8 ms·

How to Fix Everything: Spending a few days at iFixit

81 points by jkoebler 11y ago

jhkim 11y ago
On a related note, anyone have any personal experience with iFixit's tech repair kit? I'm looking to gift a set of electronic repair tools for the holidays.
- lsc 11y ago
  No experience with the ifixit stuff, but my set of 'small weird bits' is from wiha, and it includes a bunch of tiny pentalobe bits, one of which fit the screws on the bottom of a friend's apple laptop. I personally really like Wera, xcelite and wiha for my screwdrivers/bit drivers. Or, to be more specific, I like wiha for tiny bits, wera for regular 1/4" bits and ratchets, and xcelite for fixed screwdrivers. The Xcelite XPE102 is my favorite screwdriver, and the tool I use the most often. I have an iphone 5 that needs repairing, so I will soon be able to report back on how well the wiha works for that. Now, I personally like nice tools the way some people like nice watches, so if the difference in price between the cheap tools and the good tools is significant to you and you don't use the tools often, you probably want to ignore my advice.
  - fisherjeff 11y ago
    I don't think I can recommend the Wiha 75999[1] toolset highly enough - excellent quality and not overly expensive. [1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H7MWEI http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H7MWEI
  - DanBC 11y ago
    Here's a link to a wera fixed screwdriver. It looks nice! It's £7.93. http://uk.farnell.com/wera/355-pz1-x-80/screwdriver-pozi-no-1/dp/4432836 http://uk.farnell.com/wera/355-pz1-x-80/screwdriver-pozi-no-... My favourite was the Ergo Bahco. £8.11 http://uk.farnell.com/ergo-bahco/be-8810/screwdriver-pozi-no-1x75mm/dp/7238022 http://uk.farnell.com/ergo-bahco/be-8810/screwdriver-pozi-no...
- Someone1234 11y ago
  They're not the best quality but also not the worst. I feel like they're a little overpriced, but have bundled in a few unique bits which you don't typically find in toolkits (since they aren't technically tools, like the spudger, suction cups, and heat gun). iFixIt tools are one of these things you should buy on sale, the $80 "Pro Tech Toolkit" is a joke (even $50 seems high). Unfortunately for iFixIt if you look around on Amazon you can find a lot of third parties that have copied various iFixIt sets almost 1:1 and are charging less than half the price for them. Even for more bespoke items like the spudgers. You're better off buying high quality screwdrivers (e.g. wiha brand) and then adding the unique iFixIt additions, rather than buying the iFixIt set and getting really mediocre screwdrivers.
- kawera 11y ago
  I have their "54 Bit Driver Kit". They are well made and enough for me as I only use then to repair my own home electronics. Not sure they would last much on a pro repair shop.
  - garrettgrimsley 11y ago
    They don't last in a pro shop. We have about five sets right now at my shop and have gone through more. Of those sets more than half of the phillips head bits are chipped and broken. Anything marked J0* or PH0* is particularly fragile. The material doesn't feel anything like the tool steel that my auto repair tools are made of. The iFixit bits feel light and flimsy.
- sdnguyen90 11y ago
  +1 for Wiha. No experience with Wiha's competitors like Wera but I can't see myself ever going back to cheap precision screwdrivers. Also, I'm not a fan of removable bits.. I always end up losing the bits, spending time trying to figure out what size the bit is.. I have this set and also bought a magnetizer/demagnetizer http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-26199-Slotted-Phillips-Screwdriver/dp/B000NZ5QG0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1448931639&sr=8-4&keywords=wiha http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-26199-Slotted-Phillips-Screwdrive...
- Domenic_S 11y ago
  I've got the pro tech toolkit, and it's worth it for the case it comes in alone. The plastic case with all the little bits is clamshelled together magnetically, and then sticks to the roll with additional magnets. I don't have much experience with industrial-level toolkits, but the convenience factor on ifixit's kit is off the charts. A worthy gift, imo.
frabcus 11y ago
In contrast to the fancy Apple screws in the article, the Fairphone 2 is the first iFixit reviewed phone to get 10/10 for ease of repair. https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Fairphone+2+Teardown/52523 https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Fairphone+2+Teardown/52523
- wyldfire 11y ago
  I hadn't heard of it. But I looked it up: €529.38 and impressive specs. This thing looks downright competitive. And dual-SIM‽ That seems pretty uncommon, but probably nice to have.
Shivetya 11y ago
being in the auto parts industry this type of article strikes home. it is amazing the lengths manufacturers will go to prevent you from repairing stuff you own. I am still waiting for the day the only way to obtain an iphone or similar will be lease. As in, you never buy it, you only lease it.
- davecap1 11y ago
  You can do that today... it's not the only way but I'd imagine it's pretty common: http://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program http://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program
- Domenic_S 11y ago
  Fun nugget: the ifixit HQ has a car repair shop on-site, with lift, for employees to DIY their car repairs. They're seriously all-in on diy.
ambiate 11y ago
The appliance industry has it figured out. The parts are so discrete and they control the finite supply. Not worth counterfeiting/cloning, because there are too many models/factors. In fact, they won't make replacement parts for pieces they know will last longer than the warranty. Serviceman Jim can find a belt/board for your 1987 washing machine and have it delivered in 2 hours for $90. Serviceman Jim says to scrap that 2015 washing machine and buy the 2016 model. The company knows about that recurring problem that every household with that model has, but they're not recalling it. HVAC unit, fridges, dishwashers, washing machine, dryer, vacuums, etc. I recall there being small businesses with overflowing stock for repair parts for all of these items. Its so much easier to just throw away the item and replace it. Its the age of recyclable electronics, and I can't wait to get an 'iPhone7t multiplied.' It just saddens me in the age of 'we need more STEM.'
