The Cell Fix employee Brian Thomas, 27, Hermiston, repairs an iPhone 6 Monday at the new business in the Hermiston Plaza. The Cell Fix is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at 824 S. Highway 395.

Fixing a broken cell phone can be much less expensive than replacing it, and a new business in Hermiston can complete many repairs the same day.

Owner Albin Presley said he was excited to open The Cell Fix in the Hermiston Plaza. The business opened Thursday, and Presley said it’s already doing well.

Presley opened The Cell Fix in La Grande a little more than two years ago and wanted to expand to offer repairs in Hermiston.

“We just looked at expanding the business and with Hermiston being a fast-growing town with a lot going on and there being no repair business here, we picked Hermiston,” he said. “I think it’ll do great. People walking in are happy to have something in town. I’m really happy with what’s going on and the amount of people we’ve got coming in. I don’t think we can do anything but grow and get bigger.”

Presley said the location near Subway in the Hermiston Plaza has a lot of foot traffic and many people have stopped in during his first week in Hermiston. On Monday, he said the business repaired four iPhones.

“We try and do same-day repair on almost everything we do,” he said.

The Cell Fix repairs phones, tablets and MP3 players and buys, sells and trades used and reconditioned phones and tablets. The business also offers a wide variety of accessories, including cases, cords and batteries.

Presley said replacing screens is the most frequent repair.

“It’s just a matter of taking the phone apart and putting it back together (with a new screen),” he said. “Each one’s a little bit different. An iPhone 5 will cost about $100. If you have to buy the phone outright, you’re going to pay $500 or $600.”

Presley said The Cell Fix can also try to fix liquid damage, but, unlike other repairs, he cannot guarantee the results because the extent of the damage varies. He said people should consult a repair shop with liquid damage because other remedies are less effective.

“The best thing to do is to not turn it on, take the battery out, if possible, and take it to a repair store as quick as you can, so they can get it taken apart, cleaned out and dried out,” he said. “The biggest fairy tale is putting it in a bag of rice. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t have the ability to pull the moisture out of the phone.”

Presley learned about repairs at a school in Phoenix, and he takes ongoing training online. He said he will be training his three-person staff during the next six to eight months while the Hermiston business is established.

Presley, 58, said he enjoys the new career he started a few years ago.

“I was a building contractor and got tired of traveling all over for work,” he said. “I researched businesses, and this is the one we picked as an up-and-coming business. A lot of people don’t know (cell phones) can be fixed. It’s been fun learning something new.”

The Cell Fix is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at 824 S. Highway 395 in the Hermiston Plaza.