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Lagos Phone Engineers & Their Hilarious Habits – Why You’ll Never Get Your Phone Back “Today”

Every Lagosian has that one trusted “phone engineer” who’s fixed their screen, changed their charging port, and possibly caused more problems than they solved. These guys are equal parts technician, comedian, prayer warrior, and professional ghoster. Eyes Of Lagos reports,

Whether you met yours under a bridge in Computer Village or through “my guy wey sabi phone,” the experience is always the same — chaotic, funny, stressful, but somehow, you go back again.

🤳 1. The Legendary “Come Back Tomorrow” Culture

You’ll hear this classic line:

“Oga, just come back tomorrow, I go don finish am.”

You come back tomorrow.

“Ah, you no come yesterday? I fit do am now-now.” 😭

Truth: “Tomorrow” is just a suggestion. In reality, you’re in a long-distance relationship with your phone.

🔌 2. They Can Fix Any Phone (Even If They’ve Never Seen It Before)

You show them a rare device like OnePlus 12 Pro from Mars, and they nod like:

“I don repair this one before. I just need to flash am, change board, clean camera lens, and tighten spirit screw.”

Translation? He’s about to open your phone and Google it in front of you.

🔍 3. Diagnosis by Vibes

No tools. No meter. Just confidence.
You explain the issue and they say:

“Na screen be the problem.”
You: “But it’s the speaker that’s not working.”
“No worry, I go do everything together.”

Fact: Most Lagos engineers use intuition and WhatsApp groups, not manuals.

🔩 4. They’ll Open Your Phone in Public Like a Mechanic Hood

No shame. No privacy. Just vibes.

They’ll dismantle your phone beside a puff-puff seller while saying,

“You dey see this IC? Na him dey cause am.”
You don’t know what an IC is. You just nod and pray.

🛠️ 5. The Tools of the Trade? Mismatch Madness

Their tools include:

Broken screwdriver

Dental pick (yes, for teeth)

Pure water (for static discharge maybe??)

A small red lamp that may or may not summon ancestors

Somehow… it works.

🕵️ 6. They Might “Test” Your Phone with Your SIM (and Airtime)

Don’t be surprised if you get a debit alert for ₦200 airtime while your phone is with them. That’s them “testing network functionality.” 😩

Bonus: You might even get a random “Hello babe” text sent from your line. 😂

🤝 7. The Workshop Is Also a Barbershop, Bet Shop, and Lounge

Don’t ask questions. They’re fixing phones, watching football, cutting hair, and playing Omah Lay — all at the same time. Multitasking kings.
😅 Real-Life Lagosian Quote:

“One guy told me he just needed to ‘tighten the motherboard.’ I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

👀 Final Thoughts:

Lagos phone engineers are wild, unpredictable, and occasionally brilliant. But no matter how bad the experience, you will go back — because let’s face it, nobody does it like “Engineer Seyi” behind that yellow umbrella in Ikeja.

So next time you hear “Just give me 30 minutes,” bring a chair, a bottle of water… and maybe, a second phone.

https://eyesoflagos.com/%f0%9f%93%b1-lagos-phone-engineers-their-hilarious-habits-why-youll-never-get-your-phone-back-today/

Nice write up, I remember when I went to fix my broken screen, only to come back home and find out that I couldn't make and receive call... My sim can't Access network on the phone..
Once beaten, till today if any of my gadget get faulty, I rather get a new one.
As the op said once you visit this people whatever device you gave them will never be the same again...

Wetin my eyes don see for phone engineers hands....

If we make fp I go share two stories wey still dey pain me till tomorrow...


Edited... Cc. Cjstarz
Ganjafama
Stuffs2002

I wan test this edit whether not go free me.

Story drop in new post...


Modified



Story 1 too funny.
This one na my close friend doings but I was there love and direct.

My guy buy second hand phone from one engineer wey promise am say the phone na standard.

Standard my foot, the problem wey the phone gather, my guy never saw it coming..

Torch no dey work, you no fit make call without earpiece, if you dey play music, e go be like na you be dj scratches, cause e dey crack.


My guy no fit hold am, two days later he rush go back the engineer to tell am him many problems.

Phone repairer talk say the phone was working alright before my guy buy am but at least he could still repair it if my guy dey interested.


Okay, repair am nah, the guy behind quote price, say them go change ic, spirit here and do there...

