DISH will now send someone to your house to fix your broken cell phone

Broken iPhone
Broken iPhone

DISH, a company perhaps best known for providing satellite television to millions of subscribers around the country, has announced the next phase for its business – something you might not have expected from one of the biggest TV providers.

It's getting into the phone repair business.

DISH, the owners of Sling TV, announced a new plan today that will send a repair technician to your door to replace old batteries and broken cell phone screens on the iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6 and 6 Plus, with more devices to be added in the future.

In some example numbers provided to techradar, a battery replacement on any of the phones listed above might only cost around $110 – with $75 of that going towards the new battery and $35 going to the a one-time "Drive to Me" travel fee.

Repairing the screen itself will be a bit more expensive, with prices starting at $135 to repair the screen of an iPhone 5C and shooting up to $185 when your iPhone 6 Plus screen decides to permanently call it a night.

DISH says it will get the parts from "respected third parties," and that its prices are consistent with those found in repair kiosks across the country.

"Fixing your phone shouldn't mean losing your phone for days on end, so we come to you – whether you're at the office, the gym or even the coffee shop," said John Swieringa, executive vice president of Operations at DISH.

DISH will offer same-day and next-day repair options, and says that it will guarantee all repair work with a 60-day warranty in case you're a bit leery trusting the company that handles satellite dishes to fix your Apple handheld device.

While it's a bit wacky to see the purveyors of satellite TV service breaking into the cell phone repair game, the move is a convenient one for anyone who suffers from incessant mishaps and either can't be bothered or simply just can't run to the store to have them fixed.

The service goes live today and is open to anyone, not just existing DISH subscribers.

Nick Pino

Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar's sister site, Tom's Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it.