"Apple is doing everything they can to put 3rd party repair people out of business. This is something you really need to reconsider. My business as well as other Mac repair people is down 70% this year alone. Let’s see what @danj has to say too.
"I'm a bit more optimistic about the future but I certainly share the concerns of @mayer and @danj. This happened many years before when there was thriving repair community for luxury items such as TV's, VCR's (!), Stereo's etc. Check out the ads in this mid-80’s magazine. It's even more prominent in older magazines.
Almost nobody has those fixed any more and hardly anyone has the skills to do so. Back then, the manufacturers supplied schematics and if you were trained in electronics, you could fix just about anything.
Today, everything is a state secret, devices are designed and manufactured to be un-repairable. Apple is using less and less ""off the shelf"" components and designing in house and thus controlling the supply chain. That said, there is a thriving repair community for Apple devices are they are ubiquitous and hold their value very well. It's worth it to have them repaired. But as others have noted, you need to bring something to the table. The days of easy money swapping screens is gone or dying fast and you need to be able to do something others can't or won't invest in. Refurbishing, micro-soldering, data recovery...all of these are hard but will protect you for a good while.
So start simple, get a pro toolkit from iFixit, buy a few dead or damaged devices and practice on those. That will let you see what other tools and supplies you need and when you feel comfortable, try fixing a few phones for friends and family (they will be more tolerant of mistakes). Then move up and onwards but never stay still."
"I used to buy broken phones/DS lites/iPods, repair them and sell them to make a few extra bucks. The newer iPhones are not easy to open, the iPods never seem to sit flush because the frame is bent with drops. I have a cupboard full of broken things that seemed like an easy, cheap fix that are annoying me- I get them out, fiddle about with them, get frustrated and then pop them back in the cupboard of no return- iphone 5s, iphone 4, 5 ipod nano, 3 ipod touch gen 4, 3 ipads gen 2,3,4, 3 ds lites, tickle me elmo, a transformer ‘bumblebee’, go pro hero2, ipod touch gen 6, PS2, original xbox (anyone got a dvd drive- they’re rare as rocking horse poo here)
I still use my iFixit pro-kit from 2012/3, waaaay better than a kit my friend bought in europe. Get a fine tip solder station with adjustable heat settings, I had a cheap hot air reflow with a few size nozzles and adjustable temp- it worked fine. A decent “spare hands” type tool for holding things, a good magnifying lamp or a camera set up to a screen for really close work. These things aren’t too expensive actually and can easily be sold on.
start small, practice, practice, practice. Google is your friend and so is iFixit.
On the contrary , i noticed that the are numerous free-lancers doing simple mobile parts replacement business, you can have a look at the chinese taobao website as reference for prices to bring into your country. Start slow, surely and steady. Practice is the key
