YOUR INSIDER'S TECHNOLOGY GUIDE
IN HO CHI MINH CITY 🇻🇳
SAIGON INSPIRATION TECHNOLOGY BEST MOBILE PHONE REPAIR SHOPS IN SAIGON
Finding a good repair shop at a fairly reasonable price
Getting a secondhand phone in SaigonReliable places to get apple products and repair services
Repairing or replacing anything worth more than a few million VND in Ho Chi Minh City can be difficult. Why? Simply because the process can be very expensive at a more reputable chain, or stressful for non-Vietnamese speakers to figure out which local repair shops are trustworthy.
Electronics in this country can be a lot more expensive than you would think, thanks to Vietnam’s high import tax and, in some cases, scammers who overcharge for their parts and services.
But don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Here are some recommendations to make your life easier when it comes to your broken phone, whether you need a new screen, or a new phone entirely. With the right knowledge, finding a solid repair shop in Ho Chi Minh City is actually simpler and often much, much cheaper than Western countries.
Budget Repair Shop in Saigon
Saigon is full of small, local repair shops that offer quick service for a bargain. You should approach these shops at your own risk; you will most likely void your phone’s warranty by seeking repairs here as they may use non-official parts (usually from China). You should only use local phone repair shops if budget is your primary concern.
For reference, the average screen replacement repair cost should be around 300k (around US $14), though this will depend on the size of the screen, as well as the phone itself (some newer phones may cost more). Any iPhone and most Samsung phones should be quite easy to repair, though finding a shop for less common Android phones may be more difficult. Here are our recommendations:
– Hùng Vương in District 5: Lining the left side of this street as you enter it from the six-way Cộng Hoà traffic circle, there are a number of used phone shops that will repair your phone quickly for a very reasonable price.
– Giakien Services in District 10: 352, 3 Tháng 2 Street. This shop is well known for its reliable, cheap repairs.
– 1 Lê Văn Sỹ St, Phú Nhuận District: This small repair shop is reliable with the quick same-day turnaround, though they mostly service iPhones. Lê Văn Sỹ street spans 3 different districts, so make sure you go to the address in Phú Nhuận (near the train track).
– Hoàng Văn Thụ St, Tân Bình District: Situated near the airport, you’ll find loads of repair shops on this street. You’ll find these shops near the traffic circle that connects Cộng Hòa and Lê Văn Sỹ streets.
Secondhand Gems in Saigon
If your phone needs to be replaced altogether, you can find good bargains at many shops that sell second-hand phone in Ho Chi Minh City. Here are a few of our top picks:
– Hùng Vương in District 5: Many of these repair shops also sell quality secondhand models that usually come with a limited warranty.
– Saigon Square by Lê Lợi St, District 1: There are quite a few secondhand phone stalls in Saigon Square which quote a similar price. This is a convenient option, though you can expect less friendly vendors and higher prices as this area is frequented by tourists. Be prepared to bargain.
– Hoàng Văn Thụ St, Tân Bình District: Like the shops on Hùng Vương, the repair shops here also sell a wide variety of used phones. Their convenient arrangement means you can easily inquire from one to the next to see which shops have the best options at the lowest prices. You’ll find these shops near the traffic circle that connects Cộng Hoà and Lê Văn Sỹ streets, situated near the airport.
You can find some of the best deals by connecting with individual resellers online, but always exercise caution when purchasing electronics over the internet. Research the particular brand/model of the phone beforehand so you know what to expect. Meet in a public place and bring a friend along if you can. Make sure you have at least a phone number to reach them in case something goes wrong.
Here are some of the more reliable sites offering secondhand models:
– Lazada
– Facebook ‘buy and swap’ pages
– Chotot (Vietnamese language only)
Most Reliable iPhone Repairs in Saigon
iKnow, an electronic store in District 2, is one of the best options for reliable, reasonably priced Apple phone repairs in Saigon. They also repair laptops and other Apple products. While you can expect to pay a bit more for your repair job than at the super cheap neighborhood shops, you can have peace of mind knowing the parts used are genuine and the employees are qualified professionals.
Brian, the founder of iKnow, is an ex-Apple repair technician who started the company in HCMC to provide reliable Apple repair services and to sell reliable Apple products to Apple customers in the city.
E-Digi in District 1 (right by the central post office) is one of Ho Chi Minh City’s only Apple-Certified resellers, meaning you’ll get an experience as close to a real Apple Store as possible (they don’t yet exist in Vietnam). This is probably the most expensive option for Apple products as they will be sold at full retail price, plus import taxes.
For brand new Android phones and Windows/Linux laptops, you can go to any major chain in the city like FPT or Thegioididong or visit their websites to purchase online. Many Android phone manufacturers operate in Vietnam, which means they’ll typically be much more reasonably-priced because they avoid the steep import taxes.