spdionis 11y ago
I understand where the author is coming from. It is traditional to repair your broken things somehow. It is a bit ingrained in our mentality. BUT. What moral right does he have to claim that Apple SHOULD make their products fixable? Who are these people to tell Apple (or any other company) if they have to include a technical manual or not? I'm with him when he's against Apple attacking people who try to repair their devices but there is no real reason Apple has to support repairing beyond their own offering. From a moral point of view the technical manual and ease of repairing might just be features, that are arguably more or less valuable, and Apple owes nothing. After all I don't ship my code together with a manual on how to fix bugs... Note: I don't like Apple, just wanted to add some reasonableness.
- leonroy 11y ago
  Considering the massive environmental cost of making these electronic devices I think it is absolutely in the consumer, the manufacturer and society's interests to ensure the products are not made more difficult to repair than they need to be. There are significant externalities behind every iPhone most of which are borne by manufacturing and recycling plants in India and China. The more a manufacturer can do to ensure their product stays out of landfill and in use the better off we all will be.
  - chadgeidel 11y ago
    But what if Apple's method of "ensuring the product stays out of the landfill" is build quality? What if that build quality is inversely proportional to repairability? I've had both iDevices and Android based devices and in my experience the iDevices last much longer. Anecdote, YMMV, etc.
  - spdionis 11y ago
    We are still required to give Apple the benefit of the doubt in case they made a trade-off between repairability and quality and not attack without proof. Furthermore if we leave the realm of "moral" and "not moral" Apple is not required to keep in mind society's interests in mind by anything except law and any discussion in that direction should not refer to companies but to government (which, ok, may not be that effective). Even then, most complaints don't give much consideration to the environmental impact as a first-order issue and leave it as a two-liner before the conclusion.
sxcurry 11y ago
I don't think that Apple makes a lot of money from repairs, as claimed by this (rather silly) article. It's more a case that iPhones, MacBooks, etc are designed and manufactured for thinness, irregular battery shapes, etc, so that they don't lend themselves well to end user repair. There are many other device options out there for people who don't like this approach.
- jkoebler 11y ago
  Apple makes (or saves) at least $1 billion on repairing iPhones. They changed the interior design of the iPhone 6 vs the 5s to make it much more repairable. They are thinking about this
- cushychicken 11y ago
  Do you think that Apple routinely replaces factory defective iPhones with brand-new iPhones? Doubtful - generally most companies replace with B-stock, i.e. returns that passed all of their incoming quality checks. Chances are, if your electronics were replaced by the original company, they went to someone else first.
radoslawc 11y ago
"though it's mostly middle-aged white men" - that wasn't necessary there
- kobayashi 11y ago
  >vice.com
- jkoebler 11y ago
  I didnt dwell on this point but I think it's important to point out to the reader who was there. Very few women, almost no people of color. This is a tech culture piece. It matters. As I said, didn't dwell on it but worth mentioning.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
jkoebler 11y ago
Hi, I wrote this article. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
vacri 11y ago
So, if repairability is important to you, stop using Apple. Vote with your feet. Thinkpads are a great alternative for laptops - similarly priced, specc'd, and robust, and they come with (downloadable and free) extensive hardware maintenance manuals with step-by-step guides and numerous exploded diagrams.
- dozzie 11y ago
  Too bad that Lenovo can't be trusted, given their fsckup with CA certificates and how they handled the situation.
- i336_ 11y ago
  "ThinkPhone" isn't being used... :D I found these two: http://www.androidauthority.com/lenovo-think-phone-187548/ http://www.androidauthority.com/lenovo-think-phone-187548/ and http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftech.sina.com.cn%2Fit%2F2013-04-09%2F10188221355.shtml http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%...
sneak 11y ago
The most troubling part of this is that Apple staff accompany ICE on raids. It reminds me of the time the Gizmodo guy got a visit from the Feds after doing the article about the iPhone 4 prototype that they purchased from the bar (or the guy who found it at the bar, or whatever). Apple staff accompanied the cops then, too. What other property owners get to ride along on federal investigations when there is a suspected case of theft? It smacks of special privileges and private-government integration. This is not how competition is supposed to work.
sneak 11y ago
The most troubling part of this is that Apple staff accompany ICE on raids. It reminds me of the time the Gizmodo guy got a visit from the Feds after doing the article about the iPhone 4 prototype that they purchased from the bar. Apple staff accompanied the cops then, too. What other property owners get to ride along on federal investigations when there is a suspected case of theft? It smacks of special privileges and private-government integration. This is not how competition is supposed to work.

