Dubois duo open iStore Repair in Jasper

Austin Royer and Shaydon Voelkel opened a new phone and mobile device repair shop in Jasper at the Y on Monday. iStore Repair is located at 703 W. Sixth Street next door to CVS.

Specializing in Apple products, in the past, the pair would usually meet customers at coffee shops or even at their homes and only recently decided the time was right to open a storefront.

The two are from Dubois and have been friends for several years. Austin introduced his friend to repairing his own phone after Shaydon came to him for a repair. At that time, Austin, who is now 27, had been repairing phones since he was in middle school.

Actually, the first time he fixed a phone he ended up getting in trouble.

Back then, he and his brothers had started taking phones apart and putting them back together. Austin decided to take a phone he had been tinkering on into the school. Sitting in class, he continued working on the phone.

“I ended up actually fixing that phone,” Austin explained adding that day was also his birthday. “Well, mom for some reason thought that she should call me and leave me a happy birthday message.”

The phone turned on and started ringing.

“I ended up getting in trouble for having a cell phone in school,” he said.

But he kept learning more and more about how to repair phones using online resources like Youtube. He became known in school as the person to contact for phone repairs.

“It was pretty well known that if you had a problem with your phone, get ahold of Austin,” Shaydon said.

Austin’s friendship led Shaydon down a similar road. “I think I ended up showing him how to repair his own phone,” Austin said.

But, that got Shaydon interested in phone repairs as well.

While Shaydon invested in purchasing a turkey operation from his grandfather after graduating high school, Austin continued repairing phones. He eventually moving up to the Indianapolis area where, surprisingly, his brother, Josh, had opened a mobile device repair store. There he learned the ins and outs of business and continued to develop his repair skills.

On the weekends, he would usually drive down to Dubois County for a visit and, almost always work on a couple phones or devices for people who still had his number.

He and Shaydon had continued talking about opening their own store in the area off and on for a couple of years. Then, Shaydon, seeing his friend constantly working on people’s’ devices down here, told him it was time they made the jump they had been talking about.

A short time later, they opened iStore Repairs in the space with a freshly built display case and desk, a small rack of phone cases, and a wall of bins stocked with commonly needed parts.

They plan on expanding the accessories and services they can offer over time but for now, are working on building a good customer base and reputation with guaranteed repairs on Apple iPhones, iPads and Macbooks.

They can repair other brands as well but with the many manufacturers of Windows-based computers and Android-based phones, they sometimes run into issues with finding the right parts due to the lack of homogeneity on the parts for these brands.

“I always tell people we can at least look at their device and see if we can repair it,” Austin said.

Being able to help someone out with a device that has turned into a necessary component in so many people’s lives is rewarding but can be stressful.

“It’s very nerve wracking. People’s lives are on their phone. I mean, they have their kids’ pictures on there that they don’t have stored anywhere else,” Austin said. “And even voicemail of loved ones … and once you open up that phone, you gotta be sure that you don’t do anything wrong.”

Knowing this, the pair love seeing a customer’s relief when they are able to get back their device repaired and that data saved.

The iStore Repair is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They can be reached at 812-556-0132 or online at https://www.theistorerepair.com/. A list of common repairs and prices is also available on their website.