iPhone Motherboard Repair in Singapore: What It Costs and When It's Worth It

iPhone motherboard repair in Singapore starts from $20 at Citri Mobile on older models and from $130 on an iPhone 16 Pro Max, nett, and every board job is quoted after a free diagnosis. That's because two phones that both "won't turn on" can have completely different faults. If we can't fix it, you don't pay for the attempt. Board repair is the job that decides whether a phone is saveable, so it's worth understanding before you hand one over.

What is an iPhone motherboard repair?

The motherboard, which Apple calls the logic board, is the part everything else plugs into: the processor, the storage holding your photos, the chips that manage charging, power, audio and the cellular signal. On most iPhones from the X onwards it's two boards stacked into a sandwich, which makes it more compact and harder to work on.

A motherboard repair can mean two quite different things, and it's worth knowing which one a shop means.

• Component-level repair. The fault is traced to one chip, one connector or one tiny part knocked loose by a drop, and that part is replaced or reworked under a microscope. The board stays, and so does everything stored on it.
• Board replacement. The whole board is swapped. On an iPhone this is rarely a clean option, because the storage is encrypted to its own board, and the Face ID or Touch ID sensor is paired to it. A new board is a new phone as far as your data is concerned.

When we talk about board repair, we mean the first one, done in-house rather than sent out.

Signs your iPhone has a motherboard problem

None of these is proof on its own, because most of them have a cheaper explanation too. But these are the faults that end up on the board:

• Completely dead. No screen, no vibration, no charging icon, even after an hour on a known-good charger. Try the steps in iPhone won't turn on first.
• Stuck on the Apple logo, restarting every few minutes in a loop, even after a restore.
• No Service that a new SIM doesn't fix, or a missing IMEI in Settings.
• Calls with no sound, or a greyed-out speaker button. Classic on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, where it's a known audio chip fault.
• Won't charge after a new charging port, or charges only in one position.
• Hot while idle and draining fast with a healthy battery, which can mean a short somewhere on the board.
• After liquid, any of the above. Water itself rarely kills a board. The corrosion it leaves behind does, over days.

If the screen is black but the phone still buzzes and rings, that's usually the display, not the board, and the iPhone black screen guide explains how to tell.

How much does iPhone motherboard repair cost?

Our price list carries a board-repair band for each model. Here's where each one starts. Where yours lands within the band depends on what the diagnosis finds, and anything bigger than the band covers is quoted to you before any work starts.

iPhone	Board repair from
iPhone 16 Pro Max / 16 Pro	$130
iPhone 16 Plus / 16	$120
iPhone 15 Pro Max / 15 Pro	$130
iPhone 15 Plus / 15	$120
iPhone 14 Pro Max / 14 Pro	$100
iPhone 14 Plus / 14	$100
iPhone 13 Pro Max / 13 Pro	$95
iPhone 13 / 13 mini	$95
iPhone 12 Pro Max / 12 Pro	$95
iPhone 12 / 12 mini	$85
iPhone 11 Pro Max / 11 Pro	$55
iPhone 11	$60
iPhone XS Max / XS / XR / X	$40
iPhone SE (2020 and 2022)	$30
iPhone 8 / 8 Plus	$30
iPhone 7 / 7 Plus	$25
iPhone 6s and older	$20
iPhone 17 range, Air, 16e	On quote

Prices are nett, and the diagnosis that produces your actual quote is free. Each model's own page on the iPhone repair page shows its full band, and the iPhone motherboard repair page lists every model together.

Why board work is quoted after a diagnosis

Because "it won't turn on" isn't a fault, it's a symptom. Behind it could be a failed power chip, a cracked connector, a short from one corroded capacitor, or damage spread across half the board. Those are different jobs at very different prices, and nobody can tell which from a description, us included. A fixed board price given over the phone usually gets revised once the phone is open.

