iFixit has ended its collaboration contract with Samsung for the repair of its Galaxy devices, and will cease to be the distributor of parts and tools designated by the technology company as of June of this year, because they do not share the same approach regarding device repairability.
The Korean technology company announced its partnership with the iFixit repair community in 2022, when it began launching a self-repair program for Galaxy devices, such as cell phones and tablets, with free manuals and information on how to replace damaged or old parts of the devices. devices, such as the screen or charging ports.
As Samsung stated at the time, the initiative was launched with the idea of offering “more convenient and accessible options for users to prolong the use of their devices and promote a circular economy”, as well as to minimize electronic waste. .
Now, two years later, iFixit has announced the end of the collaboration with Samsung, ending the contract as of June 2024, ceasing to be Samsung’s distributor of third-party parts and tools.
The repair company said in a statement that its goal was to “build an incredible, easy-to-repair ecosystem,” providing independent and local repair companies with the tools and parts necessary to carry out repairs.
However, iFixit has shared that, despite their “best efforts,” they have not been able to fulfill that promise, due to constant obstacles that made the company “doubt Samsung’s commitment” to making repairs more affordable. accessible.
As reported, one of the problems has been that, due to the prices imposed by Samsung, they could not offer local repair shops parts “at prices and quantities that made commercial sense.” In fact, he has stressed that parts costs were so high that “many consumers chose to replace their devices rather than repair them.”
An example of this is that, when trying to change a battery on a Galaxy smartphone, the device had a design that kept the battery attached to the screen, which forced iFixit to sell batteries and screens together, increasing the cost. repair.
For all these reasons, the company has explained that it has decided to end its partnership with Samsung and has stated that the technology company’s approach to repairability “does not align” with iFixit’s mission.
Thus, it will cease to be Samsung’s designated distributor of parts and tools as of June this year. However, iFixit has clarified that, although they will also stop collaborating to develop new manuals, it will not eliminate any existing information on repairs for Samsung devices.
Likewise, the repair company will continue to sell parts and repair kits for Samsung devices, sourcing OEM parts when available and clearly indicating whether the parts are original or not, just as they do with Apple repair parts, as detailed.
NEW CONTRACT FOR INDEPENDENT REPAIR CENTERS
In addition to all this, the Korean company has developed a new contract for independent repair centers, in which it states that in order for the repair shops to be able to offer their service, they must share with Samsung a report with the name, contact information, mobile phone and details of customers’ repair needs.
But, in addition, Samsung requires workshops to inform the company when a device does not include original parts, as shared by 404 Media, which has had access to parts of the company’s new contract.
In fact, this contract states that, in the event that repairers find a non-original component in the device, they must remove said part and immediately notify the company, describing “the details and circumstances of any unauthorized use or misappropriation of any part of service.”
Likewise, other rules in the contract refer to the type of parts that repairers can use and prohibit the types of repairs that involve welding or interfere with the motherboard.
This new contract implies that, if these guidelines are not met, Samsung will not send replacement parts to repair shops. However, they pose a series of complications for the professionals of these independent centers, since it involves sending clients’ personal information to the technology company, in addition to having to disassemble devices, if they include non-original parts.
