced for just 90% of the price, which comes down to a measly EGP 33.6k for the iPad Pro 11 and EGP 13.6k for a Series 7 Apple Watch.

Naturally, the alternative route is cheaper: Salsapeel and get your iPad screen fixed for EGP 20k. They will also repair your Apple Watch’s screen for EGP 5.5k. iFix, which claims it can repair all broken screens, prices Apple Watch screen replacements at EGP 5k.