81 points by jkoebler 11y ago

jhkim 11y ago

On a related note, anyone have any personal experience with iFixit's tech repair kit? I'm looking to gift a set of electronic repair tools for the holidays.

lsc 11y ago
No experience with the ifixit stuff, but my set of 'small weird bits' is from wiha, and it includes a bunch of tiny pentalobe bits, one of which fit the screws on the bottom of a friend's apple laptop. I personally really like Wera, xcelite and wiha for my screwdrivers/bit drivers. Or, to be more specific, I like wiha for tiny bits, wera for regular 1/4" bits and ratchets, and xcelite for fixed screwdrivers. The Xcelite XPE102 is my favorite screwdriver, and the tool I use the most often. I have an iphone 5 that needs repairing, so I will soon be able to report back on how well the wiha works for that. Now, I personally like nice tools the way some people like nice watches, so if the difference in price between the cheap tools and the good tools is significant to you and you don't use the tools often, you probably want to ignore my advice.
- fisherjeff 11y ago
  I don't think I can recommend the Wiha 75999[1] toolset highly enough - excellent quality and not overly expensive. [1] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H7MWEI http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H7MWEI
- DanBC 11y ago
  Here's a link to a wera fixed screwdriver. It looks nice! It's £7.93. http://uk.farnell.com/wera/355-pz1-x-80/screwdriver-pozi-no-1/dp/4432836 http://uk.farnell.com/wera/355-pz1-x-80/screwdriver-pozi-no-... My favourite was the Ergo Bahco. £8.11 http://uk.farnell.com/ergo-bahco/be-8810/screwdriver-pozi-no-1x75mm/dp/7238022 http://uk.farnell.com/ergo-bahco/be-8810/screwdriver-pozi-no...
Someone1234 11y ago
They're not the best quality but also not the worst. I feel like they're a little overpriced, but have bundled in a few unique bits which you don't typically find in toolkits (since they aren't technically tools, like the spudger, suction cups, and heat gun). iFixIt tools are one of these things you should buy on sale, the $80 "Pro Tech Toolkit" is a joke (even $50 seems high). Unfortunately for iFixIt if you look around on Amazon you can find a lot of third parties that have copied various iFixIt sets almost 1:1 and are charging less than half the price for them. Even for more bespoke items like the spudgers. You're better off buying high quality screwdrivers (e.g. wiha brand) and then adding the unique iFixIt additions, rather than buying the iFixIt set and getting really mediocre screwdrivers.
kawera 11y ago
I have their "54 Bit Driver Kit". They are well made and enough for me as I only use then to repair my own home electronics. Not sure they would last much on a pro repair shop.
- garrettgrimsley 11y ago
  They don't last in a pro shop. We have about five sets right now at my shop and have gone through more. Of those sets more than half of the phillips head bits are chipped and broken. Anything marked J0* or PH0* is particularly fragile. The material doesn't feel anything like the tool steel that my auto repair tools are made of. The iFixit bits feel light and flimsy.
sdnguyen90 11y ago
+1 for Wiha. No experience with Wiha's competitors like Wera but I can't see myself ever going back to cheap precision screwdrivers. Also, I'm not a fan of removable bits.. I always end up losing the bits, spending time trying to figure out what size the bit is.. I have this set and also bought a magnetizer/demagnetizer http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-26199-Slotted-Phillips-Screwdriver/dp/B000NZ5QG0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1448931639&sr=8-4&keywords=wiha http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-26199-Slotted-Phillips-Screwdrive...