Useful Vietnamese Words to get you by
ENGLISH | VIETNAMESE |
buy | mua |
repair | sửa |
(used) mobile phone | di động (pronounced “yee dong”) |
new mobile phone | di động mới |
laptop | laptop |
how much? | bao nhiêu? |
how long will it take? | bao lâu? |
SAIGON INSPIRATION TECHNOLOGY BEST LAPTOP REPAIR IN SAIGON
We’ve found Saigon’s best PC repair shops for you
Get your Macbook fixed by an Apple-certified technician
Check out our tips for buying a used laptop in Ho Chi Minh City
Laptops are an essential tool for many professionals living and working in Saigon. Teachers often need them for on-the-go lesson planning. Digital nomads, of course, can’t go fully digital without a reliable computer to create content. But what happens when you need a repair in Saigon?
Laptops are perhaps even more difficult to replace or repair than phones. With more moving parts and a tendency to last longer than smartphones, there’s a lot more that could go wrong. To make matters worse, the parts and repairs for most laptops tend to be more expensive.
But there’s good news: Southeast Asia, with Ho Chi Minh City being no exception, is one of the most cost-effective places in the world to repair electronics. Read on for the best advice—and recommended shops—for repairing your laptop or computer in Saigon.
How to repair a non-Apple laptop in Saigon for the cheapest price?
Countless workshops are dotted around the city with “sửa lap top” advertised on the front, but unless they repair the machine in front of you there is no guarantee that parts of your laptop won’t go missing during the process. You also can’t guarantee the quality of the parts that are used!
Fortunately, we’ve experienced trustworthy service from these local repair shops:
– 223A Phạm Viết Chánh in District 1. Though their English skills are limited, they are kind, reliable, and skilled at their trade.
– Laptop Repair Huy Hoang, 264 Huỳnh Văn Bánh, Ward 11, Phú Nhuận. Well-known with a large team of experts, trusted by locals. English speaking skills are limited.
The District 1 location is best for non-Apple repairs, however, they are capable of both. One of our correspondents paid VND 1,000,000 here for a new keyboard for his MacBook Pro, with a warranty of 6 months. Huy Hoang is another reliable repair shop in the Phu Nhuan district, trusted by locals with a large team of experts.
And what about my Macbook?
If you are looking for somewhere reliable and reasonably priced to repair your Apple laptop, iKnow in Thao Dien is the place to go. iKnow also sells top-quality Apple products and accessories.
This repair shop is known for its credibility. Brian, owner, and founder of iKnow, is a Phillipino-American ex-employee of Apple, and an expert in Apple product repairs. The iKnow staff speaks great English, and, perhaps best of all, they provide wifi, comfy chairs, and even an espresso machine.
ANTZ, located more centrally in D1, is another reliable Apple-certified source for repairs.
Apple repairs can be obtained cheaply in many local shops, but be careful—getting your laptop repaired by a non-certified shop carries its own risks. If budget is your primary concern, most of these shops can offer decent repairs, but they may use knock-off Chinese parts instead of Apple-certified, which may cause you more trouble further down the road.
Where can I buy secondhand or used laptops in Saigon?
With online marketplaces increasingly gaining popularity, you can find a whole slew of used laptop listings on popular social networking sites like Facebook. A relatively cheap but reliable PC can be obtained for around VND 10 million, though depending on your budget—and your willingness to compromise—you can find some of the cheapest used laptops for much less.
Local repair shops do sell cheap used laptops, but these are not recommended as they often sell machines that have been stripped of certain parts for external use. You may end up paying for a slow, crippled version of a laptop due to prior damage or modifications.
HALO in District 1 is a reputable storefront for buying used Apple computers. Their machines come with a warranty, and technical support, and can be tested in-store before purchasing. This is not the cheapest option, however, it’s much more reliable than purchasing from a stranger or a lesser-known local shop.
Should you decide to buy a used laptop from an individual seller online, you should exercise the same precautions in Vietnam as you would anywhere else.
– Meet the seller in a public place with good wifi, and check for visible signs of damage.
– Test the machine as thoroughly as possible and ask questions (Why are you selling this machine? How long have you owned it? Does it have any known problems? etc).
– Research the model in advance and check the technical specifications to make sure they match up, and check prices for that same laptop in popular online marketplaces like eBay.
– Keep in mind that imported electronics, like Apple products, will generally cost more than average due to high import taxes. Most PC brands avoid this by manufacturing directly in Vietnam.
This process may seem like a headache, especially to the non-techies who just want a basic machine to do the essentials, but it’s well worth preparing in advance to avoid wasting your hard-earned money on a faulty laptop that will cost you even more time and headaches in the future.
Of course, buying a used laptop, under any circumstances, is something you must do at your own risk.
Here are a few of our recommended online marketplaces for buying a used laptop in Saigon:
– Facebook ‘buy and swap’ pages
– Expat Blog
– Craigslist
– Lazada
– ChoTot (Vietnamese only)
SAIGON INSPIRATION TECHNOLOGY VIETNAM’S INTERNET SPEED STILL FASTER THAN REGIONAL COUNTRIES
Vietnam’s average broadband speed is ranked 58 out of 189 countries in 2021
The information was compiled by Ookla, a global leader in testing applications and owner of Speedtest.net in its Q2 2021 report on Vietnam’s state of mobile and fixed network and the rest of Speedtest Global Index, where they ranked mobile and fixed broadband speeds from around the world.
