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Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

ifixit.org

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Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#31

Post by iaml »

craftyguy wrote: post #29
nerdponx wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, you can now get an official iPhone battery replacement for $30 on the "last-gen" models, or for free with Applecare. https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power It looks like on some issues, we still have market power.

Only after apple was caught red-handed slowing down older phones to entice users to upgrade.

And they said sorry and let users disable it. FWIW disabling it makes my phone turn off when I'm using it in cold so they had their reasons. Not only that, they released ios12 which makes my iphone 6 feel like new again, which is unprecedented in other OSes.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#32

Post by chrisseaton »

bloopernova wrote: post #10

I have a lot of respect for iFixit. They at least appear to have their heads screwed on right, and the tools I've bought from them do really seem to be good quality. My only recent "complex" task that needed their tools was adding a hybrid water cooler to a 1080ti GPU. Their stuff was great, and their customer service has been good too. (EDIT: I meant to say, the addition went well due to their tools, good quality st…

What does T-Mobile know about hardware repairability? They’re a carrier aren’t they? They don’t have anything to do with any hardware.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#33

Post by zrobotics »

I'm somewhat (pleasantly) shocked that it is Motorola doing this. I've been a Motorola user for >15 years now, but my current phone (xt1650 moto z) had me recommending family members to go for a different brand. I've always liked the nearly stock android and build quality up until this one, which had me convinced Lenovo was destroying the brand. Of 2 identical phones bought at the same time, by 13 months I had 1) replaced 3 screens 2) replaced 2 batteries 3) replaced 1 rear camera 4) replaced 1 USB-c connector

As well, this phone is just as bad as an iPhone for repairability, at least IME.

Hopefully this is a trend for the brand going forward, parts availability was always one of the downsides of Android (after 1 or 2 years, even alibaba doesn't have any parts at any quality for many models). Additionally, I hope this signals to designers that there is a market for phones that sacrifice thinness for repairability and durability. It just depends on how many people buy these parts. I know I would gladly pay a premium for an OEM battery, but a market of 1 isn't significant.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#34

Post by theandrewbailey »

mrguyorama wrote: post #12
omnifischer wrote: post #11

FYI: Motorola is also friendly towards ROM development. You can easily unlock bootloader and slap lineageOS/AOSP. Of course, for people from US - it may not work if you have a carrier branded phone. https://motorola-global-en-uk.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bo...

Verizon completely locks down nearly every motorola phone they sell. It's horrible

As much as I hate Best Buy, it was the first realistic option I had to quickly get an unlocked phone that would work on Verizon.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#35

Post by gowld »

chrisseaton wrote: post #32
bloopernova wrote: post #10

I have a lot of respect for iFixit. They at least appear to have their heads screwed on right, and the tools I've bought from them do really seem to be good quality. My only recent "complex" task that needed their tools was adding a hybrid water cooler to a 1080ti GPU. Their stuff was great, and their customer service has been good too. (EDIT: I meant to say, the addition went well due to their tools, good quality st…

What does T-Mobile know about hardware repairability? They’re a carrier aren’t they? They don’t have anything to do with any hardware.

They sell phones along with their service so presumably they'd have an interest is selling people quality phones so they can capture more profit for the same total customer spend. but it's hard to beat the planned obsolescence model if they get a cut of the new phone sales

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#36

Post by MichaelApproved »

nerdponx wrote: post #8
organsnyder wrote: post #5

Looks like my next phone will be a Motorola! I'm tired of "upgrading" phones every couple of years because the battery wears out.

FWIW, you can now get an official iPhone battery replacement for $30 on the "last-gen" models, or for free with Applecare. https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power It looks like on some issues, we still have market power.

> free with Applecare.

"free" battery costs at least $130 for Applecare and it's rarely worth it. Without Applecare, it only costs $30 to replace.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#37

Post by thekingofh »

ingenieroariel wrote: post #17

I recently got a Moto S2 Play and went the LineageOS route with no Google Apps. With no IM apps installed I made it my house's router (small house) and 5-7 devices can happily connect to it. I really recommend it. Lately I have been finally understanding how Open Source and right to repair go hand in hand.

Cool, how did you connect it to the outer network?

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#38

Post by simcop2387 »

organsnyder wrote: post #5

Looks like my next phone will be a Motorola! I'm tired of "upgrading" phones every couple of years because the battery wears out.

For me it's been less the battery and eventually the screen itself. As the phone gets older, getting replacement screens or glass ends up more and more difficult and expensive to the point where it can cost almost 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a completely new phone to fix my old one. At that point it's a harder decision to make to fix the old one when a single drop after that could mean that I've now spent as much to get a new phone (2x replacements) to fix the old one.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#39

Post by bloopernova »

chrisseaton wrote: post #32
bloopernova wrote: post #10

I have a lot of respect for iFixit. They at least appear to have their heads screwed on right, and the tools I've bought from them do really seem to be good quality. My only recent "complex" task that needed their tools was adding a hybrid water cooler to a 1080ti GPU. Their stuff was great, and their customer service has been good too. (EDIT: I meant to say, the addition went well due to their tools, good quality st…

What does T-Mobile know about hardware repairability? They’re a carrier aren’t they? They don’t have anything to do with any hardware.

(I freely admit this is naive and idealistic)

I'd like to see T-Mobile, or some other corporation with similar influencing power, promote the right to repair. I chose T-Mobile because they have this (PR generated, for sure) image of bucking the big telcom trend and "putting their customers first".

I feel that it's another niche that could help people. You have the rugged phone niche, the kid phone, the simple phone, etc etc. A repairable phone might be desirable to some people.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#40

Post by gowld »

icebraining wrote: post #27
amyjess wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My only problem is that you can't unlock the bootloader without notifying Motorola so they can void your warranty. As much as I want to root my Moto X4 to get the notification LED back, I'm waiting until my warranty expires next fall before doing so.

Where do you live? I'm pretty sure that one can't renounce the mandatory warranty for stuff bought in the EU, so if you live here, you should be OK (but don't blame me if they're hard to convince!).

Modifying the software (for example, temperature-triggered CPU throttling?) might move liability to the customer side, if the hardware's integrity is software-controlled: https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers...

" the injured party must prove that: damage took place, your product was defective, the defect and the damage were linked."

"You bear no liability if you can prove that: he defect causing the damage did not exist when the product was placed on the market"

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