Domenic_S 11y ago
I've got the pro tech toolkit, and it's worth it for the case it comes in alone. The plastic case with all the little bits is clamshelled together magnetically, and then sticks to the roll with additional magnets. I don't have much experience with industrial-level toolkits, but the convenience factor on ifixit's kit is off the charts. A worthy gift, imo.

frabcus 11y ago

In contrast to the fancy Apple screws in the article, the Fairphone 2 is the first iFixit reviewed phone to get 10/10 for ease of repair. https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Fairphone+2+Teardown/52523 https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Fairphone+2+Teardown/52523

wyldfire 11y ago
I hadn't heard of it. But I looked it up: €529.38 and impressive specs. This thing looks downright competitive. And dual-SIM‽ That seems pretty uncommon, but probably nice to have.

Shivetya 11y ago

being in the auto parts industry this type of article strikes home. it is amazing the lengths manufacturers will go to prevent you from repairing stuff you own. I am still waiting for the day the only way to obtain an iphone or similar will be lease. As in, you never buy it, you only lease it.

davecap1 11y ago
You can do that today... it's not the only way but I'd imagine it's pretty common: http://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program http://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program
Domenic_S 11y ago
Fun nugget: the ifixit HQ has a car repair shop on-site, with lift, for employees to DIY their car repairs. They're seriously all-in on diy.

ambiate 11y ago

The appliance industry has it figured out. The parts are so discrete and they control the finite supply. Not worth counterfeiting/cloning, because there are too many models/factors. In fact, they won't make replacement parts for pieces they know will last longer than the warranty. Serviceman Jim can find a belt/board for your 1987 washing machine and have it delivered in 2 hours for $90. Serviceman Jim says to scrap that 2015 washing machine and buy the 2016 model. The company knows about that recurring problem that every household with that model has, but they're not recalling it. HVAC unit, fridges, dishwashers, washing machine, dryer, vacuums, etc. I recall there being small businesses with overflowing stock for repair parts for all of these items. Its so much easier to just throw away the item and replace it. Its the age of recyclable electronics, and I can't wait to get an 'iPhone7t multiplied.' It just saddens me in the age of 'we need more STEM.'

spdionis 11y ago

I understand where the author is coming from. It is traditional to repair your broken things somehow. It is a bit ingrained in our mentality. BUT. What moral right does he have to claim that Apple SHOULD make their products fixable? Who are these people to tell Apple (or any other company) if they have to include a technical manual or not? I'm with him when he's against Apple attacking people who try to repair their devices but there is no real reason Apple has to support repairing beyond their own offering. From a moral point of view the technical manual and ease of repairing might just be features, that are arguably more or less valuable, and Apple owes nothing. After all I don't ship my code together with a manual on how to fix bugs... Note: I don't like Apple, just wanted to add some reasonableness.