Oga how much, the guy bill us twice the amount wey my guy buy the phone.

For our front, my guy asked for his phone back, collected it and smashed it right in front of us all, even use leg grind am make the phone kukuma useless.

Naso we open mouth dey look am. Nobody do piim, we just turn dey go back house....😂😂

To be correct phone ENGINEER no be beans

Your head must dey work well.

Some of these guys are really wicked...

They know that they cannot repair your phone but will still go ahead and open the phone because of what they plan to steal...

You went there with one problem and now your phone has several problems..

Phone repairer don change something inside your phone..

Na so one guy for Alaba International Market delay my phone for more than 3 weeks ..

after collecting 8k to buy IC because the phone refuse to charge.

Omo..... I Vex collect my 8k back and the Oppo phone 📱

I go another Phone sharp sharp

Spot on with that come back tomorrow. Their posting no be here. Alot of them deserve posting code sef.

Very elaborate lol 😂. Nice write up and an eye opener to the novice.

Therock5555:
Wetin my eyes don see for phone engineers hands....

If we make fp I go share two stories wey still dey pain me till tomorrow...

E don reach fp, abeg quote me when u wan narrate your story

I met one good one
If you want your phone you've got to sit with him
He even has a private workshop at home, a room where he repairs phones and a mattress on the floor I doubt if his wife visit that room.
When he couldn't meet deadline he stay there to fix phone.
At work even his colleagues consult him.
The ingenuity of is tool tool box is better imagined

Anyway I always treat him well, hence I know his hood

Dem be thieves and you have to monitor them very well for ur fone to be safe

I used two different ones when I was in Lagos and both did a reasonable job. You people exaggerate too much.

CJStarz:
E don reach fp, abeg quote me when u wan narrate your story

Forget it, he has got no story to tell.
Kllllllll nnbnj gghhhh ggghhhh ggghhh

.

The problem is usually the unavailability of spare part. Also, those original parts are expensive and customers don’t want to pay that much.
So, they hope to pull the replacement part from an old broken phone. But most times, they can’t find it.
The main thing in fixing phone is just the know how to replace bad parts.

Fix your phones in accredited manufacturer repair shops to avoid these kind of stories.

I Don vex leave two of my phone for phone engineer before

Not enough original content
Please take a moment to write a quality post with at least 40 characters.
This will make the forum more interesting for everyone

You never explain your bad experience with them. If only you knew whats on my mind. Phone and laptop engineer have made me become one. I cant count numbers of times I took my laptop for repair, something will surely be missing. I wanted to repair laptop monitor hinge, it was repaired but camera not working again or missing. I took it back to complain, it was not fixed but laptop speaker missing again. I went to another engineer, he couldn't repair it instead backlight not working. It was such a bad experience in computer village. I had to buy new laptop.
And funniest thang, I was always there during the repair.


Also, I had problem with my phone charging port. The engineer repaired the phone but my battery was changed. Now, a phone I used to charge for two hours to full before now charging for two days to full.

These so called engineers are scaring sometimes. I had to become a phone and laptop engineer on my own.

Bad market

nickae:
Fix your phones in accredited manufacturer repair shops to avoid these kind of stories.

Does Samsung and Apple have accredited repair shops for phones in Nigeria? Or even anywhere?

OP,

A phone repair person is who you are calling an engineer.
Do you even know what qualifies someone to be a an engineer?



Cc
Cityboylagos
Therock555
Max Kenny
Bodycount

Written by chatgpt, your trusted content writer

24 more characters needed

But at the end most still repair and get your phone done.
The one I was expecting you to say is this.
It both applies to electronics gadgets especially in Alaba market.
You came with your phone, radio, television and what not and you're looking for an engineer who will fix it on time without wasting your time. As you're passing by they'll be calling and stopping you to come their shop even while they're busy with another work.
You will hear come I go do am now now.
Immediately you give them your gadgets, they'll drop any other one they're repairing, and start handling your own. Once they've succeeded in opening your own, they'll stylishly drop it one side and continue with the one they're doing before.
Dem don hold you for work be that, when you ask why are you not doing my own again. He will tell you I don see wetin dey do am, na small thing. Just wait small.
Before you know it, instead of an hour or two you plan to stay, you will see yourself spending up to 5hrs with them.

Op, you are right but there are still few with good habits.

Most phones,cars etc engineers in Nigeria are like that......And everyone will be saying politicians are the reason why this country is backwards.

