latest
Kobo is partnering with iFixit for DIY e-reader repairs
Hopefully hardware upgrades are on the menu, too
Unless you've been looking, you might have missed that the e-reader underdog Kobo has quietly become the greenest e-reader device maker on the market. The Canadian company has a reputation for releasing products with the health of the planet in mind. Since 2022, all of its e-readers have been made with 85% recycled plastics. It even offsets the carbon emissions associated with its shipping through the Great Bear Forest Carbon Project. Its three newest devices are no exception to this and take that commitment further by being packaged in 100% recycled packaging. But Kobo isn't just good to the planet; it turns out it's also good to its customers with plans for iFixit support.
Casetify might have swiped its case designs from more than just Dbrand
Casetify’s boilerplate response doesn’t quite help matters
Earlier this week, reputable protective skin maker, Dbrand, alleged that the Canadian smartphone case maker Casetify stole copyrighted Teardown skin designs for its own products. Dbrand posted compelling evidence to X and filed a lawsuit along with Teardown’s co-creator Zack Nelson of the JerryRigEverything YouTube channel. After an entire day of silence, Casetify finally issues a public statement. Meanwhile, Dbrand harpooned the brand again, demonstrating how the brand may have also plagiarized iFixit’s X-ray skin design.
Google Pixel 7a parts for DIY repair come to iFixit
Get genuine parts and detailed repair guides straight from iFixit
Getting your broken phone display replaced isn’t a cheap affair, which is especially true for any of the top premium Android handsets. But what’s even more troubling is the long wait time before a service center can fix and return your device. With DIY home repairs for smartphones gaining popularity, you can save some cash and time and even extend your phone’s life by a few months if not years. The Google Pixel 7a is the latest device to offer that kind of flexibility with its self-service program now available in partnership with iFixit.
HMD's newest user-repairable Nokia smartphone is coming to the US
Phone broke? Order new parts online and install them yourself
With smartphones as critical to our daily lives as they are, it's no wonder we want to get back up and running as soon as possible when something goes wrong. Recently, the movement towards giving smartphone owners the tools, components, and instructions they need to repair their own phones has been gaining a lot of ground. Earlier this year, we saw HMD Global introduce its own affordable and user-repairable Nokia smartphones, with a focus on Europe. Now we're getting ready to see if US smartphone shoppers are interested, too, with the launch of a new easy-to-repair Nokia model for T-Mobile.
Google's Pixel Fold will have official parts available for DIY repair
For the brave and the foolhardy, alike
Smartphones have often faced criticism for their durability and limited repair options. You normally need special tools to work on a phone, and mobile device components aren't usually sold outside of specialty stores. Lately, we've seen huge wins in the right-to-repair movement, with both Apple and Google making announcements that support the maintenance and care of your own device. Google recently announced that the Pixel Fold will have repair guides and parts available through iFixit.
Google Pixel 6a repair parts and DIY kits surface on iFixit
Several guides, but just a few components
Late in June this year, Google partnered with iFixit to offer genuine replacement components for the Pixel 2 through the Pixel 6. These parts could help any DIY enthusiast or small-scale electronics repair business fix broken Pixels without getting a Google technician involved. Now, replacement components for the Pixel 6a are available on iFixit’s website for the very first time.
.JPG?q=50&fit=crop&w=430&h=300&dpr=1.5){kind=tracking}
Google's new repair manual makes the Pixel 6a easier to fix, but it’s in French
The guide is for hobbyists and professionals alike
The Pixel 6a has been available in-store and online for a few days now. Although it’s highly unlikely you would need to repair your new phone right away, the need eventually arises as accidents occur and components wear out over time. To assist you and/or your repair technician in this eventuality, Google has published a rather detailed repair manual for the Pixel 6a, although it is only available in French at the moment.
You can now repair your own Pixel with replacement parts from iFixit
If your Pixel is a little worse for wear, iFixit has what you need
Smartphone makers have traditionally been iffy about letting customers do their own repairs—Apple famously changed the screws on the iPhone to make it harder to open. Although, even Apple is starting to come around, and Google does what Apple does. Google and iFixit announced several months ago that official Pixel parts would come to the latter's online storefront, and today is the big day. If you've got a busted Pixel, you can now get what you need to fix it yourself.
