Device repair company iFixit on Thursday announced that it is ending its repair relationship with Samsung. The repair deal is ending after a two-year run because the pair were unable to agree on a new deal.
iFixit said that it had launched iFixit’s Samsung Repair Hub with the goal of “with the goal of building an incredible, repair-friendly ecosystem.”
Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to deliver on that promise.
As we tried to build this ecosystem we consistently faced obstacles that made us doubt Samsung’s commitment to making repair more accessible. We couldn’t get parts to local repair shops at prices and quantities that made business sense. The part prices were so costly that many consumers opted to replace their devices rather than repair them. And the design of Samsung’s Galaxy devices remained frustratingly glued together, forcing us to sell batteries and screens in pre-glued bundles that increased the cost.
iFixit had been contracted to set up a self-repair program for Samsung customers. The company offered repair guides for replacing Galaxy smartphone components, including back glass, charging ports, displays, and other components. iFixit says Samsung erected several obstacles to the program working properly, including the high price of repair parts.
iFixit says the cost of repair parts form Samsung were so high that Samsung customers decided to replace their device instead of repairing them. Batteries and screens were only available in pre-glued bundles, meaning a battery could not be repaired without also swapping out the display.
iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens told The Verge that Samsung did not allow iFixit to sell no more than seven parts per customer within three months.
Samsung failed to ship components for its Galaxy S23 series, the Z Flip 5, and the Z Fold 5, and iFixit claims the Korean firm has not sent any components since the launch of its S22 lineup.
404 Media reported that Samsung also required iFixit to share its customers’ email addresses and parts purchase history and sign a waiver before buying, something they were not required to do in its other partnerships.
A leaked contract indicates that Samsung required independent repair shops to provide contact information and other details about repair customers. Independent repair shops were also required to disassemble any Samsung device that had been previously repaired using third-party parts.
iFixit said that it “tried to make this work,” but Samsung was profiting from unpaid work on repair guides.
We’re bummed but we won’t apologize for our initial optimism. Nor will we let one bad apple spoil the bunch; instead, we’re tossing it out before it can do so. But we also won’t stop you from a chorus of “I told you so”s—honestly that’s fair. The warning signs were there—we reported on them, after all.
iFixit is continues to work with several other electronics manufacturers on repair ventures, including Google, Lenovo, Motorola, Valve, Microsoft, and others.
Meanwhile, Samsung declined to comment on any of the details.
