IFixit Ends Self-Repair Deal With Samsung

(RTTNews) - American e-commerce website iFixit has put an end to its self-repair agreement with Samsung (SMSN.L), citing several disagreements.

Initially, the deal, signed in 2022, was made between the two companies to provide Samsung's official repair kits and guides to the users, allowing the customers to repair the device themselves instead of throwing it away.

However, the South Korean company's repair policies and expensive spare parts for Galaxy smartphones hampered the agreement.

iFixit complained that it was only allowed to sell "seven Samsung parts per repair shop per quarter", 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."

"Samsung does not seem interested in enabling repair at scale," iFixit CEO and co-founder Kyle Wiens told The Verge.

According to a report by 404 Media, if a customer wants to buy Samsung's genuine spare parts, then they are required to submit their name, contact details, home address, IMEI number and defect details for every repair carried out.

"We do not require this information for any other partnerships, and do not share customer information with any other OEM," argued Weins.

Also, Samsung prohibits third-party service providers from repairing the mainboard.

Moreover, if a repair service provider finds a third-party spare part in the smartphone, then they are required to immediately disassemble it and inform Samsung about the incident.

Notably, iFixit will continue to provide genuine spare parts of Samsung smartphones till June 2024.

Meanwhile, speaking about the deal termination, Samsung stated, "We're proud of the work we've done together with iFixit. We can't comment further on partnership details at this time," The Verge reports.