So the order is always the same. We diagnose the phone free, tell you what's wrong and what it costs, and you decide. If it can't be repaired, there's no fee for the attempt. Timing works the same way. A board repair often needs longer than a screen or a battery, sometimes a day or more if a part has to be sourced, and you get an honest estimate with the quote rather than a promise made before anyone has looked.

What happens to your data?

This is the question that matters most to most people, so here's the straight answer.

Your photos and messages live on a storage chip soldered to the board and encrypted to that phone. There's no removing the chip and reading it somewhere else. Getting your data back means getting the board working again, at least long enough to copy everything off. That's why a component-level repair, which keeps the original board, is usually the only route to the data on a dead iPhone with no backup.

We can't promise it, because some boards are too far gone. What we can promise is that we'll tell you honestly whether the data is reachable before you pay for anything. If the data is the whole point and the phone itself doesn't matter, say so up front. We'll focus on getting it running, not on making it perfect. More on this on our phone data recovery page.

What should you do if the phone got wet?

Power it off and leave it off, don't charge it, and skip the rice. Then get it opened and cleaned quickly. The first 30 minutes after water damage guide walks through it. A chemical wash, from $45, cleans the corrosion off before it eats a track. The longer a wet phone sits, the more likely a cheap wash turns into board work.

Can Apple repair an iPhone motherboard?

Apple generally doesn't repair iPhone logic boards at component level. For a board fault, Apple's answer is usually a replacement device at its out-of-warranty fee, and your data then has to come from an iCloud or computer backup. If the phone is still under warranty or AppleCare+ and the fault isn't from a drop or liquid, start with Apple, because a covered replacement beats any repair. Our guide to checking your Apple warranty shows how to find out in a minute.

Out of warranty, with no backup, a component-level repair is often the only way to keep both the phone and what's on it.

When is a motherboard repair not worth it?

We'll say so when it isn't. The usual cases:

• The phone is old and the data is backed up. On an iPhone 8 or earlier, a board repair plus a tired battery can come close to the price of a decent used replacement. If nothing on it is irreplaceable, put the money towards a newer phone instead. Is it worth repairing an old iPhone? goes model by model.
• The damage is spread across the board, usually from liquid that sat for weeks. Then the honest answer may be data only, or nothing.
• Someone has already been inside it. Previous board work, missing shields or swapped parts can make a fix uncertain. Bring the phone in with whatever history you know and we'll tell you where it stands.

iPhone motherboard repair: FAQs

How much does an iPhone motherboard repair cost in Singapore?

At Citri Mobile, from $20 on older iPhones and from $130 on an iPhone 16 Pro Max, nett. Every board job is quoted after a free diagnosis, because the same symptom can be a small fault or a large one.

Can an iPhone motherboard be repaired?

Often, yes. Many board faults come down to one failed chip, connector or component, which can be replaced under a microscope while the rest of the board, and your data, stays as it is.

Will I lose my data in a motherboard repair?

Not from a component-level repair, which keeps the original board. If the board is too damaged to revive, data without a backup may not be recoverable, and we tell you that before you pay anything.

Do I pay if the board can't be fixed?

No. Diagnosis is free, and if we can't repair it, you don't pay for the attempt.

How long does an iPhone motherboard repair take?

It depends on the fault. Board work often takes longer than a screen or battery, sometimes a day or more if a part has to be sourced. You get an estimate with the quote after diagnosis.

Is board repair done in-house?

Yes. Board-level work is done in-house rather than sent out, so you deal with the people actually doing the repair.

Getting it looked at

We do board-level iPhone repair at four shops: People's Park Centre in Chinatown, Tampines, Yishun and Jurong Point, open 11am to 9pm daily. You can walk in, but message or call first, so we can tell you whether your fault needs a part we don't keep in stock. WhatsApp +65 9456 6455 with your model and what happened: when it stopped, whether it was dropped or got wet, and whether there's a backup. That's usually enough to tell you what to expect before you travel.

For everything else on the phone, from screens and batteries to charging ports, see the iPhone repair page. As an independent repairer under the Apple IRP programme, we fit genuine Apple parts for eligible iPhone repairs.