Risks/experiences of getting mobile phone screen replaced at small local shop?

[Tremmerity]

DS's phone screen is badly cracked and needs to be replaced. We have some insurance that will cover it, with a £50 excess but we will need to send it away for a few days and that also means we need to restore it to factory settings so we can send it without passcode protection.

A small independent shop on our local high street say they will repair it for £65 while we wait. They say the replacement screen will be a genuine like-for-like replacement. I'm tempted by this option for the convenience. But are there any risks that I need to be aware of?

I also looked at the Timpson Locksmith website for a comparative price, but they wanted £100 and the booking form asked for our passcode, which I thought was inappropriate.

If the small store asks us to unlock the phone and want to take it into a backroom out of view, I won't be happy with that either because I know the contents of phones can be copied in seconds.

Any advice?

I always take outs to our local phone repair shop (think we’re their best customers!)
Always leave it there and pick it up a couple of hours later. They need to know the PIN but it’s never occurred to me that they’d bother to look at personal information, messages, photos etc.
Never had a problem and they always seem to be busy.

Ps the price seems about right. I think ours is slightly less - about £55 iirc - but depends where in the country you are.

I've used a small independent repair shop. They've been around for years and I've had no problems with them.

Loads of people I know use local shops. £55-£65 is the norm.

The small indie stores will ask you to unlock it or give them the pin too, so they can check it's all working correctly. How old is DS - what could he possibly have on his phone that you are worried about being stolen?

If it's an iphone do it yourself. Unsure about other makes. I must be so tight as when my boys used to crack iphone screens all the time I'd get them to order a cheap screen from amazon or ebay and do it themself. I even did it once it's really easy. They have androids now and have never once cracked the screen they must be more sturdy.

I replaced the battery and screen on my phone by ordering from Amazon and following YouTube videos. And I'm not the smartest or tech savvy.

They need it unlocked as they need to access test menus to check everything functions correctly when reassembled.
Some phones allow you to set up a blank 2nd user/account/2nd space for times when you need to allow others to access it & you would just give them that passcode instead

@MissMarpleDarling

I replaced the battery and screen on my phone by ordering from Amazon and following YouTube videos. And I'm not the smartest or tech savvy.

Thanks. I just had a look at a YouTube video for replacing the screen on this model (Motorola G8 Power). It's very complicated and looks quite risky in terms of potentially damaging other components. I think that has convinced me that I need to send it off via the insurance company. At least if they break it when trying to replace the screen they will take some liability.

I would make sure you have a full backup. They probably warn you, but sometimes in the interests of time or hassle they just swap out the whole phone for a refurbished model.