How can a country progress when it's filled with this kind of people?. .

annoying ones.This one will collect your phone,while fixing it,another customer cum in he'll drop your phone and attend to the new customer.

I'm a phone engineer o, please take it easy with us o, abegy.
Every work got their own issues, and all phone engineers are not the same.

We seem to have more jobs in this domain than the number of competent hands.

Isn't this a pointer to a possibility of skill being in high demand?

computer village chai.I took bb bold 5 there.The criminal collected it and zoom out.By the time he came back,bah deàð phone he gave me.He changed the screen/cleaned the battery.

My engineer no they post me oo sharp sharp them don run am for me, I get 2 trust worthy engineers for Alaba.

Don't just blame the engineer, some customers are stingy when it comes to paying for good part or work, and some play wise on the engineer, when battery is 6k but customer pricing it for 2k, or complaining of charging port instead of changing the board, then they came back to make a complaint that there phone is not charging and start blaming the engineer for bad work, whilst engineer has already tell them the best solution. As a phone engineer i know many dubious tactics used my customers just to paint engineer bad, some pray the work you fix for them should not work because of money you charged them or they feel you give them fake part.
There are good and bad side of everyone we just need to be positive and do the right thing.

GodBless legit phone engineers.....Xie Xie pengyou a....

Lol. At the bolded.

You wan dey do DIY now! Lol.

Omo phone engineers are something else. I gave one to repair phone screen, later my voice speaker stopped working. I had to be sending text-message to communicate!

maxkenny:
You never explain your bad experience with them. If only you knew whats on my mind. Phone and laptop engineer have made me become one. I cant count numbers of times I took my laptop for repair, something will surely be missing. I wanted to repair laptop monitor hinge, it was repaired but camera not working again or missing. I took it back to complain, it was not fixed but laptop speaker missing again. I went to another engineer, he couldn't repair it instead backlight not working. It was such a bad experience in computer village. I had to buy new laptop.
And funniest thang, I was always there during the repair.


Also, I had problem with my phone charging port. The engineer repaired the phone but my battery was changed. Now, a phone I used to charge for two hours to full before now charging for two days to full.

These so called engineers are scaring sometimes. I had to become a phone and laptop engineer on my own.

Bad market

The OP should still us what he's doing for a living. I'm pretty sure there will be some negative comments on it. This is to let you know that everything about Nigeria has serious negativities from top to bottom.

My second story goes like this...


My ex broke my phone one time(that's why she's my ex)

One guy that grew in my former neighborhood was now a phone technician, so I reason am say make I patronize a former neighbor, at least he could reduce money for me small.


Guy was glad to see me, he asked me to go and come back, say him get my phone screen already so na to just change am ASAP.


Later in the evening, story change. Bros tell me say he tried all the touch pads available and none work, so he don order from out of town.


I wan slap myself, if I had gone to my technician, I would have collected my phone since.

Sha the guy give me one small android make I use hold body till the next day. I happy small say atleast I still get wetin to use browse for the night


Guess what, phone battery was dead but he assured me that if I could charge it, I'll enjoy the phone.

By almost midnight when I finally charge the phone finish, I nack sim, put on phone. Within two minutes my battery dey read 70%.

I shock, like whether na my eyes dey pain me ABI wetin. Guys before ten minutes I dey see 15% remaining and walahi I on data for just 5 minutes...


Omor before I go rush charger, phone don die. Kai I wan mad that night. I just fling the phone away.


Early momo I dey brother shop. Oga said touch pad wey them bring no still work so he sent it to another shop make them check something...

Bla bla bla.... Na after 4 days I see my phone.

As I check am out, I noticed three big black spots on the screen, I wan talk, brother say na the machine wey dem use, say within two days, e go clear....


Ifa hear... Spot wey come dey join together to form one big spot... Guess what, the new touchpad didn't last more than two weeks, one fall, e crash again...


I carry am go my aboki repairer, ten minutes and half of the money I wasted earlier and my phone was done.

So that my so called neighbor not only fixed fake things for me, he also collected twice the amount. I shame for am....


Since then, even good morning, him no dey hear from me again...😁😁😁

Cc. Cjstarz
Ganjafama I say make I shock you for once

Am a phone engr in Lagos.
I don't have all these bad attitude
Have been doing this work for 5yrs
I have Neva had any issues with any customers before