The global average for mobile download and upload speed is 55.34 Mbps and 12.69 Mbps, respectively, surpassing China, India, and other Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.
Singapore topped the world with an average download speed of 55.13Mbps, followed by Sweden and Taiwan, which achieved 40.16Mbps and 34.4Mbps speeds, respectively. This is a result that may surprise many.
Cable Ruptures
Vietnam is notorious for its unstable internet connection, with undersea cables requiring frequent maintenance due to ruptures. The latest disconnect occurred on June 20 when the newly launched Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) cable broke between Hong Kong and Vietnam.
The cable became operational in late December of last year and was officially launched on January 3. Soon after the launch, a technical problem occurred that required two weeks to fix.
It wasn’t until July 6 that the APG resumed full service following the repair work.
The installed US$450 million APG, with a capacity of more than 54 terabit/second, has doubled the internet speed in Vietnam and eased the country’s reliance on the notoriously problematic Asia America Gateway (AAG), which has broken or been shut down for maintenance on numerous occasions since its start in 2009.
The new APG line was built in four years and links Japan with Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Sharks?
Currently, Vietnam has five undersea cable systems: APG, AAG, SeaMeWe-3, Tata TGN-Intra Asia, and Asia Africa Europe-1. Nearly 69 million people in Vietnam, or 77% more of the country’s population, regularly use the Internet. Therefore, any internet disconnection affects millions of people and businesses.
After each of the numerous AAG cable ruptures, Vietnamese telecoms were unable to determine the culprit, which even inspired internet memes blaming the issues on “sharks”.
In 2015, The Independent reported that sharks may be the culprit for cable ruptures in Vietnam, displaying internet videos of sharks biting fiber optic cables. According to the paper, sharks may mistake electromagnetic waves for bioelectric fields that surround schools of fish.
SAIGON INSPIRATION TECHNOLOGY What home audio shops are in Ho Chi Minh City ?
The below recommendations were checked on January 2020, if you notice something to improve, please tell us.
Our recommendation for good audio sound system providers in Ho Chi Minh City
There’s nothing like having a great sound system in your home for those times when you want to dance or have a house party with your ex-pat friends. It’s even better when you watch your favorite movies in the house instead of going to the cinema all the time. A variety of shops selling mid-range sound systems are found around the city. At the corner of Bảy Hiền, in front of Nguyen Thuong Hien High School, there are plenty of cheaper audio systems shops. If you’re setting up your sound system for your new place here in Saigon, check out these places.
District 1
Anh Duy Audio
172 Pasteur, D1, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 28 2243 7008
For those more keen on high-end systems like Bose or JBL, check this shop out for your favorite brands. Delivery and installation are included. English is spoken.
Hòa Phúc Company Limited
240B Tran Hung Dao, D1, HCMC. Vietnam / +84 28 3838 6340 / hoaphucaudio.com
Home theatre audio equipment specialist and distributor of the well-known amplifier and speaker brands. Installation is free of charge. English is spoken.
JBL Audio System
10 Trinh Van Can, D1, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 28 6299 0552 / +84 28 6299 0553 / +84 28 6299 0554 / pgi.com.vn
Specializing in loudspeakers and associated electronics, this company offers products both for amateurs and professionals. English is spoken.
Nguyễn Kim Electronics Centre
63-65-67 Tran Hung Dao, D1, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 1900 1267 / nguyenkim.com
The largest distributor of electrical, video, sound, telephones, TVs, and home appliances products in Ho Chi Minh City.
District 3
Phong Vũ Computer
264 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 1800 6865 / phongvu.vn
Bose Store
57 Cao Thang, D3, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 28 3929 0209 / pro-audio.vn
AZ Audio
306/21 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 9 0470 7505 / azaudio.vn
District 10
Croplab Store
7A/19/33 Thanh Thai, D10, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 9 3897 6754 / Facebook
J Camera Shop
166/9 Ho Ba Kien, D10, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 9 0986 0910
Tokyo Camera Sài Gòn
520 Ly Thai To, D10, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 9 6901 6861 / tokyocamera.vn
Other Districts
Vientin Int’l J.S.C
392 Duong Tran Hung Dao, D5, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 9 6901 6861 / vientin.vn
Achumba
6 An Duong Vuong, D8, HCMC, Vietnam / nhattao.com
Máy Ảnh Giá Tốt
416 Ba Dinh, D8, HCMC, Vietnam / +84 9 3260 6288 / Facebook
Tran Quang Camera Co.,Ltd
18/2 Tran Van Hoang, Tan Binh , HCMC, Vietnam / +84 9 3875 9838 / cameratranquang.com
