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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

#21

Post by organsnyder »

ceejayoz wrote: post #16
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.

You can replace the battery in virtually any phone, Apple included. Apple'll do it for you for a pretty nominal charge - $30-70 in most cases, and that includes the battery and labor. https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power They're not made to be just popped in/out, sure, but it's entirely possible to get more years out of a phone this way. I'd be more concerned with software updates than battery.

The last time I tried to replace a battery the phone (a Nexus 5) was never the same—I broke one of the small plastic tabs in the case, which I think led to a poor antenna connection. If the phone isn't designed for it, it's easy to mess something up like that.

Apple does seem to be doing a better job than most of the Android OEMs at ensuring longevity.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#22

Post by amyjess »

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...

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.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#23

Post by omnifischer »

icebraining wrote: post #18
qPkk4Bi wrote: post #14

I've been out of the phone market for a while, but have we reached a point were we're celebrating that we can pay $40 to buy a kit to change the battery of a phone? When and why did this become a thing? I remember screens being a pain to replace, but the batteries just plopped right out. Edit: Sorry, that came out more cynical than I intended. I'm just curious why we did away with batteries that fall out.

I own a Moto G, and you don't need any special tools to replace the battery. They just make it easier. Also, the kit includes a new battery! It's not $40 just for some tools.

Nice that even the first MotoG still has LineageOS development active - hopefully will get Oreo from LOS!

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#24

Post by pbhjpbhj »

arya169 wrote: post #6
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #2

>battery eliminators became obsolete // Seems there would still be a [small?] market for them?

There's a small market for most obsolete things, usually not a profitable one.

Aye, but even in the 80s/90s I'd have thought there would be a big enough market for a mains-powered battery replacement; so "soon" after 1928 I'm surprised the market disappeared.

I guess everything got designed for mains only.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#25

Post by Fnoord »

icebraining wrote: post #18
qPkk4Bi wrote: post #14

I've been out of the phone market for a while, but have we reached a point were we're celebrating that we can pay $40 to buy a kit to change the battery of a phone? When and why did this become a thing? I remember screens being a pain to replace, but the batteries just plopped right out. Edit: Sorry, that came out more cynical than I intended. I'm just curious why we did away with batteries that fall out.

I own a Moto G, and you don't need any special tools to replace the battery. They just make it easier. Also, the kit includes a new battery! It's not $40 just for some tools.

I had a Moto G2, and it was incredibly easy to break the up and down physical buttons on it whilst repairing it.

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#26

Post by fyfy18 »

ceejayoz wrote: post #16
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.

You can replace the battery in virtually any phone, Apple included. Apple'll do it for you for a pretty nominal charge - $30-70 in most cases, and that includes the battery and labor. https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power They're not made to be just popped in/out, sure, but it's entirely possible to get more years out of a phone this way. I'd be more concerned with software updates than battery.

I repaired a Galaxy S7 last year which had a broken rear case. It was pretty easy to get the parts and take it apart, but the rear of the phone was glued to the front screen, so when I took it apart it pulled some of the film above the screen off. It was only a cosmetic issue, but in the end was worse than the cosmetic issue I was trying to fix...

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#27

Post by icebraining »

amyjess wrote: post #22
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...

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!).

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#28

Post by lower »

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, Motorola is very slow with software updates. My G5 plus is currently still on Android 7.0 on the June (!) 2018 security patch level and this is usual. I think that an update to 8.1 is around the corner, but they've promised an update to Oreo for over a year now...

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#29

Post by craftyguy »

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.

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

Re: Motorola and iFixit partner to sell phone repair kits

#30

Post by akerro »

lower wrote: post #28
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, Motorola is very slow with software updates. My G5 plus is currently still on Android 7.0 on the June (!) 2018 security patch level and this is usual. I think that an update to 8.1 is around the corner, but they've promised an update to Oreo for over a year now...

> My G5 plus is currently still on Android 7.0 on the June (!) 2018 security patch level. I think that an update to 8.1

Not as bad as most Samsung phones, I got no update at all to Samsung S4 and S4 mini and these were the last Samsungs I bought. I have Moto G4 now and a few weeks ago I got patches for last BT and WiFi KRACK attacks, better late then never I guess? My next phone will be Motorola too, it's bloat free, runs fast after 2 years, and now it will be easier to fix.

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