Fixing Your Samsung Galaxy Device Is Now a Possibility…If You’re in the US
If you own one of Samsung’s Galaxy devices, you know the deal when it fails to work right. You’ll have to drop by one of the company’s authorized service centres to have them repaired, and sometimes you will face long wait times. The Korean manufacturer has a solution for people who want to fix their tablets and smartphones. There’s just one hitch: for now, you have to be in the U.S. to try it. The “right to repair” has been a demand of American consumers, and now Samsung is making it happen.
Innovation & Tech Today reported that Samsung’s new initiative follows in the wake of its major competitor Apple’s “Self-Repair” programme covering its recent iPhone 12 and 13 models. The two companies, in turn, are responding to a 2021 executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden which restricts the ability of manufacturers to bar smartphone owners, for example, from taking their devices to a third-party repair service or repairing those phones themselves. This measure not only benefits small businesses specialising in electronic device repair but also consumers who are used to repairing things by themselves.
In a statement dated 31 March 2022, Samsung’s American division gave initial details of the new programme, which they will roll out in the summer. The self-repair service will initially cover owners of the Samsung Galaxy S20 and S21 smartphone lines and the Galaxy Tab S7+. The company said that the service will include providing owners with original parts, repair tools and easy-to-follow repair guides. The company also announced that they will work with iFixit, which is also working with Motorola on its own self-repair programme.
Initially, Samsung will allow users of the aforementioned devices to work on “display assemblies, back glass and charging ports”. Owners who replace those parts will be able to return the used ones to Samsung for recycling. The company said that the service will extend to more models in the future. They emphasised that the self-repair service exists alongside its current service centres in the U.S. and its network of licensed third-party technicians.
Widespread consumer clamour for the “right to repair” has become an issue in recent years as consumers complain about restrictive manufacturer practices that discourage or even bar people from making their own repairs. This clamour was most recently heard in Europe too, where the argument is that allowing persons to repair their own devices is not only good for consumers but also for the environment. The aim is to reduce the amount of electronic waste that accumulates as device owners throw out their old units every few years as new models are introduced or the units themselves fail.
The “right to repair” movement has already spread to the Asia-Pacific region, with advocates in countries such as Australia saying that their governments should catch up with this wider global trend. Asian manufacturers like Samsung might help meet those demands by extending their U.S. self-repair initiative to their home turf.
U.S. owners of selected Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets will take part in a pilot programme allowing them to perform limited repairs to their devices.
This initiative, which will begin in the summer of 2022, will expand to other Samsung devices in the coming months and years.
The global clamour for the “right to repair” which programmes like Samsung’s meet cites the high incidence of electronic waste as an argument for allowing owners the chance to replace device parts themselves and have used ones recycled.