Phone repair at Lake Ariel & the lake
I come to you. Screens, batteries, charging ports and back glass, fixed at the house, the camp or the dock — Lake Ariel, Hamlin, Lakeville and the Wallenpaupack shore.
A broken phone at the lake costs you the weekend, not the repair
It happens in a particular way up here. The phone goes in off a dock, or face-down on a flagstone step, or it takes a splash in the boat and works fine until it does not — and you are forty minutes from anywhere that could look at it, on a Saturday, with two days left of the time you actually came for.
The usual options are both bad. Drive back down to the valley and spend half the day doing it, or live without the phone until Monday and sort it out at home — which means the photos, the directions, the group chat and the ability to be reached all go missing for the part of the year you are up here for.
I do the driving. You stay where you are, I set up outside, and you get the phone back working before I leave.
Where I can work
Anywhere I can park. I repair out of my own vehicle with my own light and my own power, so I do not need a table, a socket, a clean room or to come inside at all.
That matters more at a lake house than it does in town. Rentals, family camps, a place you are staying at as someone’s guest — none of that is awkward, because I never need anything from the building. A driveway, a porch, a tailgate or the parking lot at a launch all work the same.
What it costs to come out here
| Travel to Lake Ariel, Hamlin & the near shore | $45 |
| Far shore — Greentown, Paupack | up to $50 |
| Screen replacement | from $125 |
| Battery replacement | from $120 |
| Charging port clean & check | from $35 |
| Diagnosis | always free |
Lake Ariel is about 22 miles from Scranton, which is the 20 to 35 mile band at $45. The far side of the lake can tip into the next band, and that one is $50 — the ceiling, everywhere I go, no matter how far out you are.
The fee is charged once per visit, never per phone. At a lake house that is usually the whole point: one trip, one fee, and every cracked screen in the family dealt with in the same hour.
If it went in the water, read this first
Two things decide whether a wet phone survives, and both happen in the first hour.
Do not charge it. Putting power through a wet board is what turns a recoverable phone into a dead one. If it is off, leave it off. And do not use rice — it does nothing for the water already inside and it puts starch dust into the ports.
Lake water is also not the same as tap water. It carries more in it, and what it leaves behind on the board keeps working long after the phone looks dry, which is why a phone that seemed fine on Saturday can fail on Wednesday.
What I fix
Cracked screens are the most common call, and the cheapest moment to fix one is before the crack reaches the touch layer. Batteries are the repair people put off longest and regret least. Charging ports are the one where the answer is often a $35 clean rather than a repair — and at the lake it is as often sand as pocket lint. Liquid damage gets an honest assessment rather than a promise. And back glass costs very different amounts depending on the model.
iPhone 8 through 17 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy A and S series, Google Pixel. Price is by model, not a flat rate.
How it works
Tell me what broke
Your phone, the problem, where you are staying. Two taps and you get a price with the travel already in it.
I drive out
House, camp, rental or launch. Free diagnosis when I arrive, and if it is not worth fixing you hear that before I start.
Fixed at your door
An iPhone screen or battery is usually fixed in 30 to 60 minutes after I get to you; other phones and repairs can take longer. I test every function with you before I hand it back.
One person turns up — and it's always me
No call center, no rotating technicians, no phone vanishing into a back room. The person who quotes you is the person who does the repair, and the person you text if something isn't right six months later.
Questions, answered
Do you come out to Lake Ariel?
Yes. Lake Ariel is about 22 miles from Scranton, which puts it in the 20 to 35 mile band. Travel is $45, charged once per visit, and the diagnosis is free.
Can you repair at a camp or a dock rather than a house?
Yes. I work out of my vehicle and bring my own light and power, so a driveway, a porch, a tailgate or a boat launch parking lot all work. I don’t need to come inside and I don’t need anything from you.
We’re only up for the weekend. Can you come at the weekend?
Weekend and evening calls at the lake are normal work rather than a special arrangement. Tell me the window you’re actually there and I’ll fit it — a phone left broken until next weekend isn’t much use to anyone.
How much is travel to Lake Wallenpaupack?
$45 for Lake Ariel, Hamlin and the near shore, charged once per visit and never per phone. The far side toward Greentown and Paupack can fall into the 35 to 55 mile band at $50, which is the ceiling everywhere I go.
The phone got wet. Is there any point?
Sometimes — and the odds depend almost entirely on what happened next. Don’t charge it and don’t use rice. The diagnosis is free and I’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth spending money on.
My phone stopped charging. Does that mean a new port?
Usually not. Most of the time it’s compacted pocket lint rather than a failed port, and that’s a $35 clean instead of a replacement from $115. Sand is the other common one up here, and it cleans out the same way.
Nearby and on the same run: Hawley, Honesdale and Carbondale. The full list is on the service area page.