Starting This Summer, Samsung Will Let You Repair Your Own Galaxy Devices
Samsung is teaming up with iFixit to support consumers repairing their own Galaxy devices.
Starting this summer, anyone who owns a Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21, or Galaxy Tab S7+ will be able to carry out a number of repairs on these devices. To begin with, those repairs will include replacing the display, back glass, and charging ports.
By partnering with iFixit, Samsung is able to make genuine parts, repair tools, and step-by-step guides readily available to support such repairs. Another welcome feature of this new initiative is Samsung supporting replaced parts being returned so they can be recycled responsibly. The company already has more than 1,700 locations for dropping off unwanted devices, so returning the parts should be a simple task for most people.
Samsung points out it already offers same-day service at more than 2,000 US locations and 550 "We Come To You Vans" if you don't want to carry out a repair yourself. However, having the option of self-repair is a positive step and one that could tempt more than a few consumers to select a Galaxy device as their next smartphone or tablet.
iFixit is proving to be a popular partner for vendors embracing consumer repairs. The company already offers official Microsoft Surface repair tools, and last month Valve selected iFixit as the authorized seller for Steam Deck replacement parts. Assuming this collaboration proves successful, I expect Samsung will expand the supported devices to include the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8 in the near future.
The news also comes several months after Apple announced a “self service repair” store that'll let consumers buy replacement parts for iPhones and Macs.
Sign up for Fully Mobilized newsletter to get our top mobile tech stories
Read more on pcmag.com
