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iFixit is breaking up with Samsung. ‘Samsung’s approach to repairability does not align with our mission,’ says iFixit’s CEO. (www.theverge.com)

submitted 6 months ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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iFixit and Samsung are ending their partnership on a direct-to-consumer phone repair program.
iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens says "Samsung does not seem interested in enabling repair at scale" and that the deal is not working due to high parts prices and difficulty of repairs.
Samsung only ships batteries pre-glued to the phone screen, forcing customers to pay over $160 even for just a battery replacement, unlike with other vendors.
The contract also limited iFixit to selling no more than 7 parts per customer in a 3-month period, hampering their ability to support local repair shops.
Additionally, Samsung required iFixit to share customer email addresses and purchase history, which iFixit does not do with other partners.
iFixit says it will continue to stock aftermarket Samsung parts and publish repair guides, but will no longer work directly with Samsung on official repair manuals.

iFixit says:

We clearly didn’t learn our lesson the first time, and let them convince us they were serious about embracing repair.

We tried to make this work. Gosh, we tried. But with such divergent priorities, we’re no longer able to proceed.

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[–] 3ntranced@lemmy.world 12 points 6 months ago (2 children)

So if I were to order a battery replacement part from Samsung would it already be paired with a screen? Or could it be future proofed with a bit of DIY engineering? Cause I love my S22 Ultra, and am tired of upgrading every 2-4 years because the battery starts holding less and less charge.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Some newer phones allow you to stop charging at 80% which will essentially extend the life of your battery for as many years as you want it.

Settings->battery->stop charging at 80%

I get a full day out of 80% and I'm nearly always near a charging source so I use it and haven't found any issues with it.

I am pretty sure this only showed up in Android 14 for me. OnePlus phone.

[–] I_Miss_Daniel@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

My phone doesn't have this feature, so at bed time I just tap a button on a smart switch to give it roughly another 20-60% overnight.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Can you tell me a little more about this please?

I haven't come across a smart switch before as I generally try to minimise the number of smart devices in my home. I presume you have to pair your phone with something. It sounds quite intriguing.

[–] I_Miss_Daniel@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

No it's just a typical smart socket and I've put my phone charger in it. (an old 1 amp charger so it is easier on the battery.) The 60% button turns the switch on for about three hours for example. (Phone has 5A battery.)

The charger is on from midday in case I forget to select a charging amount before sleeping.

You could do similar with an old fashioned rotary mechanical timer socket.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Perfect. Thank you.

[–] AWittyUsername@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

They really should just make 80 the new 100

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

I fully agree. Like even 90% would reduce the amount of waste significantly without really impacting usability.

I got a reasonably high end phone for my last one (about €500 at the time) and it survived so so well and I only learned about the 80% thing about 2 years into it and still was charging it to full occasionally.

This automatic 80% thing that just came in is great.

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago

It's nice to have the option for when you're expecting bad weather or will be out for an extended period.

[–] Murdoc@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Didn't know about this feature, thanks!

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

You're welcome. :)

I had learned about the "only charging to 80% extending battery longevity significantly" thing a while back and got over 5 years out of my last phone because of it.

I did switch to lineage OS after OnePlus stopped doing updates. Still... Not having to try to time it myself is a really nice feature now.

[–] Theoriginalthon@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

I think it's more if you want to replace one you have to replace both, and if you don't glue the battery to the screen the phone will fall apart, that's what I'd do if I was an evil corporation and wanted customers to buy a new phone instead of repairing