leonroy 11y ago
Considering the massive environmental cost of making these electronic devices I think it is absolutely in the consumer, the manufacturer and society's interests to ensure the products are not made more difficult to repair than they need to be. There are significant externalities behind every iPhone most of which are borne by manufacturing and recycling plants in India and China. The more a manufacturer can do to ensure their product stays out of landfill and in use the better off we all will be.
- chadgeidel 11y ago
  But what if Apple's method of "ensuring the product stays out of the landfill" is build quality? What if that build quality is inversely proportional to repairability? I've had both iDevices and Android based devices and in my experience the iDevices last much longer. Anecdote, YMMV, etc.
- spdionis 11y ago
  We are still required to give Apple the benefit of the doubt in case they made a trade-off between repairability and quality and not attack without proof. Furthermore if we leave the realm of "moral" and "not moral" Apple is not required to keep in mind society's interests in mind by anything except law and any discussion in that direction should not refer to companies but to government (which, ok, may not be that effective). Even then, most complaints don't give much consideration to the environmental impact as a first-order issue and leave it as a two-liner before the conclusion.

sxcurry 11y ago

I don't think that Apple makes a lot of money from repairs, as claimed by this (rather silly) article. It's more a case that iPhones, MacBooks, etc are designed and manufactured for thinness, irregular battery shapes, etc, so that they don't lend themselves well to end user repair. There are many other device options out there for people who don't like this approach.

jkoebler 11y ago
Apple makes (or saves) at least $1 billion on repairing iPhones. They changed the interior design of the iPhone 6 vs the 5s to make it much more repairable. They are thinking about this
cushychicken 11y ago
Do you think that Apple routinely replaces factory defective iPhones with brand-new iPhones? Doubtful - generally most companies replace with B-stock, i.e. returns that passed all of their incoming quality checks. Chances are, if your electronics were replaced by the original company, they went to someone else first.

radoslawc 11y ago

"though it's mostly middle-aged white men" - that wasn't necessary there

kobayashi 11y ago
>vice.com
jkoebler 11y ago
I didnt dwell on this point but I think it's important to point out to the reader who was there. Very few women, almost no people of color. This is a tech culture piece. It matters. As I said, didn't dwell on it but worth mentioning.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

jkoebler 11y ago

Hi, I wrote this article. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

vacri 11y ago

So, if repairability is important to you, stop using Apple. Vote with your feet. Thinkpads are a great alternative for laptops - similarly priced, specc'd, and robust, and they come with (downloadable and free) extensive hardware maintenance manuals with step-by-step guides and numerous exploded diagrams.

dozzie 11y ago
Too bad that Lenovo can't be trusted, given their fsckup with CA certificates and how they handled the situation.
i336_ 11y ago
"ThinkPhone" isn't being used... :D I found these two: http://www.androidauthority.com/lenovo-think-phone-187548/ http://www.androidauthority.com/lenovo-think-phone-187548/ and http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftech.sina.com.cn%2Fit%2F2013-04-09%2F10188221355.shtml http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%...

sneak 11y ago

The most troubling part of this is that Apple staff accompany ICE on raids. It reminds me of the time the Gizmodo guy got a visit from the Feds after doing the article about the iPhone 4 prototype that they purchased from the bar (or the guy who found it at the bar, or whatever). Apple staff accompanied the cops then, too. What other property owners get to ride along on federal investigations when there is a suspected case of theft? It smacks of special privileges and private-government integration. This is not how competition is supposed to work.

sneak 11y ago

The most troubling part of this is that Apple staff accompany ICE on raids. It reminds me of the time the Gizmodo guy got a visit from the Feds after doing the article about the iPhone 4 prototype that they purchased from the bar. Apple staff accompanied the cops then, too. What other property owners get to ride along on federal investigations when there is a suspected case of theft? It smacks of special privileges and private-government integration. This is not how competition is supposed to work.