Google's new DIY repair program will let you fix nearly any Pixel phone in your collection
Riding the right-to-repair wave
In a strange twist, right-to-repair seems to be slowly catching up with smartphone makers who used to actively vilify it. Apple's Self Service program offers to make original iPhone parts available for people daring enough to fix their device at home, while Samsung recently followed suit with a similar program of its own. Now, Google is jumping on the bandwagon with a partnership with iFixit to provide original OEM parts to independent technicians.
Samsung dumped its phone recycling program for a far worse alternative
iFixit spills the beans on its failed partnership
Millions of smartphones are sold every year, and that's a number we often see companies boasting about. Unfortunately, this also means that millions of them end up in landfills since old software and tired components don't often make for an enjoyable experience. Samsung decided to address this issue back in 2017, but iFixit, the partner it decided to work with, reveals how the company watered down the initial idea so much that it's "nearly unrecognizable."
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live teardown reveals surprisingly repairable construction
If you have a Phillips head screwdriver, you can get into a pair of Galaxy Buds Live
iFixit has a video teardown on the noise-canceling true wireless earbuds and it turns out that they're easy to get into — just a Phillips screw in each bud and some bracket clips for each half of the buds. Adhesive, a repair shop's worst nightmare, is used sparingly to keep certain component clusters together. We're still talking about a very small item that will be easy to sublimate with too much force, but the plug-and-play nature of it all helps. The same goes for the wireless charging case.
Galaxy S20 Ultra teardown shows unsurprisingly big repair challenges
iFixit says there's a lotta phone and a lotta glue
Read update
Well, well, well, look what we have here — another exercise in cramming and jamming parts into a glass-and-metal box that is a Samsung phone. Specifically, iFixit has taken a look into the biggest and baddest one yet, the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and has found it to be not too easily repairable, rating it a 3 out of 10.
Tearing open an IP68 water-resistant smartphone with glass on both the front and the back is usually a daunting and difficult task due to the copious amounts of glue involved, as well as a bunch of cables and circuitry densely packed close to each other. Just ask the guys at iFixit who rated the Galaxy S10 with a dismal score of 3 out of 10 and gave the Pixel 3 XL from last year a 4 (a higher score indicates an easier to repair device). This disheartening trend continues with the new Pixel 4 XL which also scored a 4.
Despite a recall being issued for all first-iteration Galaxy Fold devices, iFixit managed to obtain a unit for review. However, Samsung pressured the site to remove its initial teardown. In this first teardown, which can still be found via Archive.org, iFixit provided its typical in-depth hardware examination while offering recommendations as to how Samsung could improve the device's design in future iterations.
The Fairphone 3 was announced at the end of last month, aiming at combining sustainability and repairability in a single device. The company is known for receiving high scores on iFixit, with the first model getting 7/10, and the Fairphone 2 being awarded the top 10/10 rating. The third iteration confirms the company’s commitment to building phones that are easy to repair, as the Fairphone 3 just got the same perfect 10/10 score.
Just about every recent flagship phone is a nightmare to repair, from the Galaxy S10 to to the Huawei P20 Pro. As it turns out, building phones out of unibody glass with lots of glue and solder doesn't make it easy to replace the battery. However, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL appear to be a nice change from pace, as iFixit's new teardown guides claim both phones aren't too daunting to fix.
As phones get more advanced and more densely packed with tech, their construction becomes less conducive to user serviceability. That continues to be true with Samsung's new Galaxy S10, which the prolific device disassemblers at iFixit have picked apart and given a score of 3 out of 10 for repairability.
A busted phone usually leaves you with two options: an expensive and lengthy repair by the manufacturer or doing it yourself with potentially suspect parts. Motorola is getting together with iFixit to offer certified repair kits for some of its phones. You get OEM parts, tools, and instructions to get the job done.
Read update
- iFixit has posted a teardown of the smaller Pixel 3, and the display on that phone appears to be manufactured by LG. In other words, this is the opposite of last year — the XL has a Samsung screen, and the small Pixel has an LG screen.
iFixit has torn apart every major smartphone released over the past decade or so. The repair site recently posted a teardown of the Google Pixel 3 XL, giving some insight into what hardware the phone is using. Interestingly, iFixit discovered that the 3 XL uses an OLED panel from Samsung, not LG.
As is tradition, iFixit has torn the latest mobile device apart to see what makes it tick. The Note 9 has several distinctive features that set it apart from the Galaxy S phones, but it shares a lot as well. It even shares a repairability score: 4 out of 10.