Samsung officially launches self-repair partnership with iFixIt

Finally, you can fix your own Samsung phone…as long as you own the right one.

Samsung announced Tuesday its partnership with the device repair website iFixIt (which provides instructions and sells parts) starting immediately. Right now, the program only applies to Galaxy S20 and S21 phones, as well as the Galaxy Tab S7+ tablet. Customers will be able to replace the charging port, phone screen, and back glass, with other replacement parts coming at an unspecified future date.

Folks will be able to buy parts through iFixIt and access repair manuals for free online, making the process simple as can be, as long as you trust your own hands around tiny electronic components. Samsung will also accept returns for broken parts for proper recycling. 

This partnership was previously announced back in March, making Tuesday the official rollout for something we’ve known about for a while. The tech wizards over at iFixit have a similar partnership with Google for Pixel devices. This can all be seen as victories for the “right to repair” movement, which seeks to cut down on e-waste by allowing people to fix their own devices instead of forcing them to buy new ones. There have also been legislative wins in the New York State Senate to go along with Microsoft vowing to allow self-repairs due to shareholder pressure. 

If nothing else, this should be a godsend for everyone who walks around all day with cracked phone screens.