Having to send a broken phone for repair is already a stressful experience. You find yourself without your primary means of communication, you’re hoping it’ll be quickly fixed without any blunders or extra costs, and you’re relying on a shipping carrier to not lose it or delay its delivery. But there’s also the slightly “icky” feeling of knowing one of your most private possessions is now in the hands of someone else.
This uneasy situation is exacerbated when you can’t (or don’t know how to) reset your phone before sending it away. Some countries’ laws force repair companies to wipe devices to protect your data, but many others don’t have any specific regulation. Some carriers or brands might impose this as part of their internal repair protocol, but others don’t. And let’s not talk about mom-and-pop repair shops. This uncertainty is certainly confusing for us users.