The initial announcement of the self-repair program was made
back in late March, and not much has changed since. Across the three product
lines(opens in new tab), you’ll be able to purchase repair kits for the screen
and battery, charging port, and back glass; standalone batteries are not
included. What's new is access to free online repair guides that tell you how
to fix the phone via step-by-step guidance that includes images.
Repair packages
Both the replacement parts and the step-by-step instructions
are available on the iFixit website.
You start by going to iFixit’s Galaxy page and selecting the
model(opens in new tab). Prices between the S20 and S21 lines are mostly
uniform. Charging port replacement costs $66.99. Back glass kits will run you
$76.99 except for the base S21 model which is $66.99. The display and battery
kits fluctuate depending on the phone. The cheapest is, again, the base
S21(opens in new tab) ($167.99) with the most expensive being the S21
Ultra(opens in new tab) ($239.99).
Prices are a little different for the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus
tablet(opens in new tab). The display kit will run you $226.99, back glass and
battery assembly is $86.99, and the charging port is $66.99. Aside from
product-specific parts, each repair kit comes with the same tools: suction
handles, iFixit Opening Tool(opens in new tab), tweezers, and a bit driver just
to name a few.
Each of the repair kits also comes with a free return label
so you can ship the old parts back to Samsung for proper disposal. iFixit even
includes instructions on how to properly dispose of lithium-ion batteries(opens
in new tab). You can’t just throw these batteries into the trash as they can
literally explode. We should also mention that some repair kits, like the S21
5G Screen and Battery package(opens in new tab), are limited to seven per
customer.
Step-by-step
As for the step-by-step instructions, Samsung has a handy
landing page(opens in new tab) for quick access. By iFixit’s own admission,
repairs can be a little tough to do. The Galaxy S21 Ultra Screen and Battery
replacement page(opens in new tab), for example, is listed as moderately
difficult and may take you a couple hours to complete. Repair involves using
one of the picks and the suction handle to pry open a phone and disconnecting
certain parts to replace the battery.
Instructions show everything in minute detail, but if you
don’t feel confident in doing it yourself, Samsung has other options. You can
use Samsung's store locator(opens in new tab) to find an authorized fix-it shop
or mail the phone in.
Just don’t forget to put your phone into Repair Mode to
protect your data before you bring it in.
Limited in scale
The limited amount of devices that you can fix is a little
disappointing. It would have been nice to have Samsung’s latest flagship phone,
the Galaxy S22, in the program. The announcement does state there are plans to
include more devices, but no date has been given.
We reached out to Samsung to ask when more devices will be
added as well as if it will be possible to buy a replacement battery separate
from display kits. A Samsung representative got back to us, but had no new
information to give. The only way to get a new battery is to purchase the
display kit for now. The company did reveal that “additional parts will be
added as the program ramps up,” but didn’t point to anything specific or
exactly when.
Even so, it’s great to have those repair options. Samsung
has finally joined the likes of Google and Apple in offering repairs for their
phones. Even Valve is doing the same with Steam Deck. These are all major wins
for the consumers and the environment.
For iPhone owners, we recommend checking out our Apple Self
Service Repair story for details about its program.
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