Lately, we have been receiving lots of calls enquiring about the cost of a screen repair for the Samsung Galaxy phones. Replacement AMOLED (LCD) display units are extremely expensive for us to purchase, which is why some people may assume we are overcharging. 
On hearing the cost of a screen repair, most people understandably question it’s only the glass that’s broken – and not the AMOLED (LCD) display – and then ask can we give a price for just the glass.

Unfortunately, we can’t. We will explain why.

Why Are Samsung Screens Replacement So Expensive?

Original Samsung smartphone screen assemblies are notoriously expensive, and the cost of a replacement can often be nearly as much as a replacement phone. The main reason for this is that the production cost is extremely high, the most recent Samsung screens are manufactured using Active Matrix Organic LED(AMOLED) technology and are produced by Samsung themselves. Manufacturers of third-party displays which are mainly produced in China & Taiwan try to master the exact technology that Samsung uses, they basically manufacture second rate inferior copies.

So, what are my options for a Samsung Screen Replacement?

There are basically three options for replacing a screen on a Samsung.
Copies for the much older Samsung smartphones S4, S5, S6 & S6 Edge are available from China through eBay, though nowhere near the quality of the original and not reliable at all - they only use LCD technology instead of AMOLED.
Original Samsung screens are available via Service Packs that are sold by Samsung to distributors. However, stock of these packs is usually limited, more so for the newer models. The demand for these packs then drives the price, the “old supply and demand” issue.
Official Samsung recycled screens are also available, which have been removed from defective handsets and refurbished in factories in China. Again because of supply and demand, the resale value of a defective Samsung screen is extremely high, which in turn increases the price of refurbished displays.
As always, the official Samsung Service Pack is by far the most superior replacement, which is why we always use 100% genuine Samsung replacements. They are brand new Super AMOLED display complete assemblies, produced by Samsung which they use in their own service centres. Usually, the displays come with a new frame and the correct adhesives strips to give the repair an original finish. This is generally the main reason this product commands the highest price.
Other establishments tend to use refurbished Samsung display units, these mostly come without any adhesive strips or frame, so the repairer needs to transfer the old frame from the broken screen which if not done correctly can lead to issues further down the line. The display can lift away from the frame causing it to crack, the old frame hasn’t had the old adhesive removed correctly, a slightly buckled frame can result in a pink line appearing on the display.
Generally, the onus will always be on the customer with these occurrences, they will in most cases claim you broke it. Other issues with refurbishment displays tend to be a huge difference in quality depending on who refurbished the display. Screens can have imperfections, scratches or dust particles trapped in-between the glass and the LCD, more worryingly though the glass may not be up to the same quality which Samsung use, it will generally be thinner and break easily.

But I only need to replace the glass!

It’s not impossible but comes with many risks.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S8 & S8 plus are some of the most prevalent smartphones we get requests about repairing. As we stated above, we often get asked for a price to replace the screen only to be told “it’s only the glass screen that is cracked”.
It does not help that many people see you can buy a Galaxy S7 Edge or Galaxy S8 glass replacement only kit on eBay for around £20 - £30. What they are not aware of is that that replacing a glass on a display assembly involves a lot of skill. Replacing the glass on a bevelled screen as the S7 Edge’s is almost-impossible even for a proficient technician without breaking the screen itself.
The circumstances are much the same for most of the Galaxy Range.

Extremely High Risk for Very Little Profit

Therefore, no reputable repairer will deal in low cost glass-only repairs. Any profit they would make from glass replacement jobs would be entirely consumed by the expense of replacing the screens they had broken.
A Samsung S8 service pack display sells on eBay for £207. If a repairer was to charge £70 to replace just the glass there would be a good profit margin if everything went successfully, however, if they were to damage the screen they would certainly lose a considerable amount of money on the job with the repairer having to replace the whole display assembly.
Some establishments may quote “We can replace the glass but if we damage the screen you the customer will be required to pay for a new display”. How can it be at the customer's own risk?
Below is an example of what a store may use within their Terms & Conditions
“Glass only repair services, we will accept no responsibility for damages or breakages that occur throughout the separation procedure of detaching the pre-bonded LCD from the existing damaged glass to the new glass”.
Would you take your car in for a service where the terms & conditions stated,
“we will accept no responsibility for damages to your vehicle such as breakages, scratches or punctures that occur throughout the servicing procedure”?
I suspect not!
You don’t have a clue what their skill level is. What is stopping them claiming they damaged the whole display and then charge you the full price (having only replaced the glass) once you’ve approved for them to undertake the repair you’re then unable to take back the phone in the original condition which it came into the store.

Leave Glass Replacement to the Factories

The factories in Taiwan & China that refurbish screens have invested huge amounts of money in specialist machinery to undertake refurb as close to manufacturer specifications as possible. They can do this type of repair day in and day out, so they are the experts. They have controlled environments and specialist equipment to separate the AMOLED display, use the correct proprietary moulds and techniques to do the job correctly.
It would be unrealistic to expect a small store to be able to undertake a glass only replacement to the same standard. Many stores will only have basic equipment and will use liquid adhesive spread over the display to bond the glass to it, the problem with this adhesive is it has a very pungent smell and is messy leaving excess adhesive inside the phone. There is a high likelihood of dust being attracted underneath the glass. Would you be prepared to accept these risks to save money?

Is there any money to be saved on this?

There is very little margin in Samsung screen repairs which is why we would expect most stores to be about the same price when it comes to replacing the display. If somewhere was charging substantially less, you would have to question the reason. Some stores are buying stolen handsets, stripping the display off them and using the displays in their repairs. This is the reason why there is also a flourishing market with adverts on Gumtree and eBay looking for locked, blocked and phones with no service (probably stolen).
It's a very similar situation for other smartphones. 

Which Samsung Phone Models Can We Repair? 

At Tech Guys 360, we repair almost all Samsung phone models including Samsung Galaxy S7 models, Samsung Galaxy S8 models, Samsung Galaxy S10 models, S4 and more. To find out more about the exact Samsung phone repairs we offer, visit our Samsung phone repairs page here.