iFixit ends repair partership with Samsung over foot-dragging

'Samsung’s approach does not align with our mission'

iFixit and Samsung have announced the termination of their nearly two-year partnership aimed at improving tools, parts and resources for DIY repairs. The repair firm expressed disappointment with Samsung's lack of commitment to making its hardware more repairable.

iFixit, a non-profit organisation that helps people repair devices, said in a statement: "It's with a heavy wrench that we have decided to end our partnership with Samsung. Despite a huge amount of effort, Samsung's approach to repairability does not align with our mission.

"As we tried to build this ecosystem we consistently faced obstacles that made us doubt Samsung's commitment to making repair more accessible."

What was the iFixit and Samsung collaboration?

The collaboration was intended to see Samsung provide replacement parts for its phones, while iFixit supplied the tools and expertise for installation. Independent repair shops were also to benefit from access to these parts, allowing them to repair customer devices.

However, iFixit says it became frustrated with the high cost and limited availability of spare parts from Samsung. This situation rendered repairs so expensive that consumers preferred to purchase new phones rather than fix their existing ones, which suited Samsung's interests, it said. Additionally, Samsung phones remained difficult to repair due to their glued-together components.

According to iFixit independent repair shops were required to sign a confidential contract with Samsung to participate in the programme and receive replacement parts.

The Independent Repair Provider contract compelled shops to report customers' contact and device details, along with a description of the repair needed, to Samsung. Shops also had to dismantle any devices with unofficial components and inform Samsung about the use of third-party electronics.

In hindsight, iFixit admitted it should have anticipated the issues it has faced. In 2021, a Galaxy Upcycling scheme collaboration with Samsung also ended unsuccessfully, leading to the DIY repair partnership that has now dissolved.

"We clearly didn't learn our lesson the first time, and two years ago we let them convince us they were serious about embracing repair," iFixit stated.

Despite the end of the partnership, iFixit says it will continue to offer resources for repairing Samsung phones. It will sell components and repair kits, including original and third-party parts, and will still provide manuals and repair guides.

Samsung's self-repair programme

Speaking to The Register, a Samsung spokesperson commented: "Samsung is committed to providing quality, accessible device care to our customers with flexible options to suit their needs, including walk-in, mail-in, and 'We Come to You' services. For those interested in our self-repair programme, we offer Samsung-certified parts, tools, and information for our qualified products in one convenient place: SamsungParts.com, powered by Encompass. We're proud of the work we've done with iFixit and cannot comment further on partnership details at this time."

While iFixit will no longer collaborate directly with Samsung, it continues partnerships with other tech companies such as Microsoft for Surface devices and Logitech for computer mice.